I thought of that but, assuming that the MA700s and the 755 have slightly different listening characteristics this would be contrary to my goal of keeping the front soundstage balanced for movies. The 3 MA700s across the front would allow me to do something like this by keeping the 755 off for two channel music. However, I'll see which ones sound best in the final analysis.

Also, remember that an amp doesn't draw that much power (Class A amps excepted) when at idle. True, since the 755 is a Class AB device there would be some current draw, but nothing too excessive. And some would argue that it's better to use the amps more rather than less overall as well.

Finally, I'm hoping that the 755 outperfroms (or at least matches) the MA700s because then I can save a bit of shelf space by removing one MA700 right now. One of the advantages of monoblocks is that there is greater flexibility installing them whereas a big box like the 755 is either there or it's not.

And, of course, the final configuration will be all about sound. I hope to have some answers later today if all goes well.