I tried to fix the 3090...I brought it to the highend audio repair guy in my area. The chip died and B&K does not offer a replacement board due to the fact that it is 10 years old. The technician said the chip could be manually removed but there is a heat sink on top of it with over 100 tiny pins in it. he would need to remove each pin by hand and the labor would be enormous. In the end- it is not worth fixing.

If the 990 does not work for me, I will prbably go with the ref 50 from B&K but there is a substantial price difference. I always enjoyed the demonstration Outlaw puts on at the Hilton in New York City during the audio show there in the Spring.

So far so good.....the 990 is quiet and has plenty of options. I am still not sure about the highs coming out of it, though. My ears are very sensitive and I enjoy a mellow (smooth) treble. That is one of the reasons I went with the Sonus Faber speakers (silk dome tweeter and rich midrange). I really haven't put it thru a serious workout yet. My wife will want to kill me after this upcoming week