I am currently looking to upgrade my my receiver. I currently have the Onkyo 747. I am looking for opions if this is a good upgrade? Here are some of the 747 specs..

90 W/ch, continuous at 8 ohms 20Hz-20kHz, 0.08% THD
Surround mode: 80 W/ch (front L/R/center), 40 W/ch (surround L/R)
Dolby Digital (AC-3), Lucasfilm Cinema Re-EQ and Timbre Match

JR, the upgrade to the 1050 will be well worth it. You will not regret it. I auditioned the Onkyo when i first began looking for a receiver. What I have found it the Outlaw was more than I found in the Onkyo.

Don't fall for the power ratings like so many do. Take Panasonic, they claim on some of their models that they have 110 x 6 watts per channel. Yeah, and it is also full of distortion.

The 1050 will give you ample power. Go Outlaw all the way.

Don't believe that Onkyo rates their power the same way that Panasonic or some of the other cheap receiver companies do. Onkyo under rates just as much as Outlaw does. For example I have an Onkyo 595 and I was worried that it would not be enough to power my speakers because it is only 75 watts on each channel. Well, no problems here it powers my speakers just fine and I have no problems.

Have an older Onkyo 757, also rated at 75 w/ch. In direct comparison with the Outlaw the 1050 is quite a bit more powerful and articulate. I have noticed all kinds of things on music that went unoticed on the Onkyo. Not sure how it would rate agaist the 797 but I have a feeling that some of these impressions would carry over even if they are matched for power. Onkyo beats it out on bells and whistles, but not on transparent sound.
I also had some trouble with my 1050 after the first week of burn in and was rather upset about having to send it back. When I called them Scott set me at ease very quickly and had a new unit on the way that evening. I was able to keep the old unit until the replacement arrived (1 week). I am now about 1 week into the new burn in phase and so far all is good.
As a Receiver it is the best I have had and inspired new speakers out of me (and more money!!!)
Someday I might go with a pre/pro/amp combo, but until then....

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"Art is not a mirror, but a hammer."

Zed,

What do mean by burning in your 1050? Can a receiver take time to "burn in"? Thanks.

The way I look at it the whole piece of equipment is a sythesis of many parts that do their own things but do something a bit wonderous when working together. As one uses the device various electronic pathways and heat conduction routes come into action over and over again and at first the system needs to becomes stable, which takes time. This could even extend to subtle changes in resistivity, and heat causes changes in the dielecttric values ... All in all, after a week of running, if there are any problems in the sytemic behavior as a whole they should start to show up.
This goes for good speaker cable as well, though its not a matter of problems showing up, just stabilization.
Speakers need break in, which is partly electronic, as above, but also mechanical, dealing with the stress in vibrating membranes, stretching rubber, heat expansion...

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"Art is not a mirror, but a hammer."

I did not say the 747 was better then the Outlaw, matter fact I have never heard the 747. I was comparing the 1050 to the Onkyo 595. Matter of fact I'm to sure where you can still find an 747, is that not an older Onkyo model?

Oops, mine is the older Onkyo model 575, bought about a year and a half ago, and the second Onkyo I have owned. I WILL say that the 1050 blows the 575 away in A/B comparisons, especially in regards musical articulation, transparency, and power. Onkyo's ARE about the best one can expect from Circuit City, but I wouldn't go back to Onkyo from the 1050 until I got to their models that run over $1,000 and even then I think the Onk's "color" the sound a bit and muddle frequencies together in the extreme low and high ranges of frequencies. Some refer to this as the "Onkyo sound". I want my music as pure as possible in the price range.

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"Art is not a mirror, but a hammer."