We'll i just received my 970 over the weekend, but I don't have time to fully put it into my system until after the weekend. Today I unpacked the unit and have to say that it seems like a very well made unit. It compares in build quality to my B&K Ref 10, which I paid $1,700 for new the month it came out. It is more solid than I expected it to be.

I set it up with an old DVD player to test out the component video switching. I only hooked up Component in DVD and Video 2 for my DVD player and X-Box and only connected the component out to the my TV.

I am happy to report first that the unit passes Blacker than Black (or Below Black). Secondly I tried the opening scene for Toy Story 2 and saw no white flashes. I reviewed this scene many times.

Unfortunately now my 970 is back in the box until (early) next week, when I can spend a couple of hours installing it into my system.

Anyone know if the remote codes have been sent to Harmony? or I'm guessing I could just use the template for the 1070.

Merry Christmas and Best Regards,

Charlie

Congrats on the new toy! The 1070 and 970 use the same remote, so the 1070 template will get you up and running.

Well I have had the 970 hooked up in my system for a week now and thanks to a minor neck tweak I have had a LOT of time to use it.

I would have to say that this is a really great sounding unit. One of my complaints in my other setup was that center channel dialog would sometimes sound really muddy. The new Pre-amp integrates into my room much bettter. Let me explain: I set the crossover freuency on my front three speakers down at 60Hz and now I have a much better integration with my sub. My room must have a peak somewhere in there because of my sub placement.

The quality of sound is also excellent. I have watched many hours of TV and Movies and would have to say that the 970 allows you to submerse yourself in the experience. Personally I think that is high praise for a system.

All of my listening has been HT style listening. I have done no 2-Channel listening. I had a SACD player that died about three weeks ago, and I don't own a good CD player.

I have a couple of minor gripes with the 970 that I feel I should voice. I don't like the 2 line display. I can't read it from my listening position (about 8 feet away). Maybe I am just used to my other pre-amp which had a large one line display. This is abviously minor, but my recommendation to Outlaw would be to use a larger single line display on the next generation. The one thing that I really don't like is the 3 buttons used to toggle through surround modes on the remote: Dolby, DTS and Stereo. I really wish that this was one button to toggle through all the modes. Again this is probably very minor since the button I will most use is the Dolby. Maybe Outlaw was forced into this, but I think that it is consumer unfriendly. Last thing is I wish that the component and DVI inputs were assignable.

All in all I would say that the 970 is an excellent unit that many people could be very happy with. The sound quality is excellent. Setup was easy. I really like the adjustable 4-way crossover. For me, this feature alone was worth the price of admission.

I am looking forward to many years of use from this unit.

Happy New Year to All.

Charlie

PS- If you have any CD player recommendations I'm all ears. I would say under $500.

I'm glad to hear that the 970 has worked out so well for you. I like the feedback, too - always useful to see comments like that.

I've been using a DVD player as a transport for CD's and letting my processor's DAC's handle the rest. I started doing that a while back, using a Panasonic DVD-RA60 as CD transport, but at the moment I'm using my Yamaha DVD-S1500 as CD transports and universal audio player (the Oppo handles DVD-Video).

I agree 100% with your review. Great unit, except for a few minor things that don't affect the performance. Another minor thing that is annoying is that Video 1 is dedicated to the front panel Video jacks, which I will probably never use. Why use Video 1 for this, especially when one of the DVI inputs is assigned to Video 2? Also, on the remote, Video 1 is the first button in the row, and the easiest to find. Initially I would accidentally/mistakenly hit the Video 1 button on the remote and get no video, and because the display is hard to read, my mistake was not obvious at first.

Once I programmed the 970 into my universal remote, I stopped caring about the Video 1 vs Video 2, small display, and lack of assignability.

I have being listening to 970 for around 3 weeks now and would agree with your review. This is my first pre/pro and in my opinion, the center channel and front stage is where I noticed the most difference.

The 970 opened the front stage to the point I can't believe some of friends thought I had a great HT sound system (prior to getting the 970).

I just realized that I mis-spoke. Video 1 is not on the front, it is on the back, but it is Composite and S-Video only, and is designed for a VCR or DVD recorder. I would prefer that Video 1 be swapped with Video 3, so that the Component jacks are DVD, Video 1, and Video 2, and DVI would be DVD and Video 1. It just seems so illogical to have the VCR as Video 1, ahead of Video 2 with Component and DVI, but that is just me (since I am not using a VCR with the 970).

Considering the low cost and high performance, I can live with a few minor ashtetic issues.