hey guys; another newbie question about all this.... I am married and if the boss (wife) has to turn on one more electronic gadget she will flip out! Right now; its very simple so I don't receive the dredded call... this thing isn't working!!!! We just hit M1; it turns e/thing on and M2 turns e/thing off!! So, since the 7700 and most other amps are not IR compatible... what is the workaround here? Meaning; am I missing something? How do you guys incorporate your amps (whether they are 7700 or not) into your set up? Right now the family uses the MX-500 from Universal Remote Control. Maybe, since the amp is connected via the trigger... it should just power up in theory when the receiver comes on? (so the remote issue; may not be an issue after all) Hopefully this makes sense.

Thanks again!

Amps are not IR compatible. Instead, they typically rely on a 12V trigger of some sort. Your Onkyo 805 does not offer a IR output that could trigger the 7700 (well, it has a 12V trigger, but it's for zone 2 only, which does you no good). On the other hand, it does have a switched AC outlet on the back, and you can get an AC adapter at Radio Shack that produces a DC signal high enough to trip the 7700's trigger. That way, any time the 805 is on, the amp is also on.

My wife deemed our old MX-500 remote to be the best upgrade we ever made - the M1 "turn it all on" and M2 "turn it all off" macros and the "FIXTV" button that I created for each video device (which would "fix" the TV's video input if it got messed up by accident) were instrumental in that statement. She is even more fond of the MX-700 that we're using now.

Hi,

Thxs for the reply; I realized the limitations on the Onkyo 805; however... when I spoke with Onkyo about the zone 2 question they indicated it really doesn't matter that it is labeled zone 2... it would work as a trigger for zone one. I will follow up with them again.

According to the 805's manual, the trigger "goes low" (to use their term) and ceases to output a signal whenever the second zone is off. That means that you would not be able to use it effectively as a zone one trigger. That's what pages 102 and 105 indicate.

gonk,

ok lets say that is correct; how does the AC adapter work? This entire process is becoming alot of work!!! How would I be able to incorporate this into my system... Thxs again!!

The AC converter plugs into the back of your Onkyo. It has a 12v 3.5mm cable that plugs into your amp.

When the Onkyo is on, the converter sends signal to the 12v cable turning on the amp, when the Onkyo is off it stops the signal and your amp turns off.

Alternatively, you can just leave the amp on all the time.

Home theater systems today can be a bit messy to set up (was just talking about that today with a co-worker who was in Best Buy over the weekend looking at TV's), but this is actually not a difficult trick. BloggingITGuy's description is right on target - $15 or so from Radio Shack can get you what you need. After the two-year-old goes to sleep, I'll see if I can find a link to one.

Page 8 of the 7700's manual touches on this process (just so you know we're not doing anything crazy here). The old Model 750 manual (Outlaw's original multichannel amp) says something similar and even mentions a specific Radio Shack part number, but that number no longer works. Instead, I did a couple searches at RadioShack.com. I don't know if there's an easier "all-in-one" solution than what I found at Radio Shack, but this will work. Here's what I found.

First, get an AC adapter like this one , and then get a 3.5mm "type F" Adaptaplug like this to go with it. First, turn the amp on manually. Then attach the plug to the end of the AC adapter's cord, plug the AC adapter into the accessory outlet on the 805, and plug the other end into the 7700's trigger connection. Once that is all done, the amp will turn on any time the 805 is on and turn off any time the 805 turns off.

OK; Thanks alot guys for ALL your help yesterday! And Gonk; thanks for the links!! This will definitely help me make my decision! And should keep the boss happy!

I will keep you all posted as to the outcome/purchase, etc.

Thxs again!!!!!!!!

Guys, what is the difference between the 7200 and 7700? THe specs look to be the same? For $300 more; why is the 7700 more expensive?

Thxs!