Mcintosh MA6900 or MA7000

All - I appreciate all input received. I ended up with the MA7000, purchased some Monitor AUdio GX-300's and bought a Sim Audio Mood 300D DAC. AFter about 36 hrs, burn-in, I am very pleased. The presentation can only get better from here! Now, should I invest in XLR cables to interconnect the 300D and MA7000?

Congrats on picking up an MA7000. It's a sexy piece to have in the audio rack -that's for sure. As for XLR connections... eh, it's up to you really. Since neither the 300D or MA7000 feature a natively balanced circuit, I can't see them benefiting from this connection in any major way. Still, it's always fun to experiment.(That's what she said?)

Purchased some Tributaries 8AB XLR interconnects - very noticable improvement in detail! Now wondering if I should persue new jumpers for pre out power in...

I've had both. The MA7000 is a much better unit. However, so is the MA6600. Look at that as well.