Hi, newbie here and potentially an outlaw-owner. My quandry is that I'm upgrading my HT system and I'm not sure what to do...

I've already upgraded the speakers (dynaudio 52SE L+R; 122C centre; 42 rear; sub500 subwoofer); even with my old NAD receiver (T770) it sounds great but there's gotta be more in in it, judging from what I heard at the shop.

Sooooo.... Tempted by all the good reviews, I'm considering going the least expensive way by opting for a 1070. What would be the performance gain compared to the NAD? Or, is it worth going the whole hog and go for a 970 with 7125?

Part of the problem is that both solutions are 7 channels when I really only need 5. In the case of the pre/power combo I can use the channels to drive a couple of speakers in the kitchen, but it doesn't appear it's possible to re-assign the integrated poweramps of the 1070.

OK, I realize this is perhaps not the right forum, and may even border on sheer heresy, but I've been looking at NAD also. Their T773 is on offer for a little over $1000.00 with 110W continuous, all channels driven simultanuously (and re-assign the poweramps); looks good value too.

NAD I can audition, Outlaw not, so curious to hear from anyone with direct experience with recent exmaples of both brands.

First priority is music; including multi-channel music DVDs; movies 2nd.

Recommendations, thoughts?

Many thanks in advance.