I have to say that the 950 is on my short list of processors for my new theater, and I'm looking at others that cost several thousand. I wouldn't say that it's better than the others, but the gains are pretty slim for what you pay.
I ended up going with the 1066 way back when the 950 first came out, but it sounds like the 950 had made changes that I would like in the several versions that have come out since then. If it sounds more like the 1066 now, I'd be hard pressed to come up with a reason not to get it.


brianca..

Hi John, Actually speaking for merc is playing in dangerous waters, (and in case I got it wrong) I do believe I’ll go find my surge protector just in case any stray bolts come my way.
He may pop up and speak for himself if he’s scanning, but forgive me Merc for theorizing about you, (and what you get up to and right now I bet he is enthusiastically reviewing and enjoying (I am sure) his next change in system. Yes I think Merc did change out the 950 after a years usage. I believe I personally always felt as did Merc (if I recall his opinions) that the 950 in 2K plus units had not been beat by anything he had heard in the DVD film decoding category. He did express dissatisfaction with the 950 that in his systems setup he desired to completely bypass BM in 5.1 bypass mode, and there was a unit he could achieve this with (paying twice what the 950 runs) and since he could afford it and wished this feature he did.

John, have you never sold/exchanged/replaced/upgraded a piece of your AV? It’s going to happen with the 950 and every other product on the market. There are many men in the forums, whose life’s calling is to upgrade. I believe it was Merc, who mentioned once that if you did NOT see a change in his system regularly you would know that he was dead.

Ricky, thanks very much for the post back, I feel I got a glimpse of your issues.

When I first came into research and begin to feel a growing interest in looking around into what made good sound. I’m ashamed to admit, I fell into some fun, (but really nasty habits) I made a couple of bose jokes joining in with the crowd (really it was like shooting fish in a barrel.)

But one day pursing this new passion, I awoke to the fact, that audiophiles [can] be the biggest bunch of elitist boorish snobs, I’ve ever had the pleasure to run with, and if I was not careful I might be in danger of becoming one. (someday when I grew up). I sat back and thought about peoples’ search, experience and experimentation with sound (God hold me back even Bose). And came to the conclusion, that there are many wonderful people in this pursuit with the inalienable right to choose their hearts and (ears) desires.
SO, let me tell you what it looks like on my side of this fence, maybe on occasion (not really but lets pretend) I had an overwhelming desire to chase a Rotel owner down on my horse, - (and I do have one I could use to this purpose and believe me its FUN) hog tie em and force him to listen to my reasoning. The sun would never set on culling the herd, in this way. Cause just as soon as I have one of the varmints cornered, another one would slip away to Lexicon. See where I’m going. ….what does ANY of it matter? Never let the happiness of another diminish your own.

If other Outlaw owners ARE going around shoving satisfaction of ownership down the throats of other owners. Quite honestly I have not seen it. If there is party time at the barby going on in their own territory (threads) that is a very desirable post purchase action, - I hope every owner of every available product is doing in their threads, elst they should be out shopping.) No AV owner has the right or would be right, acting as if the fate of their neighbors golden AV setup, - rested in their (better trained) hands, this is subjectivly impossible - In fact nothing available today is the best or the cheapest or the most expensive thing Fina! that shall ever be built. They’re just another choice on the market, and I’m glad there are so many flavors.

Mary,

I'm not sure how Outlaw "future" owners could shove their satisfaction around 6-12 months before the product actually shipped

Got It!

I think mainly we were standing in the waiting line, our favorite time-killer harassing Outlaw on a weekly basis. And on a good day when we asked ‘when will it be done’ we looked like this......

not a pleasant sight. Actually I feel quite 'battle hardened' for various reasons!


[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited April 01, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited April 01, 2003).]

