I left a phone message about the hiss and next day got a very nice email requesting details about my hiss and saying they will update me when a fix becomes available.

How can one tell in, say, 60 days whether or not the 950 they get is SH fixed?

I would imagine that Outlaw themselves, or people who start getting the new ones, will post about it.

I've personally had good luck with getting answers to stuff like this when I've emailed them (Scott & Mike) directly. (The customer service email id.)

Good Morning And Happy Holidays To All,
Does anyone know if the latest iteration of the 950 resets the gain back to it's original state? While I have minimal hiss, I am bothered that when they lowered the gain to mask the hiss, I sometimes run out of headroom now.

I think that some users ended up bumping their speaker trims up a few dB across the board to compensate for it -- by using an SPL meter to calibrate the system's test tone to 75dB at the 00dB volume level, I ended up wiht the same effective gain as before (the individual speaker trim settings all rose ~2dB or so if I remember correctly). YMMV.

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

Thank you, I'll try that.

gonk,
I recalibrated to 75 at 00, and it looks like I reclaimed some of the lost headroom. Thanks for the tip.

I just reviewed the Outlaw 950 on the AudioReview site. I also have the 770 amp. After the Initial set-up, I also had some minor noise/hiss issues. After some system improvements outlined below, I can say that, at least for me, the Hiss monster is DEAD silent... Gone.

Subsequently, I have installed the 950/770 combo in two of my clients homes, and have had similar success in slaying the monster. I am an architect, often having to design home theaters for both renovations and new construction.

I have a suspicion that many of the hiss and other audio quality issues people are experiencing are related to ground faults, power supply and cable noise pollution . My 950 was apparently sensitive to these before I installed a Coaxial cable filter and power conditioner. I found that separating the Coaxial filter (different powerstrip) from my Monster Power 5000 power conditioner was necessary to completely eliminate the subtle, yet noticeable noise/hiss problem.

I would like to hear your opinions and/or observations. Thank you.

What is the cost of a Coaxial cable filter and a Monster Power 5000 power conditioner?

Others have reported that they have a noticable hiss even without cable connections and the hiss didn't go away when they put a power conditioner on the line. But most of us don't have a super duper Monster 5000 power conditioner.

[This message has been edited by Will (edited December 19, 2002).]