Well, sales is closely related to marketing and consumer perception, and no one here has been claiming consumers make uniformly wise choices. Quite to the contrary it's obvious some consumers will be influenced by things that barely matter, as evidenced by this thread.

PS - If you press the key with the arrow on it (it also generally says "Shift") you can get capital letters to work for you, George.

Being new to Outlaw, I will admit that 65Wx7 and 69Wx2 was/is a concern in my decision making process. I've got another post concerning my trouble getting 75dB out of the test tones with my setup unless the channels are trimmed up extremely high or the volume is maxed at +10.

However, having been through other receivers and looking at various 100+W/channel new units, I find the features and flexibility of the Outlaw very appealing. Items such as lip-sync delay adjustable from the remote (without going through a bunch of menus), pre-set level for power-on volume & channel surround mode, bypass mode for inputs, 12V trigger for external amp (if I ever need more power), multiple levels of bass management (including the fixed 80Hz switch so I can get sub output in 2-channel bypass mode), fully assignable digital inputs, true 65W/channel with all channels driven, DVI switching and more. So my quandry is a solid and flexibile feature set with "somewhat restricted" power levels. The 1070 is now hooked up and I'm going through the process of testing it out to see if it's worth keeping. It certainly can get very loud playing 2-channel music or movies in my space, even with the noted problems of reaching 75dB with the test tones.

It will certainly be a judgement call that I'll have to live with for a while based on the price... but I am enjoying the process

Walter

Nice...very mature charlie.

Walter,

I'm in a similar quandry as yourself, although unfortuantely am not it the position to benefit from the majority of the many fine features that make the 1070 unique at its' price point, such as DVI switching and lip-sync management (which I agree, is by far the most usable I've read about). So...I'm left in the position of evaluating it based on ability to perform essentially as a 5.1 and stereo receiver. In that regard, its' flexible feature set isn't quite as important as its' stereo capability. Additionally, being in Canada, the cost of shipping one up for a 30-day demo is also quite prohibitive.

Would you mind mentioning the other units that you've demoed and your impressions of them? In paticular have you listened to either of the NAD T753/T763 models, Arcam or any of the Pioneer Elite models?

Smitty

Where are these other posts saying that people have to turn up the volume to +10db to get 75db on the meter?

I would like to know, since I suspect I have this problem as well. I really like the features this unit has, but it just sounds a lot quieter than my previous Kenwood reciever.

Just have a look through this forum, there's a couple of threads on the subject including the following:
http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=37;t=000029
http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=37;t=000058

There's also this one, that is somewhat related:
http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=37;t=000049

I don't think it's really a "problem" so much as a power limitation of a 60w x 7 receiver. Basically it indicates that, depending on your speakers, you may need to set the volume to maximum to achieve "reference" levels.

Smitty,

My current unit is a Yamaha RX-V630 (75Wx6) and I've listened to the Rotel 1056 and 1067, the Arcam 300, Yamaha RX-V1500 and RX-V757. I'm on the pre-order list for the Emotiva ULs (pre-pro/amp combo) but obviously haven't heard this yet since it's not shipping (the amp is listed as 125x5, 2x50 into 8ohms IIRC). The Arcam clearly sounded the best - even though it seems lacking in power initially as well - but my budget can't handle its price tag. Compared to the rest, the sound of the 1070 is "neutral" meaning no excessive low-end or high-end coloration of the source. I too only have 5.1 but it seems harder and harder nowadays to get a good 5.1 unit (or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough). I still feel the power is somewhat lacking at 65Wx5 and would really prefer not to have the volume just a few clicks from max for most of my listening. I also noticed that in bypass mode the test tones drop from about 72dB to the mid 60's and this is also evident when playing CDs - the volume drops noticeably when switching from 2-channel stereo mode to bypass. I really like the sound from the bypass mode but am now without a CD player for a few days to run any more listening tests so I haven't been able to check if power/volume is an issue.

I'm really hoping to get the replacement CD player quickly and will be testing as many DVDs as I can until then to help me decide if the power output is a show-stopper. If it's close (meaning my wife keeps telling me to turn it down) I don't mind dealing with it for a while and putting an amp on my wish list for next year... but that wasn't my goal when intially deciding on this unit.

This could be one of the most misinformed statements I think I've ever read on this forum. There is no way you can tell somebody that a similiarly priced 100w x 7 receiver is going to acheive "reference" level easier than the 1070. Without providing full system information, including speakers and room size, you're absolutely just guessing. AND, if you're basing this judgement off of what the volume knob reads instead of a SPL meter, well, you're just out of line.

We got your point. You don't like the 1070 because of the power ratings. I'm sorry it doesn't work in your situation. By the way, what do you own?

Wow, that's got to be one of the worst (best?) misinterpretations I've read anywhere.

What I said, in response to a very specific question, was that the volume setting you use in calibrating the test tones (obviously with the aid of an SPL meter as the original poster mentions) is the same volume setting you'll need to reach reference levels. And this is related to the power level of the receiver. Simple.

BTW, as the byline says: "Here you can discuss your likes, dislikes, questions and experiences with the Model 1070." I'm sorry you feel offended by constructive criticism of an electronics product.

My views from the sideline.

I have no plans on owning the 1070 since I am a 990/770 owner, but I do think the Outlaws should have beefed up the amp section at this price. I understand it is only a few decibels but not having at least 100wpc in the $1000 range seems out of place. The feature set looks great though, but that only stays fresh for the first year. Once every receiver in the $300 range has HDMI or DVI switching and the $1000 range receivers start eclipsing the 1070 in features then 70 wpc will be a much harder sell for the Outlaws. Power may not be important out of the gate with a feature ladened receiver but as time goes by it will need to rely more and more on the meat and potatoes and less on the features. One feature that will probably remain uniquely Outlaw is the analog bass management, which is truly awesome, but quite frankly if a receiver in a years time can do bass management with an HDMI cable, then that relegates that feature as less important too. I truly respect the Outlaws and I know without hearing it that the sound quality is "there" but IMO I think in its price bracket charging $100-200 more and beefing up the amp would have made its long term prospects better.

I don't mind that the 1070 is only 65 watts, because I've never had any problems with power with it. I was a little worried since my old Sony was rated at '110 watts per channel', that the Outlaw would not have enough power for me, (the exaggerated rating of the Sony non-withstanding). One thing I do wonder about is the sensitivity of everyone who is complain's speakers. Maybe if you have very insensitive speakers, then the 65 watts of the Outlaw will not be enough for you, but I think for most, it won't be a problem.

In my case, I have Klipsch speakers with sensitivities of 100, 96, and 92 for the fronts, center, and surrounds, so that was enough for me to get past my discomfort at the seeming downgrade in power (even though I am pretty sure the Outlaw is still more powerful than the Sony it replaced).