Soundhound: Thanks for the information - good to know. Seems to be a lot of "balanced is always better" misconceptions out there, or else a lot of people with monoblocks sitting 50' away from their pre-amps

As for the 990, to quote the esteemed Charles Brown: AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!! Just when I thought I had figured out how to spend my tax return...

Seriously, this thing sounds (on paper, that is) SWEET! And the intro price is definitely better than I expected.

Is it official that it comes with the MX-700 for a remote? That's like $180 right there. And my MX-500 has a non-functioning "back" arrow, which is frustrating (mostly when controlling the Tivo). I think I'll have to start whining loudly about that button to the wife.

If the addition to my house existed beyond paper at this point, this would be a no-brainer. As it is, I'm glad the order form isn't up yet...I have a strict rule about not ordering things until I get the drooling under control.