I am a new member to the Outlaw community. I just recently purchased a Model 990 and thus far I am happy with my decision to forgo purchasing a processor that could have cost me four to five times more than what I paid for the 990. If I had gone with another company is it possible to be $2 – 3K happier than I am now??? I don’t think so and here’s why.

I have owned the same little Marantz AV550 processor since 1998. It did DD 5.1 really well, analog music was just ok, and it worked flawlessly for 13 years. About 5 months ago I made the decision to start shopping for my next processor. I looked again to Marantz but I also looked at other companies such as NAD, Rotel, Anthem, B&K, among others. I also looked at some HT publications for possible reviews. That’s when I came across the Integra line. After reading the Integra information I was sold and ready to make a purchase. Their unit seemed to have every feature known to mankind and could be had for $1500. Not long after reading and doing research of their products I noticed that Integra updated there flagship processor with another model (now the DHC 9.9). I also quickly gathered from some online forums that dealing with their customer service was a nightmare and that this processor was only average with 2 channel analog material. This information led me to continue looking over other options. I knew about Outlaw and soon discovered Emotiva. I spent many hours reading the Outlaw and Emotiva forums to learn more about their products and it seemed as though the dedicated followers of each company were waiting on the latest and greatest releases. Outlaws 997 caught my attention but seemed to be taking longer than expected for release. The 990 always seemed to be there waiting for the taking.

While the research ordeal continued I purchased Panasonics highly rated DBP-55 blue ray player. All reviews raved about it's picture quality, speed, and upgradability. I also made sure to purchase a Blueray player that had 7.1 outputs just in case I did go with the 990. My decision was narrowed quickly when I thought about features that were important to me in a processor. I also didn’t want to get caught up in all the bells and whistles that I may never use anyway. I wanted good analog for music, bass management, great digital processing for standard DVD, 7.1 inputs for Blueray, multiroom functions, reliability, and a great support group. What I didn’t care about was XM & Serius connections, video processing & switching, network streaming, and room correction software. I don’t care about the video switching because I only use two video sources (Blueray and HD cable) and I run both directly from the source to my LG plasma with two custom-made 50’ component video cables. I also don’t care much about the HDMI world at this point because I think it’s only a matter of time before it will be changed or upgraded again. With this in mind I finally made the plunge and ordered a 990. How could I go wrong with a 30 day return policy and $699? Once I got the monster 990 installed, and calibrated manually, my first impression of two channel sound was really good. My speakers took on a new sound that I could hardly believe. I could hardly wait to get the Blueray going with the 7.1 inputs. All I can say is WOW! The dynamic range left me speechless and with a grin. My 12 year old amps are happy to stretch their legs with this kind of input! What the 990 isn’t….. its not the latest and greatest processor with all the bells and whistles of the new processors out there. What the 990 is……it’s one awesome machine that can do many things well without a lot of fuss for a ridiculously low price. I highly recommend it.

Your saga sounds simlar to mine. I used a Harman Kardon signature 2.0 ..actually a pair of them..as processors in each of my audio video systems. Like you, I ran no video through them, just a composite for the OSD. The other video sources were connected directly to the monitors.

I did do one thing a tad differently in that I bought two new preamp/processors...an Integra 9.9 for my main home theater system and an Outlaw 990 for my living room system that is used mainly for music. I am very happy with both decisions and here is why.

For my home theater system, the HDMI switching and full audio capability along with the ability to upscale all video content to whatever resolution I prefered , up to 1080p, was important. I have found the audio, both two channel and surround, to be a horse apiece between the 9.9 and the 990. They both sound great..and a big improvement over the HK's they replaced.

In your situation where you had no interest in hdmi hookups, the 990 was the perfect choice. At it's current price point it is the best value out there.

I was listening to my 990 living room system earlier this afternoon and just marveling at how good those magnepans were sounding.

Welcome to the forum, awgtitan! Glad to hear that the 990 is serving you well.

New Outlaw here, too. Thanks to some great help and advice from folks here on the forum, I've been able to get my system all set up and dialed in. So far I must say I'm very happy. HT audio, whether from HD cable or Blu Ray disc is even more impressive than I thought it would/could be. I'm still trying to dial in everything I need to get my 2-channel audio listening experience on par.

I'm wondering if maybe some of the CDs I'm listening to are simply not very well recorded. Is it possible my Samsung BD Player used to play audio CDs is just not that great? Do I need to upgrade my XLR connections? I guess what would be really helpful would be to hear a few different setups until I could decide how mine stacks up. Short of that, I guess I'll keep tweaking until I'm either 100% happy with my CD audio, or I've convinced myself that I'm getting the best sound I can get.

-c

I tend to be alone in this (or at least in the minority) but once I heard good 5.1 surround audio (DVD Audio and pure DVD Music) I lost interest in 2 channel music. It just can't match 5 channel recordings which place 5 full music channels on the disc.

Unfortunately the industry/music establishment just hasn't embraced true 5 channel recording and mixing to date. Therefore I'm stuck with a small play list that really cranks my adrenaline anymore.

Maybe you suffer from this predicament but hopefully you get it "dialed" in to your satisfaction.

The digital output from your Samsung should be a reasonable way to play back CD's, as all the player is doing is acting as a transport. Using the analog output from the Samsung may not be as good, however.

