in musing about this thread, i think scale is almost completely irrelevant when a designer seeks to push the state of the art. IF scale was such a big concern the high end as we know it would certainly not exist. Its clear to me that RV can afford any amplifier and he has access to some if the best certainly he tends to show with Brinkmann, ARC, Aesthetix, DAG, Ayre and VTL, but certainly there are others. My understanding is he built the 7 because he wanted more. The 5 is an attempt to bring the price down and deliver most of the 7 capability. Is it a niche product ? with absolute certainty. Is it sweet sounding with Quattro, etc..sure. Ultimate value is in the eye of the beholder.
back to the music, I got an absolutely fantastic direct metal master Buddy Miller disc to spin....