Rotel or Outlaw? (1 Viewer)

[T r o y]

I was thinking of upgrading to the 790 from the 750 when it comes out. Will there be noticeable sound improvement in the Dynamics while watching dvd's ? Also, how will the 790 mate with my very efficient Klipsch KLF20s, C7, & S6's?

One more thing, can someone explain the benefits/advantages of having XLR connections on the back of the 790 ?

Thanks!
Troy

 

[Mary M S]

Personally, only having heard Rotel on showroom floors, I prefer the Outlaw. When I purchased my 950 I had not demoed the Rotel in home but ordered the Outlaw first for a 30-day trial run. Ended by keeping it. So I was always curious how the sound compared between the two. Since owning the Outlaw a local boutique “Home Theater Store” which I drop into occasionally to purchase cables (hard to source any other brand but Monster at the retails here if you don’t have time for mail). This B&M in the last year or so, - has gone to Rotel from Marantz as their sponsored mainstream receiver/pre for all RP/CRT/DLP/Plasma room demos. They continue to run Macintosh etc. type gear in their FP larger room setups. These Rotels are paired with B&W’s which this boutique sells heavily.

My Outlaw (main system) is paired with Vienna Acoustics Beethoven’s, (mains) Vienna A Maestro (center) SVS PCUltra and Definitive Tech surrounds (the DT’s will be replaced some day, the VA’s stay!) I much prefer the sound of my Outlaw over my time with Rotel at the B&M.

I no longer research each years launch and which feature or two is changed or added since I have been so satisfied with my 950’s performance. I have no intentions to upgrade till 1) it breaks (or) 2) is beat by trickledown extremely advanced feature setup that no average HT would be without.

Until I hear a very through demo of DPLIIx with a broad range of material, while I am sure it is likely a very good DSP, I am not overly concerned about acquiring it. If as I understand it is not a discrete 6th/7th channel system. Even it was truly discrete 6th/7th. I would be disinclined to upgrade for that feature alone till there are recordings on shelves that take advantage of it. I can run 7.1 on the Outlaw.

I am a very happy Outlaw owner (two 950’s) one 770 and one 750, but am a firm believer in demo’s. I see many satisfied Rotel owners in the forums. If I was buying pre -Outlaw, I would try to force myself to demo both in my own HT before final purchase. While it intimidated me in the past, I am getting used to shipping via Internet purchases, since Outlaw and SVS Cust S has provided such excelent support.

Edit: to Parker. I need to look into the DLP2x features but IF the 6th/7th channel ARE sent in stereo, It does not intrigue me as much just to have further processing choices on board (nice but not neccsacary). If I remember the old discreet debate. Outlaw stereos the signal into 6th/7th channel. And as Brian points out the ONLY truly discret recordings are DTS ES DVD's only.

The diffrence between the Lexicon avaiable tweaks and Outlaw was the Lexicon could self process a matrix from Left surround which was sent only to - left rear surround, and the right side surround sent to right rear. (still a matrix and not a true discreet recorded seperation) The Outlaw will Matrix the Left/Right Side Surround signal together, and send it to the 6th/7th channels in stereo.

There is no recording to support it and not enough diffrence between the left surround and right surround information to worry if I get a slight additional matrixed diffrence in the rear two BSL/BSR. I already get all diffrences (if in the recording) between the Left and Right side surrounds, and my rear surrounds seem to primarly be most effective in soundtracks when they are used by talented sound editors to indicate travel (from front to back and vice versa) in recordings of the movements of bullets/trains/planes/ and main characters as they walk and speak.

 

[Girish]

If it was my money and I had to choose between Rotel and Outlaw. My choice would be Rotel all the way.

 

[Mike Gl]

I replaced an Outlaw 950 with a Rotel 1068. The amplifiers remained the same (Rotel 993 for Center, Left and Right Front and two Rotel 981 amps for the surround and rear). The Rotel 1068 was worth the additional cost to me, although the Outlaw 950 is a great value.

The Rotel offered in my experience:
1. A significant improvement in music with an improved soundstage and more natural sound, particularly from SACD or DVD-Audio.
2. Greater control over delays in setting up individual channels.
3. Ability to introduce a global delay to match audio and video.
4. Dolby PLIIx which in my experience is much more realistic than the 7.1 modes on the Outlaw.
5. DTS and Dolby Digital performance that was better on home theater, but not a huge improvement on most material.

If one was looking to save money, I would consider the Rotel RSX 1056 and an RMB-1075.

 

[vince simonetti]

What is the difference in the processor portion of the 1056 receiver and the 1068 processor. They appear to have identical features, but the 1056 adds a tuner and 5 channel amp for about $400 less? What am I missing?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

The noise floor on the reciever is slightly higher then the pre pro version but you're right the 1056 is a very good value and makes a great pre amp.