I recently hooked up my new 7500 (A-stock) along with a new Onkyo PR-SC5509 processor. I was using a receiver before.

One thing I was curious about is the power-up process. I turn the processor+source on first then the amp. Doing this I get sound to the speakers in one second (with a relay click), but it takes another 28 seconds for the LED to switch from orange to blue (with a corresponding 2nd relay click). If the amplifier is going through a protection-circuit sequence during those 29 (total) seconds, why are the speaker outputs connected right away?

I also get occasional transient pops through the speakers during operation. Not often - just a couple per hour or so. That's not something I experienced before the new equipment. Have other owners experienced this?