Kevin, I just got the 950 and am going to hook up to my Vandersteens tomorrow. What are you referring to "Eprom" upgrade? I also have the 755 (5x200 watt) amp and am trying to decide within the next (less than 30 days now) if this is the correct setup for me (pre/pro and amp). I am enjoying the feedback. Thanks. Chuck
I think amps are kind of boring compared to processors and speakers and such. Sort of a necessary evil. As long as it sounds good, has good build quality, doesn't shut down when driven hard, doesn't heat my room and surrounding areas, has sturdy speaker binding post, has required RCA/XLR inputs, fits in the space provided, looks good but doesn't have distracting lights, triggerable is nice, is that a word?, front panel power switch is nice also, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.............
Chuck- If you just got the 950, then you have the upgrade. I think the new units started shipping March 17th or something.
Will you stay with 5.1, or someday go to 6.1 or 7.1? Even then, you can keep the 755 and just add a 200 or 2.
Geo- One thing for me as well, in addition to all the techy info, reviews, etc, I want when considering a purchase, is that I am a lot more critical of an amp's looks than other components. Mostly because I consider power amps the "foundation" of my system, *and* because there are so many good ones out there, "looks" can be a bigger part of the equation when deciding between units. For me anyway.
I'm using a Rotel RMB-1095 (5x200w)for surrounds and back centers, and a Bryston 4BSST (2X350W). I can't really tell them apart when using them for HT. They sound the same!
But when I listen to 2 ch music, then I see a difference between the 2. The Bryston is giving you the sound like it was intend to, the way it was record, w/o "touching" the sound. The Rotel is "taming" the high frequencies a bit, so it sound "less bright" to me. But it's not, it's only that the Bryston give you the original sound. That's what I like. Personnal preference.
And, I have a small hum with the Rotel, but perfect silence with the bryston (grounding scheme?).
The Bryston gives me a better resolution of details in HT, and a better front stage, compare to the Rotel. They sound the same to me. But I can hear more details with the Bryston.
20 years warranty. Build like a tank. Could use it instead of my jack hammer. The 4BSST is an awesome amp for the price.
The 950 had an issue with the EPROM that wouldn't pass the LFE in DTS ES. This required people that wanted this feature to get the EPROM fix from Outlaw and have a tech put it in for them. Like Kevin said since you have a new unit all the bugs have been worked out and no worries.
The great thing is that you have 30 days to audition this set up in your own home instead of some show room.
I prefer tubes for music. I know there are a few 2 channel tube owners out there. This EAR 50 wt/ch tube amp works great for HT since I set my mains(B&W N804) to small anyway.