This caught my eye:

Essentially for the same current sale price as the 990/7125. I could buy the 7125 and purchase this Onkyo.

I'm not trying to insult the 990, but what could possibly make the 2005 990 better than the above 2007 receiver in terms of sound quality?

Or am I missing the point entirely?

The indecision continues.

Two questions and one comment occur to me:
Q1. The list doesn't mention a tuner - does the Onkyo have one?
Q2. Likewise for a phono input.
To some of us anything with no phono input or tuner would be a non-starter regardless of any other features.
Comment: You ask about sound quality, but it's not mentioned on the list - nor could it be. No sound quality judgment can be made without actual listening.

A few things remain unknown. First, how does the receiver sound? Feature lists like this don't offer much insight into that. The quality of the DAC is an important issue - after all, you can get most of the features of the 990 in much less expensive receivers right now, but they won't sound as good even with outboard amplification. To put it another way, you could compare that Onkyo's feature set to the feature set of a Lexicon MC-8 and the Onkyo would seem to have a huge edge in spite of the MC-8's $6000 price tag - but I'd consider it safe to say that the MC-8 would certainly sound much better, particularly for music.

Another thought - HDMI v1.3 is so new it's extremely unexplored territory, and some of these decoders (TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio, and Dolby Digital Plus which isn't actually mentioned in that feature list) are also pretty new. At this point, we have no DTS HD Master Audio decoders in any consumer products. The first folks to get hardware to market are going to have a serious challenge on their hands to get all the kinks worked out.

The Onkyo could be interesting in terms of features and sound -- up until you get to the amplifier. The 7125 will likely smoke the amp in the receiver.

Sorry to go back and forth so much, but I'm now debating between these:

Outlaw 990 pro/7125 amp = $1,800 ($1,900 after May 10th)

versus

Denon Professional DN-A7100 pro / 2 Tapco Juice 1400 amps (fronts/rears) / 1 Outlaw 2200 monoblock (center) = $1,800+/-

This way I could have the flex to build the system over time, like buy the Denon pro and and 1 Juice for 2CH (@ 1,200) ...then later the monoblock for 3CH...then finally add 1 more Juice for 5CH.

With the Outlaw combo I'd have to blow all that cash at once. The Denon 7100 appears to be a superior processor feature-wise too (HDMI for one thing), and the Juice/Outlaw amp combo would yield more power than the 125Wx7 Outlaw 7125.

I know, I have a tough time with commitment.

Oops..double post.

Since we're in the midst of a server migration, I'll quote myself rather than linking...
The balanced outputs can be configured to serve as unbalanced outputs, but you'll have to do a bit of hunting to find the right cables. I'm just leery of it, probably because it feels like something with HDMI tucked in as an afterthought (unlike the way Anthem thoroughly integrated HDMI into the AVM-40/50 and Statement D2). If you are serious about having HDMI but need something now, you might even be best off getting an inexpensive HDMI v1.x receiver with pre-amp outputs that you can sell in a year or so and starting to pick up some amps (either a single multichannel amp like the 7125 or a few two-channel amps like the Tapco Juice's and monoblocks like the M2200) to tide you over until companies like Outlaw, Sherwood, Rotel, and others get HDMI v1.3 processors to market.

Thanks gonk!

I'm just afriad that eventually the industry as a whole will pull something with HDMI in general that renders multi-analog useless, even though I know this is far-fetched.

Also the WAF factor, despite the display and speaker set-up in total costing clear over $1k, the Outlaw 990/7125 combo is a terribly tough sell for the misses to take.

I'm just gonna have to stick to my guns and aim for the Outlaws...eventually.

Would you really feel comfortable owning something that was named Onkyo? Be wise, be careful and choose well.

Cheers

Just a word of warning; Don't get fooled by power numbers when it comes to amplifier specs. Just because one amplifier is rated higher in supplying wattage doesn't mean that it's going to sound better than an amplifier that doesn't have as high a power rating. It's more important to match your amplifier with your speakers and your room.

