First of all, I am not an audiophile like most of the people who post in this forum. I have very little knowledge on the subject. With that said, I asked for advice from a tech at axiomaudio.com for stereo system powerful enough so that I could listen to music and play my drums to. At the same time, I wanted a system that would "blow me away" when just listening to music. The system that was recommended is as follows:

A Pair of Axiom M80s V2
Model 970 Preamp/Processor
(2)Model 2200 M-Block Amplifier

Based on the reviews and recommendations I have read online I feel like I received good advice and am almost ready to purchase the system.

However, after reading all the problems people are reporting in this forum in regards to the Model 970 Preamp/Processor,I am now having second thoughts on purchasing this unit. I went by a local audio dealer yesterday and they recommended the follwing preamp and amplifier:

Anthem TLP 1
Anthem PVA 2

So, I am looking for advice from members of this forum in regards to whether or not I should go ahead and purchase the model 970 or look for something else. And any recommendations on what that something else sould be would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I'd buy the 990. Doesn't seem to have all the various bugs the 970 does. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have bought my 970.

We are still waiting for the "official" firmware release for the no audio problem. There are other problems as well like front panel buttons locking, weird volume issues (pressing up lowers volume and vice versa), popping from speakers, and damage to speakers.

Thanks for the input. I have actually thought about doing that. The only issue I would have with the Model 990 is that its $400 more than the Model 970. For what I am going to use the system for I am not sure that the extra $400 would benefit me that much.

I have had the 970 for approximately 2 months and up until last night the no audio problems were minor inconveniences. Last night I turned the unit on to watch a concert in progress on comcast and had the no audio issue. previously all I had to do was switch to different output such as dvd, video 1, etc. and back and it resolved the issue. Not so, last night. Turned the unit off again and back on, still no audio. Turned it off and back on again and it resolved the issue. This morning I turned the unit on to watch TV and the sound was fine on the channel it was set on last night. When I went to change the channel to a HD movie in 5.1 audio I received static with a constant high pitch tone. Luckily, my audio is set to turn on at a default of -25. I was able to reduce the volume with no apparent damage. I agree with other posts that the audio problems appear to be happening when switching from one audio output (2 channel) to another (5.1), or vice versa. After a discussion with Scott (who was most helpful and concerned with the issue I might add), I have the utmost faith they will work this out eventually. I get the sense from other posts that this is something they've been working on for awhile. I, myself, would rather have them take their time and work everything out before releasing a patch that doesn't address the full range of problems people are experiencing. Furthermore, It is truly the best damn receiver (sound wise, features, etc.) for the money I've ever heard! In spite of the glitches I love the damn thing! lol Again, my experience with it has been minor glitches that are more irritating then anything. I might have a different view if it toasted my speakers! Until the patch is released I'm just going to be more careful and try my "no audio fixes" at a lower volume. I do, however, understand where you are coming from iardon. If in the event Outlaw is not able to resolve the issues with a patch (which I believe they will be able to), I would hope there would be a replacement, or refund option no matter how long the unit was owned--if so desired. It sure would be tough for me to have to make the decision to give the 970 up! When working properly, which for me is the majority of the time I use it--all is well with the world!

Outlaw has been hammering on the "no audio" bug for quite some time now, and I know that they haven't quit on it yet.

Since you are thinking just about a two-channel system, an alternative to the 970 and the M2200's would be the RR2150, either by itself (160W at the 4 ohm load presented by the M80's) or as a pre-amp to that same pair of M2200's. Outlaw should start shipping RR2150's from inventory next week. It's a purely analog two-channel setup and you wouldn't be able to expand it to surround sound, but if you are just looking for a good two-channel music system then the 2150 could be an excellent fit.

Ok gonk, I guess this is where I show my ignorance. You said I could use the RR2150 by itself or with the M2200s. Could you explain the advantages I would receive by pairing the RR2150 up with the M2200s? Would it be worth the extra $600-$700 to get the M2200s? Also, being that the RR2150 is analog,is the only drawback of buying it that I won't be able to upgrade to a surround sound system?

Thanks

The RR2150 is a stereo receiver, so it has amps built in (rated at 100Wx2 at 8 ohms or 160Wx2 at 4 ohms, so with the 4-ohm M80's you'd be looking at 160W). The M2200's are monoblock amps with more power than the 2150 (200W at 8 ohms, or 300W at 4 ohms), so you could connect a pair of them to the pre-amp outputs of the RR2150 and use them (at 300W instead of 160W) instead of the RR2150's built-in amps. The Model 970, on the other hand, is a surround processor - no amps on board at all, which is why Axiom suggested the 2200's. You could really probably get the RR2150 and use it by itself, and it'd probably drive the M80's nicely, but if you felt that they could benefit from extra power you could always add the M2200's later. Axiom might be able to offer some thoughts on the power needs of the M80's and whether there'd be likely to be much difference between the two approaches.

The RR2150 has gotten great reviews all year, so for a purely two-channel system is could be an excellent choice. I'd have to say that the inability to simply add more amps and speakers to migrate to surround is probably the only drawback to going with it instead of the 970.