the max_matches / cutoff parameters are priceless.
if you ever have a situation where you need a 'count' of the number of matches, but only need to display lets say the 'top 10', these 2 parameters are very handy.
we used to get the occasional 'unable to connect' error with sphinx, after implementing these 2 parameters where applicable, these issues disappeared, load dropped, and the servers were much happier.