My order for a 950/770 combo should arrive tomorrow (can't wait) and I have already purchased 2 additional speakers that match my surrounds (Pinnacle Classic Gold Mini-monitors as center rears) to set up a 7.1 system. To get a head start to prepare for my new setup I downloaded the 950 manual and I must say I am somewhat confused.

For the physical setup should the center rears be right next to each other or should there be a distance between them? As for the 950 what is the appropriate mode? What is the difference between 6.1 and 7.1 (the same signal goes to both rears?).

Iwould appreciate any suggestions (though I should mention that when I called in my order the person answering the phose stated they would walk me through but I want to see if I can set everything up myself.

I should mention that I have been obsessing over this purchase for a long time but for features and price nothing else has come close.

John

You can spread them apart, just not too far. My two rear backs are placed four feet behind my command chair, and are equidistant spread apart 35 inches on center.

Thanks for the input. I did separate the rear speakers (the 950 manual also suggests this separation).

My 770/950 combo has arrived and I have been spending part of Friday putting everything together. I just started to tweak the system and have been playing around with different modes for both CD's and DVD's. The difference over my old setup (Yamaha receiver-80 watts times 5) and new 7.1 system is clearly noticeable. I played two classical CD's and they have never sounded better, I tried DD-EX with Starwars 1 (Phantom Menace) and it never sounded better.

I did run into one problem-a hum but I was able to isolate it (the manual's first suggestion) in the cable TV system. A call to Outlaw support resulted in 2 suggestions-get a ground loop isolator and call the cable company.

I called the cable company and they admitted that their installation may have been faulty and they are checking into it. They may have to send in a tech to check the outside wiring where the fault seems to lay. In the meantime I can live with the problem (either I disconnect cable when playing a movie or CD) and I did notice when sound is coming through the system (instead of silence) the hum disappears.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the result and 7.1 is a noticeable improvement over 5.1.

John

In reference to the hum problem caused by the cable system I did an internet search and found a suggestion of putting in a 75 ohm >300 ohm > 75 ohm interconnect in the cable between the wall where the cable comes in and the cable box and guess what? The hum disappeared.

This may not be an ideal solution according to the suggested solution because there is limited band width and if I go to HDTV in the future it may cause a problem but for now the hum is gone.

John

Regarding going from 5.1 to 7.1:

As I understand it, but please correct me if I'm wrong, the Cirrus mode used in the 950 has 6.1 distinct channels, with a mono signal going to rear surrounds, without adjusting the signal from the side surrounds.

DPL IIx by comparison, adjusts the side surrounds when the rear surrounds are active. Furthermove, DPL IIx supports 7.1 distinct channels.

The Outlaws have yet to announce if the 950 will be upgraded eventually, to support DPL IIx.

At present the rear center speakers come on with certain DVD's that support DD-EX and I set the 950 to DD-EX. I believe I am getting the same signal to both rears. There is a DTS 6.1 mode but my DVD player which is several years old does not support this mode. I am still experimenting with various combinations of modes but I eventually have to update my DVD player.

John

The THX-EX standard can create 7.1 distinct channels as well.

No it can't. The only THX processing that can do 7.1 distinct outputs is THX Ultra2.

Best,
Sanjay

John, Have you tried listening to non-EX-encoded DVDs with the EX or CES processing turned on?

Best,
Sanjay

Its my impression that the 950 senses the type of signals it gets from the dvd. For example, I had DVD's that were also DTS 6.1 but that choice was not available to me but I realized that my DVD player, which is four years old, does not do DTS and could not send that signal.

In the next day or so I will sit down and see if I can set a non DD-EX DVD as DD-EX on the 950 and get sound from the rear speakers. I will post the results. There is a stereo 7 mode that ensures sound out of all speakers but it is 2 channel sound with, I assume, one channel in the right 3 speakers and the other in the left three speakers.

I should mention that when I play a true DD-EX DVD such as Lord of the RIngs TGwin Towers the surround and rear speakers are extraordinarily active at reference levels while at the same time dialog coming out of the center is still easily understandable and clear. This is as much of a function of the 770 as the 950.

For those contemplating going to a 950/770 combo, unless you have a truly great and powerful receiver, will notice a real improvement. I should state that the quality of your surround and rear speaker becomes even more important.

John