The AV sync adjustment is available on the front panel display for two reasons: there is a button on the remote to enable adjustment of it (thus granting direct control of the setting), and you need to be able to see the active video source at the same time you are making adjustments (which cannot be done with an OSD when using a component or DVI input, thus creating a significant need for the display). In the original firmware, the sync adjustment was not displayed on the front panel, which meant that you had to adjust in the setup menu and then go back to the video source to see if you'd adjusted enough.

On the platforms that Outlaw has developed from scratch (the old Model 950 and the current 1070/970), they have included a "trim" button that allows the user to scroll through channels and adjust trim without going through the menu structure. The Model 990, however, is based on an existing platform (the Sherwood P-965), and while Outlaw made extensive changes they also ended up hanging on to a some features due to simple necessity. The 965 platform lacks IR commands for direct trim adjustment, so even if Outlaw could have found a spot or two on the 990's remote to include these commands (which I'm not sure could have been done without sacrificing some other useful functionality) they wouldn't have had commands in place to grant direct (non-menu) adjustment of those settings. Personally, I never used this on my Model 950 (preferred to find a setup that precluded the need for it) so I haven't missed it, but we all have our own approaches to system setup and operation. Before you give up on the 990, though, the two things I've mentioned (adjusting the crossover point and trying out the two-channel sub offset) might surprise you. Give it a shot - I've been able to get my system adjusted such that I get excellent bass response with music without needing to adjust sub trim between discs.