Well a little more testing on the home system front..

Here is the setup:

950
Nakamichi PA-7 Stasis powering
Carver AL-III+'s for fronts.
Outlaw 750 powering
Boston 920 Center and a pair of
Ohm F's for my rear.
(I guess I have a heart for really inefficient speakers.. LOL One of these days I might go out and get a timber matched, efficient 5.1 setup... I'd hate to give up the carver ribbons though )
DVP-NS700P DVD hooked up via Optical cable

The 950 SPL calibrated to the 950's test tones. Same pod racer scene again. Room size was different though. 15 x 15 this time instead the larger room we used for the test. Issues one and two were pretty much resolved. ALTHOUGH, when calibrated there was still an issue with the center being off. Not by much but it was still off. 99% improvement all the way around. Transitions were greatly improved. So yes, the problems seemed to be unit settings (which I thought they might be). I still have some center issues which I will get calling Outlaw about on Monday.

Which brings me to my next point. Here is what I find ODD. Why are the output voltages seemingly WAY OFF between the 1066 and the 950? They SHOULD be set up to some type of standards regardless of Unit or Maker. I had to do quite a signigicant drop of DB to get the 950 to even out across the fronts and center. (BRIANCA: Did you see the same in your comparision? How much different are your calibrations between units?) And if the output voltages are off why arn't they off EVEN?? You would figure the 950 would sound louder or softer due to different voltages, why then is it semingly varied over all 5 channels, particularly the center channel which seems to be off the most.

With these issues in the bag and pretty much solved, I might still send the unit back or sell it due to the 950's POOR human interface. (This observation is completely mine, not nesessarily anyone elses) I guess I really have a pet peeve about those damn buttons and knob. Is 950 everything its cracked up to be, outside of minor issues. YEAH. Is it worth the $899 and shipping. Double YEAH. Probably the best bang for your buck pre/pro going. Just my humble opinion.. I still am planning on the Ref 30 Comparison on Sunday.

Jeff