I am nearing the end of my 30 day trial with the 1050. I've played it about 100 plus hours, so it should be fairly well broken in. I have some brighter sounding speakers that, to me sound too bright and lean with the 1050. My old Harman Kardon receiver, (which died) had a much smoother, richer sound. I am leaning toward returning the 1050 and getting an NAD, which I know is a warmer sounding unit, which should tame my speakers. I do want to make it clear that I think the 1050 is a fabulous piece of audio gear for the price. Movies sound great. Music is just ok, maybe because of the brightness. Does anyone else feel this receiver leans toward the brighter side, or is it just me? Thanks.

What is your source(s) for music? How are they connected to your 1050? What speakers are you using?

I have a Denon DCM 360 CD player fed through the 5.1 output, so it is bypassing all the bass management. Speakers are Pinnacle Classic Gold Reference Towers. Cabled by MIT 5 interconnects and speaker cables.

I am using a DCM-370, which is on the brighter side of neutral, but not overly bright. I tried it through both the 5.1 direct and CD analog inputs as well as a coax digital connection. I actually preferred the coax and the use of the 1050 DACS. I didn't really want to use the 5.1 directs for the CD since I use that for SACD output from my Sony DVP-NS500V. The main speakers are 12 year old Polk SDA-1c's. My amplification for the front mains are two Adcom GFP-565. I do not find this very bright, but that is very relative and YMMV. I would still suggest hooking up with a coaxial or optical cable and using the 5.1's DAC's and listening that way before you decide to return the unit.

I too find using the Outlaw DACs better. I am using a Toshiba DVD for playing CDs. Before with my JVC amp I found using the Toshiba DACs (using analog outputs) sounded better than the JVC's. Now with my Outlaw 1050 I'm using the coax cable (diy) and the sound quality is very good. Speakers definitely make the biggest difference. I have some great diy Ed Frias designed speakers. For sound quality they made the largest difference; of course the Outlaw 1050 complimented them very nicely also. I've had my Outlaw now for just about a month and I'm very happy with it; it's a KEEPER!

Well, I should agree with you that I think the 1050 is on the bright side ... it was the same feeling I had when I purchased mine, had it for a month and gave it back ... for a Marantz 7200 (you can still read the board about it)

Thanks for all the replies. It's not the source CD player making it bright. It's the system as a whole that sounds brighter with the Outlaw than it did before I got the 1050. It sounds that way on movies, the tuner, etc. By the way, my CD player only has one set of analog outlets, and nothing else.

I also feel outlaw 1050's sound is too bright for me. I use it to drive a pair of Axiom M22Ti for the stereo music listening. I tried both 5.1 direct connect and optical input. The direct connect sounds more natural and warm than optical input. The outlaw DSP and DAC do provide clear sound and detail. However, to me, it's just too bright and too "digital". I listened to NAD T-770 and Arcam AVR-100 before. I like them better in stereo music. For home theater, no question, outlaw is really good.

I justed called to order a 1050 and they are on backorder until Monday. Bummer. I did not want to wait. I decided to try it after reading a lot of the reviews both good and bad. I want to upgrade my receiver from the Aiwa AV-DV70 to the Outlaw 1050. I have tried the Yamaha RX-V620. It is fine.
So right now I have the Aiwa with
Paradigm Monitor 7's FT
Paradigm Studio Cen.
Pinnacle Baby Boomer Sub
Radio Shack LS5's surrounds

I did not keep the Yamaha as I had terrible customer service from the people at Good Guys and all I wanted was the right remote.
When I called Yamaha they wanted me to pay $50. for the remote. I said noway..
Mike

Sorry to hear about your trouble with Good Guys, but I'm not surprised. The best thing I could say about them is nothing at all (that's what my mother taught me to say if I had nothing good to say!).