Upgrade to 7700 worth it?

Hi,
I've been shopping for amps for a few months and have visited Outlaw's site many times.
Recently I found the 7700 on special and am tempted to go for it.
I need a few questions answered if possible.
Presently I'm using an Onkyo NR-TX808 at 135 wpc (two channels driven into 8ohms) on my system which consists of Polk LSi15's in front, LSiC center and LSi7's for surrounds. All 4 ohm speakers.
My question is.. will I see much difference going from 135 wpc to 200 wpc?

I had been limiting my search to amps that doubled the 135 wpc rating of the Onkyo but the 7700 seems like a great deal at the price.

thanks

James

Is it really 135 WPC on all channels driven or just two channels? Outlaw specs its amps at all channels driven to give you an honest idea of their power output. Many receivers are spec'd with two or even one channel driven. It helps to compare apples to apples. Bear in mind that doubling the power of your amp will not result in a doubling of the volume output. It will provide more headroom for the amps response but only increase output by 3 db SPL. If the Onkyo honestly puts out 135 WPC I would not expect a huge change from the 7700. However, I would be surprised in it is rated at real world watts and not showroom watts.

No doubt about it, you will. Mainly because the Polk LSis are VERY hard speakers to drive. The difference is you will be seeing 300 since they are 4 ohm, and it will be an honest 300. I thought I had seen a test of an Onkyo receiver specifcally specing at 130 W and then only putting 60 into 4 ohms...

I use a 7700 with all LSi speakers as well...

Let me take a stab at this one.

I have an Onkyo 906 which is rated at 145w x 7. It has a "massive toroidal transformer." I put this in quotations because that is what Onkyo boasts. I now use the Onkyo as a pre/pro waiting to purchase a (guess what). The 906 now just runs my surround backs.

My main power drive is the 7500. I did a bit of research and found the 7500 in a test review to have been bench tested at 240wpc ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN at Outlaw's .03 THD rating. In short the 7500 throws down the hammer like a Veyron. If you have seen the transformers on the 7500/7700 amps they are truly MASSIVE in a massive way. The 7700, which you are inquiring about, makes the toroidal transformer on my 906 look like my Acura TL's (a nice car) 3.2l v6 engine which compares to the 7500's power plant which is likened to a Lamborghini Aventador. Ok so the Veyron is the 7900 but you get the message.

There is no way that my Onkyo can produce the 145 x 7 all channels driven. The 906 AVR can probably push no more than 80wpc all channels driven at best and probably more like 65 to 70wpc. The AVR I own has 4 output devices per channel, the 7500/7700 have 12 output devices per channel. Compare the 18000mf total capacitance of the 7 channel Onkyo 906 to the 210000mf capacitance of the 7 channel 7700. Compare the amount of heatsink on a flagship AVR to the amound of heatsink on these amps per channel. The 906 has a heatsink that serves all channels. The 7500/7700 have heatsinks that serve EACH channel. In short the 7700 is a multichannel monoblock.

The damping factor, which controls the dynamic suspension of the speaker drivers, is huge on the amps but small on the AVRs. I can take the powerful 906 AVR and easily run it to it's limit on powerful program material. The 7700 will have practically UNLIMITED power. No matter how hard you may want to drive it, the 7700 will perform with the specified .03 THD and that is every channel firing at once. Even when one or two channels are firing the AVRs will run out of breath and heat up. Not so for the amps which if you remember have huge reserves via "bottomless pit" capacitance.

Buy the 7700 and report back how you have NO REGRETS.

All the best.

I have been listening to my new 7700 for 2 nights now. Upgraded from a Rotel 125wpc and the difference has left me grinning like a fool. Although the Rotel is a very decent amp, holy crap, what a difference a little more power can make. My Axioms are loving it.

So, without hesitation, NO REGRETS!

I've had my 7700 for about 6 weeks now and I would have to say my only complaint is I'm spending too much time jamming out. Now I want to upgrade all my speakers. I save a lot of time not constantly getting up to see how hot my denon was getting. This will let u know your not over stressing your component. Take the jump. You'll be set for the future.

The 7700 will be good for driving very expensive speakers. Don't need Krell or McIntosh for 5 channel movie watching.

I drive two Maggies with my 7500 and I have seen a steady 760 watts as an output into those speakers without a blip from the 7500. Now bear in mind that the 4 ohm rating is 300 WPC all channels driven. That rating is based on the ability of the transformer to output that much power to all 5 channels at once. Driving only two channels from the same machine provides a lot more available transient power than the rating would suggest.

Xenonman in Bluray.com I have taken pictures of my Home Theatre and have an extensive amount of the 7500 with the lid off. Those transformers are absolutely huge and the amount of heatsink is massive, as well as the capacitance. The 300 watt rating on 4 ohms is conservative. This amp in 8 ohms has been bench tested at 240wpc all channels driven at Outlaw's .03 THD rating. The 7500/7700 amps are practically invincible and contain seemingly unlimited power.