I think you've got a pretty decent point, Jeff. I did not notice a dramatic difference in stereo bypass (a mode that I'm not currently using), and what difference I did hear was likely due to the 990's lower noise floor. Likewise, the improvements in DVD-Audio and SACD were marginal - likely due to the noise floor and the more flexible bass management (which suggests that the A-D-A going on there is done pretty darn transparently). The biggest differences for me have been in cases where the 990 is involved in processing digital signals. Upsampling PCM stereo from CD's, for example. Of course, I can understand if if someone who is just getting the unit settled in happened to get carried away in their praise - it really is a great sounding piece of gear.