750 questions

I was just thinking that I wanted to get the 750 but have some meaningful questions. The amps in my onkyo 787 are adequate, but the 750 would dominate. The questions that I have are during stereo listening, the onkyo would be the pre-amp. When the 750 is in two channel mode will the other channels stay on or do they turn off? Do they turn on when you automatically hit Dolby digital or dts? What kind of inter-connects did you guys decide on using? I was thinking about getting the monster cable mkII audio inter-connects?
Well, hopefully somebody can help me out.
I am in the process of saving for this beast.

I'm not sure about the first question (whether all of the channels are "on" when the amp is on even if they have no signal coming in), but I can offer the beginnings of some thoughts on interconnects. I started a thread in the 1050 feedback section just recently asking folks who own both the 1050 and the 750 what sort of interconnects they use, so you might keep an eye on that thread. Since I'm also preparing to order a 750, I've been wondering about interconnects. Having used and been somewhat disappointed in Monster Cables (Interlink 250 and Interlink 400 Mk2), I'm looking to some alternatives myself -- either the forthcoming Outlaw PCA "short stack" interconnects, or BetterCables (www.bettercables.com), or TMC White Label or Yellow Label cables (www.the-music-cable.com). I'm still trying to determine what I'm going to end up using, though. Best of luck.

I asked your question in a slightly different way in a recent exchange with Scott in Outlaw Customer Service. I asked how much current the 750 draws in idle, ie: when no signal is being driven from any channels. Here's the response:

"The Model 750 uses five separate bias circuits that could draw as much as 100
watts in standby mode."

The way I understand it, there is no mechanism by which the 750 could know that it is receiving DD or DTS, the only signals it sees are analog preamp output on each of it's 5 channels.

There are some amplifier designs that automatically power up a channel upon receiving a signal and shut down after a certain amount of time without a signal but I have only seen that design used in Subwoofers.

Re: Interconnects, I started with Moster Interlink 250 and switched to Audioquest after breaking the RCA connector on two of the Monster cables. I am very satisfied with the build quality and sound I get with the Audioquest. Specifically I'm using the Sidewinder for my sub connection and Copperhead for the rest. I got a good price at www.AudioAdvisor.com