Hi,

Can the Outlaws give us any insight as to how the 950's analog pass-thru quality will stack up, i.e., compared to the 1050 and maybe to Sony's TAP-9000ES ($500 six channel pre)?

Thanks.

I would imagine that those two do not compare to the 950. The Outlaw's have hinted that this pre will be at least as good as anything else cost 2 or 3 times as much.

I would expect nothing else from the outlaws.

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Stott

Once the 950 starts shipping, we should begin hearing lots about performance, but until then the only people who can speak for sure are not talking (beta testers can't say anything, and the Outlaws themselves are keeping performance and final performance specs very quiet). If you are looking solely at the stereo pass-through, though, then I would expect the performance to be at least equal to and very possibly better than using the 1050's 5.1 analog input as a pass-through. I'm not as sure about the Sony unit, as I can't find anything about it online. I found the TA-9000ES, which lists for $1700, and there's an older TA-90ES mentioned in AudioReview that sells used for around $500, but I don't know much about specs on them.

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Gonk

I didn't think the 1050 offered analog pass-thru cabability; only the 950.

I remember the TA-E9000ES now (just found more on it at Crutchfield) -- it's the Sony pre/pro that requires a separate $600 add-on to have 5.1 analog input from DVD-Audio or SACD (at least the TA-P9000ES add-on unit has two 5.1 analog inputs). I think the E9000 came up in a discussion here not too long ago, and I remember being stunned that somebody was selling a $1700 pre/pro without 5.1 analog input...

Pardon my slightly off-topic ramble on the Sony pre/pro, just sort of befuddled. I do agree with stott that the 950 should be an exceptional performer.

EDIT: yep, I'm still asleep this morning (must be the snow we got here last night) -- the original post was asking about the 5.1 analog add-on to the TA-E9000ES. The TA-P9000ES does include volume control for the two 5.1 analog inputs. I'm catching on now...

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Gonk

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited February 06, 2002).]

The 5.1 analog in on the 1050 could be used as an analog pass-through. Otherwise, you are absolutely correct.

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Gonk

Yes, I'm speaking about the 6-channel Sony add-on piece; a couple of Stereophile reviewers have mentioned it in their reviews of multi-channel players. Amazingly (for a $500-600 piece), Stereophile calls it a Class A preamp.

Actually, I'm not at all surprised that it is a good performer -- it is a purely analog device, switching four inputs (three 5.1 and one stereo) and providing volume control for two of the 5.1 inputs. No DSP, no bass management, no video switching, no OSD, none of that stuff. It's actually almost exactly the device described a couple of times in the "New Product Suggestions" forum (there have been some suggestions -- 1 , 2 , 3 -- that the ICBM-1 be used as the basis for a 5.1 analog switch and bass manager).

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Gonk

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited February 06, 2002).]