This brings up some interesting points. More than anything it emphasizes the need for people to actually hear these units for themselves rather than just to rely on the words of others. Nothing substitutes for actual experience, although in many cases this is impractical. However, there is a "good news, bad news" scenario with Outlaw and the 950. On the one hand, the waiting list makes this a bit difficult and frustrating to potential customers. But on the other hand the availability of a money-back return policy does allow for in-home auditioning at some point. You have to weigh the options and do what you have to do.

And on the matter of "brightness" I have some feelings on the matter. One of the first things I noticed when beta testing the 950 was that it appeared a bit "bright" (I thought more of the term "harsh)" when listening to certain source materials - especially satellite TV in my particular case. Then, as I listened more I realized that I was mistaking "brightness" or "harshness" for what is really "accuracy" of sound. My Dish Network audio is inherently bright or edgy sounding and all that the 950 was guilty of was reproducing it with a degree of accuracy that was missing from my previous equipment - a Denon 5700. Don't blame the 950 for doing its job in this area.

However, some people have probably become accustomed to other than accurate sound so they may not prefer accuracy, as curious as that may seem. Once again, an important reason to listen for yourself rather than to listen to others if this is feasable.

Whatever.

Nobody is forcing anybody to purchase one product over another.

My 2 cents on this whole issue of comparative evaluations.

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RAF

My HT (latest update 04/17/02) Now includes Outlaw 950 and Outlaw 755

Well I have had the 950 in my HT since May 15th and have put it through all of the paces: (please note the "" around some words denote that it is "my" opinion and your mileage may and most likely will very)

1) Hiss - Well like most other 950 owners this is not an issue with "my" unit. I hear no hiss unless "I" put my ear on the tweeter.

2) Brightness/Harshness – “I” do not think it is bright or harsh and feel my Newcastle R945 is actually harsher. I get the feeling that Robert is correct and that the 950 is just very accurate and for this passes the brightness or harshness of the source. I have a lot of different CD’s in my 300 disc changer and “I” can now tell which ones are AAD, ADD and DDD and also how well they are mixed/mastered. “I” hear much more detail in my music and sound tracks.

3) Look/Feel of 950 – “I” feel that the MUTE button on the 950 is the best of all the controls on the front face. “I” like it best as it seems to be recessed more, thus does not move around as much as the rest of the buttons. “I” wish Outlaw would have done this with all of the buttons on the front of the unit. “I” think the volume knob is fine. Like most other 950 owners “I” use the front unit controls very little and in fact have a AMX control system that I loaded ever single IR code from the 950 remote control into and thus can control the 950 from my LCD color touch panel or use the 950 remote (which is almost identical to my R945 remote less the LCD display). Also since “I” watch DVD’s in almost total darkness due to front projection display I do not look at the unit much anyway and really only care mostly about the sound. That being said “I” can see the appeal for others to go with a more expensive, “better looking” unit for showing off their system. “I” do not feel the 950 is ugly by any means, but “I” do feel the 1066 is nicer looking.

In conclusion, the 950 is a great pre/pro for a great price. However I did end up getting a used 1066 for a very, very good price and it should be arriving tomorrow so “I” will get to compare, in “my” home theater the two units side by side. As mentioned by Robert, this is the best way to determine which unit sounds best to “you” in “your” environment. The 1066 does have a few features that I really like, for example, dual sub outputs, and RS232 control for my AMX system or a few of the main ones.

I will post more tomorrow after hooking up the 1066 in my system.

Stay tuned…..


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-Mark
**** Digital Vortex ****
The Digital Electronic Site
www.digitalvortex.com

If the 950 is bright then it's bright. Buying amps pre/pros and speakers is all a matter of matching components properly. If you have warm speakers and amps then a bright pre/pro could make a good match. Just like a warm pre/pro like the 1066 matched with bright speakers could make a good match.

If I was considering a 950 I would be more conserned with the growing number QA issues and complaints from current owners. Everyone is trying to say things like "maybe the 950 doesn't work well with certain amps". If other pre/pros worked fine with an amp and the 950 doesn't then it's not the amp it's the 950.

