OSB-1 Owner Comments

I purchased this upper-end soundbar and have had it installed in my living room for more than 30-days now. Have to say it has exceeded my expectations. In my case, it serves both as a home theater speaker system to complement a 60" HDTV, and just as important, I use it as my music system being feed by CDs, MP3s, and the many sources available via AppleTV and AirPlay. Probably listen equally to video soundtracks and music.

The OSB-1 certainly satisfies my criteria for simplicity, ease of installation, and relatively low cost. My concern was whether its audio performance would be sufficient and satisfying compared to my full-blown 5.2 HT system. Well, I would classify this as a high-value product. While it costs more than many soundbars, its performance is terrific... good enough that my listening is satisfying and I don't feel like I am missing anything. The H-PAS bass system is amazing - the spec for flat bass response to nearly 40Hz is legit. I have experimented with a powered 8" sub to fill in the bottom octave. If there is content down that low, yeah, I can tell a difference. But to me, this is not about cost-no-object performance, it's about point of diminishing returns. And without the sub, the SB goes sufficiently deep to not leave me feeling like I am missing out.

Physically, the product is larger and heavier than most SBs, but it is still easily manageable. I have my HDTV on a articulating mount, and had to beef up its provision for a SB a bit to accommodate this heavier speaker system, but it was not a deal killer and I like the results very much.

I find that I use the 3-channel and 5-channel modes most often. I like the processing effects on most music. I am constantly amazed at how much spacial imagery can be projected from such a minimal space.

Bottom line, this product reminds me a few others that I have really personally enjoyed over my 40-years in the audio business - products that deliver great value and performance that far exceeds my expectations for the cost.

Jon Sisk, CEO
Audio Authority Corp

I bought one and received it today. I had a particular need. In one room I'm trying to keep it as sleek as possible. I have a media room or home theater. This room only has a 60" plasma on the wall, but TV speakers leave 'alot' to be desired. This is a great sound bar for those of you who are in the market for one. I've used it for 2 channel for the Ipod via the 3.5mm cable and TV via optical out from the TV for 5ch. I'll run directly from the directv box as soon as possible. I'm very happy with my purchase and still believe Outlaw offers fantastic products at a great price. For anyone who's curious, I did get the directv remote programmed to control it, but the buttons don't make sense.

Just curious, but did not many people pick up the OSB-1 or just not posting?

I suspect the OSB-1 was a little too expensive for most looking for a soundbar. Even one not needing a sub. For $900 you can get a pretty good start on a 5.1 system.

XenonMan,

You make a good point. However, here is something to consider: Let's assume you have a really decent home theater. I do- an Atlantic 8200 system (I have connections there) an LFM-Ex, a 975, and 7500, and finally, an Epson 9700 projector. I am really happy with this theater

Then I have two flat panels in other parts of my home including our bedroom. A receiver, 5 speakers, and a subwoofer just didn't seem to be the appropriate set-up (I learned when discussing things with one's spouse "subwoofer" and "bedroom" should never be uttered in the same sentence.)

The OSB-1 satisfies my needs for great sound (including robust bass) and it is installed above our wardrobe and angled down where it is unobtrusive. The both of us are happy.

I am not saying I built this for myself. But I am saying that in the design process I imagined how it was going to solve a big challenge in my home.

So the thought here is if you want great performance in more than one location in your home (ie: sound that will truly match the great picture) and at the same time you want a pretty good two- channel system when the TV is off, then the OSB-1 covers those bases in spades.

ymmv


Peter

I am in the target that PeterT describes, just waiting for the okay from the better half. I may need to postpone retirement a few months and use the proceeds for my toys.

I agree there is a market out there for the OSB-1. I also have several systems and each has its own sub which the wife is not necessarily thrilled with. The combination of a soundbar with an OWA and a sub placed inobtrusively would be a cost effective way to keep the peace. It is easier for me to explain six speakers for $1200 vice one for $900.

In general, speakers don't generate a lot of chatter in the forum because there's not much need to ask about setup. Subs get a little more because of the need to sort out bass management, and surround receivers and processors get the most traffic because there is the greatest complexity to sort through. If we ever follow through with plans to renovate, I could easily see using one of these paired with a Model 975/7075 in our master bedroom.

If I understand the OSB-1 correctly, it is designed to run without a receiver or power-amp with two digital optical feeds, a digital coax feed and an analog feed with no provision for either HDMI or amplified input.

Unless you are using it for a center channel speaker (seems like overkill), or your bedroom system require more than 3 inputs, I don't understand why you would pair it anything. The 975 does not appear to be a great solution to feeding the OSB-1 in any case, unless you only wanted the OSB-1 for stereo.

The situation Peter describes is one big reason for the popularity of soundbars, namely once you hear how much a nice setup can improve the overall enjoyment of all content, but especially higher quality content it does make one want that same experience in every room of the house. Personally I feel "cheated" when watching a BluRay with only the TV's default two channel very low fidelity built--in speakers. The physical layout of my master bedroom is such that 7.1 sound with in-wall speakers is actually easier to install than in the other rooms of my home.

That said the "benefits" of a nice "zero setup" soundbar also make it easy to gift to my mom and (make my MIL an "outlaw" too) so that they and the kids can enjoy the enhanced experience of home theater with no fears of "pushing the wrong button".

