Well before I start, let me first say that I am going from an Onkyo TX-SR501. This is not a comparison of somone moving in a minor upgrade manor. No, I went for a big upgrade, and my first venture into seperates.

Now for my setup.

Paradigm Monitor 11 - L/R
Paradigm CC-370 - C
Paradim Monitor 3 - SR/SL
outlaw LFM-1 - Sub
Outlaw 990 Pre/Pro
Outlaw 7125 Amp
Oppo OPDV971H DVD/DVD-A
Pioneer DV-563A DVD/DVD-A/SACD
Dish 811 Hi-Def SAT RCVR
Meedio/SageTV Based - HD HTPC

Out of the box...

The 7125 arrived the day before my 990. But first impressions were... This thing is too small to be so heavy. I got it inside. Unboxed it (Good job by Outlaw for double boxing it) and pushed it into the bottom of my rack. Plenty of room to work with so I was happy.

The 990 arrived the next day. First impressions were... This thing is too big to be so light. Got it inside. Unboxed it. And woah, I couldn't believe how BIG it was. Where was I going to put it? I measured my rack, and I figured I had 1" extra rear space, was gonna be tight but I could make it work. I am an engineer by trade, I figured I could get the tie wraps and tie-downs out and do some creative wiring.

So after about 3 hours of wiring, swearing, and arranging, I finally got everything connected in a fashion that 1) Looks like someone didnt throw it all together and 2) Looks like someone is manic over wiring harnesses and lastly 3) Hopefully wouldn't blow up when I turned it on.

Btw, did I mentioned it looked nice too? I like the new style of the equipment.

First Sounds always sound the best?

So I turn it on. And nothing. I turn it on again. Nothing. Look in back. Yep, power cord is plugged in and tripplite is on. Hmmm. Look in manual ( I suggest all start here.... I didn't ) and wala, there is a master power switch in back. Push it in, push standby button and the nice blue light on the front comes on.

I finally get it setup with manual configs using my trusty SPL. Put in my favorite test SACD... Dark Side of the Moon, and close my eyes. Hit the Play button and nothing. Looked at remote, hit 7.1 channel button, and thump-thump.... thump-thump.... thump-thump.... Ah the familiar heartbeat opener to Dark Side of the Moon that gets louder and louder. And then my windows started to shake.

Initial sound was surprising. Dynamic, expansive sound. The amp really opened my speakers up. With a lot more bass than I had ever heard coming from my Monitor 11s. I assume now, that the Onkyo 501, while a great small apartment 6.1 Rcvr, just could not deliver what my speakers needed. Because all of a sudden, I am sitting in a room of sound explosion.

The imaging is very smooth. I could hear stuff crawling around the speakers, especially in the "Run" track on Dark Side. Clarity was something else I wasn't expecting. The Amp really seemed to let my speakers do what they wanted, precisely. It was really noticeable in the "Money" track where the change drawers open and close, and the clock portion of "Time". There was a few times listening to various pieces that I double taked because I think I had heard something I had not heard before. It could have been my imagination. But... I felt it for a minute, and I am sure, as I get used to the system, I will hear more.

I got a lot more listening to do. A lot more testing to do. But so far, the 7125/990 is an amazing combo for the price. But that's what we all expected from Outlaw.

Now... to go find some cauk to tighten those window frames up...

Rob Faulkner

Thanks for the post, Rob - glad to hear that the 7125's are arriving and that your upgrade is working out so nicely for you!

Good overview, Rob - I've been wondering how well the new model would perform considering the "accelerated" schedule that Outlaw had said led to it's early replacement of the 7100.

There are more than a few Paradigm owners around here who are probably very happy to know how they matched up with it. Thanks for the insights.