Not that it makes a huge difference, but didn't someone say that the 1070 will have 75 watts/channel instead of 65 like the 1050 had? I think I'm using the AC outlets on my current receiver, but I don't think they're really necessary. There will almost always be a power strip right there anyway as the TV, DVD & CD players (etc) will also be there as well. My components that (may be) are plugged into the receiver need to be turned on anyway, so what's the point? Granted, not every unit will behave like that.

gonk- That is why I mentioned Outlaw's very NAD-like stance on power wattage. NAD has been famous for having receivers with low watt ratings be able to get good sound out of power hungry speakers. I've never read a review of a NAD receiver or amp where the writer complained about the power available.

I'd rather have 65 NAD Watts vs. most others 100 watts. I put Outlaw in the same category. I'd much rather have 65 Outlaw watts than 100 sony, pioneer, etc. watts.

While it might not have I-link, it may have much better DACs than the rest of the bunch. Digital decoding, etc. isn't all that important to me. The quality of the DAC and how good the power is. Those are important.

Plus someone help me out here. I-Link is a modified fire-wire developed to carry digital audio of either DVD-A or SACD correct. I've heard that I-Link can only send out 2 channel information, and it doesnt send out multi-channel. Is this correct?

If it is, then I don't really see the need for it.

JT- I said 65 Watts because the blurb on the 1070 model at the show said "65 watts."

[This message has been edited by lotus_j (edited May 28, 2004).]

As you may know, Outlaw can trace some of its roots back to NAD (at least one Outlaw used to work for them), so the similarity comes as no surprise.

I-Link is one of several (too many) different names for the same thing: IEEE-1394. Firewire is another, more common name for it. From what I understand, 1394 was accepted as the digital audio interface to be used with high resolution digital audio such as that used on DVD-Audio and SACD. It was intended for use with multichannel audio, so it should carry a full six-channel digital signal. The acceptance of 1394 as the interface is several years old, but the encryption used across 1394 was not included in that acceptance. It took longer to hash that out, leading to a few proprietary approaches (most notably be Denon and Pioneer). That obstacle is only now falling away.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited May 28, 2004).]

I was at the HE show in NY.
The new amplifier is 7 channel @ 300 watts per channel.

Keep in mind the standard home circuit is 15 Amp 120V, so it can provide 1800 watts max (on a good day). 7 channel @ 300 watts is 2100 watts, plus power dissipated in the unit. So the std 15 Amp home circuit won't do! (yeah, I have a degree in Elec Engr)

Outlaws said they had not yet decided on how to supply power - two wires / plugs or one?

Picture of back of Model 790



pat----

Oooohhh. Balanced connections. It's still a prototype, right? They might change it. 6 months is a long time. Do I see dual 1800 watt power supplies on that thing? One on each side.

I find it odd that some of the small print on the amp is in French. The warning label says AVIS which I believe is "Advice" and on the right side is Voir le Cahier D' Instruction which I think is "The Schedule of Instruction". Probably means check the Owners manual. Why would this demo unit have residual French writing. Some of the French Canadians should be able to translate a bit better than me. Maybe the units will be made in Canada helping some of the Gunslingers up there with duties.

That obstacle is only now falling away!!!
Gonk!
Is there a chance that in the not too distant future, 1394 (firewire) connections will be the standard between all multi-channel players and pre-amps? I thought that it would eventually happen, but the copyright police would be dragged kicking and ... someday...

Why would anyone buy an expensive player today, if they knew that a non-proprietary format (firewire) was on the horizon? Or a pre-amp without firewire inputs for that matter?

curious...
Allan

Most CD and DVD players have analog and digital connections. The digital connections are coax and/or optical. Either can transmit the stereo CDs, DTS CDs, DTS DVDs, Dolby Digital DVDs, etc. Although there's an anlog connection, it's not used much, except for stereo CDs. Analog normally isn't used for DTS DVDs or Dolby Digital DVDs.

The first digital standard connection for DVD-A and SACD transmission is 5C/DTCP with 1394, commonly referred to as i.link audio. There will be other standard digital connections that handle DVD-A and SACD, later, like HDMI presumably. But DVD-A and SACD on HDMI is not implemented yet in any chipset and probably won't be in any product sold for well over a year. Even after it first comes out in a product, it may be years before it's in a critical mass of products. The first i.link audio (5C/DTCP with 1394) chips were out years ago. The first products with i.link were sold over 18 months ago. As of a few months ago, only about three major brands sold products with i.link. But two or three more major brands plan to introduce i.link products in the next few months. Currently no budget receiver supports i.link audio.

Needless to say 2 channel analog will continue to be around and supported. So will digital optical and digital coax for stereo CDs, DD DVDs, DTS DVDs etc. Similarly, 6 channel analog will continue to be supported for DVD-A and SACD, and co-exist with i.link audio (5C/DTCP with 1394). Likewise i.link audio should co-exist with HDMI v2 if and when HDMI appears. They should all co-exist like with video, where s-video and component and composite video coexist.

The 5C/DTCP standard allows protected transmission of copy-protected material. Five companies, Hitachi, Intel, Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba prepared the "5C" Digital Transmission Content Protection "DTCP" specification. DTCP is a cryptographic protocol for protecting audio/video content from being copied over digital buses like 1394.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will (edited May 30, 2004).]

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