audiofool has the right idea though, he listened to the Denon's pre amp vs the 950 with a CD he is familiar with. He likes the way the Denon sounds. Fair enough. No conslusions can be drawn from this, it is what his brain enjoys processing. To draw a conslusion that the Denon is "this," the 950 is "that," based on preference of sound is where I differ with audiofool, nothing is objective with this conclusion. The original post asked about the "brightness" of the Outlaw equipment with certain speakers and I agree that most electronics will not make or break a speaker's characteristics, it's what tone controls help to tame. But be like audiofool, try the 950 and if you don't like it send it back. It's like buying speakers, if you don't like them then take them back and try something else.