Soundhound,


I've been hoping that Outlaw would come through for those of us whose 950's hiss from well over a foot out.

I wonder if the replacment 950's will be free to those of us who have hissy 950's out of warranty. The Outlaws haven't said anything publicly about what their replacement policy might be. I hope they publish a policy statement soon. There are no doubt quite a few people in the same boat, with hissy 950's out of warranty.

[This message has been edited by Will (edited November 21, 2002).]

Out of warranty? The 950 has a 5 year like the amps doesn't it? Besides it hasn't been a year yet.

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m-mmeyer
GO TWINS
My DVD's

Do you mean out of the 30-day return window, Will? I don't anticipate that being a problem.

I'd recommend that anyone with a real hiss contact Outlaw directly and start a dialog. They appear to be very serious about getting it resolved, but unlike the "red dot" revision it sounds (at least to me; I haven't heard anything official about it) like the "soundhound" revision is going to only go to individuals still experiencing hiss (which means individuals who tell them about a hiss).

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

Great news! I have listened to very few CD's on the 950 b/c it just pisses me off too much to hear the hiss. Outlaw is well aware of my problem, so I look forward to hearing from them. I really hope this fixes the problem, as I am otherwise very happy with the 950, and I like to support a small company with good customer service.

Well I took delivery of my 950/770 combo just yesterday (my first foray into the world of separates), fully hooked up, tweaked and calibrated (well, we much as you can do in just one day).
Right away I could hear hiss (running Klipsch RF3s (mains), RC3II (Front Center), RS3s (L/R Surrounds), RC3, (Rear Center)) and an audible 'hum'.

I hooked the 950 to the 770 with plain old audio connects, the kind you get free with new gear (low end gear only it seems), anyway, I could hear the hum from the 'left side' only, I then swapped out those cables for other 'generic' cables, problem solved, hum was gone, hiss reduced.

Speakers set to small about 8ft from the sweet spot, I can hear hiss, it's not HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS like you would get if you cranked up the 950 with no signal but audible nonetheless. Moreover, I can hear hiss emanating predominantly from my side surrounds (I’ve read this elsewhere as well).

Today I received some interconnects from Bettercables (thanks Brad!) so I will not be using the generic ones, so I would imagine that given the drastic change in swapping out the generic ones for more generic one I should have better results with the new interconnects. Then again, maybe not.

The soundstage is much fuller, smoother is the best way to describe it, the SVS has much more oompf now (even set to the exact settings (-5) I used on the 1050) and the (re) addition of my rear channel in titles like ATOC and LOTR:EE sounds great and it can definitely go LOUDER

I’m going to do a tad more tweaking this weekend and watch a few films that I know that have ‘quiet’ scenes prior to ‘loud’ scenes to see if it’s bothersome.


[This message has been edited by Xen (edited November 22, 2002).]

Good advice. Since I haven't heard from them, I'll call the Outlaws and tell them my 950 still hisses from well over a foot. Hopefully they'll say they intend to replace it with a hiss-free version, and for free, even though I've owned it for well over 30 days.

[This message has been edited by Will (edited November 24, 2002).]

Will:

I may only be a dog, but I think I can save you a call. Given all your posts here, one can think it is safe to presume that the Outlaws are aware that YOU have a problem with hiss. In fact, it could be reasonable to presume that most of the entire home theater world knows that you have a hiss problem.

Won't you be sorry when it's gone or will you find something else to complain about?

But what do I know, I'm only a dog.

ARF ARF says Iggy.

Will:

As I posted earlier, the modded 950s will have their hiss reduced by a subjective level of at least one-half of what it was previously, which is quite a bit. It's your choice whether you view this hiss-glass as being half full, or half empty.....

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited November 24, 2002).]

SH:

So what is the noise as measured by you on the 'newest' revision of the 950? And do you consider it excellent, very good, good, or merely improved?

THX

Charlie:

The measured noise is about 4-5 db better (-85db wideband on the prototype), BUT the gain now is about 8db higher, and the volume control and trims now control the gain AND hiss level. The bottom line is that you can lower the volume or trim by 8 db which lowers the noise relative to the old 950 by 8db IN ADDITION to the 4-5 db measured noise reduction. This is about a 12 db or so noise reduction total relative to the old 950. This subjectively is a reduction of a bit over one-half as much noise as before. In other words, if you could hear noise at 1 foot before, now it is the same hiss at 6 inches, if you could hear the hiss at 50 yards before, now it is only 25 yards The 'quaity' of the noise is also more of a Shhhh, rather than a Hissss, as in the present 950, so the hiss that remains is a bit less 'hissy'. I honestly think this is a big improvement, without totally trashing the basic platform of the 950 and starting over. There's not much more they could do, short of a total re-design (and I would assume that is going to be the 'big brother' design). It's good enough for me. I don't know if you ever had a 950 or not, but if you did, think of the noise being cut in half, and see if that is good enough for you.


[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited November 24, 2002).]