The choice for me came down mainly to the bass management on the analog 5.1 ins on the two units. I also replaced my disc player with a Denon 3910 that has complete bass management for DVD-A and SACD. The Rotel 1068 allows for a true direct input with no bass management while the Outlaw 950 does not and has the so-called double-bass issue. I will not get into a debate about whether this is really a problem or not, but the ability of the Rotel to disable the bass management was a feature for me. In addition, the 1068 also has some usability features such as renameable inputs that are nice.

However, be aware that the price differential between the two units is significant. First the street price of the 1068 is more than twice the current price of the 950 ($699). Further, the 1068 does not include an FM tuner, so if FM radio is important to you you will need an outboard tuner for that. I purchased a used Rotel 1080 tuner since it matches well with the 1068, is a quality unit and has a high WAF but adds another $300+ to the final price.

As to which unit sounds the best with HT and stereo sources I can not speak to since I have not compared the two pre-pro's in my system.

Outlaw is coming out with a big brother to the 950, but that unit does not appear to be close to release and will be priced considerably higher than the 950.

As far as amplification, I currently have a 5.1 set-up and use 5 Outlaw M-200's for amplification. I am quite happy with them and have no plans to change them out any time soon.