Being the cheap SOB that I am, I connected a 4.1 computer speaker system to my TV in the bedroom and it sounds much better than the TVs speakers. Just plugged it in to the headphone output and voila it works great.

Peter, you described my situation to a tee. I have a theater. I want something unobtrusive in this room, with no wires showing, no electronics other than the TV and sound bar. It's perfect for me in this situation and also an easy way to play music with the Ipod.

Thanks to everyone who's posted here ... my DLP TV is starting to have difficulty (stuck mirrors), so I'm looking for a new flat screen ... if I do this, I'm thinking it makes sense to sell off my big ol' Rocket 750's and go with the OSB1 & just completely free up the floor space.

It doesn't make sense to me but I am have a preference for big speakers all around. So far my Samsung DLP is working well. I recently saw a new 60 inch version which is LED lit and did not like the "soap opera effect". I will go with a big plasma when the DLP fails.

DO I need to watch soap operas to know what that effect is???

I think the problem is that there's interpolation going on. Essentially the TV is creating data based on some algorithm that's describes "what's going on". This is always dangerous. Interpolation is always non-perfect and your eye is really receptive to that. Once the industry starts recording at higher frame rates the video should look more natural than the upsampled, processed gick we're currently living with.

The picture sort of appears like what you see in a stereoscope if you have ever seen one. It is a little like half way to 3D. The lighting in soaps made the scenes appear different than regular TV. It is hard to describe. Go to a showroom and watch for a bit and you will see it. I think it has less to do with interpolation than with the lighting of the TV (LED).

Xenonman et all.

I have to jump in here and comment on the "soap opera effect " that you refer to. It is mostly caused by either noise reduction circuitry or motion smoothing which are in the set up menu of the TV. Scaling usually does not cause this issue

Recently one of my friends set up a new 52 inch Samsung and all of that cicuitry was active as the "default" setting. All TV shows and movies all tended to look like high quality" live" video. What a horror show!. After we bypassed all of it he was stunned at the improvement. With all of that enhancement circuitry turned off movies and TV series looked like what they were supposed to look like- film

So, for anyone that is having this issue, it can be easily addressed by just turning off most of that stuff in the set-up menu.

Peter

The soap opera effect is related to frame rate, and you can see it even on the big screen. Watch 'The Hobbit' at 24fps and it looks like film; watch it in HFR (high frame rate = 48fps) and it looks like video.

I have seen the effect that Xenon is referring to and I am not sure its the frame rate. It was at a Magnolia and they were playing a dvd or blu-ray of one of the King Kong movies and the seen featured a lot of action with dinosaurs. I have also seen it a few times on demo tv's at Costco. The objects on the screen seemed to have very hard edges, seemingly making the larger ones pop to the forefront and giving the overall movie a cheap 3d effect. This was not something I noticed when I watched the Hobbit in the theater in HFR. My sense is that PeterT is right about the TV's setup being the culprit

I saw The Hobbit in both versions and the 48 FPS version did suffer from the effect I am talking about. It does look like high quality video shot with a 8mm camera. The other side of the coin is that the only moviw which has been shot at 48 fps is The Hobbit and the effect shows up on my son's new Samsung on every movie. I think it has to do with the type of lighting, the framerate and the refresh rate all combined.

In my market the thing that upset me more than 48FPS being fairly widely available was the limited (once single theater!!!) availability of ATMOS -- Hobbit with its caves and rain and such is tailor made to the immersive multichannel sound of ATMOS...

http://www.hfrmovies.com/48-fps-theater-list/

It would be quite an accomplishment for someone to work out the "psycho-acostics" of using a sound bar (like the OSB-1) to recreate the spatial cues of ATMOS which has the capability to encode for 64 discrete speaker locations -- http://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/technology/cinema/dolby-atmos-creators.html

I installed my new OSB-1 this weekend and I'm very pleased, but probably for a different reason than most Outlaws. I no longer claim to be an audiophile because my hearing is missing a few frequencies. It's not bad enough for hearing aids but I do need to turn the TV up to hear the dialog clearly. My wife then complains that it's too loud. Anyway, the OSB-1 has resolved the problem. When I'm watching TV the OSB-1 SP mode (speech) raises the dialog level without the background noise being increased. Putting it in the 3 channel mode seems to help too. I can hear clearly and my wife is not asking, "can we turn it down?" Marriage saved! For music, the other modes sound pretty darn good too! Great product.

Thanks for your comments.

For those that might be interested in how it works, the SP (speech circuit) is actually a combination of a gentile compressor paired with a three dB boost in the critical voice frequencies.

To calibrate this feature we actually listened to two shows produced by Aaron Sorkin: The West Wing and The Newsroom. Both shows are characterized by quick dialog and in the case of the West Wing-overlapping dialog, which can create challenges in delivering crystal clear intelligibility. The speech circuit dramatically improves this issue. In addition, for late night listening, the circuit is invaluable.

Peter

I have pretty "normal" hearing for a guy my age (not yet 50...) and I wonder what kind of morons do the sound mix for some shows / movies -- I like the ambient sounds of street scenes, busy offices / industrial sites as much as anybody but when the DIALOGUE matters and you have to boost your output 10 db or more to make it intelligible that becomes a real negative...