Well...you had me sold b/c its all believable till you mentioned the 3805 which I owned and consider a pile a crap for 2ch.It could NOT compete with a lowly Rotel 1056 or HK 630 for 2ch,and that's no BS it's 100% for sure.The 990 is superior to the hk/pioneer etc.. top offerings in my experience(based on 2ch)not day and night but still better.The 990 is no giant killer but it can keep the giants on their toes and is still WELL worth its price.Again,I agree with some of your comments,hey... nobody agrees on everything.