Bugbitten,

I think your ears will hear a difference if you replace your Denon 3805 with a 990 versus changing your amplification. I had a Pioneer Elite 43TX which may be similar to your Denon. I originally ordered the 990 with five M2200s but for various reasons sent the 2200s back to Outlaw (great customer service I might add). I then found a deal on an ATI2005 (very close cousin of the 7500) just before the release of the 7500.

I compared the 990/5-2200 setup to the Pioneer using 5 2200s; the 990 was significantly better (clarity, dialog, surround speaker use, etc) than the Pioneer as a pre/pro. I will say the 2200s did improve the sound of the Pioneer as a pre/pro over its internal amps, however it did not have the "wow" factor of when the 990 was used. I can't say for sure that the difference between the pre/pro attributes of the Denon and 990 are that significant; maybe someone has done the same comparison with your Denon that I did with the Pioneer.

Later when I got the ATI2005 I compared the Pioneer to the 990/2005 combo and as I expected the 990/2005 was a huge improvement over the Pioneer.

There was a three month gap between when I sent the 2200s back to Outlaw and I got the 2005 so I can't report on a head-to-head comparison between the 2200s and the ATI2005. There may be a difference in the sound quality between the 7500 and the 2200s but my impression is that the 990 was the significant contributor to improved sound. My recollection is that there was not any real difference between the amps, they were both just so much better than the Pioneer when used with the 990.