Hi, I know it's too early to be asking this; probably we better wait for the first reviews to come out, but in a first comparison to what for sure will be Model 1070 direct competitor, the Denon AVR-2805, how does Model 1070 holds against the Denon?

In terms of video, Model 1070 clearly wins, because of the DVI switching that AVR-2805 lacks, but in the audio side, what about power (65w vs. 100w), auto room EQ (that apparently Model 1070 is missing) and ultimate sound quality?

It's interesting that both have the same price ($899), I don't think is a coincidence... for sure Outlaws know why both can cost the same if theirs has less audio features. Is it sound quality?

I'd bet that the 1070 will have superior sound quality, and that while the power LOOKS lower, the 1070 may well perform considerably better.

Features? It's a toss up the Denon has some things, particularly the autoEQ business that the 1070 doesn't. The 1070 has some things such as DVI and analog bass management the Denon doesn't. For my $$$ the 1070 wins, as I can to some extent set the levels and other configuration things manually with my RatShack meter and some test discs. No, it ain't a full EQ, but how good the Denon thing is is the subject of some debate.

Remember, too, that Denon must clearly have the advantage of volume to do things that an Outlaw or similar company simply can't.

At the end of the day, it's the SOUND that counts. My money is on the 1070.

Outlaw has already made it clear that they don't want to mess ith auto-EQ unless it really is an effective and beneficial system, and the solutions being used in the 1070's price range (which would include the 2805's) have not met their requirements. If we go by the 1050's amp section - which was also rated at only 65W but was widely praised as a very robust and capable amp - then it might be supposed reasonably that the difference between the two would be negligable. As for sound quality, we can make assumptions, but there's no way to know for sure until folks start putting 1070's in their homes.

The reality is that for a home theater system (to which the 1070 is targeted) most people have self-powered subwoofers. If you are crossing over the rest of your speakers at a typical 80-100Hz then the power requirements of most speaker systems are easily handled by 65w. You will more likely destroy your hearing long before you need more headroom. Those for whom it might be inadequate would not be likely to be buying a middle range receiver like the 1070 in the first place. I would rather not have to deal with the cabinet heat issues of more unneeded capacity than to have the warm fuzzy of being able to drive a large full-range speaker system full bore.

jlib, would you say then that i could get rid of my current 7100 (currently paired with a 950) and just run the 1070 by itself? or would it be helpful to keep the 7100 as well? how much will it help to use the 1070 as a pre-pro with my 7100?

One reason that people like to go with separates is that a standalone amp typically has a larger and more robust power supply - allowing such amps to work much better with difficult loads and to react to sudden and/or significant demands placed upon them. It ends up not so much relating to how loud you can get as how it sounds at the same volume level. A separate amp also helps with the "upgrade bug" because it lets you get a good amp that you like and keep it even if you find yourself replacing the pre/pro. If you already have the 7100, I'd probably at least compare the two (1070 as pre/pro with 7100 and 1070 by itself) before parting with the 7100, because you may want to keep the 7100.

jlib, I think that there are some things that are never enogh or at least more is always better. Some things in this category are car horsepower, computer memory, money and love, it's almost impossible to have too much. Amplifier power (watts) definitely is in this category; if you have 65w is because you can't buy more, not because it's useless. That's the reason Outlaw offers power amplifiers with 200w and even more is coming.

Any receiver in the same price category that has more power definitely it's a plus. Will be good to hear from some of the Outlaws a more detailed explanation about the other things related to power that are not reflected in the watts number (dynamic power, headroom, transformer capacity, etc). Probably this can be the point for Model 1070. Unfortunately these aspects are not covered by marketing and we end comparing watts.

Podboy makes a good point about how the Outlaw "looks" lower with its power ratings. As a current Denon AVR 3802 owner (and a future 990 owner), I can tell you that the specs on my receiver say 110w per channel. However, this is a bit nefarious as this measurement was taken with only 1 channel driven. Drive all 7 seven channels and HT magazine found the 3802 to put out roughly 68w per channel. The 1070 is likely measured the same as all other Outlaw amps; with ALL channels driven. Therefore, that 65w per channel is fairly robust and, more than likely, a bit more neutral. I find my 3802 to be a bit bright, thus the upgrade to the 990.

As Houghers mentions, Outlaw made a big deal about the fact that they were measuring the 1070's 65W/channel output with all 7 channels driven. It will be interesting to see how the 1070's amps perform.