ndskurfer:

I held back posting a reply as I have the 970, not the 990, but the similarities in the rest of our digital front ends was just too much of a temptation. I realize this is not an apples to apples comparison, since we're talking two different Outlaw DAC platforms, so take this information as you wish:

I'm currently using a SB3 (streaming FLAC as well) that feeds a Behringer SRC2496, upsamples the digital stream, and passes it to my external DAC (a Musiland MD10).

I experimented with some comparisons to the internal DACS on the 970 and found that I prefer the external DAC solution. Before I had the Behringer in the mix, I A/B'd the Musiland vs. the 970 and preferred the Musiland. Before I had that set up, I compared the 970 to my CD player, a Cambridge Audio 640C, and I prefered the Cambridge.

I noticed FAUguy's comparison noted the benefits of upsampling, so that may be a key distinction in performance between the two platforms. You may also want to snoop over at the Slimdevices message boards and see if anyone over there is using a 990.

BTW, did the CI power supply make any difference in your SB3's performance?

Best,

- VD