Hi all...

Within the next month, perhaps sooner, I will starting to build my first home theater system. When I had asked a couple of people for Receiver opinions, almost everyone mentioned the Outlaw 1050... which is why I'm here!

I am looking at a DVD player that has the decoders built-in (Sony DVP-NS500V)... so I was wondering if there are any problems with a "decoderd signal" going into a receiver that has decoders built-in.

I also have some questions about the ICBM-1 product... but I'll ask those in the proper forum.

Thanks...

Jeff

PS - For those who care... TV is a Sony WEGA 27". At the moment, my speaker choices are either the Paradigm Cinema set, the Klipsch Quintet set, or the Klipsch System Series 6 set. Leaning toward the Paradigms... but won't make a decision until I make some measurements in my media/living room of my apartment.

PPS - Realizing that the 950 isn't out just yet, what are the differences between it and the 1050?

[This message has been edited by jshort (edited December 27, 2001).]

Well no there isn't problem because if you use the dvd's decoder you will have to use the 5.1 input on the back of the 1050(or 950) which bypasses the receivers internal decoding. If you use the receivers decoder you would use the digital input either optical or coax which bypasses the dvd's decoder. The only drawback is a two edge sword, which is if you have lots of components to plug in through the digital outputs you may run out so you could use the 5.1 input. On the otherhand if you use the 5.1 input for your dvd and then buy a sacd or dvd-audio you would have to switch it since those 2 at the moment use the 5.1 input. Does that make any sense? Cause now I'm confused. As far as your other question the 1050 is more of an "entry level" than the 950 sord of. The 1050 is an all in one unit and the 950 you will have to buy an amp. I assuming you knew that though. Also the 1050 is a dd,dts6.1 and the 950 will be a dd,ddex,dts,dtses,plII 6.1,7.1 unit. So if your just starting out and your sure this is the hobby for you and money is not an issue the 950 will be hot, but the 1050 is an excellent starting point and can be added to in preparation for a pre/pro setup.
For instance I have the 1050, a nad 218thx amp for my fronts and a 750 5 channel which runs the rest I could go to the 950 but I am more than satisfied with what I have(don't tell my wife) and I probably won't up to the 950 until more movies come out in 6.1 or 7.1. So most important do want YOU want and have fun, be warned it is very addicting but it is an awesome family hobby.

m-mmeyer

OH NO THE SPELL CHECK DOESN'T WORK!AND I CAN'T SPELL

[This message has been edited by m-mmeyer (edited December 27, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by m-mmeyer (edited December 27, 2001).]

m-mmeyer did a pretty good job of covering all the bases. I'll add that typically Dolby Digital and DTS decoders that are built in to DVD players aren't as good as those in receivers like the 1050, and they don't offer the range of bass management that the 1050 offers. Using a Dolby Digital decoder in a DVD player would mean that you couldn't use the 6.1 surround mode in the 1050 (the 5.1 input that you would be using bypasses all of the digital stuff in the 1050 -- bass management, Surround 6.1, and such). In general, it's preferable to use the decoder in the receiver (it also means buying only 1 cable instead of 6).

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Gonk

A couple more thoughts that just occurred to me:

1) Using the digital output from the DVD player (which means using the decoder in the receiver) will leave the 5.1 input open for DVD-Audio or SACD (which are currently required by standards to only use analog output).

2) Using the digital output from the DVD player would eliminate any need for an ICBM. The 1050's bass management is pretty darn good, so it would make the most sense to use a digital connection and forego an ICBM. All that said, the ICBM is a cool product and getting an understanding of it will give you a better understanding of bass management in general, which will be a big help as you mess with all this stuff -- so ask away!

3) I'm one of the resident Paradigm fans around here, but I haven't listened to any of the Cinema stuff. Let us know which one you go with...

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Gonk

Thanks for the reply, gonk, but I have some questions to ask.



Ok... so is it possible to have two input coming from the same machine. In other words, lets say that I connect the DVD player to the 1050 via digital. Now, this player is also a SACD player... which means that I would also hook it up via the 5.1 inputs. Is that possible?

Or... should I focus on a DVD player that doesn't do SACD... and then get a separate SACD/DVD-A player later?

Thanks for the answers... I am "waiting" to make my purchases - got to measure what my room is to decide on speakers, but I think that I have my receiver and DVD player picked out.

Jeff

Right in one, jshort -- you can connect a DVD/SACD player with a digital cable for DVD-Video (which is my recommendation for that case) and still use the 5.1 analog output for SACD. That is actually the "typical" setup for players that do DVD-Video as well as DVD-A or SACD. I don't see a lot of benefit in separating DVD-video and SACD/DVD-A at the moment, unless you need a really high-powered DVD player for video (like if you were driving a $20,000 front projector).

I too am more than likely going to purchase a 1050 by the end of month. I haven't heard too much about the new 950 until m-mmeyer talked about it here. Does anyone know how much this unit is going to be going for ? And, do you think that 6.1 will be around for a while yet to not have to worry about needing the 7.1 just yet ? ? ?

Thanks

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I just didn't think they made radios like this anymore then ....welcome to Outlaw !!

The 950 is pre/pro only (you'd need a separate amp, which is where the 750 or the upcoming 770 come in), and will cost $899.

Currently, most of the 7.1 applications are just 6.1 with the same signal sent to a second speaker. Some of the proprietary decoding schemes (7.1 stereo for music, or DSP modes from Lexicon and the like) actually sent different info to each of the two center surrounds for 7.1, but otherwise 6.1 is much the same as 7.1.

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Gonk

About $900 bucks..but that's not apples to apples with the 1050. This is only for the pre-processor, you'll need to add amplification for each of the channels you intend to use. A good 7 Channels of amplification will cost you in the neighborhood of $2k(Outlaw 770-$1800), but once you start talking separates, you can spend A LOT more than that in a hurry