My system consists of a Yamaha RX–A2030 receiver driving a 5.1 system as well as two other stereo zones. The main zone speakers consist of a pair of Paradigm Studio 100s in the front and a Paradigm CC–690 center channel. The two rear speakers are Klipsch in-ceiling speakers which may or may not be staying. I'm considering purchasing a separate amplifier for the left, right and center speakers or possibly for the entire main zone.

The living room where the home theater resides is not a huge space, but it is open to the dining room and the foyer on one side and through a 7 foot archway to the eat-in the kitchen behind the seating positions. The room also has 10.5' ceilings. I am guessing the total volume to be about 4000 to 5000 ft.³.

I'm considering both the 7500 and 7200 amplifiers. I know one difference between the two is inclusion of balanced inputs on the 7500, which I cannot use right now. I also understand the 7500 uses a differential design. Regarding that, can I take full advantage of the differential design if I'll be using the unbalanced inputs? Will the 7500 be noticeably better than the 7200?

The Paradigm speakers are pretty efficient (92 or 93 DB). I probably should have asked this first but would I benefit from 200 Watts per channel or will 125 Watts per channel be sufficient? The 7125's price does seem very attractive. Finally, what do you think of the idea of just using external amplifiers for the front channels and purchasing three M2200s?

Well it's not my money but I would lean towards a 7-channel amplifier and use the 2 amps that aren't being used for the 5.1 for zone 2.

Or are you using some of the extra channel of the Yamaha 9.2 setup for your other zones? It's not clear to me from your email.

I think 125 watts would be enough for a room your size. No experience with the 2200's so I won't comment.

Thanks for your comments. Five channels are being used in the HT System (main zone), two more in the master bedroom (zone 2) and two more on the patio (zone 3). That's all nine channels.

Whether I get a 5 or 7 channel amp I will probably just use the Outlaw for the main zone and use the Yamaha for zones 2 and 3. I have no good reason for not connecting the extra two channels to zone 2 other than it's usually only background music so why run a 7 channel amp for that.