Speaking of speakers; what kind are you using?

I'm using Boston Acoustics VR3 mains , VRC center , and Micro130x rears .

I'm probably going to just settle on the 7125 amp, use my existing Harman Kardon AVR235's pre-outs, and wait for Outlaw to debut a new processor. I figure one will come sooner-or-later and it'll probably be better overall than the 990. It's not that I'm dying for HDMI ability, it's more a factor of money, the 990 having a couple years on it, and the nagging feeling that if I get the 990, I'll ultimately be taking just a "half-step" ahead of what I have now.

IMHO, I think you're making a good decision. It really sounds, excuse the pun, that you've researched your options.

I hate buying technology for exactly the reason you stated. It seems like everytime I buy something, no matter how much research I do, it gets updated within the next month. I guess that's what I get for being so "hi-tech"!

The inevitable trick is deciding when to quit worrying about the next big thing and just get something good now. It's a trick because there's no one way to decide when to do it. A nice separate amp like the 7125 will certainly be a mighty fine upgrade to occupy you during the wait for the next (HDMI v1.3) generation to appear.

Thanks

...and I'm not trying to say that the 990 is bad or "outdated", it's just that if I bought the 990 now, and Outlaw even simply announced development of a new processor either later in the year or sometime next year, I'd most likely be very content with the 990, but I know I would be quietly thinking I should have waited just a little longer. Especially if the next processor arrives and gets rave reviews...which I'm sure it will. I'll grab the 7125, invest in some new wires and cables, and be content until Outlaw announces their next giant killer.

Well, I've looked into Emotiva's amp line-up.

I'm looking things this way right now:

1. Outlaw 7500 (7-CH/200W XLR/RCA): $1,600 w/ shipping.
2. Outlaw 7125 (7-CH/125W RCA): $1,000 w/ shipping.
3. Emotiva IPS-1 (7-CH/150W RCA): $1,200 w/ free shipping.
4. Emotiva MPS w/ 5-CH/200W XLR/RCA modules: $1,300 w/ free shipping.
5. Emotiva LPA-1 (7-CH/125W RCA): $500 w/ free shipping.

I'm unsure I really trust the Emotiva MPS-1. I'm starting a couple reports of power failure in the separate amps, that's no good. I hear the IPS-1 is essentially the MPS-1 except w/o balanced inputs, 50W less per channel, and a 2db higher noise floor.

I can't shake the fact the Outlaws are assembled in the U.S. Of course, who really knows if that means anything more nowadays though. The royal pain about this is, if I went for what will probably be the most "future-proof" amp (enough power for almost any future set-up), the Outlaw 7500, for "ONLY" $200+ more I could snag the 990 pre/7125 amp combo. Thus sacrificing 75W for the "whole package" at once.

Plus personally, when I get right down to it, the Emotiva stuff kinda does look like cheap stuff, "dressed up."

Not cheap stuff to this guy! Or me either. I've see the insides. Built like a tank.
hometheaterhifi.com review

I'm on the hunt already to replace my 990, I want all the new tech+bells and whistles to match up with my new 1080p 61" DLP. The 990 has server me well, but it has fallen behind the curve for what I want.

I've been with Outlaw since the 1050 (then 950/770) and now the 900/770 and eagerly await the next model. Kudos for Outlaw not including DVI switching 'back in the day' (950) but HDMI seems to be here to stay for a while, in some numerical and hopefully backwards compatible way.

If you want HDMI now and are comfortable with v1.1, you may want to look at an AVM40 or AVM50. If you want HDMI v1.3, you've got one option so far (a $600 Onkyo receiver) but should start seeing more later this year.

I'm holding out for a 1.3 option, I plan on keeping the set for a while so the target is to have them the same spec (or greater).

I'd guess that within less than a year you'll have a decent array of options for v1.3.