Hi all, I reserved a place on the 1070 reservation list, but then chickened out when the invitation arrived.

I have been using Adcom separates for years. If I buy the 1070, I will use it as a pre-pro with my Adcom amp for the front L & R channels. I do not want to settle for any sonic compromise with 2 channel music compared to my Adcom GTP 500 II tuner-preamp, which is very quiet, colorless, and transparent.

So before making a decision, I would appreciate any feedback on the following questions:

1) Has anyone tried the 1070 as a pre-pro with an external amp, and has anyone compared it sonically in this configuration (2 channel pre-out) to any other preamps or pre-pro's?

2) I have an old 32 inch TV with an S-video input but no component input. The picture is fine. I plan to buy a HDTV monitor someday but not for at least a year. Do I really need video switching at all in my receiver/pre-pro? Don't the new HD monitors have multiple HDMI/DVI and component inputs? I don't want to pay for features that I will probably not use.

3) Maybe I will just wait for the new optical HD format(s) with the new Dolby & DTS surround modes to arrive, rather than buy a 1070 that may not be able to process those new formats internally. I don't like the idea of buying 8 interconnects to go from my disc player to my receiver/pre-pro. Any comments?

Thanks in advance!

I haven't heard the 1070, but it's "big brother" the 990 absolutely blows away the GTP 500 as a pre-amp/processor. It also blows away the various successors to the GTP500 (like the 600/760/830/880). Also, unless you have one of the larger Adcom amps like the GFA-5802/5800/7500, I suspect the amplifier section won't be any worse than what you have and may in fact sound better.

Video switching is a convenience feature. My Sharp Aquos has a whole bunch of extra inputs (component/composite/SVideo/DVI/HDMI). I consider that a feature since it affords me extra flexability in the future not something I paid for that I didn't need. Flexibility is good.

Nothing that you can buy today for home theater is going to be able to process the HD formats. So that isn't an Outlaw-specific issue.

Best regards,

Video switching can be extremely convenient - many HDTV's have at least two component video inputs but often only one DVI or HDMI input (at least at the moment), and it isn't hard to exceed those limitations. I've got four sources that use component or DVI outputs - DVD recorder with component, upsampling DVD player with DVI, universal DVD player with component, and HD cable with component or DVI - and if I were to delve into an HD optical format that would be a fifth.

This hobby is like many others related to technology - there's always something new just around the corner. At the moment, the biggie is HD-DVD and Blu-ray. At the end of the day, it's all personal choice to wait or not. Personally, I'm not pleased with the way the format war is taking shape, so my tendency is to not postpone upgrades to wait for it, but that doesn't mean you should do the same. As Ritz pointed out, it'll be next year before any DD+/DTS-HD/Dolby TrueHD compatible receivers and processors appear, and even longer before they are widespread.

Thanks Ritz and gonk for the helpful comments. I have found over the years that separates usually sound better than a receiver, so before I switch from my Adcom tuner-preamp to the Outlaw receiver, I would like to wait for more reviews on the 1070, especially when it is used with an external amp for 2 channel music. I am a wait-and-see audio enthusiast, rather than an early adopter, so I don't mind waiting a little while. On the other hand, my Adcom tuner-preamp could make my decision easier if it finally dies, which it has been trying to do for a while now!

Adcom GTP-500 II tuner-preamp (dying)
Adcom GFA-555 II amp
Adcom GSP-560 Prologic I processor-amp (dead)
Magnavox CDB 650 CD player (vintage 1987, works great!)
KLH DVD-8350 DVD/CD player
Monster Cable interconnects
KEF Reference 104.2 with Kube eq (front)
KEF Reference 100 (center)
Paradigm Titan (rear)

>Magnavox CDB 650 CD player (vintage 1987, works great!)

Heh. I had one of those in college. It was my first CD player. 8-)

Hey Javachip -

I too had an Adcom TPA500 (still in good shape and to be sold if I can find a taker), though not the II version, and now I have the 990. I agree with Ritz about the 990's sound being a lot better: at least as good in the midrange, more detail in the highs, and startlingly more transparent - and deeper - in the bass. All this also applies to the phono preamp, though this may not be important to you since there's no record player on your list. The Adcom may pull in more FM stations but I'm not about to go through the agony of changing units to find out, and the 990 does nicely with all the (classical, NPR, and occasionally Pacifica) FM stations I listen to. In my home the FM is on more than anything else, and I have no complaints there except not being able to see a signal strength display, and that was just curiosity.

Moral: if the 1270 has anything like the front-end quality of the 990, you will have no reason to regret retiring the Adcom. The state of the art has really improved.

Let us all know how you like it when you take the plunge!

One thing more, Javachip:

I too have used separates, going back to Dynakits in the 1960s, and my system is still two-channel and was all Adcom for 15 years or so, with the 60-watt GFA535 driving my Maggies. (My nOrh Le Amp 2's clearly outperform the 535, but apparently they're no longer available.) My point is that if the 1270 when working as a preamp is as transparent as the 990 it may make amplifier characteristics more audible. You'll be able to compare your Adcoms with the 1270's own amp section. Should be interesting.

Ritz, I am happy to send you on the trip down memory lane. The Magnavox was my first and current CD player, which I bought in college also.

Psyprof1, thank you for the helpful comments. I don't doubt that the 990 is superior to my old Adcom. Now I just need to be convinced that the 1070 is, too. I am certain that the 990's and 1070's tuners are superior to the tuner in my Adcom, which has been quite dead for several years.

Tonight I am watching "Trainspotting" on DVD. I hear the film has a great soundtrack, which I will enjoy in good old 2 channel stereo.

Cheers!