Actually I have to admit I haven't had hiss issues with any of the 950's I received, but did notice a sound quality improvement with the red dot unit for music as well as more dynamic HT.

With all of your excellent feedback and help, it looks like I have no choice but to be a thorn in Scotts side yet again. Hearing improved 2 channel performance out of my 950 would be sooo sweet.

As has been mentioned before, how amazing is it that Outlaw continues to support its early adopters with the latest and greatest. I've never received that level of customer service from any other company - ever.

Soundhound - by the way, the "hardness" in certain registers and lack of spatiality were probably my two biggest gripes. That's great to hear that they might have solved these issues with the blue dot! Where do I sign up?

I've been quite happy with my red dot. I've characterized the 950 to folks as an excellent HT pre/pro and a "quite good" music pre/pro.

My reservations on the music side is that the midrange seems a bit underemphasized which drains a bit of the warmth and presence of the audio in music playback.

Does the blue dot version have any impact on that aspect of music playback?

The difference in sound of the blue dot is a subjective thing - I can't say if it will address your issue, as I haven't had your particular complaint.

BTW: I see you live in Los Angeles - I do too. If you'd care to stop by and hear mine, you are welcome to do so.

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

I’ve been lurking in the 950 pages for some time now. I bought my 950 in September right after reserving it based on the announcement they would soon be shipping. In less than a week I got the email asking if I still wanted it. I wasn’t quite ready for the short time line but went ahead getting it bundled with a 755.

Four months now, and the excessive noise problem has mercifully passed me by. I did the noise test by trying an analog input with volume set at -20, then at -10, then, what the hey, +10. Nothing. OK, try analog video, silence. 950 even working? Finally, having about 3000 lp’s and a Sound Valves tubed preamp used now a days solely for it’s phono stage, I turned it on and, finally, got some noise. The normal preamp noise one would get with their phono stage turned up to nine. No big deal.

Result-- this is one silent amplifier. I am pleased I wasn’t subjected to the grief many of you went through; pleased, am I with the entire Outlaw experience.

The system is used for audio and DVD through Snell D speakers up front, a Boston center and Cambridge surrounds.

Soundhound:

Thank you. That's a very generous offer. I'm located in Westwood. My email is boblinds@gte.net

Best,
Bob

I'm returning the old red dot, and keeping my new blue dot 950. Compared to the red dot, the blue dot sounds smoother, less gritty in my system, with more dynamic range and significantly less hiss at lower volumes. It isn't perfect (especially at higher gain levels in my system). But nothing is perfect.

Aside from the hiss, the red dot sounded very good. But I think the blue dot sounds even better. It sounds more "normal" less "special" and exotic.

I have to give The Outlaws credit for being persistent, dogged, not giving up, etc. etc. They evidently believe in the motto "if at first you don't succeed, try try again."

In the end, the Outlaw dudes came through. The new Outlaw sounds better than the earlier Outlaw 950's that I've heard in my home.

Will

[This message has been edited by Will (edited January 26, 2003).]

Also I want to give credit to is the Outlaws for letting so many average Joe's like me listen to the various generations of the 950 in our homes, for a reasonable period of time. They paid to ship the new models to our homes and to ship the old models back to them so we would have them both at the same time which lets us compare the old and the new models in our home environment.

Will- I agree. In fact, I think the Outlaws have a secret plan. I think they are one of a very few number of companies that understand that customer service is invaluable. Every time they make one of us happy, we go out into the world, and pass on our experience...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by steve1173:
[B]Had a new red dot era unit that had a loud buzz on my Klipsch speakers even with the unit in mute. Received my blue dot exchange today & no buzz whatsoever, unit even sounds more dynamic.

Can someone enlighten me on this red dot/ blue dot stuff. I just set up a new 950/755 pair and have major buzzing on all channels.
After a lot of inspecting, I finally connected my old preamp to the 755 and voila - no Buzz !
Is the Blue dot version an improvement of sorts ? Am I supposed to look for a colored dot on the unit some where ?