I'm really tempted to grab a Outlaw 7500, but I have some questions.

I currently have a Harman Kardon AVR 235 (50Wx7/65x2), if I added the 7500, will I generally hear a difference in sound? I'm really looking to revealing more separation, clarity, and "headroomy-ness" in 2CH sources.

My speakers are a pair Boston Acoustic VR3s (250W recommended max power), a VRC center (150W), and Micro130x (125W) rears. Will the 7500 still be fine with this 5.0 combination? I'm not planning on kicking out the jams at earsplitting levels, but I occasionally enjoy action films on DVD and HD DVD at "moderate" levels? :p

My sub is a Hsu VTF-2 MK2.

Thanks for reading and any answers/advice would be much appreciated!

Your VR3s have a good sensitivity (93 dB) and should work well with your H/K. If you are not hearing any strain in the sound you should be fine with the H/K.

That said, I enjoyed the difference amps made to my Denon 3805. YMMV. A 30 day home trial may be the only way for your ears to hear a difference, if any.

The 7500 would work fine that that mix of speakers.

As a general rule, the sorts of things you mention (separation, clarity, headroom) are common goals - and common rewards - when going from a receiver's amp section to a separate amp. As Bugbitten points out, you may not end up using any more power than your receiver presently has, but the power supply and amp design are both going to be significantly more robust. Looking back at my transition from receivers to separates, I would expect you to hear just the sorts of things you mention. I've actually got some comments in my 7500 review (see my sig for the link) about the subtle improvements it offered over my other separate amps - you're likely to experience more of the same from a receiver-to-amps upgrade. And since the AVR 235 has pre-amp outputs , you'll have no problem adding a separate amp .

Thanks a lot guys and sorry for the delay in my response. I should be placing an order soon.

Do you guys have any suggestions for speaker wire since I'm going to run the wire straight from the amp to the speakers?

I'm currently using rather thin Monster XP wire, should I opt for something more beefy? :p

I have a spool of Monster MCX-1s wire, but would that be suitable?

According to the title of this thread, you have 7500 questions. Since you are only on your second post, you have some work to do.

I personally do not believe in high-priced, high-end, speaker wire. I get most of my cables from www.cablesforless.com. I have also heard many forum members favor bluejeanscables.com.

Both CablesForLess and Blue Jeans Cables are good sources for quality speaker cable. That Monster MCX-1 (if it's what I'm thinking of) would probably work well, too - can you tell what gauge it is?

Thanks again, though I'm getting cold feet.

Unsure if a pair of 2200s just for the mains would suffice instead.

Okay, here's another question.

Considering my receiver and speaker set-up, and the fact I'm most likely never going 7.1, only 5.1 for moderately sized room:

Model 990/Model 7075 Combo: $1600 (ditching the receiver and going total seperates with 25 more watts to spare than my current receiver)

vs.

Model 7500: $1600 (200W of straight-up diesel power ( :p ) but keeping my receiver as the processor)

Though for $200 more bucks I could snag the 990/7125 combo...

Decisions, Decisions...

Either the 990/7075 or 990/7125 will give you:

• More power/headroom
  
  Two extra channels for future options: bi-amping your mains, stereo zone elsewhere, the unexpected 7.1/7.2 fever
  
  The 990 combos have a sonic performance that rivals much more expensive units

Assuming the BA specs are correct with regard to sensitivity (93dB @ 1 watt), you wouldn't need 200 wpc unless your planning to have 'weekend dance club' on a regular basis. If you can swing the extra $200 (you've checked B-stock?), the 7125 will be worth it.

I'm going to go with bestbang4thebuck here - either the 990/7075 or 990/7125 combo would be a great combo, probably yielding more overall sonic benefits than adding an amp alone. Also, when you get the combo you could put the HK on eBay or somewhere similar and sell it if you want (might help pay for the extra $200 to get the 7125) or have it to use somewhere else...

Thanks guys. You all have really helped make my decision a lot clearer.

I'll probably opt for the 990/7125 combo before the Spring Promo dateline.

If you can think of anymore suggestions or advice tidbits, I'd greatly appreciate hearing them.

Guys, I just noticed the 990 and my current H/K receiver share the same 32-Bit CS-49400 Crystal DSP. Wouldn't that make upgrading to the 990 rather pointless?

Certainly not - the DSP chip is merely one small piece of the overall puzzle. The sound quality is going to owe more to the D/A converter than the DSP chip, for example.