This is not a fair comparison as one is a integrated amp. the other mono amps. which by the way are much more expensive. Just comparing the amps. the MC501 is a fully balanced ie quad balanced, so it is much quieter than the integrated amp. . The MC501's have individual power supplies and is capable of putting out over 700 watts which is about 6 db louder than the 7000 or another way of thinking about it is more reserve power for producing deep bass . The 7000 is a terrific unit for a smaller system . The MC501 will manhandle just about any speaker. If space is a issue, you are using book shelf speakers or efficient floor standing speakers or do not listen to your music too loud than the 7000 will do fine. If you want to fill a decent size room with sound, you are picky and want a more realistic sound stage with terrific bass, you plan on upgrading the pre amp or want to combine a tube pre amp with the solid state amp. or want to use the built in pre amp in the MCD500 or MCD301 than get the MC501's . Midrange and high's are similar in flavor. A better comparison to the 7000 would be the MC252 or MC402 .
