I need for someone out there to play the roll of a techincal sales person and sale me on why I should buy the 770 high end amp. When I tell my family members and my friends that I am going to up grade to the 200 watt 770 Outlaw amp, I allways hear the same thing. Why do you want more power,the setup you have is loud enough. With that said how to you response to this common comment?

My short answer is that I was more interested in improving sound than in increasing volume when I bought a separate amp. The reason for adding an amp like the 770 (or the 7100) is not necessarily for loudness. Most people who upgrade to a separate power amp are looking for improved sound first and foremost. Several aspects of amplifier design come into play when looking at separate amps. First and perhaps most visible is the additional power, which can equate to a greater ability to reproduce dynamic music and movie soundtrack sequences (where the speakers' output is changing significantly and rapidly; this sort of ability is sometimes called "headroom"). The extra power can be a benefit to some speakers, but the extra headroom will pretty much always help. Also, a power amp like the 770 is typically much better designed than the amp stuck in a mass-market receiver, and as a result it can operate with much more difficult speaker loads (4 ohm speakers give many receivers fits, but good amps can operate with speakers that operate consistently at 4 ohms and dip as low as 2 ohms at times). Even an amp like Outlaw's 7100 (which may not offer any more rated power than a receiver) can improve the sound because the amp is better designed, more realistically rated than some mass-market receivers, and capable of handling more difficult speaker loads. And of course there's one reason unrelated to sound or power: a good power amp can last you for many years, even after the processing modes and input options of a receiver have become obsolete. By putting the amps in a separate box, you can upgrade the receiver to a newer pre/pro without having to buy amplification again. Others around here can probably offer more reasons for moving to separate amps, including some more technical details, but that will hopefully be a good start.

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

What is the quality level of your speakers? If they are very low end, the better amplfier will be wasted. If they are of good quallity, what kind of receiver or amplifer do you have now? There's no reason to put high end race tires on a Volkswagen.

soundhound
Thanks for your response. Over the last 2 years I have spent close to $2,000 on speakers. My mains are full range with 12" woofers rated at 250 watts. My center is Polk's top of the line rated at 250 watts. My side surrounds are Polk bipole/dipole rated at 150 watts. My back surrounds which I'am currently using on the B side of my receiver are full range with 12" woofers rated at 200 watts. My room size is 16'W x 29'L x 8'T. I am also running two 15" HT Titantic subwoofers with 250 watt amps. The Subs are not included in the $2000.00 figure above. My current 5.1 receiver is a $499.00 Kenwood - rated at 100 watts. This receiver does not have a high current amp.

In that case, I would jump on the Outlaw amp in a heartbeat.

I would agree with soundhound on that. Before you place the order, though, I'll ask a potentially silly question... does the Kenwood include pre-amp outputs?

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

If you have the Kenwood 6070 or 7070 or higher models, then preamps are there. I have the 6070 and use the 7070, the difference was not that the kenwood did not play my setup loud, just that the 770 played them loud with much much more clarity and extension, especially in the lower end range of my speakers capabilities. The benefit of the 200W per channel is knowing that you are getting full current extension driving a full range flat response to your speakers and the only variance being the music itself, not the limits of your electronics or speakers. That is how I would describe my ideal set up.

ah, I meant to say 6070 into the 770, typo, sorry

Thanks for the response I am getting from everyone.

I need to back up a little bit. I posted a question earlier on 1/14/04 about my unexpected Christmas present which was a HK AVR630 receiver. I have not installed this let because I was not sure if it would work OK as a preamp/processor. Gonk responsed to my question when I posted it. My current Kenwood does not have pre-outs so it will not work. I have a couple of options. I know the AVR630 receiver carries about a $900 price tag which is about the same as the Outlaw 950 processor.

The options would be return the HK AVR630 and get the money back or purchase the 950 process along with the 770 amp.

The AVR630 is up to date with most of the current processing plus it has Logic 7 processing, 6 adjustable crossover points for each speaker section and re-assignable back channel for mult-room applications. Not sure if I could put to use the 7 x 75 watts of high current amplification that will go to waste.

Any suggestions?

Just buy the 950.

Ditto

I understand your dilemna. HK's high current amp section is something like +/- 35 amps. It's what HK is known for. But this is not the same Harman/Kardon that existed years ago. I stopped buying HK after the purchase of the AVR 65, I could not believe how much quality had been sacrificed for the sake of features. Yes, the HK you have is loaded with features that most of us would like to have in the 950, but check out the construction of the unit, (what do you think of those heatsinks?). Features come and go quickly, next year it will be a new model. Companies that make seperates, make their products with quality that is built to hold up for years, not months, both for sonics and reliability. I would seriously consider trying out the 950/770 combo if you can afford it.

Ok - I think you guys have made up my mind to go with the 950/770 or the 950/7100. I have one more question. My current equipment is on a 20 amp line which also feeds the kitchen wall outlets and refrigerator. Would there be a problem to temporarily power the 770 or 7100 amp with this 20 amp line until I can get a seperate line run?

Joel,...
Not sure where you live, but in my area, code is a fridge is on it's own 20 amp dedicated circuit, and outlets in the kitchen are carefully regulated and attached via grounfault systems. Either at the panel, or in the chain via a groundfault outlet. Running your equipment very hard, while anything else, mainly the fridge is running would be a prety good load.
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On commercial work, I do see refrigerators on their own circuits (typically with 20A breakers and 15A receptacles). Newer homes probably get similar treatment, but there are also a lot of older homes where the fridge is on a shared receptacle circuit with plenty of other stuff. I've done it before -- our old house originally had one receptacle circuit that served the entire kitchen (including microwave and fridge, but of course not the stove) and the living room (including the TV, an Outlaw 750 amp, and all of the home theater gear). It worked, but I did notice a significant reduction in ground loop problems and noise when I put in a dedicated circuit for the home theater.

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