I don't think I've ever posted a list of what's in my system here, and since I've got a new piece of gear that some people might be interested in I thought I'd go ahead and chime in.

• Surround Processor: Outlaw Model 950
• Amplifiers: Outlaw Model 750 (5x165W), two Model 200's (200W each)
• DVD Player: Yamaha DVD-S1500 (progressive scan universal DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD player)
• DVD Recorder: Panasonic DMR-E80 (DVD-R, DVD-RAM, and 80GB hard drive)
• HD/Digital Cable: Pace Micro DC-550, Time Warner
• TV: Zenith C32V37 (32" 4:3 direct view HDTV with OTA tuner)
• VCR: Panasonic PV-S4566 (Super-VHS)
• Surge Protection: Panamax MAX5100
• Speakers: Paradigm Reference Studio/60v2 (mains), Studio/CCv2 (center), Studio/ADPv2 (rear surround), Axiom M3ti (side surround)
• Subwoofer: Outlaw LFM-1
• Universal remote: Home Theater Master MX-500

The Yamaha DVD-S1500 DVD player is a new addition, and one that I've been waiting on for many months now (it was originally due in March and has been listed as "available in May 2004" on Yamaha's site since May). Analog playback of DVD-Audio, SACD, and CD is very good; I've been tending to use stereo bypass mode for CD listening rather than using the 950's DACs, as there is a slightly better sound. Be careful, though, as CD's listened to through the multichannel outputs will get Pro Logic II processing if the player is set up for multichannel playback - you've got to use the stereo analog output to avoid that (or set the player to stereo output, which downmixes multichannel DVD-A and SACD material). As a small but pleasant touch, the on screen interface for playback of CD's, SACD's, and MP3 CD-R's is nicer than other DVD players I've used, including support for CD text and ID3 tags that lists full track information for the song being played. Video performance has been excellent - my DVD recorder is also a progressive scan player, but the S1500 embarrasses it in comparison. For the first time since I got an HDTV back in May, good DVD transfers finally can start to rival HD content. In fact, the only weaknesses I've found have been small interface quirks. One is the front panel display, which is too small and simplified for its own good: it only has room for either the time counter or the title and chapter numbers, not both, so each time a new title or chapter starts the display switches briefly from " 0:14:23" (or whatever the time is) to "01 003" (or whatever the title and chapter numbers are). The other quirk is the transport control on the remote - there are no dedicated fast forward and rewind buttons, so you have to hold down the |<< and >>| buttons for a couple seconds. So far, though, those two interface quirks are the only complaints I have about it.

Thanks for the review of the S1500 Yamaha. It is still not available in my area and I was hesitant to buy it on the grey market. It seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. I don't know if it will best my Classe CD player (an older one). Thanks!

I've just recently made a change to my system (see the edited list in my previous post) - replacing a Parasound HCA-800 Mk II that had been giving me some trouble with a pair of Model 200 monoblocks. The M200's are driving my mains, and the Model 750 is handling the center and all four surrounds. So far it's been a great upgrade. The M200's match up with the 750 very nicely, and the back surrounds are much happier being on the 750.

Hi gonk, now we have the same amps configuration, so how did you connect the four surround and the center to the 750 amp, i remeber a post about the 770 amp about the distribution of the 2 torroidal transformers, but since the 750 amp only have one, those it really have a difference where you connect the speakers?

I don't think it would make any difference at all with the 750. In my case, I have the center and surrounds connected to the channels marked for use with those speakers (surrounds on the left looking at the rear panel and the center one over from the right) plus the rear surrounds connected to the channels marked for the mains (the far right and middle channels looking at the rear channel), simply because it was the easiest way to switch rear surround and main channel amplification.

I connect the center channel in the predefined position, the surrounds in the mains an the back surrounds in the surrounds in the 750 amp.

That's probably how I would do it if I were starting from scratch - it makes sense to me from a "what does the label actually correspond to" standpoint. As it was, it took me over an hour of wrestling with the entertainment center just to swap mains and rear surrounds, so I didn't try to change anything else.