RE: USB output

My old Microsoft sound system outputs from the PC via USB to the MS base unit (which includes the amplification, subwoofer and D/A converter.

The digital audio streams directly out of the computer's USB port and doesn't involve the soundcard at all, although there are soundcards with USB output.

There is a USB audio support driver in Windows, so I would assume that when you connected the USB ports between the 990 and your PC that the device would be recognized. Then you'd just have to be sure that your audio output was being routed to the USB port instead of to a soundcard.

ADDITION TO ORIGINAL POST:

My question is whether the 990 will act as a client to the PC/MAC and you'll be able to browse audio files from the 990, itself, or if you'll have to queue up a playlist of files on the PC (with WMP or some other media player) and stream them out to the 990.

I suspect that the client model won't be implemented -- too much additional "stuff" needed to make that work. The 990 will probably treat the computer as another input device and you'll have to control all playback from the computer. Still a nice feature.

We'll have all these answers soon, I suppose.