Hi guys,

My apologies if this question has already been asked, but I just went through pages and pages both in this section and the 950 section. If this has been covered, please point me to the thread.

I'm upgrading my entire home theater system at the moment, and going to external amps. Currently looking for an excellent preamp that won't break the budget, which is why I'm looking at Outlaw.

The question is, would there be any real benefit in going to an Outlaw 990 over an Outlaw 950, specifically in sound quality?

Some of the features of the 990 are nice, such as DVI switching (although I'd prefer HDMI), the XLR outputs are nice (as my amps have both XLR and RCA inputs), auto setup might be nice, but I can certainly use the SPL meter and would probably spend time tweaking the auto settings anyway.

Any really solid reason I should stick a crowbar in my wallet and spend the extra $700 or so on the Outlaw 990 over the old reliable Outlaw 950? Anyone have a 950 they'd like to sell off?

Note: I'm using a 5.1 system and don't have plans to go to a full 7.1 system for a while due to room limitations. I really can't find a place for surround speakers behind the seating position without hanging them from the ceiling, and if I tried that my wife might hang me from the ceiling next.

But hey, isn't that what happens to Outlaws anyway? =)

(System: Klipsch KLF-30 Mains, RC-7 Center, RS-7 Surrounds, Velodyne 15" Powered Sub, Dalite 133" High Power w/Panny AE700U, old amp Sony STR-DB930,
currently auditioning a Denon AVR-4806, but would like to try an Outlaw 950/990 with very high powered external amps).