Been a while since I have visited but have been enjoying the 990/770 combo for a while in my HT system. With the addition of Blu-ray (Sony BDP-S1 and Playstation 3) and HD-DVD players (Toshiba HD-A2) to the mix, the temptation of DTS-HD Master Audio and TrueHD creeps in every now and then. Have browsed a bit here and there and note that the only pre-pros I have found that will currently do those formats are the new Onkyo Pro unit and the mirror image Integra 9.8. I have been tempted, but frankly both are almost nowhere to be found right now anyway. Onkyo and a few others have receivers with that capability and I suppose I could use the pre-outs on such a receiver to feed into the Outlaw amp, eliminating the 990 as the pre-pro. I see that the Outlaws probably have a new pre-pro in the pipeline, but it is probably just in the beginning stages at his point. My options appear to be 1) hope the Outlaws are ahead of the anticipated schedule with a new pre-pro, 2) keep looking for an available Onkyo Pro or Integra 9.8, 3) try one of the new SSRs and do the pre-out route, or 4) run in place until the Outlaw unit is available. I am leaning towards 4) (or hopefully 1) because I remember the difference the 950 (and then, the 990) made to my system when I replaced the Denon AVR-5800 (a formidable receiver at the time) with those units, and I cannot imagine a receiver's pre-pro section or even one of the new dedicated Integra/Onkyo pre-pros outstripping my 990 in terms of overall sonic performance. However, I am a bit prejudiced about my Outlaw gear and was wondering if any of you had entertained similar thoughts? Thanks!

Mike