Gonk,

First I want to Thank You for all the good work you do on these forumns. I really do appreciate the articles you write and have learned a great deal from them as well as your posts.

I have a question for you about your BDP-83 setup guides. I noticed on the guide for the 990 (the only one I looked at, since that is what I have)that you made no reference to using the analog stereo outputs. Although I have a 5.1 system I quite often listen to stereo CDs. Personally I don't enjoy the 5ch stereo option or any of the other digital conversions. I guess I am kind of a purist in that regard. OK, back to my point. I have done quite a bit of A/B testing myself and with others and we are all in agreement that the DACs for the stereo outputs sound much better than the multi-channel ones. BTW, this was a stereo to stereo test. I connected the analog stereo outputs to the CD analog inputs. If you haven't tried this I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

On a similar note, again after doing quite a bit of A/B testing, IMHO, I think the multi-channel DACs in the BDP-83 are far bettor sounding then the 990's. Therefore, my only connections from the BDP-83 to my 990 are the two sets of analog outputs. Furthermore, I run the video over a HDMI cable straight to my TV. My thought being fewer cable and fewer connections could only improve things.

Well, that's just my two cents. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Thank You,
Mark D. Rodriguez