... and *bonus*!, I'm very pleased with my 950. (it's already become "my" 950).

I'm posting this because I think there is one other factor - that is speaker sensitivity. it's possible that many people who are noticing any hiss at all have either sensitive (efficient) speakers, or defective units on some level. I've had my unit installed for almost 3 weeks now, and no problems. I have Carver Platinum planar-magnetic mains, and putting my ear up to them, or my Infinity Center, I don't hear any hiss at all, at all volume settings with no input, analog bypass, etc.

Like many things when looking for possible faults, or just to satisfy your curiosity, I believe it's often a "combination" of factors that come into play, including the sensitivity of your speakers, the interaction of components, in this case amplifiers as well. I have a Bryston 2b driving my mains, a Marantz M500 for the Center channel, crown for the surrounds, and a NAD strapped driving my sub, with Aura bass-shakers, etc.

overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase - no regrets - for the money (even with dreaded Canadian exchange) I feel I have gotten full value for my cash - how often can you say that, I wonder..

keep up the good work in your engineering, Outlaw. I hope that those of you having problems can get them corrected, with Outlaw's help of course.

I wrote this because I wanted to post something positive, as a pleased-as-punch customer.

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no 3-wish limit

I second the motion.

I got my 950 in May, installed it and was quite happy with it immediately. I had a weird problem with it, in that when going to the input configuration menu, and then to the "Video 2" input config, the on screen display on my TV disappeared. I called Outlaw, they confirmed it should *not* do that, and shipped me a replacement unit which I re-installed last weekend. Problem fixed.

No dreaded hiss. I am happy with the way Zone 2 operates. The theoretical subtleties of other problems (bass management, tone/volume control operation, bypass mode, etc.) either do not bother me or do not apply.

I waited for years to get into this new world, coming from a 10-year old Lexicon Pro Logic processor and 30-year old Audio Research stereo preamp. I really wanted the B&K Reference 30 for the past 2 years, but once I got wind of the 950 last year I decided to wait.

I'm glad I did. Given what I've heard from others (thanks, merc) I think I'd be hard pressed to justify the additional $1600 to $1800 extra for the Ref 30.

Instead, I'll get a TiVo Series 2 and an Audiotron, and *still* have about $700 left to go towards new speakers next year!

Outlaw, you hit a home run. Thanks.


[This message has been edited by rjcrum (edited June 20, 2002).]

Remember that a lot of people that have commented on the hiss problem replaced a receiver or another pre/pro with the 950, and noticed that the 950 was noisier than the prior unit.

That's not a speaker sensitivity issue.

Plus, don't forget the S&V lab results. The 950 was measured to be noisier than a $300 Panasonic receiver reviewed in the same issue.

Plus, I went back and compared the 950 results to reviews of Yamaha and Denon receivers in past issues, and the 950 still had the worst measurements.

I haven't "forgotten" any of that. I'm suggesting that, as an example - my speakers are not efficient - this type of design tends not to be as efficient as cone-type speakers. but I hear zip, nada - for hiss, hum, or any background noise. the 'control' I used was to do the same test for noise floor, hiss, hum, *anything* basically by getting up close and personal with my more conventional cone-type driver center channel speaker. again... nothing. perhaps I lucked out, but as usual with these observations YMMV, and it appears that's what is happening to a lot of customers. I also know that people tend to post with bad news, or problems, not with good news. do I hear a higher noise floor with music as opposed to movie soundtracks? no. I've had 3 weeks to play with the 950, and have only noticed some very soft switching transients/pop when switching sources, etc. that's all I've heard besides what I'm feeding the 950 with a variety of sources.

I work in professional audio. I'm a ProTools editor, audio for broadcast and theatre, live mix for bands and recording, etc. so I figure the accuracy and *ability* of my ears, are my business, basically. I don't discount at all that others are having a problem, or that perhaps there is some engineering tweaking that must be done by the folks at Outlaw.

but at least, with the unit I have, and the amplifiers I am using, I'm *not* having the problems posted elsewhere.

I *do* consider myself relieved more than lucky. and I don't take anything for granted, when it comes to listening to music or enjoying something on my home theatre.

As long as they stay in business, I have no problem recommending at least the 950 to friends and colleagues.

I wouldn't suggest for a minute that people shouldn't look for alternatives, but not everyone who is *not* posting here is unhappy or feels they aren't getting value or "the honesty inherent in doing sound properly". whether the "honesty" lies in performance, mix, recording, engineering or the sometimes weird science and art of acoustics.

...and of course, the products we choose to reproduce all that effort.

I wanted to post something positive. I wish all the posts could be as positive as mine, but where would the fun be in that?



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I literally have had mixed results with the hiss issue in my system. My main speakers (MBL 111As) exhibit zero hiss, but my center and rear channel speakers (Mirage OM series) do have some hiss. My mains are also very inefficient speakers. I also tend to believe that the hiss issue is dependent on the other components in your system. I've posted some additional findings here .