Ricky, I bought my first DPL pioneer receiver in 1988 so I am not new to this hobby, but I usually am more of a reader and less of a poster. Like you, I witnessed the 1050 craze and the 950 hoopla on the HTF and lived to tell about it. I actually was on the first waiting list 15 minutes after opening, so I am well aware of the saga.
With that said, I still can't figure out your obsession with Outlaw. You don't own the 950, you don't like the Outlaws or their business model, so why not dedicate your time to something that makes you more happy? I am curious as to what you are hoping to achieve with your questions in this thread?
I made my decision on what I was looking for and Outlaw had everything I needed. I will admit the price was great but it certainly wasn't a deterrent as it is for some people. I understand this phenomenon because when I am in the grocery store I will buy the more expensive cheese or another product simply because I assume higher price=better product. Fortunately I know enough in this hobby to know what I prefer, and Outlaw sounded great the first time I turned it on. We all can't be Aragon fans or there would be no need for competition.


And this somehow personally scarred you? Seriously, let it go. I hope someday you can get over it, but I understand the deep emotional loss of having to read enthusiastic posts from people who were anticipating a product. That must have been really hard on you, its a miracle you survived, no wonder you are so upset. Good luck.

[This message has been edited by Jed M (edited April 01, 2003).]

For those keeping score, here's 1, 2, 3, 6, & 7:



1) This is a *feature* that has nothing to do with any of plain vanilla DD, DD EX, DTS, & DTS-ES decoding. For $899, I'll take the CES versions to get to 7.1. For now. I am an 80% 2 channel music guy. If it was 80% HT, then I'd have a Lex DC-2/MC-1 right now.

2) This is genuine. However, I actually tried setting all the config values in the 950 to the same speaker distance once (BM phase test). I didn't hear any appreciable difference on the small sample of soundtracks I tried. (Multichannel music, I admit would be different, but multichannel music is only 5.1 and would use the settings in your player anyway.) And that was with *all* speakers set to the same distance. That's why, for example, when I hear about people holding off on buying DVD-A and/or SACD because of the lack of true time alignment, I just chuckle.

3) Sigh. Using the 80 Hz analog crossover, THERE IS NO DOUBLE BASS. *Most* people do not have full range speakers all around. I consider full range to be -3 dB at 30 Hz. And that is not via company propaganda, that is by 3rd party independent testing a la Stereophile, or the NRC measurements sometimes in Soundstage reviews (www.audiovideoreviews.com => Loudspeakers).

6) You use the phase knob/switch on your sub to compensate for this. I personally would like this feature, but if you understand the wavelength distances involved with setting up proper phase *and* time alignment to your sub, you'd know this isn't necessary. I just want it because my Sony TA-E9000ES had it.

7) The Sony also had this too. I have an inverted input on my sub *with* a variable phase knob, and most other subs have at least a 180 deg phase switch anyway. So how does this affect sonics again?

Any others?



Hee, hee.



[This message has been edited by Kevin C Brown (edited April 01, 2003).]

Kevin,

Have you looked at the Anthem AVM-20? I think it covers most (if not all) of the items on your list.

Best,
Sanjay

Jed,

I think what bothered me the most were the biased and IMO unfair antics that a certain pro-outlaw HTF Moderator used (a few others used the word "Nazism").

Ricky, I would think the obvious solution would be to boycott the HTF and take your anger out on them. That doesn't make any sense, somebody calls you a nazi and you get mad at their gear?

I remember how heated it got, but its over, big time. The backlash was vicious over at the HTF and you guys did your damage to the Outlaws and a lot of people got banned. I just think its time to move on. Everybody seems happy with the situation but you and JT. I see you have a new processor and I hope it brings you as much happiness as mine has brought me.

Jed,

Not sure if you understood me. Nobody called me a Nazi (they called the HTF moderator a Nazi). And I did boycott HTF, I didn't post for 9 months, which is like 9 Ricky Years During DTF's heydays, someone called me 3PPH...3 posts per hour The used Aragon Soundstage bought me happiness several weeks ago, the newer model bought me all these new features.