I purchased a pioneer thx select receiver a few years ago-i ended up returning it but it wasnt a bad receiver-the most notable downpoint was a poor tuner.while i havent heard the outlaw yet i definitely wouldnt recommend the pioneer over it unless youre using very inexpensive(average)speakers and will be using it mostly for home theater(not music)in which case it may give you more bang for the buck.I would suggest you check out the receivers from denon(1602)(1802)that have dolby pro logic 2.