applejelly,
You raise a good question about my crossovers being different for my surrounds and front speakers. I may be wrong or off in my reasoning but I feel like there is less bass information going to the surrounds so I chose a higher crossover for it. I may try setting them all the same and see how it sounds though.

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Here is my quick and dirty review of the 950 so far...

My review system:

Outlaw 950
B&K AV 500 Mark 11 5 ch amp
Ati 1502 power amp
RCA DTC 100
HTPC with Radeon LE and AP 24/96 sound card
Belden 89259 speaker cables
Tributaries interconnects all around and the FREE excellent line level cables that came with the 950
Monitor Audio Silver series speakers
Paradigm Titans to complement the 4 rear channels
HSU VFT-2 subwoofer


Positives:

The noise floor issue is moot in my set-up. I'm experiencing the same as everyone else, do the ear to tweater test ang you get hiss, move the ear away from the speaker and nothing.

After several hours of listening, i am very impressed. There are many improvments over my former ACT3 processor which was/is an excellent value processor in it's own right. The clarity and subtle details are immediately evident, the 950 allows for a HUGE soundstage, i mean HUGE! Did i mention HUGE? This piece just plains sounds really good! If the lack of individual speaker levels and delays were a problem featurwise in the 950, i certainly can't hear it.

I set-up the 950 without the manual meaning it is very straightforward to say the least. Took 10 minutes.

Definitely sound to die for at $899. Like Evan said in his review, the 950 will undoubtedly hold it's own against the more expensive prepros out there. I can't speak personally but i have listened to high quality gear and know good sound when i hear it. I'll leave out the superlatives but the 950 delivers. How's that for short and sweet. Good job Outlaws! Was the wait worth it, i would have to say yes.

Negatives:

When listening to dvd playback on my HTPC, when switching from PCM to DD or DTS, there is a pop heard through the 950 when this switching occurs. This is not necessarily the 950's doing but some processors including the Acurus Act3, Tag AV 32 and now the 950 among a few other prepros are succeptible to this but M-Audio is working on a driver fix for their line of sound cards. Again, only a handful of processors display this, be it acquisition time or sensitivity or ? For the most part it's not a problem.

The remote is OK but i use a Pronto anyways so no biggie for me.

Lastly, this is one pet peave i have with this unit which is the inability to remember which modes were previously accessed or the inability to store these as defaults. This is a problem in particlar when listening to 2 channel. The 950 always defaults to Prologic 11. Of course i am using the digital input, obviously the direct bypass will allow for true analog 2 channel sound at one touch of a button. Regardless, having to scroll through all the modes when switching inputs is a pain. This is about the only real problem i have encountered at all with this unit. Don't get me wrong, the 950's sound far outweighs ANY of the negatives. Since i do not write reviews for Home Theater Magazine, obviously everything cannot be positive, i have to throw in a couple of negatives about the product I'm hoping that there are DISCRETE codes for all the surround modes. This way all modes will be accessible at one touch of a button or a macro could be created to switch to the desired sound mode as per the selected input.

RAF,

you use a Pronto, are there discrete codes for a the surround/music modes that you are aware of?

I haven't found any discrete codes for the Pronto yet (but I have been busy and haven't really looked yet.) I'm relying on the inventiveness of others and will check remote central on occasion.

Please let us all know if you find any ccfs.

Incidentally, I used the LEARN feature of my Pronto to substitute my 950 for my old Denon 5700 functions. For modes I'm still using the 950 remote (naturally).

But I understand what you are trying to do.

Glad to hear your comment Marc, as I too have the Marantz AV550 and still in the waiting game for my 950(2/10 date). I will keep my RC2000 remote. Its been absolutly flawless and, as you know, not the quickest to program /but once in, its stays. Im glad to hear of the sonic improvements that I can look forward to. The 550 served me well, but a real bummer not having DTS . Thanks again!

RAF,
How is the 950/755 set-up sounding now that you've had it for a while??? How's the 755??
I'm considering the pair.

