I am new to outlaw products but so far I am impressed. I would like advice on which preamp would be most affective with my home theatre. I have looked at the 970, 990, and the 1070. Since I have the Carver amps bridged mono, I have more than enough power in my house. I would assume that the 1070 is not needed for wattage. I looked at the Sunfire since it was Carver; I have read several reviews that were not the norm for Bob Carver. Does anyone have any advice? I also take it that I will no longer need the Yamaha processor when using the 970 or the 990. Is that correct? Some good advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
I have the following equipment.

Carver C1 preamp
2 carver m-t1.0 bridge amps,
Polk Audio 1.2TL
Polk Audio PSW650
Polk Audio FXi30 Rear
Polk Audio CSi30 Center
Yamaha dspe-492 Processor
50" Plasma
Phillips DVD
Samsung sir360directv hd receiver, will be upgrading to an hdtv dvr

You are looking at either the 970 or 990. Both of these are 7 channel preamp/processors - which means you can do away with your Carver preamp and your Yamaha processor.

You will still be able to use your amps - the 970 has unbalanced (RCA) outputs while the 990 has unbalanced (RCA) and balanced (XLR) outputs. If your amp has balanced inputs, it's another thing to consider.

Kevin,

You would not need the Yamaha processor any longer. Not sure on the channels/specs of your amps, but if you want the best sound, go for the 990. I would take the 990 over the Sunfire. The Sunfire is much more expensive and not sure it would provide that much additional performance.

Welcome to the forum, Kevin. Based on the equipment list you provided, I assume the Carver amps are powering all of your speakers (I'm not familiar enough with that particular model of amp to know how many channels of amplification that adds up to). In that case, you can leave the 1070 off of the list - with amplification already provided, a pure processor such as the 970 or 990 is more cost effective. Either of those two processors would be able to replace both the Carver preamp and the Yamaha processor. The Philips DVD player and Samsung receiver would connect directly to the 970 or 990 with digital audio cables (coaxial or optical, whichever you want - Outlaw's optical cable is a great value in optical cables, by the way). If you are also considering Sunfire, I'd second Doug's recommendation: the Model 990 is a great sounding piece of gear.

OK, I've spent a little time with google and want to revise my previous comments somewhat. I still recommend the Model 990, but I don't believe that you can part with the Yamaha entirely just yet without adding some more amplification. Here's why...

I found what appears to be some information on your Carver amps that raised a question for me. If I understand correctly, your only two amps (Carver M-1.0t's) are two-channel amps that has been bridged into mono (presumably to drive one of the Polk 1.2TL's). That leaves the FXi30's and CSi30 looking for power from somewhere else. That somewhere else is the Yamaha. Your Yamaha is a curious beast - it has a three-channel amp built in to it. Based on the manual I got from that Amazon.com link, you can continue to use the Yamaha as an amp. It has a selector switch on it labeled "processor selector." If you set it to "external" then the Yamaha can act purely as a power amp - volume control, tone control, and everything else (even input selection) will be disabled on the Yamaha. I would recommend either doing that or replacing the Yamaha with separate amps (perhaps a trio of Outlaw M2200's). Probably the best place to start would be to keep the Yamaha in place, set it to "external processing," and use it as amp for the center and surrounds while the pair of Carver amps handle the mains and a Model 990 serves as processor. In that scenario, you'd connect the center and surround pre-amp outputs from the 990 to the three appropriate "INPUT from AMP/RECEIVER PREOUT" inputs near the top center of the Yamaha's rear panel. At some later date, you can always upgrade your amplification by replacing the Yamaha.

Gonk is correct about the Yamaha. I actually use the e492 for my center and 2 rears in external mode. But it does not compare to my adcoms, I'll be replacing it and one of my Adcoms with the new 7500. It sounds just OK but nothing great. There is also a buzz and the dynamics are limited. While it will work for the short term, I believe you may want to upgrade as it will be the weekest link in your system.

I do thank you all for the information, looks like I have a few things to consider. I am going to have to do some reading.

Kev, sorry I am late. I also have an old E492 that is now out to pasture, and it works exactly as Gonk describes. I was going to ask you why you bridge the Carvers which output 200W/channel into 8 ohms unbridged but bridged get 1000 W/channel (WOW!), while the E492 (which has decent amps for a receiver/processor) only outputs 60 W/channel for the center and surrounds. But I looked up your 1.2T's and see they are rated down to 10 Hz (!) which is why do not need a separate sub. Have you ever tried running them with "only" 200 W/channel? That way you could break the bridge and get 5 x 200 W/channel by adding just one M2200 for the center. Just a thought...

By the way, I am very pleased with my 990. Its capabilities with bass management and even BYPASS w/ NO SUB would give you all the flexibility you would ever need. It is very quiet and neutral.