Been considoring the 950 pre/proc, but I am having some reservations. Hopfully you folks can clear some of this up for me. I am currently running the following:

Paradigm Studio 100 Version 3 Mains
Mirage M-790 (Floorstanders) Rears
Mirage CC (forgot the model, upgrading to Paradigm)

Velodyne Sub
Marantz rec. for decoding movies
Foreplay Tube pre-amp (many mods)for 2 channel
Anthem MCA-30 - Center, L&R Surrounds
Anthem MCA-20 - Main Speaks (bi-amped)
Carver a500-x - Main Speaks (bi-amped)
Monarchy 24/96 DIP
Monarchy 48/96 Upsampler DIP
MSB Nelson DAC III
Heavily modified Marantz CD-63 (Blackgate caps, etc...)
Music Hall MMF-7 Turntable
Creek Phone Pre (modified)

The marantz reciever absolutely sucks for decoding and sound as all marantz recievers do, and the Foreplay is beautiful. But, switching cables is bothersome. I have read many comments on the 950, and it appears that it has more than its share of issues. The lack of professional reviews concerns me, and no - audioreview.com does not qualify (Wal-Mart of the review sites). Where are the Stereophile type reviews? What I am looking for is a completely black background, no hiss, and nothing added to the 2-channel bypass. Is this possible? Also, what grade components are inside, specifically all the output caps and resistors, what type of wire is used internally? Basically, what level of parts and wire in the signal path? The best upgrade I did to my Paradigm and Mirage is to replace all the internal wiring with good OFC. Same with my Foreplay - best internal wire available. Am I expecting to much for the price point? Thanks in advance.

I think you are asking too much for a processor in the 950's price range.

Good evening, Stasis. Hopefully I can help you out a bit. (I've been running a fever off and on for a couple days now, but no guarantees ).

Reviews? Yeah, there are a number of them scattered around (not counting AudioReview, which does require some very heavy sifting). There's Sound & Vision (from Outlaw's site), Perfect Vision , Home Theater Sound , and a few others around that are less mainstream ( Ron Epstein's review at HTF , Audiophile Audition , and some others that I'm probably missing). There are other published reviews, I believe, but those are the only ones I could find at the moment. EDIT: Here's another couple reviews - Enjoy the Music , Stereophile Guide to Home Theater

There are some folks around here who can better address the component quality issue. You can probably find higher grade parts if you want to pay more (even in the best of worlds, TANSTAAFL still applies, and the 950 is an $800 pre/pro), but the 950 is well made and does offer a lot of quality.

The final revisions to the 950 (the "blue dot" as we like to call it) did address the noise floor very, very well -- there are blue dot 950's in use with some very revealing speaker systems without problems.

As for the stereo bypass, the mains do get an untainted signal. If the mains are set to "small," a copy of the signal will be processed and a LFE signal provided to the sub. To avoid that, you'll need to set the mains to "large."

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

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited November 13, 2003).]

Appreciate the reply's, especially the review sites from Gonk. Take a look at this review: http://dsnyder.ws-e.com/outlaw/ and let me know what you think. Another quick question - I know Outlaw offers a 30 day return policy, but how long does the 950 take to burn in completly?

I'd say the burn-in process is essentially complete after a week or ten days.

EDIT: I skimmed the review you linked to, and it appeared to be based solely on the "red dot" 950 (there were some revisions made to the analog section that were incorporated late in December 2002).

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

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited November 13, 2003).]

I am not someone that would recommend that anyone waste time, effort or money chasing that which will not satisfy.

Two comments ...

If cost of the mods "needed" to arrive at a satisfactory result comes close to, or even exceeds, the cost of the original device, then perhaps the parts of the original that would remain would not be worthy. Perhaps better to spend $8000.00 on something you will be totally satisfied with than $800.00 plus $800.00 or more to arrive at something not satisfactory? I'm only "philosophizing" because I'm not one that would be spending that way.

If that kind of spending is something within reason for you, then spending a bit on shipping, should you try the 950, not find it satisfactory and wish to return it, would be no problem at all. But do the research necessary to determine all the problems the purveyors of mods have found with the 950 first, because, if you are convinced that such mods would be necessary to bring satisfaction, then perhaps the 950 is not for you. Then again, perhaps the 950, which has pleased so many of us, would be just right.