p.s. I am seriously considering the Oppo DVD player you use.

I think you're putting together a great system, and the Oppo is a certainly nice player for a pretty impressive price.

I recently upgraded to the Oppo and am quite happy with it. For the money, it's a steal.

Cheers,

congrats on taking the leap.. i think you'll be very happy with the 990 pre and the 7500 amp.

knownalien,

I use the Oppos 971 with a 56" Samsung DLP and could not be happier.

I have heard that the 970 is more DLP friends due to the macro blocking issues some people have experienced with the 971. But I have not seen any excessive macro blocking on my TV.

If you have a LCD, Plasma or high-end DLP TV that has been professionally calibrated go with the 971.

-Peter

It came and I am a little shocked how great it sounds! I will have to collect my thoughts and say more tommorrow.

I heard the DVD set to stereo and put in the remastered Rush album "Presto." It is a very flat neutral recording. It is HARD to make it sound great. Let me explain my setup a little. The total max wattage for the LSi15's are 250 watts. They are 4 ohm speakers. I am one who believes that more wattage need not equal volume as much as it equals authority and clarity. Mainly clarity. The ability for a driver to push out and in much better. That said, the 7500 powers ONLY the fronts and center. the 2200 monos power the surrounds. I am using two channels each on the 7500 to bi-amp the fronts. In all, I am throwing 600 watts per speaker!!!! Though some say the center does the most work, because it lacks an 8" woofer and its crossover is set to 60 hz, I think 300 watts plenty considering its published max wattage is 200 watts.

So, what does it sound like? Even at low volume you can hear the power and authority. It was nearly 9 pm when I was done with the firmware upgrade (only one restart) when I got everything set up. I am using Outlaws audiophile grade PCA cables (7 of them). I stereo mode, "Presto" sounds like I am there. There. Heat does not seem to be a problem with the 7500, but just in case I have a brushless 120mm fan ready. Actually, the 2200's run hotter. I am freaked that I actually own this gear! Freaked!

Using any Rush disc pressed since Moving Pictures is probably not going to provide a real useful test. They are horribly mastered and compressed/clipped to the point of silliness. I can't imagine it getting much better with "remastering." If you said it sounds good, then someone must have pulled a rabbit out of their hat in the remaster stage.

You might try something a bit more dynamic like a live jazz recording. Getting a whole new system is always good for some serious quality time as you listen to all your old favorites and hear things that you didn't know were even there. Welcome aboard!

Cheers,

Well, with the Rush CD's I have the benefit of being able to compare them to lesser systems and perfect or not I can tell you there is great improvement. I have a relative who is very well to do. But he likes Klipsch. He also likes the high end power horses like Makintosh (sp?). He would make me listen to Rush to hear (oddly enough) errors in the recording process. Now I can hear that too!!! I was listening to Rush tonight with my wife. It sounded loud and clear in the basement. I assumed it was loud upstairs. It was not. simply put, it is so tight in the listening area that is "sounds" loud but it is quite controlled. I wish I was Hercules because I would take my 7500 and put it in bed with me!!! It is pretty obvious that the power it provides is serious. Between you and I it sits on its own 20 amp circuit. I am thinking maybe I should have gotten the 7700, but I don't mind using the 2200 monos. really, Outlaw makes quite fine products!

I did something I normally don't do when I placed an order for an OPPO 971. I failed to do my homework on the unit and impulsively placed my order. I'm due to receive my unit on Monday. I remember hearing good things from the forums about the good features of the 971 and I really didn't pay much attention to their new 970. It appears in hindsight that I may have ordered the wrong unit for my needs. My current video is from a 32" Sony KV-32FS100 Wega tube. I'm planning on using S-Video through my 990 to feed my video. I am planning on a HDTV LCD purchase in the distant future but that's at least 1-2 years away. The 970 plays SACD's where the 971 does not offer that feature. I'm also hearing about rumors of a replacement for the 971. My need to upgrade involves my current Panasonic DVD player not playing my DVD+ dual layer burned discs and I need something to play DVD+(-) dual layer discs I create. Any feedback to my situation would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!