Hey guys,

I changing out some gear in the next week or so and wanted some much needed advice. Pullout out my old 990 pre/pro and Pioneer BDP51 Blu Ray player and older Panny AX100 PJ. I use a Outlaw 7700 amp which is remaining.

New equipment going in, Epson 5020UB PJ, Oppo 103 and Marantz AV7005. I run 5 Klipch speakers older KLF series, 2 sunfire subs. I am going to run the 7.1 from Oppo to the Marantz. Just wondering;

Some basic settings to start with? Any help would be appreciated, suggestions etc. Thanks much in advance.

I would really like to hear what you think of the AV7005...I have been thinking of the same swap (I have 990/7500) I recently purchased an Oppo BDP-103;I have it connected to the 990 via 7.1 analog outputs, HDMI out directly to the Samsung Plasma. The sound is fantastic, i.e., BluRay movies, and especially SACD's. Video is great and, also, all streaming services are available and nice to have....

In the Oppo speaker configuration menu, I set all speakers to large, 7.1 down mix (I also have a B&K ST202 2-channel amp hooked up to my 990, for my rear surrounds). I don't know if that is proper setup for 7.1 analog, but remember reading online somewhere that that would be best way to do it....I would assume that the 990 would take care of bass management.

You may find good info at AVS Forum in the Oppo BDP-103 users thread.

Going to have it all set up in a few days I hope, depending on time and I will report back some settings. Thanks. Was hoping to find someone to give me settings to start with.

Good luck with the new "toys"...
It will be interesting to see how the AV7005 compares to the performance you had with the 990. I think you will like the changes when you are through with the setup.

I just purchased the AV7005, which arrived today and have an OPPO 103 and the Outlaw 7700. I replaced my Poineer Elite reciever (sorry didn't own a 990) with this unit and I can tell you after setting it up "what a difference". Not that the Pio was bad but it wasn't anywhere as clear and clean sounding as the AV7005. Trust me you're going to love this setup and I say that after only spending 8 hours with it! Even the wife noticed the clarity, as she called it "crystal clear". And great dynamics too! Again my Pio was very good here also but the added clarity is a home run!

Some things I noticed. In order to use the on-screen overlay you have to use the video conversion feature in the AV7005, being anchor bay it ain't too bad but the new OPPO 103 is better...this isn't an issue with my PVR or HTPC as I use this feature anyways. Without it you still get on screen but it's not overlay as it blanks the screen to see the text. But you need video conversion to see the volume on-screen. I also noticed if you pause the OPPO for more than a few minutes then press play the video continues but there is no audio, I have an email into Outlaw about this issue. I found if you reselect the HDMI input the audio works again. The wife gets up in the middle of movies alot so I use the pause more than most, YMMV.

As for this upgrade, I say "don't hesitate"! You'll be glad you did, I know I am

Just noticed I didn't update my signature...all good now.

Sorry for my eariler gush but...I really like the new setup!

I also tried the analog outs from the OPPO 103 vs the HDMI but couldn't really tell any difference...as long as you don't use Audessey with HDMI. Then there is a difference, you may like it or not, most people don't with music. The OPPO 105 has much better analogs for music.

As for setting use the following, a tape measure and an SPL meter...here you can run Audessey then use the measurements, note the subs are usually farther away than reality, so you'll need to measure these for the analog setup. Make sure you set all you speakers to "small" and crossovers to 1 octave higher than your speakers are rated, ie: if they say 40 to 20k then between 60 and 80 for your crossover....this will give you a good blend for bass. Once you have your speaker measured to the nearest .1 ft (from your listening position) use the spl meter to equal the other speakers to the front left speaker in volume. Do the same with your subs except don't set each to the same volume as the rest. Here you need to sum them, usually about - 3 or -4 bd each (to left front) will get you close. After that sit back and enjoy your music.

Zuter-

Thanks for your posts...Good to hear the great report. Have you noticed any hum from your Outlaw amp with the AV7005? I have seen a few instances where people have had hum/ground loop issues with the Outlaw 7700 or 7500 amps....I think it is mostly due to isolated conditions with the users setup location/home or wiring conditions. this has been one of the drawbacks that have made me sit on my decision for a while....

If you are careful with your connections and have a good common ground you won't have any ground loop problems. I have the 7125 and 7500 and have reconfigured them several times in and out of my system. They are both dead quiet.

My 990/7500 system is also dead quiet 99% of the time, also...as noted in some other posts, that other 1%, I believe is from a source (power grid/distribution CO.)out of my control. I went thru the gambit with Outlaw support back when I first purchased equip., never could figure it out. It usually happens right around "supper time"; don't do much listening then, anyways.

As an aside, I don't use any power conditioning (wonder if it would help?), just high caliber surge protection.

I find each device has a slight hum but it is dead quiet from my seating position. The only hum I notice is when I'm right next to the equipment. This is no different from my old setup. The hum of each device is very soft, ie: HTPC is the loudest due to fans but I installed 7.5 db fans, passive cooling for CPU and video and replaced the PS with a very low db rating.

I don't use line conditioners either, only a UPS for all devices. I find addressing surges and (better) no or low voltage conditions, which are far more harmful to electronics than surges, the right way for my situation. Just make sure the UPS is designed to regulate voltage at a specific level, not all UPS's are created equal.

In loud hum situations you'd need to do far more than a line conditioner or a good UPS anyways. But then you'd notice this with most electronics in your home already. There are great resources here and elsewhere to address this problem. However if you have no issues currently (pun intended ) I wouldn't think this is isolated to the 7500 or 7700 amps, rather they're exposing your existing wiring issues.