Hello

I have been looking at this preamp for a while and was wondering if anyone here put it up against the Rotel RSP-1066? Also I would like to hear your experiences with the 950.

At one point in time, when both processors were new, this debate was beaten to death. To give you a synopsis of what resulted, basically everyone who owned an Outlaw liked the Outlaw better and everyone who owned Rotel liked the Rotel better. At the very beginning Outlaw had some hiss problems and Rotel had limited video switching bandwidth, both of which have been fixed, so keep that in mind if reading archived threads.

IMO, at this stage of the game, both processors are getting a little old, so I would look to spend as little as possible, aka, the outlaw.

Before I bought 950 last week, I borrowed Rotel 1098, which costs twice as much as 1066, from a local store. I tried it for 1 day and returned. I wasn't impressed at all, and decided to go with 950. It could be that 1098 wasn't broken-in yet, or whatever the reason, it didn't sound as good as I expected. I'm pretty happy now with 950. FYI: the British magazine What Hi-Fi? chose 1066 as one of the best buys.
tvd51

Another option to consider is the brand new Sherwood Newcastle pre/pro/tuner which (hopefully) will be available later this month! Its SRP is just under $1500 and it should sell on the street for even less.

Thanks for the replies. What do you think about NAD's new T163 preamp, which is $1400 US? Also what do you guys think of the 950's 2 channel music preformance I heard it was a bit lacking and weak?

Thanks

I'm going to also suggest that you audition the Integra 9.4, which retails for 2k, but can be had for about $1600. Haven't heard the Outlaw, but own the Rotel. Love the Rotel, but imo the 9.4 is noticably better sonically as well as feature wise. Not only does it have a tuner, but can be connected to your computer for net tune. It comes with a Chad remote which itself retails for $500. It has a headphone jack and a phono preamp built in. In comparison with the B&K model 50, which just lowered it's msrp from $3000 to $2000, I liked the sonics much better, although I only compared using two channel and it was at two different places using two different setups. However, I do listen for specific things and, again my opinion, it was the better of the two. It is THX Ultra 2 and Dolby Digital EX certified, but is not firmware upgradable. Still, in my eyes, a sonic and feature bargain.

This said, the Outlaw is a steal, imo, at its price.

Out of all those units listed, except for maybe the 1098, I'd still take the 950 and its triple crossover and the analog BM for DVD-A and SACD.

The 950 and the Rotel 1066 are almost two years old. They were the two least expensive pre/pro's (with DPL II) when they came out, two years ago. The 950 was the cheapest. The Rotel 1066 wasn't far behind. I probably wouldn't buy either get one today. Newer pre/pro's are on the horizon. To its credit though, the 950 is still even today the least expensive pre/pro with DPL II on the market, bar none.

The problem with most of the new ones, which is the same problem as most of the old ones, is that most of them have a variable global crossover, and not individuals, and none of them have BM for the analog inputs, except for the more expensive units that digitize those inputs (MC-12, AVM-20). The Sherwood will have DPL IIx, and that is its only advantage IMO over the 950. The Integra doesn't, and isn't software upgradeable either. Just because something is 2 years old doesn't mean it's obsolete. Good sound is still good sound. DPL IIx is the only reason to *not* get the 950 right now. Unless something like Logic 7 is desired. And even though the 950 doesn't have have DPL IIx, it *does* have the CES modes which still does give a unique 7.1 experience with 5.1 soundtracks and other sources. Just probably not as spatially distinctive in the back of the room as DPL IIx.

Hi, I am new to this forum and have been considering the 950/770 combo. As I am new to HT as well, what is DPL IIx exactly and how big of a deal is it? Is it worth waiting for to purchase a pre/pro?

Thanks in advance for any help.