I was wondering if anyone else has noticed a change in the sound from their old units to the blue dot. Not sure if is good or bad, but I seem to notice a lot smoother, warmer sound that seems to emphasize the mid a low frequencies more than the previous units did. I actually have used two different blue dot versions and my second one seems to be lacking the high end and life like feel the previous one had.

Maybe it is an ear thing that I have to get used to or maybe the burn in time.

Anyway, just curious what others have noticed.

Scott

I noticed much more "burn in" on my blue dot than my previous 950's -- when first connected, it seemed noticeably harsher, which I initially attributed to the sub being unhooked at the time. I didn't get the sub plugged back in for a day or so, and shortly before I did reconnect it I noticed that the harshness was much less pronounced (it had been on all day while we were at work). Just an uneducated guess, but perhaps the blue dot modifications take a little more burn in time? Aside from that, I have not noticed a real difference in sound between the blue dot and earlier revisions.

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

I might of actually found the problem. I tried changing the crossover points and noticed no change in the bass level. Therefore, I did a system reset by removing the volume know and inserting a paper clip. After recalibrating, I reset the crossover points and they seem to be working. I am not sure why the crossovers would have "locked up" but the reset worked. My system seems much more alive now with the proper bass management. I guess would explain the over empahsized middle and bass in my center speaker.

Scott

Why I like the Outlaw Black, Red or Blue. Or How a Newbie explains in improper terminology what’s so great about the 950.

You might call the 950 a chameleon, it’s been through changes, the original launch , and two-dot versions.
But through each revision…what I have enjoyed is the heart/soul of the 950’s ability to reproduce music.

I switched 3 versions through 2 sets speakers/2 VCR’s/3 STB’s/3 DVD players/3 displays. Mind you none of these items hit the above 10K price per piece mark.

Black version: Received and was disappointed. Had no concept of ‘how-to’ tweak, calibrate and control room acoustics. Still have so much to learn life can only get better in this area. But after 2 or 3 weeks with the 950, I thought…every step of the road it keeps improving…. where’s the ceiling?
Red version: I was never bothered by the ‘hiss’ as others who take seriously their noise floor. Since the Black version (sounded so good) since I was able over weeks to rid myself of audio hiss through various tweaks and upgrades, I ended with a resolution not to return my original 950. I worked too hard to get it ‘just there’.
I felt my red dot, decreased hiss levels, (as I noted in a review) but I was unsure of the dynamic range of the 950 in this version particularly in the higher frequencies. I felt it had lost a little of the life and vitality the 1st 950 displayed.
Blue Version: The dynamite sound of the original 950 is there, with reduced hiss. Just placed it in my system last night, and without having had time to tweak and demo much source material have already formed an opinion based on playing with 2 other 950’s quite a bit.

I’m keeping my original 950 and the ‘Blue Dot’ version. And in my messy way I’ll attempt to detail what I like about the Outlaw sound.

For years without paying much attention, I have been attracted to the ‘digital revolution’ while on the same hand being turned off by it sonically. I like the improvements but felt during rare moments when I was able to hear live performance that our technology had gained us less ‘noise’, more accuracy in recording playback, but had lost the organic sound (particularly when comparing something like an orchestration live with no digitally enhanced instruments and played without benefit of PA). Reducing the whole audio sensation of hearing the ‘ting’ of metal bells etc, the resonance of wood soundboards…. guitars, violins, cello’s, pianos. etc. The metallic breathy sound of a flute, the bone felt rumble of drums. The experts who discuss the difference’s between ‘digital’ and ‘analogue’ explain the smooth transitions of analogue constantly rising voltage which access an infinite number of values., Vs the ‘bed of nail’s’ effect of digital reproduction which is incremented with values between the increments not defined. Effectively reducing the ‘range’ of values any digital implementation can effetely acurrently reproduce as compared to analog.

Outlaw following with the rest of modern processors with higher bit rates and greater processing power keeps improving digital, as do all.

But what the 950 does for me, is appearing to handle what values are possible in Digital applications thereby making (digital) sound more accurate to its organic origins (the music it is attempting to reproduce), but without some of the ‘drawbacks’ the collection of parts involved in current processing often offers as a by-product. Namely for me my largest grip…. Coloring the sound.
I don’t know why I feel that the collection of parts of a 950 handles this situation better, having no engineering degree, but my ears hear it.
I have listened to the low-end to middle-high collections at retail Brick & Mortars, many Marantz, B&K, Pioneer, Sony, Harmon Kardon, Onkyo etc. Outlaw just does it better.
Marantz are pale and dull, or at its best what I think of as a ‘warm milk’ sound. It may not be strident or objectionable but it’s not very exciting or palatable either.
B&K depending on what it’s paired with can have a ‘hard’ clinical or ‘flat’ sound.
Harmon Karden, more musical but leans heavy to warmth.
No processor accurately reproduces live performance as heard through human auditory canals.

