I recently A-B'ed some 501s against the 6900 fully planning and expecting to buy a 7000 (dealer didn't have one to listen to). There was so much difference in the sound that I had to rule out the integrateds. Maybe the 7000 is there in sound but I wasn't going to risk it at the price they want. The 7000 had better be considerably better than the 6900 or else it's a no-brainer to go with separates. I bought a 402 and I'm very happy with it. Lately everytime I listen I think how does this sound... the treble, the bass, and then after about 10 seconds I forget about that and become involved in the music. The 402 is seductive in that way.