I currently own a 1050 and have been very happy with it. I have been very close to pulling the trigger on a 950 to go with my Parasound 855 amp, but I'm wondering what the most dramatic improvement will be if I do so. I am more interested in improving the sound quality and getting the most out of my amp than I am improving features. I know that I'm not ready for much beyond 5.1 right now, so I'm wondering if I should go with a 950 or something like a Parasound 1800. I can pick up a used one off Ebay for around 400 or so, and even though it only has DD and DTS, that's all I need at this point. With the 950, I'd be future proof, but not sure if it would be the same sonic improvement as adding the Parasound. I will likely order a 950 and take advantage of the in-home trial anyway, but was hoping some others could share some experiences about what they noticed most after adding the 950. Thanks

Outlaw 1050 (as pre/pro)
Paradigm HCA-855
Monitor 11 mains
Mini-Monitor rears
CC-370 center
SVS 20-39 pci
Outlaw PCA interconnects

My 950 replaced an H/K Signature 2.0 (which ain't chopped liver.)

With the 950 I observed: more clarity, more overall impact, much improved surround activity, more detail.

In fact, the sound of the Outlaw was so much more engaging that it inspired me to purchase a phono preamp and reintroduce myself to my vinyl collection. All those benefits mentioned above that I heard in DVD and CD were also beneficial to my vinyl collection.

Before you get that 1800, which was a very fine unit in its day, I would check to see what resolution the DACs are. I bet, not more than 24 bit/48 kHz. That will affect its performance with CDs and DVDs unless it has a 5.1 input, which you might want to find out about too. I know that for the later model, the 2500, you actually had to buy an additional voume control unit for the 5.1 input, as on this unit, it really was *just* a passthrough (not even volume control).

What I'd recommend? Do the 30 day trial for the 950. You don't have anything to lose...

When the 950 and the Rotel 1066 first came out early last year, for many of us I think the raison d'etre for getting either one of them, rather than an earlier generation pre/pro (for under $2000 list) was to get DPL II and DTS NEO, which can be used to convert 2 channel CD's and FM into very realistic 5.1 channel sound. Although many people prefer listening to 2 channel as 2 channel only, the 5.1 channel in DPL II and DTS NEO are significantly better than anything in any "under $2000" pre/pro's, before the 950 (and Rotel 1066) came out.

It's not just for music. It can also be used for broadcast video. Even today, I sometimes use DTS NEO-C or DPL II-C decoding on the stereo-out of broadcast TV.

Unless you are sure you don't want DPL II or DTS NEO, you maybe owe it to yourself to at least listen to DPL II or DTS NEO on your favorite 2 channel CD's, somewhere, before getting the Parasound 1800.

Boblinds (with one L)!
What are you using for a phono preamp?
I would love to break out the old turntable that is presently stuffed under the bed, and the couple of hundred vinyl monstrosities I still have in the closet.
I cannot see dumping much money into this though for nostalgic reasons alone - you would have to tell me that the 950 made it all worth while !

In fact, the sound of the Outlaw was so much more engaging that it inspired me to purchase a phono preamp and reintroduce myself to my vinyl collection. All those benefits mentioned above that I heard in DVD and CD were also beneficial to my vinyl collection.[/B][/QUOTE]

Kiwi:

The thing that struck me was how much better the LP's sounded than I remembered them. I can only conclude that the superior quality of today's electronics also impacts "yesterday's" playback sources.

I also didn't want to pay an arm and a gonad for a phono preamp. I purchased a used Rotel for $125, which always scored well in the sometimes reliable pages of Stereophile. It retails for just under $200 and supports both moving magnet and moving coil carts.

Another very credible possibility that I haven't heard is a little battery-powered phono preamp from Radio Shack (of all places...) You can do a web search and uncover info about this $25 gadget that some audiophiles swear by.

You can check out this thread: http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/Forum15/HTML/000739.html

Bob

PS -- Here's a quote from a website regarding the Radio Shack preamp:

"For the phono amp another budget item from Radio Shack their magnetic cartridge stereo preamp, cat.#: 970-1018 for $25. Being battery powered it is very clean sounding but really doesn't have the gain to use low output MC cartridge this limits you to the higher output MM cartridges, not a real problem there's good MM cartridges."

PPS -- We should now return to AJ's previously scheduled thread.

[This message has been edited by boblinds (edited March 25, 2003).]