Calling the Integra Research RDC 7.1 affordable is kind of odd as it costs around $5500.

I do agree that its modularity is an uber cool feature though.

I also agree with Jed M. $2000-2500 is about the most I'd want to spend on a pre-pro.

As far as HDMI switching and all that, I think you'll just have to wait a few years before you see it readily available in pre-pros as the spec is still very much a moving target at the moment.

And perhaps instead of modularity, they offer two versions a 990 V2 M that doesn't have any video switching for those who just want a music pre-pro and a 990 V2 HT that has everything plus the kitchen sink for those who want a home theater pre-pro.

As far as how it looks...that's a tertiary consideration if you ask me. Most important things are how it performs and what features it has. Besides no matter how it looks there will always be someone who thinks it looks to simple or too flashy. Much more important to keep the build quality and performance high than to worry about the faceplate.

Also agree that it would a "nice to have" to be able to set up the unit completely from the front LCD panel, but not completely necessary.

In fact a lot of what people are asking for are "nice to haves" while the biggest issue is how well it works.

And at $1100, the 990 already does more than pretty much any other pre-pro out there for the price, or receiver for that matter...

I'll just have to wait for mine to arrive before making final judge on how well it delivers performance/quality wise...

Of course in the back of my mind is an 8 year old kid saying "is it here yet? is it here yet? is it here yet?" ad infinitum.