Hi there!!! a newbie poster here...i have been thinking about buying a new receiver for a while now...have been considering the Onkyo, Marantz, Pioneer, and the 1050...for 500 bucks why not? but it seems that more and more companies are releasing new receivers to keep up with the 6.1/7.1 formats (DD-EX/DTS-ES and also Pro-logic II). In fact, i just saw Onkyo's new SR-700 for $799 (around $650 online) that unlike the SR-600 it has a pre-out...i seem to like the 1050 but with all said, the SR-700 could be the receiver i am waiting for . Why should i consider buying the 1050? Maybe it's time for Outlaw to upgrade the its receiver...Anyway, just a thought

I think the reason I bought my 1050 over more featured laden models was the way it sounded in my set-up. I have never owned a piece of equipment that actually surprized me with its quality like the 1050 did. If the pro-logic II and other features are worth the extra $300 to you thats your decision, and the 1050 is close to two years old I think. But for me I couldnt be happier with its performance.(or its price!) Good luck howevr you decide.

I find myself buying more and more rock concert dvd's (5.1). So music sound is very important to me, more so than than the number of features a reciever has. You have to decide for yourself what exactly you are looking for. Within the $600 range you can get more features or better sound with less features. Just my personal experience. Make your choice, relax and enjoy.

I too debated foe months over what receiver I wanted. I looked at Marantz, Denon, Onkyo and Pioneer. I auditioned Onkyo and Denon and found Denon to be the better of the two. Then I found Outlaw and I must confess I was a little skeptical because I couldn't listen or look at it first. Since I primarily listen to music and wanted to explore Home Theater I decided to take a chance on the Outlaw based on the reveiws online and the features. Once I received mt 1050 I was glad that I did. The quality of the unit is far superior to any mass produced lower end receiver. How they make the 1050 for the price they charge is beyond me. You do get 6.1 with the 1050 even though I haven't had the chance to use it everything I've read says it's the equal to DD-EX. If VHS is still important to you than DPL II should be a factor as I've heard it's much better than DPL. Other than that there really isn't much difference in the feature set between the two.

Basically, if quality of sound is your main priority then you can't do much better for the price than the 1050. If you need more features or want DTS-ES ( though I read somewhere you can decode 6.1DTS on the Outlaw) then the Onkyo is probably the way to go.
Whatever decision you make is entirely up to you.
Hope this helps and happy listening

It's not that i need a new receiver...in fact i have a Dolby Digital and DTS receiver but its just that these "Extended Surrounds" are making my system look old. I just feel the pressure to upgrade my receiver. As for Dolby Pro-LogicII, i really don't care coz i don't use my VCR anyway. True, the 1050 does have its own Dolby Digital 6.1 but i do prefer DTS over Dolby Digital. If Outlaw would have just made the 1050 DTS 6.1, then i would have had bought the 1050 a long time ago. Just like what you guys said what important is the SOUND (it's all about the sound) and of course its price. Maybe i should wait a little bit longer...any good sounding budget receiver out there that decodes DD-EX, DTS-ES, DTS Neo 6, DTS 96/24, Cirrus Circle surround and maybe Logic 7? Did i forget something? Sometimes i wish i was just broke...hehe!

Since you don't NEED a new receiver, I would suggest waiting to see where all the new formats are going to end up. Some may not matter in six months. That's the problem with so many coming out at once. The majority of movies are only going to be encoded in one or two which will make any other formats obsolete. Maybe in the meantime Outlaw will upgrade or replace the 1050.
Just my opinion and maybe something to think about