Does anyone have their 7500 startup sequence go like this:
990 starts and sends signal to 7500.
7500 starts and outputs sound to speakers in about 3 seconds.
Blue power on light on 7500 comes on 30 seconds after start from 990.

Great sound but a little odd at startup. Should I be concerned?

I figured I'd chime in on this thread too. Just got my 7500 late yesterday. All I can say is 'wow'. I've moved up the Outlaw 'ladder' of amps; starting with the 7075, then the 7125, and now the 7500. Each time I've upgraded I've noticed a definite improvement in detail. I'd sold my 7125 about 6 months ago and bought a low end HDMI receiver so I could hook up all my disc players with one cable. While it was nice for movies, the audio sq left a lot to be desired. My original plan was to wait til the 997 came out and buy it in combo with another 7125 or maybe a 7500. When the Outlaws announced their latest B-stock sale I decided I couldn't stand listening to audio on the receiver any longer and jumped on a 7500 and sold the receiver. I'm happy I decided on it vs. the 7125. My wife and I listened to one of her favorite CD's last night and we both remarked about details in the music we'd never heard before. At present I'm running the Oppo direct to the 7500 and will decide on a preamp down the road (though my kids are already missing their surround sound for movies). BTW..I've not noticed any hum or hiss.

I am just getting into Home Theater and have a number of questions. I have found this forum to be a great learning tool ... so thx gang.

Re: Og33's comment about running the OPPO directly into the 7500 and the lack of surround sound, I realize that without the pre/pro, the finer points of bass management, room / speaker correction, device switching, etc. would not be available, but wouldn't the 5.1 analog outputs from the OPPO disc player provide basic surround sound when connected directly to the amplifier?

My current plan is to enter the HT arena with a new OPPO BDP-83 (assuming near term availability), an Outlaw 7700, and eventually the Outlaw 997 (expecting longer time to delivery) ... what can I expect from a direct OPPO BDP-83 connection to the Outlaw 7700 amp for the short term (while waiting for the 997)?

The 980H that Og33 is using and the BDP-83 both offer a few things that are essential to connecting directly to an amp: volume control (something that many DVD players lack but is critical to allowing this arrangement to work), bass management (fixed 80Hz crossover, so it's not exactly sophisticated, but it's there), channel trim, speaker delays (albeit less sophisticated than a surround receiver or processor would normally offer), and Pro Logic II processing (enabled in a setup menu, not as easily controlled as with a surround receiver or processor). As Og33 notes, it means your home theater has exactly one surround sound source available (no way to use a cable or satellite receiver, media player, or game console with your amp and speakers).

Gonk is right on as usual. I've done this before with the Oppo and a 7125. It's a 'cheap' way to get by until selecting a pre/pro, but you're limited to using the Oppo, period. At this point, I'm using the Oppo for 2 channel CD playback only. In the coming week I may play around with connecting my surrounds and sub. I've gotten used to watching regular DVD's on my Toshiba HD player as I think it does a better job upconverting than the Oppo.

Gonk / og33,

Thanks for the responses.

Given the capabilities of the OPPO BDP-83, I think my approach will be to purchase the BDP-83 (when available) and direct connect it to the Amp for surround sound for all discs and then run my cable box (SA 8300HD - same as gonk) into a second HDMI connection on my Sony 50XBR LCD RPTV, and use the TV sound system (not great, but OK) until the Outlaw 997 becomes available.

A second question on amplification: I currently have NHT VT2's (towers with side firing 10" "sub-woofers") powered by a Classe CA-150 Amp, which I use for 2 channel audio only. I have been pleased with the NHT VT2's and plan to use them in the home theater set-up (I therefore purchased an NHT Classic 2C Centre, and four NHT Classic 2 speakers as side and rear surrounds at a good price before NHT goes Tango Uniform). My intent is to purchase an Outlaw 7700 to drive the top half of the VT2's, the Centre and the Surrounds, and use the Classe to biamp the "subwoofers" on the lower half of the VT2's (will probably need an outboard active crossover - more reading to do on this topic). A less expensive alternative might be to buy the 7500 and use the Classe for the rear surrounds.

My question is will I see a significant advantage with the VT2's biamped or is the 7500 scenario (noted above) a better solution (as background my listening room is 11.5 FT x 26.0 FT with screen and LCR to be set up on the short wall facing the 26.0 FT length of the room)? Look forward to your comments .... Thx.

WW,
You could certainly try biamping, but in my experience, I've never noticed what I would call a significant improvement in sq by doing so. I'm sure there are others here that will have the opposite opinion. I guess you won't know til you try and see what you experience. If you don't you may always wonder what you've been missing and want to upgrade!

The 'biamping" arrangements on speakers I've looked at appear to only split the passive crossover into two sections that can then be powered by separate amps. This probably helps some by isolating interactions between the low-pass and high-pass sections, but real gains in performance come from eliminating the passive crossover altogether and using an active crossover with multiple amps. So far as I can tell, that would require getting inside the speaker cabinet and disconnecting the passive crossover, or at least the section that is going to be replaced by an active crossover (in case of more than two-way), and wiring the back panel jacks straight to the drivers. Otherwise, using an active crossover will put the active in series with the passive crossover in the speaker cabinet which gains nothing. With passive crossovers, the lower the frequency of the crossover, the bigger the inductors, and big inductors create all sorts of sound quality issues. It's a credit to passive crossover designers that they get them to work satisfactorily at all.

I am biamping my B&W HTM center channel speaker now with a single stereo Threshold s200 Stasis amp, but as you noted, that still uses the passive crossover built into the speaker. There is an external set of jumpers on the 5 way binding posts on the back of the B&W's that can be removed to break the internal connection between the woofer and tweeter.

I have gone the complete biamp route with a pair of Magnepan MG3a's a number of years back. The crossover for those is in an external box rather than being inside the speaker, so it can be entirely removed from the audio path if desired.

I used a NIKKO brand external electronic crossover in that application. It was hooked up between the preamp output and the power amp inputs. I used a pair of Threshold s200 Stasis amps with excellent results that improved on the sound delivered using the magnepan passive crossovers.

I still have that Nikko crossover sitting in it's box in my storage room. I don't have a use for it at the momenyt but it is far too nice of a piece to get rid of, and new high end electronic crossovers are rare and rather costly.

Similar to the B&Ws, as mentioned by Strindl, the NHT VT-2's have a strap connecting two separate sets of binding posts; one for the subwoofer (side facing lower) and one for the upper range (dual woofer/ tweeter). My intention is to use NHT's outboard active crossover unit (X2) and use my Classe amp for the subs and the Outlaw for the Uppers.

Strindl ... you indicated that you were pleased with the results of biamping (on the Magnepans), but could you elaborate on the sound differences / improvements that you noticed. ... Thx.

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