Some of the benefits are interface related (my wife is very fond if the editable input names), and of course the video switching has been nice (I am not making much use of the transcoding, but the three component inputs and the DVI switching are quite handy). The 990 also has better DAC's and has for me provided a more transparent listening environment (something that the 950 already did a pretty respectable job of). The upsampling mode is a nice option for listening to CD's, too.