My ultimate plan is to build a home theater system, but I am starting out with a basic stereo setupfor music (I have started looking ad HDTVs, but I am holding out until the end of summer to take that plunge).

Would I be better off getting a 990 and a 7125 now and have the audio purchasing done, or go with a 990 and 2-2200's now, and get more 2200's as the system expands? What would be the advantages/disadvantages of either?

Should I be worried about powering 5 to 7 2200's? My house is relatively new (13 years old), but should I be concerned that I will be tripping a breaker or underpowering the equipment? Would a power conditioner help? Should I have a dedicated circuit installed?

Lastly, what would I need for cables to tie the 2200's or 7125 to the 990, and to add a cd player, Xbox, cable box (Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3100 HD), my lo-def TV, and speakers? When everything shows up, I don't want to be sitting there missing one cable.

Thanks.

...and a followup question:

Should I be concerned about component placement? Can everything be stacked, or should there be some separation between the amp(s), pre-pro, and other components to reduce any sort of interference?

There are some comments in the other forums that the 7125 is more musical than the 2200. This, and the advantage of simplicity, would drive me to pick the 7125 over multiple 2200s.

I haven't compared the two, so I can only go on other people's feedback and reviews. There are a number of great reviews of the 7125 out there, but very little on the 2200 at this point. Here's one example:

http://ultimateavmag.com/amplifiers/206outlaw/

I wouldn't sweat details like power conditioning or dedicated circuits yet. You've got much bigger issues in front of you right now, like auditioning LOTS of speakers and finding what sounds right to your ears. Choice of speakers makes one of the most significant impacts on the quality of your audio system.

Cables: You'll need one RCA for each channel of the amps you are using. If you have HDMI or DVI out of your cable box, use that for video, otherwise you'll want a set of three component cables for the video. I like optical connections for the audio.

Wait until you get the other gear, before you decide on cables for it--you want the best possible connection, but what is possible varies with the component.

With regards to stacking audio equipment, there are three considerations: heat, vibration, and weight. Heat is the first thing to plan around; you want good air circulation around your amp and don't want things to overheat in general. I'd recommend getting some kind of rack that allows for an inch or more of airspace around each component. A decent rack will address any vibration and weight issues, too.

I'd second the opinion to get a single multichannel amp. The Outlaw multichannel amps are all made by ATI in the Los Angles area and have a solid reputation, including the 7125. My ATI amp is virtually the same as the Outlaw 7500 and I couldn't be happier. I had five 2200s for a while and returned them to Outlaw (with very good customer service I might add). With five 2200s you have to deal with five power cords and the amps themselves take up more space. As Kahuna noted there are certain considerations to stacking the 2200s. I'm using 4 ohm speakers all around and Outlaw recommended stacking no more than 3 2200s based upon the speakers sensitivity. So I had a three and two high stack of 2200s that took up too much space. I didn't have the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of the sound between the 2200s and my amp.

I think if you get the 990 you will be very pleased with its 2 channel performance and you will be set when you expand into HT. My use of my HT is now dominated by 2 channel music after getting the 990. Its been nice to rediscover music with separates after having a receiver that underperformed on music. There also was a corresponding improvement in 5.1 performance with the 990 versus the receiver. IMO it was well worth the expense and would work for you in both the short and long-term. Enjoy!

puppethead,

If you are just jumping into this, you need to think about positioning yourself for the best options.

On my minimal budget I started with a refurbed Denon and later added 3 M200s across the front.

The 7125 would give you more than 125 per channel in your 2 channel start-up mode. Later you would be limited to that 125 per channel.

If you start with the 7500 or 7700 you will have plenty of power to audition lots of speakers from inefficient to high efficient. And you will have lots of power for future expansion. Who knows? You might end up wanting floorstanders all the way around.

If you start with 2 M2200s, you can buy a 7500 later and use the M2200s for surrounds, backs or something else. The M2200s give you plenty of power for mains. Some will argue the "musicality" of the M2200, but for you it may only be a stepping stone. My M200s run very cool, so no need to worry about heat issues or stacking up to 3 M2200s.

I am thinking of trying a 7500 myself to see if there is a difference between the M200s and the 7500. I am also looking into a 2 channel amp for the mains.

You can spend a bunch of money in this hobby trying to get a noticeable difference in sound.

There are some good internet companies out there with speakers you can audition at home; AV123, Axiom, Aperion, Ascend and others. With time and credit you can audition a lot of speakers at home for 30 days.

All of the above IMHO.

Bug

Puppethead-

What is your budget?

Thanks for the advice, and sorry it took me a bit to get back on.

My budget is around 3500 to 4000 for power (amp and pre-pro or receiver) and speakers for a 2 channel set up. This should also include cabling for those components, and a cd player.

In my absence, though, I have been doing some more listening. The short list now includes Jamo D450, Polk LSi-15, and Martin Logan Aeon. The Martin Logans would stretch the budget, though, and the luster of the Jamos was tarnished with certain rock CDs.

Any other suggestions on speakers?

just my two cents but have you tried Klipsch speakers, I have the rf35's and use the 7125 and 990 and I love it

I listened to Klipsch (but can't recall the model) but didn't like them as much as the B&Ws in the same room. They seemed to be a bit bass heavy which was OK on a few cds I listened to, but was a bit too much on the majority of the music I brought fro listening.

hi puppethead, I heard some b&w's many years ago and yes the are a great sounding speaker but aren't the very high priced?

I agree with choosing a multichannel amp over the 2200’s. I don’t think you can go wrong with the 990/7125 combo. If you went with the 990/7500 or 7700, that would put a serious dent in your speaker budget. Consider the 990/7125 combo leaves you $2102, 990/7500 $1602 and 990/7700 $1102 for purchasing your L&R mains.

Ultimately choosing speakers is a personal decision, what sounds good to your ears should be the deciding factor. There are of course always budget issues, so finding the balance for what sounds best to you vs. what you can afford is often a challenge. The Martin Logan’s are a fine speaker but very expensive to build a HT system with. B&W speakers may be considered "pricy” from the 700 series upwards, however the 600 series offers excellent quality and sound while still being affordable. If you haven’t already I would give the 600 series a listen (you can put together an HT package together for under $3000… $ 2500 if you already have a sub). Another speaker I would recommend auditioning is Paradigm. The Paradigm studio series is also an excellent speaker. To start your two-channel system you might look to use the Paradigm Studio 100 V.3 or Studio 60 V.3 or the B&W 604S3or 603S. Something to consider anyway.

After reading edcon's message, I think I had listened to floor standers from the 600 and 700 series. The 600s were in the 1500/pr price range and the 700s were in the 3000/pr range. The 700s were more impressive than the 600s, and both were decent speakers, but the "wow" factor was not there (at least for my ear).

I have been leaning toward the 990/7125. The system is not in an extremely large room, and the power should be adequate.

Paradigm, Def Tech, and a few others are still on the list to be listened to. The B&W 600s are a fine speaker, but there are a few others I liked better upon first listen (will listen again before I buy just to make sure). I really liked the 700s, but they will put a dent in the power portion of the budget.