I have had a 1050 since Mar 2002 and am very happy with it. Still, I have a weakness for new gear and am considering retiring the 1050 for a 1070. At 69 I no longer have golden ears (can't hear frequencies above 12 KHz) and my question is would I appreciate a difference? To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, would it be a difference that makes a difference? My gear include Njoe Tjoeb CD, Panasonic DVD, Panasonic rear proj' TV, 6 Mirage speakers in a 6.1 config with a Hsu TN1220HO sub.
Thanks

I haven't read any reports directly comparing the 1070 and 1050 sonically, although I would suspect that the 1070 would be a nice improvement. There may be other benefits to be had, however. The 1070 offers more sophisticated bass management (four separate adjustable crossovers for mains, center, side surrounds, and rear surrounds instead of the single global adjustable crossover, plus the option for an analog 80Hz crossover or digital bass management on the 7.1 analog input), superior video switching (conversion of s-video and composite video to component video output, component video switching for three inputs (including the bandwidth for HD signals), DVI video switching, and a few new processing modes (for example, the 1050 predates Pro Logic II, which is a nice upgrade - especially with Pro Logic IIx tossed in for good measure). Some of those additional features could be enough of a "difference that makes a difference."

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Gonk. I'm going to make the switch.

I'm still considering a new receiver even though I love my 1050 for two reasons:

1) Better DD and DTS decoding.
2) Pro Logic IIx

Those, to me at least, are the only two areas where my 1050 is really showing its age.

I dunno.......how much better has regular ol' DD and DTS become? Playing Batman yesterday on my "Old" 1050 sounded pretty freakin' good! The ice fight scene had me thinking my walls were cracking.

I was refering to the issue the 1050 has with DD-EX soundtracks. I would also like to take advantage of DTS-ES soundtracks. It's funny though. I don't even have the 6th and 7th channels set-up right now but I feel like I'm missing something. :rolleyes:

I have no complaint about sound quality with my 1050. I just played Star Wars Episode III on the system last night and it shook the apartment. I just want it to decode perfect, that's all.

Hey Jason,

I'm a stranger in these here parts and may be missing the mark (I've had a few in the ol' saloon as well ), but I gotta believe the Outlaws did a fair bit more than take the 1050 and add an extra amp and some new features when they put the 1070 together. The don't really advertise it but I'm guessing the quality of the components used as well as the introduction of a toroidal transformer must translate into an improvement in sound quality over the 1050.

I'd say if you've got the cash to spare take the 1070 for a test drive, chances are, if you like it you can probably still get a good $400 for your 1050 on eBay anyway. From the tone in your posts, it sounds like you've just about talked yourself into it anyway!

John,

If you only knew what I wanted to do with my system. Unfortunately, I have more pressing budget concerns, including looking for a place to live with my new wife, that come before any home theater expenditures. If I was in the market for a home theater receiver, the 1070 would be near the top of my list of ones to look at.

I also have no doubt the 1070 is a bigger leap above the 1050 than I'm giving it credit for. I just stated for reference to the original post about the two factors that really drive me nutz about my 1050.

The 1070 and 1050 are quite distantly related, John, as you've clearly guessed. The 1070 was developed from the ground up, and they appear to have used the Model 950 (their first surround processor) as a template for much of the design - on screen displays, front panel display, and even some of the basic rear panel layout. About the only direct inheritance from the 1050 to show up in the 1070 is the remote and the amp power rating (although the amp sections themselves appear to be different). The 950 was a nice sonic upgrade from the 1050. I haven't heard many reports of 950/1070 comparisons (many of the 950 owners ended up jumping on the 990 or simply staying put with the 950), but I suspect they used the 950 as a baseline to build up from there as well.