If I swap out a part of my system with another peice and all of a sudden my system has a hiss. Then I'm not buying the part that caused the hiss. I should be able to swap in a new part and have equal or better sounds not worse.

From the reports in sounds and QA from current owners and for the amount of time buyers waited for the 950. It's definately not the holy grail of pre/pros. It is what it is. A $900 pre/pro. I think people really did expect a Lexicon killer with great look/feel and true qauility all for $900. Now that the 950 is on the streets it has to stand on it's own. Based on the threads I've read here and on several other boards. You really do get what you pay for.

[This message has been edited by Legairre (edited June 02, 2002).]

As far as "brightness" goes, the 950 might be a little on the bright side, but not overly so. And I am running Adcom amps, and NHT speakers. Believe me, if this unit were "harsh", this combo would certainly show it! My previous Parasound had good DAC's, but the 950 actually sounds better, at least on my Directv toslink. My CD player sounds better thru it's analog bypass mode, but it is an Adcom GDC600, which has outstanding DAC's (Adcom may build mediocre pre/pro's, but they have there D/A conversion down pat).
The knob/buttons dont bother me at all, and I use them more than most, since it sits right next to this computer, so I often adjust volume, sources etc, from the front panel.
Overall, this $900 pre/pro outperforms the Parasound setup I had previously, which I paid $2500 for (including tuner)4 yrs ago. That is probably also why the remote interface works fine for me, the Parasound used one remote to control 2 components, and was confusing at best.
Overall, a great product, especially for the price.

I am wondering if the people who use the terms "bright" or "harsh" could provide more information as to what sources those terms apply. Is it for DD/DTS movies, 2 channel music, etc. Specifically is it only for digital inputs and music? If that is the case, a smoother/warmer CD player can be used with 2-channel direct and the sound should still be smooth/warm. Digital connects are great (cheap and easy), but I didn't expect a $900 AV pre/pro to have DAC's that would make a cheap CD/DVD player sound like a high-end CD player or DAC running analog out.

I agree with John C 100 percent. I too have NHT (VT-2) speakers, and have had “bright” electronics. I would not characterize the 950 as “harsh”. I also drive a German sports sedan. Many people characterize German cars as “competent engineering accomplishments that are without a soul”. That is what I think that is what the 950 is like. I have an (ancient) Denon 3200 that I have swapped out, and to be honest, the Denon can sometimes produce sound in my system that is astonishing. The 950 does not produce the same results. It is more accurate and extended, but it cannot (in my setting) produce flute and saxophone with the same emotion as the Denon. I think even more curious is that it doesn’t generate the same ambiance and feeling of space that the Denon does on the Fifth Element dvd.

One more thing to consider is the severe limitations of all compressed source material. At the Home Theater Expo, Polk ran an excellent demonstration of SACD, and some DVD audio formats. Their demonstration clearly revealed the differences in the source material and format. It really was a bummer if you were interested in multichannel music formats.

I don't think the NHT VT-2's sound as harsh as some NHT speakers. I do think the NHT 2.9 sounds bright or (to put a positive spin on it) revealing or (to put a negative spin on it) fatiguing.

Hey RAF,

I've heard people say several times that the brightness on the 950 is just accurately producing the sound of the source, and I was wondering on what this is based? What experience are you drawing on to determine the true sound of the source? It's certainly information that I would like to add to my ability to review these two and other pre/pros down the road.

Like I said in my first review, I didn't want to get into which is more accurate becasue I don't know which is a truer represention of the source. I just thought that the 950 was bright and the 1066 was warm relative to each other. I notice this on all sources that I have tried so far.

brianca..

[This message has been edited by brianca (edited June 02, 2002).]

Will, that is interesting what you say about the VT-2's. I own some SuperZ's, and have only listened extensively to the 2.5's and 3.3's, so I admit I do not know squat about the revised NHT line.

I also am in the first half of my 40's (to put a positive spin on it), and I think listener age is much overlooked in these discussions. I doubt someone my age with normal hearing has near the ability to discriminate as someone 20 years younger. Never trust anyone over age 30 is sage advice, especially in audio concerns (why do you think vinyl made the big come back?).

Anyone with a 1066 heard any of this hiss???
Does the 950 have higher resolution dac chips than the 1066??? What difference if any would this make??