So some bad news I guess... The honeymoon was short lived.
Yesterday the 7000 started acting up. I had it cranking pretty good. It started to get crackly and then quiet. Turned it off and let it sit for a bit. Then it worked fine.
Today have been listening to it for a couple hours at mild to moderate volume and now same problem. The volume is reduced, although no loss of frequency range but with intermittent mild crackling. The volume will rise back up and fluctuate around with some crackling. I've already deoxit-ed all of the knobs. What are the chances it needs it again or am I looking at a component problem?
BTW, this happens in all modes, FM, AM, Aux, etc. Same to left and right channels. When I turn the power off, sound lingers for a few seconds, which I think is normal for a relay-less unit. When its really cranky it'll offer a loud crackle.