I am looking at getting the 1070 ... but I have an unusual setup ....

I have a dedicated 2-channel passive preamp that drive my two front speakers (Maggies).

I will be taking the Front PREs from the 1070 and feeding to the passive preamp (I use the passive preamp to listen to stereo music from a dedicated source).

Will the 1070 heat up as much when the front two channels are not powered by it ?

Some 1070 users out there with separate amps can hopefully give you some feedback about the 1070 specifically, but in the meanwhile I can comment on what my old 1050 did when a separate amp was added. The unit still generated a fair bit of heat from the amp section (which is basically sitting idle), but there may have been a few degrees difference. Of course, my separate amp was beneath my receiver when I had the 1050, so heat from the amp would have risen past the receiver.

So, after a few disappointing trials with some lower priced higher powered competitors, I decided to try out a 1070. The end result is that I'll be keeping this puppy.

Simply put, the sound is fantastic. Music is outstanding in 2-channel analog bypass mode, SACDs and DVD-As excellent as well. Using the 1070s DACs, I find 2-channel music a little harsh depending on the quality of the recording, on a well recorded CD the 1070s DACs sound better but I find the analog inputs a bit more forgiving for most of my CD collection. HT is very engaging, certainly beyond what I expected.

The volume output isn't quite up to ear damaging levels, but I think I'll just learn to live with that. It sure would be nice though if the Outlaw's could squeeze in a software upgrade that added a bi-amp mode for the rear surround amps.

Thanks Smitty...what were some of the receivers you compared the 1070 with?

chas, most recently I tried out an H/K AVR635 and Denon 3805. They were both excellent for movies and okay for music. I was close to buying a NAD T753, which I thought sounded very good as well, but was worried about quality issues.

I am new to this forum, so let me start by saying this. I am in search of either a receiver that is "different" from mass market stuff, or I am going back to separates. I have changed equipment several times in the past year to know that nothing has pleased me. I have owned the NAD 762, Marantz SR 8400 ad the Pioneer Elite 74 TXVi. The NAD was great in power, but the sound was way too subdued for me. The Marantz had a great power supply and plenty of power, but home theater was not too convincing. The Pioneer had very good home theater effects, but I could not get past the cheesy... and I mean "cheesy" parts inside the unit. It had great potential as far as features go. Imagine what they could do if they offered all those features with a Toroidal and about 80,000 microfarads of filter capacitance? Anyway, they all went back, and I am borrowing a Harman Kardon 240 receiver, just temporairly. Decent sound, but not for me.

I am intrigued by the 1070 but am concerned about the power. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the 65 watts, if it won't get stressed by tough loads. If I ever wanted to hook it up to inefficent speakers,at loud volumes, it would run out of steam. I am speaking about speakers that can dip into 4 and 3 ohms. So this is my dilemma. I've heard the receivers mentioned earlier and have not found the balance that I am looking for. Would the multi channel separates setup provide more performance than the 1070? Maybe I should just give the 30 day trial a try.

PS. I did also listen to the Arcam AVR300 for a week, and although it was very impressive for home theater and music, I thought it was overpriced at $ 2000. Just my take on things.

Nick

Low impedance speakers always make me tend to veer toward separate amplification - too few receivers offer amp sections that can really do their best work with such speakers. You could give the Model 1070 a 30-day trial, but if you have 4 ohm speakers in the system now you might also consider the 1070's processor sibling the 970 and a separate amp like the Model 7125 (7x125) or the Model 7075 (7x75), both of which should be comfortably up to the task of low impedance speakers. The 970/7075 combo is $1300, although I'm not sure that the 7075 has started shipping yet (if it hasn't, it should begin shipping this month). The 970/7125 would be $1600 and would be available for shipping immediately. If you really don't need more than 60W or 70W, though, 970/7075 would give you 75W that should have no problem with tough loads for only about $400 more than the 1070.

The fact is there is no magic $1000 A/V receiver that does everything well. A $1000 receiver is going to be a compromise in some area or another and is never going to sound as good as $2500 separates. You need to decide which area to compromise in: price; sound quality; component quality; upgradibility; output power; features; etc. All I can tell you is that, in my opinion, I don't think you'll find better sound quality in a receiver for $1000 than the 1070. The features are up to you do decide. Whether or not the output power is enough for you or the tonal characteristics are to your liking is another matter, this is what the 30-day trial is for. As for upgradibility, good luck finding an audio manufacturer that will respond to problems (minor or severe) reported on a web forum with a software downloadable fix in a matter of weeks.

Don't forget, the 7075 amp is rated at 7 x 115w at 4ohms. Something to think about you have 4ohm speakers and are considering that path.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the response.