I guess I'll just have to try and and see. I'd really like the 990, but I'm also upgrading my Ascend 340's to the 340SE, so I don't know if I'll actually have the cash to do it. Plus, I don't really need a lot of the features that the 990 offers. Having said that, if the 990 is leaps and bounds above the 970 in terms of audio quality, then I'd be more inclined to consider it. However, most of the opinions I've read seem to indicate that although it sounds better, it's not vastly better. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe there are more people that will try to convince me otherwise (really, all I need is a little nudge).

Thanks for the input gonk. One question:

If I try the 970, and it's just okay, and would like to try the 990, is that a problem?