The 950 is very good with music for the money. It will beat any receiver for musicality and stand toe to toe with some of the lower end pre-amps.

I do listen to music through a 950/7100 combo on occasion and the truth is that I have heard systems that were better, but at a significant difference in price. I have also heard systems MUCH WORSE at twice the price!!!!

The bottom line, it is a very neutral and satisfying product for music, especially for the money and the fact that it is an AV pre-amp.

If you have a respectably High-End source, Turn Table, CD Player etc..., use the By-Pass mode for the best results with music.