The 950 gets closer to that experience (more often than most for me), but it is utterly dependent upon source.
When I have a recording with sharp fast transients, in your face forward and tending to overload and distort through many systems (hard rock) the 950 images well. I believe its referred to as ‘cumulative spectral decay’ and it’s a drawback of very layered, loud, busy recordings. My ear hears a blurring of everything going on. The 950 reduces this effect. When I give it a spectacular sonic recording with perfect stereo imaging with depth and ambience, and air. The 950 passes it. And the revealing replication of the richness and subtlety of a single powerful loud note or the quietest passages is transparent and pure and closer to the naturalness (or what I’m looking for the RESONANCE) of a live instrument.

If my ear is capable of ‘remembering’ a fullness of tone and correct timbral ‘pitch’ of a signal note on a particularly instrument, (a grand and how it sounds at each key, each octave. I think I’m hearing that more faithfully reproduced through the 950.with more of the height, width, and depth that note displays when I’m in the presence of the instrument itself.

What I like about the 950, is whatever I pair it with ….better DACS in bypass (as it should easily just routing it, - but some do not). Greater frequency range capabilities in a speaker, it passes the sound truthfully and accurately. If I bring it a recording rich in subtle detail the 950 hands it to me, more naturally than the competition.
The 950 is great to pair with a lessor cost system as it won’t ‘hurt’ the system by interjecting coloration the can negatively impact whatever limitations are already present. If the speakers are strident, bright and cannot reproduce flat and extended highs, it will not add to the problem, (in fact it will clean up the imaging and frequency stranglehold increasing extension). With the 950 and a silk dome tweeter elevated highs which could wear me out with harshness and strident reflections (or almost distortions) were no longer fatiguing. (Probably my largest recent concern with any system other than bland and emotionless playback). The 950 holds capabilities in reserve allowing it to be paired with higher end DACs and speakers because it does it’s job, routing and processing without negative impacts or interaction in harmonics and detail.

If this sounds like an ‘emotionally connected consumer’ I’d have to state I am. What I have been searching for was a system capable of not just being nice,clean,accurant,capable or feature rich and user interface friendly. But a system which was capable of pulling an emotional reaction to sound out of me, when the recording has the quality level which is capable of producing that response. The 950 delivers to the point sending me searching for the ‘best of the best’ in CD’s and DVD’s, and (key test) breathing new life into old recordings left on a shelf due to past overplaying or personal taste revisions.

Is there an utlimate system at any price? There will never be a definitive answer to that question unless we are all willing to vote one set of 'golden ears', the final judge and jury. Are there better setups out there? Certainly and always according to personal tastes, prefrences. Is there more for the money out there than this Outlaw, ...I have not found it, nor expect too, till tech evolves and trickles down again in the next few years.

Smoother and warmer? I'm hearing some great things about how the blue dot sounds with music. I've had the original and red dot versions. I found the red dot did help improve things with music somewhat over the original, but have never been a big fan of 2 channel with the 950 - though definitely a big fan of how the 950 sounds with HT.

So I'm wondering if I should bother Scott again about sending me the blue dot special.

So waddya'all think? Is the effect subtle - possibly given to the placebo effect? Or do most of you think the blue dot DOES offer a noticeable improvement in sound quality?

Thanks!

HT CRAZED,

I have owned all three. The original 950, I gave a GOOD rating. The Red dot was given the BETTER and the Blue dot the BEST. You really can hear the difference with the blue dot. You can listen to your collection of cd's or dvd's without any distraction of hiss. After calibration the new 950 just sounds better. When I put in a well recorded cd, that is clean, clear and crisp. That is what I hear coming out. I also do not hear any clicks or pops in my 950 as others have reported.

The blue dot is clearly, to me, different than the red dot as well.

After having owned all three, I can say I never heard that much difference between the original and the red dot. Both had a loud hiss in my system and both had what I would call the Outlaw 950 "signature" sound which was distinct enough that the first time Soundhound came into my home and heard my red dot 950, he could immediately tell that the 950 was playing. My speakers are totally different from Soundhound's and normally one associates signatures with speakers and that may be true in my system as well, but despite it all, the original and red dot 950 had the same distinct signature sound.

The signature sound may be a byproduct of the hiss. The original 950 and the red dot 950, both have the hiss and the same signature sound, and also both sound a little too harsh, at least to my ears. I found the original and red dot 950 after listening, to be slightly fatiguing to my ears. Excellent sounding, with a "special" sound all its own, also but slightly harsh and fatiguing.

The blue dot does not have as much of the 950 signature sound. It sounds more "normal". Not as fatiguing, not as harsh, not as hissy, not as "special". It sounds like what most "normal" components sound like. I think the blue dot is a real improvement!

[This message has been edited by Will (edited January 20, 2003).]

I seem to recall you saying that your red dot 950 _was_ awfully hissy.....


The new 950 has the 'signature' sound of the particular IC they switched to in the analog section. I noted in one of my first posts that the new 950 has a more 'spaitial' soundfield on my system. As well, it looses the somewhat hard and brittle sound I heard with the old red dot.



[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited January 20, 2003).]

HT crazed,

If you exchanged your original for the Red dot to relieve your ears of the hiss issue, than by all means ask for the final fixed 950. After I received my Red dot I let them know that if a better 950 ever went into production that I wanted one. Outlaw continued to work on a final fix, they were aware that some of us still had some issue with hiss in our systems. That version came out on Dec.17,02. I now have one in my theater room. It was worth the exchanges to get it.

You folks are making me want the blue dot unit!