OK, first of all, here's a beef I have with the 990. When you set the "default" surround mode (example: "upsample" on my CD input), then you listen to audio through it, change the setting to Pro-Logic via the remote, then turn off the unit, turn it back on, guess what - it's still Pro-Logic! How does that make "upsample" the "default"? At that point, there is no "default", theres just a "current mode". Default, IMO, should be the default mode for that input, and every time you switch inputs, or at least power, it should return to the default. I mean, that's the definition of "default", why not just change the menu setting to "mode". Personally, I like the idea of true "default", perhaps it could have one of the options be "last selected" much like the volume control to maintain the current functionality.

OK and onto my actual question... I'm trying to understand how the surround sound mode logic works. It's my understanding that the 990 will always detect & differentiate between PCM, DD and DTS. The matrix modes (NEO:6, Pro-Logic IIx and none/stereo) are then the only selectable surround modes, as they are implemented after the bitstream level protocol is already decoded. Am I correct so far?

Here's where the default issue gets to me. I have a 5.1 setup, so I have no need for Neo/Pro Logic when listening to a DD/DTS stream. But I'd like to turn it on when listening to a 2 channel DVD or TV. But then when I play a DD/DTS DVD, it's going to revert to the PLIIx decoding on top of the DD/DTS, right? Just seems to me that this is undesirable behavior that would be avoided by enforcing/resetting "default" setting when switching inputs.

Rob