Hi. I've been researching several different pre/pros and decided to give the 990 a try. I took delivery last week and so far I've not been displeased with its performance. I did note a couple of curious things with my unit when it arrived. The first thing I noticed was something was obviously loose in the box. The main remote was not in a bag and was tumbling around along with the batteries for the remote. The other interesting thing I noticed was that all of the balanced connectors on the back of the 990 had at some time been used. I could see a mark in the metal "bowl" that was obviously the result of a cable being inserted and removed. I called Outlaw and they assured me that my unit was not a "b" stock. So my questions are: has anyone else had their remote banging around in the box or is this an isolated incident? And has anyone else noticed signs of use on the balanced connectors? Thanks.

Did you buy any cables from outlaw? When I got mine two weeks ago,I bought some cables and they shipped them inside the 990 box. The 990 (inside box was not retaped )but the outside box was secure. Would be nice to see some plastic air bags around the 990 to take up the remaining volume. Tom

No, I didn't purchase any cables and both the inner box and outer box were sealed. It would be nice to have any accessories in a small box that fit securely inside the inner box. If you haven't used the balanced connections and you can still get to the back of your 990, would you check to see if there are any signs that connections had been made prior to your receiving your unit? Thanks.

My 990 remote and batteries were bagged in the box -- the other cables I purchased where boxed separately. On the other hand my XLR jacks also appear to have been used. I presume this was part of a QA test as my 990 was otherwise in pristine condition when I opened it a few days ago.

Thanks Steve. I assume then that all units are tested via the balanced connections at some point. When I spoke to Outlaw tech support they could not give me a definitive answer. How do you like your 7700 amp? Any hum or buzzing issues?

My unscientific testing produced no hum: select a quiescent optical input to avoid source signal issues and turn the 990's volume all the way up. I'll repeat this with an analog input once I've got everything hooked back up (tape, phono, and VHS are still on the floor :-)

Likewise I've noticed no buzzing or other electrical noise from the 7700, or 990 for that matter.

I'm using the balanced connectors and everything is plugged into the same outlet. I'll probably install a new outlet on its own circuit at some point, but that'd be for load reasons, not to solve any hum issue.

Hello I read a thread on the unrelenting hum and I hope that someone could help.

I have a hum that I hear in every speaker. I had an electrician friend of mine come over twice and for the most part have eliminsted the hum except from two locations. The cable box, which does not surprise me and my projector. I have the Infocus 7205. I am now running the 7205 on an (outside dedicated room) 15 amp circuit and there is no hum. I would like to reconnect the 7205 to the outlet in my Home Theater Room but then I have the hum.

This is my situation. Prior to having the electrician come over I dissconnected everything and re connected every piece of equipment. I still had the hum. However I ran a heavy duty extension cord to an 15 amp outlet outside my dedicated room and the hum was gone.
I have four dedicated 20 amps in my room.
Thirteen 20 amp circuits on my 100 amp service. My friend said that was not an issue. However most of the 20 amp circuits are on the one side of the box.
I was thinking of two things.
One was to move at least two of the 20 amp circuits to the other side of the box or make two 20 amp circuits 15 amps. I had read somewhere that there should be a balance in the circuit breaker box. If not you could have problems.
I believe that I could interchange the breakers without changeing the wire since it is 12 gauge wire for the 20 amp and I would be reducing the amperage not increasing it.

I do not know what else to do. I have a ground rod. I have a ground bar attached to my line conditioners and in turn hooked to a cold water pipe.
The electrician checked all of the circuits for proper grounding.

I would appreciate any ideas you would have and also your opinion on mine.

Thank you and....Happy New Year!!

Frank

I also had a hum problem that I traced to my comcast cable. I installed a iso-max vrd-1ff isolator on my incoming cable and the problem was solved.

The circuit breakers alternate between phases, top to bottom. So Breakers 1,5,9, etc. and 2,6,10, etc. are all ont the same phase or wire coming in from the street. If you move the circuts to the same phase, it could take care of the hum.

Is the ground rod connected to the water pipe? Chack and make sure as it should be.

Have you tried any of the clean power products from Monster. I had a slight hum, but upon hooking up a monster reference power center hts3500, the hum is gone.

I ran my own grounding rod, after I found out that my water mainline is only PVC! Looks like the builder used my house's foundation for a grounding plane instead.

