A/V Processor and Amp for B&W speakers?

Yes it's true that the Oppo is basically a self-contained HT processor.  However, it's great that you caught that "single HDMI input" limitation.  I was going to mention that.

The Outlaw does not have bi-amping.  I wouldn't normally bi-amp unless you had an out-board analog crossover.  That's really the only true benefit to bi-amping (but you would need to modify internal speaker crossovers).  Also, bi-amping in processors can frequently degrade sound quality because of the way they automatically try to do bi-amping signal differences.

You could always do a Y-Cable, but then you are affecting the amplifier input impedance.  The Monolith has more than enough power to drive your B&W speakers without bi-amping.

As far as the 5-channel vs. 7-channel.  The 7-channel has bigger transformers, so it's possible that it would give you slightly more power in the bass/midbass area, especially if you don't connect the last 2 channels.  It's up to you.  It's basically a $230 price option, so it depends on your budget.

I don't know if you noticed, but I typoed the price for the 5-channel.  It should be $1500.  NOT $5100, lol.

One thing about the Outlaw is that the menu/setup is somewhat cumbersome.  It takes about 3-5 seconds to bring up the menu and it blanks out the audio/video.  It pretty much treats the menu system as a completely separate source.  It doesn't have OSD overlay like every other processor.  But you can configure it and the performance is quite good.

Scratching bi-amping, then the X5 model makes sense to me. With thanksgiving round the corner is it worth waiting for some discount or do these items rarely get discounted?

Point taken on the Outlaw useability, other reviews have similar comments, but once setup it should be fine.

Monoprice also have a good reputation for cables so I was thinking of these:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33837

Thanks again for all the help.

kevin

Those Monoprice Monolith cables look to be pretty good for the price ($60 for 1 meter pair).

Other candidates I would recommend would be a couple from Audio Advisor (www.audioadvisor.com):

- Pangea TrueBalanced XLR-to-XLR ($99 for 1 meter pair).

- Kimber PBJ ($132 for 1 meter pair).


Alternatively, keep your eye out for some used Audioquest XLR cables.  There's a pair of King Cobra on ebay for $95.

Then I could also get a factory refurbished Emotiva XMC-1 for $1,199?

I've tested the XMC-1 in my system.  It's not bad per say, but the sound is rather closed in.  It lacks dynamics/clarity.  I kept trying to turn it up, but I felt like it was hard to understand the dialog and the impact just wasn't there.  It's a well engineered processor and has Dirac room correction (if that's important).  Really the only better thing that the XMC offers is automated Dirac room correction.  The op amps are rather slow and don't have good power supply capacitance around them. It also uses switching power supply.  However, the menu/usability is probably a lot better than Outlaw.

The Outlaw has linear power supplies for all analog and DAC sections.  It has a lot of capacitors mounted right at the op amps and, in my opinion, uses better op amps.  I think the midrange impact and clarity and "separation of instruments" is going to be better on the Outlaw.