The physical transmission in the digital domain may have some advantages over analog, but the end result, sound quality, will not always be improved. Case in point, my Denon 5900 is superior to the Outlaw 950 in terms of it's ability to decode and reproduce sound. That's why it cost what it cost. If the 950 had an iLink or 1394 connector, I would still use the analog connections when listening to multichannel, high resolution audio and probably movies.