Hey there guys,
I have owned my 1050 for about a year and a half and have thouroughly put this reciever through it's paces. What I have experienced is a marginal lack of bass response out of my mains, even when switched to 4 ohm mode. I feel that the 1050 either doesn't have good bass output, or good bass control. I came to this conclusion when compairing to a Marantz reciever with the same wattage rating as the 1050, and getting much better bass response out of my speakers, though sound quality in gereral was much better on my 1050. It was just a bass problem. As far as actual clarity, I personaly prefer using my digital input over the 5.1 input because it seems to resolve more of the audio image through the digital connection and frequency response is much higher. The digital input also seems to be a bit more forward, with a more 3-dimensional soundstage than the analog input. I personaly think that the harshness that TLRLMC mentioned could be associated with the 1050's ability to reveal the true nature of the recording being played. The 5.1 input seems to make everything I play through it come out softened a little too much for my taste. The analog does sound somewhat warmer, but this also feels as if it then rolls off highs, at the same time it does slightly expand the horizontal width of the soundstage but at the expense of halving the resolution, IMHO. All in all I would have to say that the digital input is my favored choice for stereo playback, but unfortunately I have had to resort to using my powered 15" subwoofer for music playback, when I have 4 12" woofers in my towers!

I would however like very much to know what would happen if I was to purchase the 770 (my personal choice for amp upgrade) and utilize the increased wattage. Maybe you guys could help me with this. When your 1050 was coupled with an amplifier did you get an increase in full range response? Did it only increase your volume output, meaning did it just boost volume headroom with no noticable frequency range improvement? I would very much like to boost my main speakers bass output, but do I need to look to other sources to attain that end? Don't get me wrong, I plan on staying with Outlaw, but due to the current 950 situation as well as financial issues, I am locked into staying with my 1050 for a bit longer than I had desired and would very much like to make the most of it. Thanks for your time guys.