Hello all:
I'm considering Outlaw products because of all the great customer service, value, and performance that's offered by their company/products. I spoke with Scott on Friday (he was busy when I called and he called me back in less than 5 minutes!) about the 1070 and my setup. I've been through a number of receivers in the last few months looking for the right match with my speakers/room. I have a 5.1 system with NHT Classic 3's as mains and a 3C center along with NHT SuperZero's as surrounds and an Onix x-sub. Room size is about 12' x 15' x 8' high.

The only receiver I've had so far that gives me close to what I'm looking for was a Cambridge 540R. I've tried a Yamaha 659, NAD 743, my old Denon 3200, and even threw in a friend's Panny XR-55. The Cambridge was the best sounding of all of them, with more than enough power. They really made the NHT's come alive. The problem I had was I went though 2 of them (QC problems) and when I did get one that worked I hated the display (couldn't see it unless I got up) and the remote (had to get up to see the display since the remote had to be pointed EXACTLY at the eye for it to work). It was so much of an irritant that I couldn't live with it, despite the sq.

I've been trying to 'scrimp' by to find what I want in sq but it's not working...so I've decided I need to bite the bullet and spend more $$ than I'd originally set on....but I still can't break the bank. BTW...Scott told me that the 1070 would work fine with my setup.

Anyway....after all that...here's my question. Would the 1070 work for me (ergonomically and sq wise) or would I be better off looking at a 990 with say a 7075? (Sorry for the long first post!) Thanks.

hi there og33,
last year in my personal quest...
I auditioned the 540R from Cambridge Audio...as well as a few Rotels & others....and a few pre-pros...
The 1070 is definitely a serious contender for the money...
the 5.1 aspect of the 540R...was a major shortcoming for me...
SQ wise...I must admit being VERY partial to the Outlaw....
in my first few days with the 1070...I realised I had been breaking-in my speakers for ten years...and getting them ready for Outlaw...
now they simply...sing...

and from what I've read around here in the forum...
The extra $$$ for the 990 & amp...would be a step up....
but for ...my relatively small HT room...
and my lack of understanding neighbours...
the 1070...is more than enough for me....

The 1070 would certainly work, and what folks who have used both the 990 and a 970 or 1070 have indicated is that the differences between the 1070/970 and the 990 are subtle for movies but more pronounced for music. All of the Outlaw gear that I've used has had very good remote sensitivity (no need for precision aiming).

If the goal is to go easy on the checkbook, you might demo the 1070 first. If it does what you need, then you've accomplished your goal. If it doesn't get to that sound quality sweet-spot that the Cambridge did and you felt that you wanted to move up another notch, you could return it and move to the 990/7075 (which of course also give syou the option later of just upgrading the processor and keeping the amp).

The 1070 is the best sounding receiver I've tried. The display is quite small on the 1070 if that is an important factor to you.

Thanks for all the quick replies! Guess I should have mentioned my main concern is music sq.

Gonk...guess I hadn't considered the option of moving up from the 1070. Thanks for mentioning it. From what I've read here the 990 is probably the better music choice, which is why I was considering it instead of the 970.

Laventura...I liked the Cambridge but if you say that the Outlaw was better in your experience, that's good to know. I think our speakers are quite similar in sensitivity too...though I have no neighbors within a 1/4 mile so playing loud isn't a problem!!

Chas...I've seen the comments about the size of the display and that does concern me. I sit about 10' from my audio rack and the receiver will go on the top, so maybe it will be ok.

The 1070 display looks to be very similar to the display used by the Model 950, although the display color is different (blue rather than the 950's green). I had my 950 about 9' or 10' from the couch behind a glass door. Aside from having a bit of trouble telling "8" from "0" on the volume display (because of the slash across the zero), I didn't have a problem with it.

I can live with that. As long as I can see what input I've got and an approximate volume level that will be fine.

Got my 1070 yesterday and got it hooked up this morning. My initial impression: WOW.
I've just been listening to music in stereo mode and did put in one SACD...the detail that's there is just unbelievable compared to the other receivers I've used. So far, I'm very, very impressed.
I'll probably watch a movie tonight to see how it performs.

I've always been a video 'purist' who doesn't run anything through a receiver, but I think I will be trying out it's video capabilities too. BTW, the front display is small, but is tolerable. I'll post some more impressions after I put some more listening time in.

og33, I'm coming late on this thread to be of any decisional help for you. I was having the Cambridge Audio Azur 540R in my house when I switched to 1070. I own the Azur 640A for music, it's a beatuiful stereo amplifier, but the 540R (which I initially chose given my beautiful experince with the 640A) is a far cry from it, musically. 1070 beats the 540R hands down, in my opinion.
For music, though, 1070 falls short of the 640A. 1070 is more "muscular", but less detailed. The DACs of 1070, while OK for movies, are not exactly audiophile quality for CD. The 44.1 KHz / 16 bit format is not the strength of the 1070.
If you have good analog sources, though, you'll find the 1070 a good choice for stereo music as well as movies. DVD-A and SACD are a different ball game as their are far superior to CD out of the bat...
But we have to be realistic here. 1070 is a 7.1 AV Receiver at the $900 price point. I believe it's unfair to compare it with the CA 640A which for $600 is a 2x65W stereo amp. 1070 is 3.5 times the hardware plus DSP and all AV Receiver stuff.
1070 seems to be the king of the hill at its price point.