Hello all. I'm a newbie to this forum, and have not yet made an Outlaw purchase. I guess my topic pretty much says it. I have a Marantz SR9200 receiver. I really do enjoy it, and it is one of the best receivers on the market. To me it sounded better than any of the Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer Elite stuff I auditioned when I bought it. To me, the only receiver that even came close music-wise (they were all great in home theater) was one by Rotel. They're a British company, and it seems they're not widely known...but that baby sang....not quite as much as my 9200, but great none-the-less. Anyway, back to my original question - I have a tendancy to ramble :-) - Will I see much of a difference for sound quality between my current Marantz receiver and a 950/755? combo? Again, I expect them to be fairly equal in home theater (although the Marantz is 7 channel), my main concern is music quality.
Any help of info from you veteran Outlaws would be greatly appreciated.

RJ

In general, you're always going to get better sound from separates than you will from a receiver.

Even the best receiver is a collection of compromises. To make one, you have to combine an amplifier, surround processor, audio switcher, video-switcher, pre-amp, RF-Demodulator, and a tuner all in one tiny box. There's no way you're going to be able to make every one of those optimally fit in there.

This is not to say that there aren't good receivers out there (there are, and Outlaw makes one) but when you go to separates, you have the ability to specialize. A separate amplifier is only an amplifier. A tuner is only a tuner, and therefore, the odds are that they'll be better at what they do.

Compare a general practitioner to a medical specialist and you'll get the idea.

Another advantage of separates is that you can upgrade only the components that need upgrading.

Let's say you had a state of the art receiver, and Cindy (whom I just made up) had state of the art separates.

A new technology, Dolby Pro Logic III comes out.

You have to replace your receiver (including the amp, tuner, pre-amp, video-switcher, etc etc.). Cindy only has to replace her surround processor.

Because separates tend to cost more than receivers, you're not likely to save money in the short run (in fact, it'll cost you more), but it's likely to save you lots in the long run.

Jeff

I am not that familiar with Marantz receivers, but I would agree, any time you separate out the high voltages and high currents from the amplifier section from the preamp/processing functions, you will get a benefit in sound quality. But even more than that, the 950 might have some features that the Marantz doesn't have:

1) Analog bass management on the 5.1 inputs
2) CES modes to "expand" 2.0 through 5.1 sources to support a 7.1 speaker system (in addition to DD EX/DTS-ES).
3) Crossovers separated out by the center speaker, L & R mains, and the surrounds/rears.

Outlaw has the 30 trial period. So in reality, if you're thinking about switching, you could try it out with no obligation. Check out some of the reviews though. I think there's at least 3 mags now that have reviewed the 950. S&V, DVD Etc, and TPV among maybe one or two more.

Hey Jeff,
Just wondering, does Cindy have a boyfriend?

Until I make a boyfriend up for her, no.

Jeff