The first thing I noticed was something was obviously loose in the box. The main remote was not in a bag and was tumbling around along with the batteries for the remote. Hi. This posting is in reply to rrrhemi's first posting. I, too, recently purchased a new 990 from Outlaw and the very same thing happened with my unit. The remote and batteries were loose inside the box, and the remote was actually scratched because of it. Fortunately, because of Outlaw's 30-day free trail period, Outlaw agreed to replace the unit with another new 990. I had to think, though, how hard would it be to secure the items to the styrofoam inserts with a piece of packing tape? I would think it would certainly reduce the number of returns.

Not only would it reduce the number of returns, but also instill more confidence in Outlaw's quality control. Did you return your 990 because there was a problem with it or just the loose remote and batteries issue?

I also returned it because there was a flaw in the case of the 990 where it met up with the faceplate. The case was sticking out beyond the faceplate somewhat on the lower left-hand corner and I felt better to swap it out for a new one than try to live with it.

However, another recent thread in this forum about bass management in the stereo bypass mode not being applied correctly in the 990 has me more concerned than the cosmetic issues, really. Seems as though owners have waited quite some time to get a fix for that problem, although I understand Outlaw is in the process of working on a solution. It's just taking a long time to get it through. I just hope they don't give up and redirect their attention on the new 990 successor. That would leave a lot of existing owners in the dark.

Hello All,

Reports of the issue of remote controls moving around during shipping and subsequently damaging the chassis of the Model 990 are very recent. As indicated above we have taken care of those customers who experienced these issues and have since implemented a new packing method to ensure that this no longer occurs.

Best,

Scott

Scott, Can you tell us what the status is with the bass management/Bypass mode issue? Is there any timetable for a solution to that problem?

Thanks.

Lee, using a ground plate in the foundation is actually a very good ground connection and is totally acceptable in the National Electrical Code. Jim

I recently had my electrician in to put all of my Home Theater circuits on the same line in my cicuit breaker panel.
Hence since doing so my hum is gone. However I do have to plug my Infocus 7205 in a wall socket and not my Monster 3600 for reasons unknown I get a hum when I do this. Yet when it is plugged to the wall (7205) even when other pieces of equipment are in the 3600 I do not get the hum. Right now I have two Dvd players, and the 990 plugged to the 3600 line conditioner. The Fathom 113 and projector are in another 20 amp recptacle. The remaining laser disc and cd player are in the Monster 3500 on the other side of the room and again in another recptacle.

Well "pards," I just hooked up my new 990 this past weekend to my new Adcom GFA-7605 amplifier (with Outlaw Audio PCA interconnects) and I have to say I am very happy with the results and performance of the 990/7605 combo so far. Before I did any configuring whatsoever, I confirmed that my unit was version 3.11, so I was happy I didn't have to upgrade the 990 right off the bat.

I ran the auto calibration, which went without a hitch, but curiously it set all my crossovers at 100Hz, even though I know my JBL L890s (two 8-inch woofers ea.) can hit lows well below that frequency. It would appear as though the auto-cal feature is finding the weakest link in the system (the in-wall surrounds) and applying those x-over settings universally. It still sounds good, but I would have expected it to sense and calibrate my speakers a bit better than it did.

Overall, however, it has brought a BIG improvement in imaging and detail in movies and music over the NAD T763 receiver I formerly had in my system, taking nothing away from the NAD (which I held in high regard). Great product Outlaws!

I definitely recommend that people set the crossovers manually - in fact, it is a good idea to adjust them before running the auto-setup (100Hz is the default).

Gonk, how does adjusting the crossovers before running the auto-setup procedure help in this case? Won't the auto-setup just reset them to whatever it senses is best, in effect overriding my adjustments I make manually?

No, the auto setup will probably not reset them (it didn't for me when I ran it with the crossovers at 60Hz or 80Hz, at least). In many cases, actually, having the crossover at the 100Hz default when using speakers that can operate well below that can confuse the automatic system and generate an error (indicates small fronts and large rears).

Gonk, if I change the crossovers manually now, after running the auto-setup feature, do I have to then re-run the auto-setup again for the system to recognize the change? Harman/Kardon's auto-cal feature is setup in that way and I was wondering if Outlaw's is similar in approach.

You should not need to run the setup again.

Gonk, thanks for your advice. Based on what I've read in my short time as a member in this here forum, you are the purveyor of home theater "guruness."