I can only make conclusions based on my own observations with the products. I could have tried amps ad infinitum, but my 30 day trial with the B&K was running out so a decision had to be made.

Also as I have noted before, these were both (I think) B-Stock amps and as such might have been returned by others for the same reason? I don't know.

At the end of the day, it cost me $450 extra to try the Outlaw amp in my effort to really want to like it. But after spending the $350 to get the dedicated power circuits installed to isolate out that problem I still had the issue and had to send the amp back, which cost me another $100.

So when someone asks "hey what do you think of the Outlaw 7700?" I will chime in and say good amp, but...

And while I can't wholeheartedly endorse the product, the risk to try (~$100 for most people) is relatively low.

Running dedicated circuits in your home will do absolutely nothing to eliminate distortion on the AC line - it originates in the pole transformer or at points upstream from there - the distortion is already there on the line that enters your house.

The fact that the B&K amp is more tolerant of line distortion speaks to the fact that Outlaw made a compromise on the product, which is usually done to keep costs down.

Either that or it's a problem inherent in using such large transformers.

Take your pick.

And you can't tell me that they didn't make compromises on the design to keep cost down. There's REASONS why an amp like the Integra Research RDA-7.1 is $5500 retail vs the Outlaw and most of the difference has nothing to do with the distribution chain.

Running dedicated circuits will eliminate distortion on the AC line coming from other sources within the home.

It's interesting how you keep telling me what I already know from DIRECT OBSERVATION.

No product is perfect, so you have to pick your poison. I chose mine and you chose yours and now AlaskaHT can choose his knowing the risks.

Actually it has _everything_ to do with the distribution chain! Internet only companies avoid middlemen markups and can sell a product for less money as a result. You may not believe it, but it's very true.

A far as the quality aspect, all I can say is that I am more familiar with their manufacture than you'll ever know......

Actually, a dedicated circuit will only help with providing adequate current. The only way to get rid of distortion from sources in the house is to either move it to the other leg of the service (so if the compressor in the fridge is on leg A, you want to power the amp from a circuit on leg B) or to put in an isolated ground system. In commercial installations where there are sensitive electronics (computers) that can get irritated by noise from things like variable frequency controllers, we put in separate IG panels and even transformers because the noise produced by the drives (and other things, but I'm picking on drives because I'm usually responsible for them being in the building in the first place) affects more than just their own circuit or even their own distribution panel.

Direct observation with AC line distortion measurement equipment? I don't think so. To properly and completely trace any problem requires the proper test instrumentation and the knowledge to use it.

Running dedicated AC lines in your home will usually eliminate EMI/RFI sources of interference, which is also a form of distortion, but not the low-harmonic series distortion I've been talking about. That distortion comes from _outside_ your house, and you have no control over it. You can also reduce or eliminate interference by running your audio/video equipment from one of the other phases of AC that services your house. In some cases, the other phase of AC will have less harmonic distortion than the one you're using.

For circuits which are run from the _same_ phase, there is no real suppression because the circuit breakers are the only barrier between the different pieces of equipment which are drawing current from that phase. In this situation, power line conditioners are useful to filter out EMI/RFI on the line before it enters your equipment.

Another useful strategy is to use one of the balanced power transformers from companies like Equitech, although this solution is costly.

BloggingITguy and Altec -- thanks for the comments! I really do appreciate the diverging opinions. Altec mentiones that the 7700 is a traditional A/B linear design, which I think is what the B&K is. Maybe these amps are more similar than I thought. BloggingITGuy -- did the 7700 get as warm as your B&K?

Thanks again guys!

No, the 7700 did not get as warm as the B&K, which is why I can recommend it for use in an enclosed rack whereas I would not recommend putting the B&K in anything other than a well ventilated rack.

I did not need test equipment to tell me that something was wrong with the Outlaw amps. I compared them to comparable amps from another manufacturer that did not have the same problem.

Most people will not have "clean" power coming from the street, there will always be artifacts of one sort or another. Therefore, it's important in my mind, at least, to get equipment that does well under normal conditions and not just on a test bench in a lab under ideal conditions.

The B&K performed better under normal conditions (normal in this case defined as my home, which is the only space that I personally care about) than the Outlaw.

THAT is direct, repeatable observation. You can dance around it all you want, but that's what happened. Why it happened, is quite frankly, immaterial. The fact that it did happen, was to my mind unacceptable which is why I have a B&K amp in my rack and not the Outlaw.

You may have different experiences with the Outlaw than that, which is fine, but I can only report on MY experiences so that others know what problems they might expect to have.