I need someone to put my mind at ease!

Is the 950's noise floor as bad as some makes it out to be? (those S/N ratings I've read sure aren't nothing to get excited about...) I have Aragon power amps and fear I'll get hiss issues since Aragon is basically Acurus' big brother - which caused trouble paired with the Outlaw from what I've read.

Living in Canada, a 30 days audition is going to cost me an appreciable amount of money (shipping + taxes, etc.) - I'd rather be sure what I get before ordering

I am a recent 950 purchaser and was curious about any hiss, especially after talk regarding earlier versions. I checked my new 950 shortly after receiving it. It had some hiss the very first time I turned it on, and then I did a comparison to my THX-certified Onkyo. During the comparison I powered the 950 off and on two more times. By the end of the comparison I noted that the first-time-on, minor hiss of the 950 was gone. The Onkyo pre-outs, by comparison, have more noise than the 950 as the output is increased.

As to your 30-day trial expense, perhaps there is someone living not too far from you that has an Outlaw based system. While their sources and speakers may differ from the system you will put together, you could still (very carefully) put your ear to their speakers' tweeter(s) and try to judge if the 'noise floor' is acceptable to you. Or perhaps you can bring one speaker with you, one that you are 'used to.' A few hours for a drive-listen-drive experience may put your mind at ease.

I have 2 Acurus amps. With the current version of the 950, no hiss issues.

I found the 950 noise level on SACD's only "fair". It is tolerable on movies though. If you are really concerned about noise level I would suggest Anthem's AVM-20 v.2.09 But then again it is a considerable investment. Look for a demo from a dealer. As I'm sure you know it is also a Canadian company! :-)

Mike