Any Outlaw 950 Reviews??? Inquirying minds want to know!

Mad Dog,


This is not a review, just some initial impressions. I received my 950 on Wed, 5/1 at 9:30am but did not get to set it up until 10:00pm that night. I was particularly interested in its audio performance and so the only source that I connected on Wed night was my Sony 222ES SACD player. That is, directly to the analog 5.1 mc input with 80Hz switch set to on. I should also mention that I am using an Anthem PVA7 amp, PSB Image speakers and SVS PC2531 sub. I loaded up the 222ES with two Telarc and two Audioquest titles that I am very familiar with (the two Monty Alexander, Soul Survivor, Bluesquest) and hit play. Suffice it to say that I am very impressed. Other 950 users have used the terms "transparent", "neutral", and "low noise floor" to describe the 950's audio performance and I must agree. I pulled my Sony DB940 out of a second system to confirm that the improvement was real and was struck by the dramatic difference. Strangely enough, I have yet to connect any other sources to the 950 and will not do so until this weekend. Last night was spent enjoying music (SACD's). Tonight I may connect the 47A and RP91 and may even watch a movie (Star Wars TPM probably).


Hope this helps. The 950 seems to be a winner. These are just initial impressions. Will post more this weekend.

Eric,


Thanks for pointing people to my HT web site. Just to make it clear - technically, my writing on the 950 is not really a review, per se, since it involves comments regarding the beta test of that unit. I'm leaving the reviews, etc. to others.


That said, my remarks should give a general idea of what I think of the unit as we went through the testing period. I now have the final unit (with all the post beta-test mods) and am extremely pleased with it.


The 755 remarks, while not a beta test, is also not an in-depth review but just some general information.


Finally, a few comments on both units that should help out.


First the 755: A very nice sounding unit with good construction. It runs very cool and quiet (fan-less design). I strongly suggest that you leave a couple of inches above the unit to allow its passive cooling design to work properly. It's almost 8 inches tall and my 8" Sanus Euroracks were not letting it cool properly so it was running hotter than normal. Nothing was wrong as far as performance was concerned but I didn't feel comfortable for the long haul. Now that I've extended the shelf by 4" with extension tubes from Sanus the 755 (and I suspect its brother, the 770) doesn't heat up at all.


Then the 950: I'm enjoying reading all the reviews (more to come, I'm sure) as people begin to see what the 950 does. I'm particularly intrigued about what one person said about turning the 950 up to maximum (+10dB volume) and hearing some hiss. This is true of every component that I've ever hear and not real world listening conditions. You only hear the hiss, sometimes (from analog more than digital) when your ear is literally touching the speaker grill) at maximum volume. The second you turn down the volume to even 0dB (which is much louder than normal) or if you move an inch away from the speakers, the "hiss" disappears. I have to think that if the only thing that people can find wrong about the 950 (other than the color of its power button) is something like a hiss "problem?" under extremely unrealistic conditions that it has to be a good product.


Will some people have problems with their 950s? I would be surprised if they didn't because no product run is 100% flawless. And will some of these problems be attributable to other issues than the 950 itself (sources, wiring, other components, electrical power issues, etc.)? Most likely.

RAF,


Nice to see that you were able to add your thoughts to this thread.


To add some more to the hiss issue. As indicated in my earlier post (RAF also mentions this), for my 950, this is only a faint hiss. Furthermore, it is only detectable under the somewhat extreme conditions that I mentioned. To put things in perspective, I replaced the 950 with a Sony DB940 from another system and, not surprisingly, more hiss from the Sony. So, for my 950, I do not think this is a problem. Also, RAF added a point that I should have mentioned in my earlier post. That is, the hiss (curiously) seems more apparent from analog than digital.


To move on to other impressions. How is it as an HT processor? Well, I hooked up my RP91 and finally watched SWTPM and Toy Story2, plus bits and pieces of several other DVD's. Very, very, very good. No problems at all. No audio dropouts, no acquisition time concerns. Excellent soundstage, excellent surround panning (SWTPM light saber duel). I have not had a chance to check out all the available modes but so far, a flawless performance as an HT processor. By the way, I have mains at 60Hz and center and surrounds at 80Hz.


Hope these impressions help. Again, the 950 seems to be a winner.

Quote:
When you say transparent, transparent to what? Also, comparing any two audio components in any sighted way, the results are not reliable. If you don't have controls like level matched, so that you are not pointing out the unit that's playing the loudest and attributing those dramatic differences to loudness instead of real sound quality. Also, any listening comparison should be at least blind, you could even have someone else switch between them and let you trying to listen to see if you can detect any real audible differences.