Well I recently swapped out an Onkyo 808 Reciever. Since I got an HDTV with HDMI about 3 years ago, I sold all my separates and got a reciever. Overall a good unit, but never sounded as nice as previous Outlaw / Parasound combinations. With the release of the 975 I decided to go to an outlaw 975/7125 combo.

My thoughts so far on the 975/7125 setup:

a) Frustrations:
- Even through the 7125 is more powerful than my old reciever. My system no longer "goes to 11". On those odd days where I really want to blast, the system caps out. Never experienced this with any prior system (same speakers for 10 years). Max DB I can reach is about 100db. Probably too lound anyway, but I occasionally like to make my ears bleed (haha)
- With all of the connections stuffed on the back with so little realestate, why only 5 audio combinations. totally fine with 4 HDMI video, by why not separate audio only config for coax or optical or analog?
- The remote sent with the amp is CRAP. Appreciate I will eventually get the replacement, but this is complete junk.
- When comparing my Oppo BDP-83SE analog output to the digital stereo decoding on the 975, the Oppo wins hands down! Way nicer on the Oppo.

b) Equipment combo issues:
- Seem to be getting the occasional HDMI handshake issue, but not sure if it is the Mistsubishi WD-65C9 TV or the 975.
- My new apply TV (ver 3) does not send sound at all via HDMI. I am currently researching, if anyone has this combo without issue please reply.

c) What I like:
- The sound on blue ray and regular cable TV is much improved over the Onkyo. More detailed, cleaner sounding, more full sound.
- The analog section is very good (like the old 990). The Oppo playing music via analog is simply stunning.
- The expanded base manipulations in setup add welcome functionality. I can now tone down my LFE channel, while boosting the sub for 2 channel music.
- The price seems fair, not withstanding the "goes to 11 complaint".

d) What I do not miss:
- Oddessey room correction.
- The Onkyo had too many features to use.

Final assessment. I actually sat on the fence to return over the Christmas holidays. But I did feel that when listening at normal levels the sound quality has improved over the Onkyo. Listening to the Oppo (via analog) to the Outlaw combo has been a Joy. Even 320K MP3 files sound really good.

For now I will keep.

This is, I think, the 2nd or 3rd user that has reported that the volume doesn't quite go as loud as they would like. Is this an issue with the 975 or it's setup, or is it just the user's particular system?

Adrian L

Please call Scott at 866-688-5292. I am sure he can help you with a couple of your issues.


By the way, we agree with you that the remote leaves something to be desired. (That is charitable) We made the choice to ship the unit with something that could get everyone going for now, as opposed for waiting another two to three months. So I will take the hit on that one.

I now have the pre-production sample of the final remote and Scott and I fight over it every day. (I tell him I am still "testing" it.) I am told the new remotes are in production now. We are doing our best to get them completed before Chinese New Year. In any event it will not be long for the new ones to arrive.

Peter

Peter

Like an old married couple

Glad to hear that you a) made the decision to ship the thing and then upgrade to a better RC down the road b) are sorta obsessing on the details of the RC...

Got a the Apple TV sound working. Was an issue with the settings on the ATV.

All sources from HDMI, Opt, to Analog do not get real loud. This is the first system I can play at full volume and not have my wife screaming at me. Never had any other unit in the last 25 years that I could get close to max volume as it was always too loud for my ears.

I'll call Scott when I get back from trip overseas in a few weeks, but curious if this is an known issue with the pre-amp. As Patricks says, I am not the first one to complain about this on this fourm.

I can confirm the decreased output signal. Previous pre/pros all had room to spare but the 975 needs to be played at almost full output depending on material. It is plenty loud for everyday use. Our setup is 975 to Rotel branded ICEPower based digital amps playing through very accurate but relatively inefficient (just under 90dB rated) speakers.

I never did get the 975 to pass deep color from ps3... living without.
Our V3 apple TV is fine with 975.

Sonic performance is really quite good.

I do no miss "room correction" at all either.

Would have liked default surround mode by input and renameable inputs.

Same here. It seems dependent on the output level of the source device. No problem with the Comcast cable box or the Roku, but the Sony Blue Ray player sometimes makes me hit the volume level ceiling. All are connected with HDMI. At first I was wondering if you guys were assuming an amplifier with higher gain than the one I'm using (26db), but it looks like Outlaw amps are all at 28db of gain or less.

I can see that it was a difficult choice, but I gotta tell you that I think it was the wrong one. Or at least you went too cheap in the iPhone4-size temporary one. I can't imagine what happened that caused a remote to lag the rest of a complex product, but as first-time Outlaw owner you really dinged your reputation with me. I'm not looking for an explanation or an apology, I'd simply recommend that should a similar situation come up again you lean the other way.

I am sure it was not their first choice but rather than delay a product which was hugely anticipated they chose to give you two remotes. See if Sony, Marantz, Onkyo or Denon would have done it that way. As a first time owner you have yet to deal with Outlaws excellent service group so I can understand the feedback but Peter did apologize and take full responsibility for the decision. See if you can even get the others on the phone.

What if there were a way to "opt out" of the remote for a reduced fee.. say $75... then us Harmony etc users can just use the junk remotes or even codes (when available) to program our fancy pants controllers.

Delays are not unusual when sourcing stuff from overseas on a per-run basis.