Well the amp came in around 3:00pm here today.
My girlfriend remarked that she's guessing that I'll be keeping the Outlaw as she has no idea how we'd ship it back as it's so heavy.
First impressions so far...it's heavy. It's put together very well. The pictures on the website don't do it justice. I think for contrast sake they make the units looks gray on the website so you can see the various details of the unit.
It's not gray however, but basic black, which is fine by me. I'd classify the looks of the piece as understated...Kind of like a secret service agent in a dark suit packing a concealed submachine gun is understated, hehe.
Oh and for all those worried about getting B stock items from the Outlaws, you don't have to worry. This item arrived fully boxed and as far as I can tell is in perfect "like new" condition. No scratches, nothing. No issues.
Terminals are top notch. My banana plugs and RCA connectors fit on them well. No complaints there.
The thing is heavy, so if you have to mount it on a shelf other than very bottom, you will need help to lift it. I just put it on the bottom right of my Salamander Triple Thirty and it fit perfectly into the space previously occupied by my old Kenwood amp.
One other thing about the appearance of the unit. Those big feet aren't just there for show. The amp has air openings on the top and bottom to allow for good airflow to cool the thing. Haven't seen how hot it gets yet, but you'd probably need a fan or something to move air around it if you put it in an enclosed rack or cabinet.
When I calibrated my preamp with the B&K 200.5, I didn't have to make huge changes to the levels on any of the channels. With the Outlaw 7700, I had to readjust all channels down like 6 or 7 db. I think this is just a matter of the gain they have the amp's input set to.
Noise floor with this amp seems to be comparable to the B&K. With preamp full on (+18db) and and a null input selected (input with nothing selected) both amps output about 67-68db of noise when measured from an inch away from the tweeter of all speakers.
I have the Radio Shack digital SPL meter and it doesn't go below 50, so I had to do the measurements that way. This is fine though as it is used for my own personal comparisons and the measurements are taken in a consistent way.
For reference, the Kenwood 6 x 100watt amp measures about 65 db using the same method.
At reference level all 3 amps measure below 50 so more detailed info there cannot be given.
As for how each amp sounds, all three are pretty much transparent as far as I can tell. They all pretty much present the sound as it's delivered to them, although I think the Outlaw and the B&K are better able to keep up when played at or near reference level when watching stuff like the Matrix lobby shooting spree scene.
Music wise I haven't really noticed much of a difference between either amps, although both of the new amps seem to have a bit better steering and separation of channels than the Kenwood, which is pretty much what you'd expect.
Oh one last thing. The Outlaw seems to have a bit softer of a startup than the B&K, although the Outlaw does make a buzzing noise for maybe the first 30 seconds that it is turned on. It's not very loud and as I said goes away. It also might have a slight hum when it is turned on, but it's very slight.
The B&K does not exhibit either issue but does start up a lot harder making the lights in the house dim a bit as a result.
I think that's it for now. Will have more to report when I get the balanced cable bundle on Saturday.
Cheers!
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