Well the truth is the 990 is not "Expensive" when compared to other pre-amps. As a matter of fact I think it is the least expensive retail price on the market for a pre-amp. In addition it has very expensive options like digital video switching, balanced outputs, automatic configuration, etc. that are usually found in 3k preamps. So in my humble opinion, buying a 990 would show that you don't believe in "magic unknown technology" when it comes to electronics and their is no voodoo magic a Krell Pre-Amp can do to sound that an Outlaw can not. Especially when they are designed to do NOTHING to the sound! If a 990 is out of budget than a used 950 or forgetting seperates and getting a receiver would be more affordable options that would again SOUND JUST AS GOOD.