Is Blue Dot Outlaw 950 the right choice?

jqp · « **on:** 4 Nov 2003, 08:17 pm »

I am considering pulling the trigger on a Blue Dot Outlaw 950. I think the Blue Dot revision is the third revision and covers about all the issues this pre/pro had.

$800 is about as much as I want to spend on a solution - I wil have 5 speakers with 5 amps, adding 2 subs with 2 amps for an integrated Audio/HT system.

Is there a competing product that is close to the feature set of the Outlaw for the same money new or used? (I saw a used Red Dot Outlaw for $700 - I will gladly pay the extra hunded for the additional revision and the extra year of warranty).

Any problems with the Outlaw 950 (other than you don't like the remote)?

Are there mods available?

Will it work with XBox the way God intended?

jackman · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 08:21 pm »

I just listened to a 950 at DIY Iowa and liked it more than the Quicksilver amp we tested along side. In fact, most of the croud liked the Outlaw better than the Quicksilver. I was a bit shocked.

J

jqp · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 08:25 pm »

It has gotten rave reviews for its sound, which I was a little surprised at too. But compared to what? Are there many good sounding pre/pros out there? Not being fecitious, I just have only heard the Yamaha A/V stuff, etc.

Since I will be listening to a lot of 2 channel anyway with a different pre, I just want the pre to be decent. BUT, I do want to be prepared for SACD/DVD-A players.

jackman · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 10:17 pm »

The only other preamp they compared it to was a Quicksilver tubed preamp. It was pretty nice looking, however I don't even know the model number. The Outlaw sounded pretty darn good, although I don't know if it would be my first choice for two channel. The Outlaw/ATI amp combo sounded better (to most people in attendance) than a heavily modded Jolida integrated (I like the Jolida), and the Quicksilver/ATI combo. The Outlaw had more "sparkle" without any harshness. A friend has the Outlaw receiver and I can't say it sounds bad on two channels. Much better than other receivers i have listened to or owned that were much more expensive.

Just my .10 or .0001...

J

Juan R · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 11:26 pm »

I was one of the first group to buy the 950, mean I had the red and now the blue dot, and for HT is a great choice, with multiple option, even the by pass mode if you want to use SACD. Is not a 2ch. preamp, I want to be clear on that. But for the price is an excellent option and later you may add a 2ch. pre.

jqp · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 06:17 am »

Just looked through the long manual - it is amazing how many features it has. And they all seem to be beneficial features. Finally a manual for English speakers by English speakers.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 07:48 am »

Is it dreadful for 2-ch? Just curious; if it can't do 2 channels I wouldn't be optimistic about the 5 ch performance.

jqp · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 01:13 pm »

They say its not bad for two channel - see jackmans post, but then I won't use it for two channel. I have my soon to be integrated 2 channel for that. They reviews I have read say the 5 channels are really pretty good compared to high end prepros if not amazing ly good. Remember this is not a 5-channel amp either.

John Casler · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 02:40 pm »

While I have not done a head to head comparison, I have seen posts of those who have and the Harman Kardon 520/525 receiver has been favorably compared sonically and feature wise.

I have personally heard (many hours) both the 520 and 525 and have to say they are very good value perfromers.

If I was in that market, I would find a used 520 since it has "jumpered" preamp to amps, that allow you to use the onboard amps and or outboard amps.

So you end up with a Pre/Pro and an amp in one chassis and you can add amps for 7.1 or 2 channel.

The 525 has 7 onboard, but they are not jumpered and cannot be used for other functions like biamping, or multi-room.

The 520 has 5 amps and I generally add a good "stereo" amp to power the Mains and it is good to go.

They both have analog stereo direct and a pretty good pre-amp section.

I think they would be much cheaper on the used market than the Outlaw and offer very similar performance

jqp · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 04:36 pm »

Thanks for the input guys!

As for the HK 520, I have seen it mostly compared to the Outlaw 1050 which is a receiver. Couldn't find anything comparing the 520 to the 950 with seperate amps. And that would be apples to oranges.

I want to go the seperates route as I have/will have 5 amps (7 when I get my subs - what am I doing!!!!!)

I have decided to pull the trigger on the 950. Five year warranty, 30 -day ship-it-back guarantee, legendary customer service are the other reasons. I will be setting it up hopefully this weekend.

Andrikos · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 04:46 pm »

Let us know how it sounds jqp,
I too am interested in this relatively inexpensive pre-pro.
Good luck, I hope you like it.

jqp · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 04:51 pm »

Also, here is a handy comparison chart I just found

http://www.prillaman.net/950_chart.html

mojoman · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Nov 2003, 05:57 pm »

I've had an Outlaw 950 in my HT for about a year now. I like it and think it sounds very good. It does not sound as good as a dedicated two channel pre but it's not bad either. The remote is a little quirky and takes some getting used to but you can solve this with a decent aftermarket remote. It does all the movie decoding standards quite well and has a bypass mode for either multi channel or two channel. I think this is one of it's strengths. I use it with my Pioneer DVD 45A for SACD/DVD-Audio and think it sounds very nice. I also use it in two channel bypass with my Jolida JD-100 where bypass sound is clearly superior to the Outlaw DACs. I use a 5 channel Parasound amp in this setup. I use the 5 channel stereo a lot when listening to the tuner (mostly background music) or when we have parties. ProLogic II Cinema is nice for tv shows and sporting events not broadcast in 5.1 Dolby.

The other option I strongly considered was a Marantz SR-8200. That was an excellent sounding receiver but if you don't need the amps that it has the money might be better spent on the Outlaw.

jqp · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Nov 2003, 06:35 pm »

Well I got the Outlaw 950 at work today! I was trying to get a tracking number from Outlaw and they called me from the reception desk to let me know it was here!

I wanted to have it for the weekend you know...now I will have to mess with it tonight after the Sam Bush concert.

I am calculating how many interconnects and how many speaker cables I need to DIY/buy.

mojoman · « **Reply #14 on:** 6 Nov 2003, 06:54 pm »

Sam Bush - enjoy!

I saw Steve Earle last night, very nice show and Garrison Starr is something special (she opened for Earle).

jqp · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 02:59 pm »

IT'S ALIVE !!!

After buying a bunch of stuff, I now have a 5-channel HT system (integrated w/2-channel).

So far I have been playing games on the XBox in DD 5.1 and component video

New stuff in the last month: $$

Marble 9.0 for center
Outlaw 950
MB-100 for center amp
4 interconnects (low $)
XBox advanced A/V (thankfully only $17.99
optical cable for digital audio
3 XBox games