My experience has been slightly different than ZoFo's. In 2002 I purchased the 950/770 combo. Nothing but praise for the 770, very high quality build and not 1 seconds problem. The 950 not so much, very finicky from the beginning and only lasted about 6 years before dying. I was very disappointed that a $900 processor only lasted that long so I really questioned the build quality. Decided to buy an Emotiva MMC-1, no problems in the past 3 years, build quality was way up from the 950, sound quality also seemed to improve, price was way less than the 950.
If the 770 died today I would replace with the Outlaw 7700, great product. Never owned an Emotiva amp so no opinion.
If the MMC-1 died today I would purchase another one used, I like it that much.