I have had my 598 for a couple of months; I have a pair of DSP8000`s, IMerge Music Server for CD playback and a Loewe TV. I bought the unit primarily for DVD-A`s. I bought the digital out model with progressive. I feel that I get exactly the same sound and about the same picture as an 800.

What I give up is expansion. I am planning on getting an 880 in a few months and will use that for expansion cards. I am interested in getting a digital input card so that I can listen to DirectTV music channels and digital audio directly from my PC.

I first installed the 598 above a warm power supply. The unit would turn off occasionally, the 598 has operated flawlessly since removing the power supply and placing the unit on top of my Imerge Music Server.

I like the expansion options of the 800 and it is nice that such a wonderful unit is available; I was not able to justify the added expense at this time. I suspect that someday I will upgrade to the 800, maybe when they have blue HD DVD disks.