Hello everyone, I'm seeking some advice on upgrading my current system. I've known about Outlaw for a couple of years now and made it a point to keep their gear on my list.

Currently an older Harman Kardon AVR 320 is the core of my HT system. After 7 yrs it still works without issue however I'm now limited with inputs to my TV which is aging as well. My current set is a Mitsu HD RPTV (WS-658609) with only 1 HD-capable component input. The other 4 are SD-capable only and I have an up-converting DVD player (LG-531,) Xbox 360 and Dish Network ViP 622 HD-DVR system.

I have my Dish ViP 622 connected to the sole HD component connection and due to the lack of video switching on my H&K I simply 'live' with 480p on the DVD player and 360. I do plan on upgrading my tv set next year after the standards wear down some and my tv hits 6 yrs old. Providing that any new TV will use HDMI almost exclusively I'm hesitant on the Outlaw 990 so I'm seeking some advice for going forward.

My system is primarily a HT setup but I do listen to music often from streamed MP3's, a Sony CD/SACD player and Sirius feeds from Dish network. My wife also would like a docking station option for her iPod but I know the issues of mp3's and 'compressed' music so almost all of her music is coded at 192kbps or higher.

I forgot to mention the speakers that the system is driving. My mains are Klipsch RF-5's, my center is a Klipsch KLF-C7, and my rear-surrounds are Klipsch RS-10's.

1: How will the 990 perform with this kind of content? I'm cross-shopping the Yamaha RX-V2700, Denon 3807/4306 and the Pioneer Elite 82TXS.

2: With my current setup the 990 will switch between my three video inputs just fine? I assume passing 1080i to my Mitsu is not an issue?

3: Future growth with whatever happens with HDMI 1.3. If I buy the 990 now what limitations might I face next year with a new TV? Is HD-DVD and Blueray the only concerns here? If I do upgrade to HD-DVD anytime in the next 1-2 yrs it'll likely be through my Xbox 360 which sports a component connection.

4: Will the 7075 be enough power for what I'm looking for now? I'm trying to keep this upgrade under as close to the $1500 mark as possible.

5: Has anyone used the DLO iPod doc with their 990? Encounterd any problems?

1. The 990 will handle your current sources and display very comfortably, and sonically it's a remarkable piece of gear. There's an old comparison of the 990 to the 970 and the Yamaha 2500 (with the 2500 used as a pre-amp) done by a forum member that sonically put the 990 on top for both music and movies.

2. The three component inputs will support 1080i without any degradation (my HD cable goes through it at 1080i). I'm currently only running two component sources, but until just a couple months ago I had three (two at 480p and one at 1080i) and my picture quality was as good as running straight to my HDTV.

3. With HDMI v1.3 just beginning to emerge and the format war so confusing, this is an issue that leaves many people uncertain. The only sources that sonically benefit from HDMI v1.1+ are HD-DVD and Blu-ray because it supports the new audio formats (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD) that are only supported by those two formats. Even then, most players are offering multichannel analog outputs that work with the 990's 7.1 Direct input to provide those new formats with no degradation, plus many of the players have been re-encoding the new formats on the fly to high-bitrate DTS or Dolby Digital. Other sources (such cable/satellite and DVD) work just as well sending their audio over the familiar coaxial or optical digital audio connections. As for the video side of HDMI, the 990's DVI switching works with HDMI video just fine - as you may have read, HDMI gets its video structure from DVI so that the two are pin-compatible. Check out my HDMI FAQ for more details.

Here's another thought: say you buy the 990 and an amp today, and then two years from now feel that you are ready to move to an HDMI v1.3 processor (both because you are starting to buy sources that make it worthwhile and because such processors will exist at that point). You can keep your amp, sell the 990 on Audiogon for a good chunk of the original price (call it ~$600 or $700, although it's possible that it'd be higher), and use that to help pay for a new processor. This assumes that you'll be in a position to make use of HDMI v1.3 (or even HDMI v1.1) in the next two years, which would not be the case unless you bought a standalone HD-DVD or Blu-ray player.

4. Klipsch speakers tend to be pretty efficient (you can thank the horns for that), such that the 7075 could be a really good candidate for your case. Maybe some other Klipsch owners or 7075 owners could chime in here with more specific experience on the subject. At the very least, the 7075 would be a nice upgrade from the Harman Kardon's internal amp section.

5. I haven't put any sort of iPod dock on my 990 (just a stereo mini-plug to RCA cable hooked to the tape input, actually), but the DLO HomeDock looks like it'd work just fine with the 990 - you could connect the composite or s-video and stereo analog audio outputs to one of the video inputs, and the 990 would transcode the video to the component output for you. One question that occurs to me (because I've heard of a few TV's being this way): does your HD-capable component input support 480i resolutions? If it does not, then the 990's transcoding wouldn't do you any good. It'd work fine with your three component sources, since all three support HD resolutions, but if this were the case for your TV you'd need to run an s-video cable from the 990's monitor output to the TV for the non-component sources.

Gonk, thanks for addressing my questions. Really more than I had expected to get so quickly. My Mitsu does support 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i on the 1 HD port. The other 3 will do 480i and 480p with no problem. My Mitsu does also support an iLink which will do HD as well as it was Mitsu's attempt to have a competing standard for HDMI/DVI which was starting to show up at time of purchase.

I really don't see myself upgrading to HD-DVD or Blue Ray anytime soon. Again, if I did it would likely be through the Xbox 360 which will output 1080p via component.

I'm really in no hurry on this upgrade so I'm trying to collect as much information as I can. I've auditioned the Yammy, both Denon's and the Pioneer Elite recently and to me the Yammy blew the other's away from an audio point of view. I have no doubt that I'll love the audio performance of the Outlaw and I like the fact it's made here in the States and carries a 5 yr warrantee.

I'm kinda hoping I'll catch a B-stock on the 990 or perhaps a better combo deal come down the road as I have the time to wait.

It sounds like the 990 would be an excellent fit for your needs. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks again gonk...

4. I own a H/K 7200, Outlaw 990/7500 & several sets of Klipsch heritage & reference. The 7075 will drive your rf-5's quite nicely. My rf-7's are much harder to drive because they dip down in the 3 ohm range at times. The H/K amp is high current but you will see a very noticable improvement moving to an outboard amp,imo. There is a guy on the Klipsch board using rf-5's with the 990/7075 & loves it. He auditioned the Arcam (top of the line, I don't remember model) at the same time as the Outlaw & kept the Outlaw. I believe he wrote a review of the experience on this forum also. You might try searching MarkMB, I think, i'm new here.

Arky,

Thanks for the info, I'll check out the forums over there for that info.

Don't bother tonight, Klipsch is down, again. Search the 990 threads here, it's an honest review.

I had the handle wrong it's MarkBK & the amp is the 7125. Guess i'm getting old & memory is slipping, anyway the thread is on pg 11 990 section

Outlaw vs Arcam AVR300.

Nomoneybutgoodsound wrote a good little review of the 7075 paired with a 970 early this morning. The concensus from folks who have heard both is that the 990 is a definite upgrade from the 970 for music but not so different on movies, but what was of interest to me was the fact that the 7075 worked in a 36x14 room powering speakers that look to be around 90dB efficient - bodes well for the amp doing a really nice job with Klipsch's.

Arky also mentioned difficult 4 ohm loads like his RF-7's. Most receivers are not rated to 4 ohms because they have a really hard time with these types of loads. The 7075 (like all of Outlaw amps) is rated at both 8 ohms and 4 ohms because it is intended to be able to function with lower impedance loads. In the case of the 7075, the rated output per channel increases to 115W with a 4 ohm load.