Also, a good system can be revealing of bad source material, and you can find some poorly mastered/recorded CD's. For example, a lot of more recent CD releases suffer from excessive loudness. I've also got some discs that were recorded on a tight budget - the first release by 3 Doors Down is a good example of this - where a merely average system sounds fine but a really good system reveals all the blemishes. I remember listening to that disc on my father-in-law's very high-end two-channel rig back in early 2000 (before I upgraded my very average Yamaha/Bose setup to Outlaw and Paradigm) and being amazed at how many bits of background noise and other flaws were suddenly audible for the first time.

Yeah - I'm usually using the digital output from the BD player to listen to audio CDs. I'll switch over to the 7.1 input once in a while just to compare what I'm hearing.

I do notice a big difference in the audio quality from one CD to the next. Some of the CDs that sound the best on mediocre home or car systems turn out to sound the worst when I listen via my current setup. The converse is true, as well.

I guess I may try a couple things with my interconnects as well as maybe the speaker cable I'm using in my front speakers to see if I can eek out a bit more sounds. It's not like things are bad. Quite to the contrary, they are very good. I just have this feeling they can be better. Besides, I need some way to spend my time while my boat is being prepped for spring fishing!

One of the best sounding CDs I have heard is The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over. What really sounds good in multi channel is the Blue Ray or Heart, live in Seattle.

Another great sounding Blu-ray is Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds at Radio City Music Hall. Great video, too.

I have to agree with that eagles dvd. With the DTS soundtrack on a really good system, that is some very impressive sound. That entire concert is incredible.

I'm going to have to go pick up a copy of that Heart concert now too...I've never heard that one. I don't have a blu ray player yet...I'm waiting on that new oppo one...but I'm sure it'a availble on regular DVD also. Hopefully with the same quality of sound track.

There was a time when I spent gobs of money on fancy interconnects. I still have some 3 foot lengths of Kimber KCAG pure silver balanced cables that I think I paid 400 bucks for. They sound very good and I still use them in my main system, but I would never spend that kind of money on cables now.

I just bought a pair of Monster Studio Link 2m balanced XLR cables to hook the output of my 990 to a Threshold S500e power amp. I paid 60 bucks for the pair at a local store for musicians and DJ's. Cables like that at a high end audio store would cost far more.

I tried swapping those Monsters with the far more pricy Kimber KCAG's, and heard not one bit of difference on some very revealing speakers.

You do need to buy decent well made cables and speaker wires, but there is certainly a point beyond which paying any more is a waste of money.

I saw in a review that Gonk did of a piece of gear, that he tried some 5 buck XLR microphone cables as an interconnect in a multi channel setup. He also said he then tried some more expensive Outlaw XLR's in their place. I'd be interested in his experience with that swap. Did you hear a difference?

Sorry to "hi-jack" this thread but if you like "Hell Freezes Over" get the Eagles "Farewell I" DVD (In the Gold colored box). Recorded in 2004 in Australia...this is really my Reference standard for 5.1 music. In addition you get 4 Joe Walsh solo tunes and a whole new version of Hotel California. Listen for the horn section!! (Yes he said horn section)

My other favorites: Peter Gabriel "Play" - all his videos remixed personally by P.G. in 5.1 !!!!!! Billy Joel - "The Essential Video Collection" - remixed in 5.1, ZZTOP Greatest Hits Video Collection - yep 5.1. I also have a DVD Audio of Fleetwood Mac's Rumors album which is exceptionally remixed.

I've found that except for the Eagles who record their live concerts in multi-channels with all music - no arena crowd noise for the back channels, the studio material (i.e. albums and videos) translate better into the format for obvious reasons.

I agree. Spending your wad on esoteric cables is an utter waste of cash. I've been through them all, including MIT Oracles and that ilk. Short of trying to subtly use your interconnects and speaker cabling as tone controls, I personally just don't see the value.

Want "reference" balanced audio cables? Get yourself a roll of Canare star quad L-4E6S microphone cable, some silver solder, Neutrik XLR connectors and roll your own. It only takes a few minutes per cable and you can tailor them to exactly the length you need to cut down on clutter. Not comfortable with a soldering iron? There are plenty of places that will make them for you to the lengths you specify at a tiny fraction of the cost of the "high end" cables. This is EXACTLY what a lot of the recording studios use and they've got a few folks with trained ears and backgrounds in engineering at their disposal.

Best,

I've got Outlaw XLR's on my 7500 right now, but I used 6' microphone cables initially. I heard no difference. The Outlaws were a better length for my system and had better connectors (one of the mic cables tended to hang up a bit, but the Outlaws all fit very smoothly), so I left them in place and passed the mic cables on to a friend (Oy of Mid-World here in the saloon, who has a 990 paired up with five M2200's).

Speaking of reference level concert Blu-ray. Try the Snakes and Arrows concert by Rush. This disc came out in 2008 and uses DTS-HD format. When I read some reviews on Amamzon about how good the video and audio quality was I had to have it. Even if you aren't a Rush fan the quality of this disc will push your system to the limit and reveal limitations as well. The colors are as rich and deep as I have seen. The DTS soundtrack is super clean and places you right in the middle of the concert.

I'll have to go along with the recommendation of Peter Gabriel's "Play" DVD. Someone had given that to me last Xmas and I never got around to opening it. Well, last night I did. Wow. I'm not a big Sinead O'Connor fan, but the duet with PG on the DVD is really well done.

Best,

P.G. "Play" DVD is my second favorite to the Eagles Farwell I DVD. Both EXTREMELY EXCELLENT sound! Highly recommend both.