I was in Vince's position almost a year ago before the 7500 came out. I was deciding among the Outlaw 755, Anthem MCA-50 and Rotel RMB-1095, all 5 x 200 W/channel amps. All three were quite acceptable. The differences were small, as they should be for well-designed solid state amps of similar power. I was getting a pretty good price break from the Anthem dealer (unlike the Rotel dealer) but the MCA-50 was still going to cost a few hundred more than the 755. I chose the Anthem for a number of reasons. It has balanced inputs; the 755 did not. A power amp should be useful for a long time, and I wanted the possibility of balanced inputs in the future even though I am happy with unbalanced 0.5-m Outlaw cables for now. It is hard to imagine anything can be more quiet than the 990 with the MCA-50. I would describe the 755's bass being controlled and tight (some have described it as a little lean), and the Rotel as just the opposite, somewhat full or warm. I found the Anthem's bass to fall between the Outlaw and Rotel (just right?). I like crystal clear highs with no sizzle and found the Anthem revealed details in some recordings that I did not hear with the other amps and that human voices sounded just a liittle more like real voices than recordings of voices. That all being said, without very careful side-by-side comparisons, the differences are small, and I admit I might horribly fail a blind A/B/X test. I am still happy with my decision.

Though I tend to be skeptical of "audiophile" adjectives, and I have not heard any of the new Outlaw amps, some of the descriptions I have read elsewhere and on this forum (you say Steve described them as sweet sounding) lead me to believe the 7500 may have moved somewhat in the direction of the kind of sound the MCA-50 has, so I would encourage you to try them out as I did and judge for yourself. Who knows, with the balanced inputs in the 7500, I might choose it over the Anthem if I were making the choice today.

I am glad to hear the results of your conversations with Steve. I bought the 990 along with a few hundred dollars worth of cables, and tried out and returned the 755. I exchanged a few phone calls and emails with Steve and Scott before and after purchase and they were very helpful. I am looking forward to the 990 software update, and hope they can address a couple of my favorite issues.