Did the 601s sound terrible with your previous equipment - or with anything else that you happen to have around?

If not, and they are only sounding terrible with the 950 combo then either i) you've somehow not set it up properly or ii) the 950/770 is defective.

I say this with near certainty because I just can't believe that any "common" type of speaker can go from good to terrible sounding just because of a switch in processor / amp. I've used my main speakers for about 25 years now, with countless receivers, integrated amps, and pre/pro/amps - everything from a 15 W/ch Yamaha receiver (still going strong after 30 years) to my current 950 / Carver THX combo. They've never sounded anything but great - and rarely "different". (Louder, with more wattage, excepted).

I'm not talking about mixing different "odd" types of components (tubes, electrostatics, etc.) I can accept that some audible incompatibilities might occur in those cases. But not with something like the B&Ws / Outlaws which are about as common / conventional / benign as you can get - unless one of the components is actually defective.

After all "terrible" is about as far to one side of the subjective scale as one can get.

Regards.

Jeff Mackwood