I've been living with a 950 for over three months and a 755 for over one month. Nothing has changed my opinion that this is a great combination. If you want to purchase new equipment with a warranty, in my opinion this combo or the 950/770 is hard to beat in terms of price/performance.

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RAF

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

I have only had my 950 for a few weeks but wanted to add a review for those still waiting. One of our own, from the Outlaw saloon, a young member who goes by the name Youngguns, came over to help unpack and set up my newest addition. He made quick work of the remote, navigating the setup menus, and completed options in no time. After waiting all these months for the 950, I was finally going to hear it. We slipped in the first C.D, Tomas Ornberg's BLUE FIVE, into the tray of the C555ES and waited. My first impression was great detail,lots of air in the treble frequencies and great depth. The soundstage was huge and everything was clean, nothing added, just the way it should sound. I was not disappointed. Especially for vocals and string instruments I really love the exceptional detail. As good as the 950 is for music, It just knocked me out for Home Theater. The combination of 950,750 and my Parasound filling up my Monitor Audio Gold Reference 60's, 10's, and center the room was full of sound. My two Energy XL18" subs were moving the room. I have watched GLADIATOR before, but it never sound like this, DTS ES is outstanding. There are hundreds of dvds titles in my collection, many with Dolby Surrond that can be made to sound rather good with the use of PLII. Our friends have brought over some of their favorite DVD titles,and have said things such as,were hearing things we didnt know were in the movie,the sound is great. The 950 worked without a glitch. Was it worth the wait,Yes. Are there any weaknesses, sure NO HEADPHONES, Such a simple thing to. But still the Outlaw 950 is unbeatable, to me, for the price. Its a bargain.

DOBEMAN,
Glad to hear you are enjoying your 950 and thanks for posting your review. The exceptional detail in music and dvds is something I have been very pleased with as well and I agree with your friends views on how they are hearing things they had not heard before.

power,
I see in your review that you have an ATI 1502 as I do also. How do you like it? I am using it power my front speakers.

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my second review:
i was so angry several weeks ago because my rotel amp did not seem to work properly. it shut down by itself every half hour or so. it turned out to be the darn electricity in my dorm (anyone with a possible explanation?). i brought it home and it's worked flawlessly. anyway, i had a chance to test stereo music on the 950+1095 combo with my 4 year old JBL's G500s. i have to say that i never believed it when people said that their new (most of the time more expensive than their current one) piece of equipment blew them away or they could hear things that they had not been able to before. well i've changed. if you read my previous review, you might remember that i HAD to use my old sony receiver with an eq. otherwise, it was not listenable. to make it short, the 950&1095 combo has changed the way i feel about music/hometheater.
another test that i did several days ago was when i visited my sister and brother-in-law. i used their 5.1 speaker set (puny "pathetic" cubes) with the 950 and the rotel 1095. i used the jurasic park disc (with dts track) to test. the first difference i realized was the subwoofer. i sat about 7/8 feet away from the subwoofer and i could feel the wind in my face every time the t-rex took a step. yes it was that powerful. it wasn't the rotel amp that woke up the subwoofer for the first time because the subwoofer was directly connected to the 950. i listened to their system again today (funny receiver with the 5.1 speaker system) and could not feel anything out of the subwoofer! it is the same .1 channel but being handled differently on different pieces of electronic equipment.
over all, i'm glad that i had waited (over 6 months!) for the 950. now i don't know which piece is my favorite.. 950 or 1095

Just hooked up my new Pioneer Elite 47A DVD and played a few SACD's -- the thinness and sibilance I found with some CD's is totally GONE and replaced with the most amazing quality sound my walls have ever had the pleasure to experience. Could it be the recording of the CD's?

I am having a problem getting Dolby Digit playback from my digital (DD)cable box on both my 950 and 1050. Does that mean my signal is actually ProLogic rather than Digital? I've tried hitting the DD key on the remote but no luck. Can anyone shed any light here?

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Denny

[This message has been edited by raceone (edited May 23, 2002).]