My case is probably not typical - I've had HDMI, coaxial, and 7.1 analog all connected, but that was in part because I was testing stuff. The BDP-83's analog section is nice, certainly enough so that I'd want to be able to use it with the 990 for a couple months of listening pleasure. I use some re-purposed Blue Jeans component video cables for my analog connection, but even something as modestly priced as three or four pairs of these would be a small price to pay to be able to get full benefit from the BDP-83 in the short term. In the long term, you would have the option to compare the BDP-83's analog section (without Trinnov's influence) to the Model 997 simply by switching inputs if you retained the analog connection.