It looks like Outlaw is now in the speaker business (1 Viewer)

While surfing on the various forums I frequent I came across this announcement from Outlaw Audio. Apparently they are entering the bookshelf speaker market. If they offer the same price:performance ratio with their speakers as I feel they do with their other products (as well as their internet-only marketing) this might be something of interest for anyone considering what might turn out to be some quality "apartment, etc." speakers.

While I've not personally used these speakers (they were just announced) I felt an FYI was in order. You may check the link above if you want more information.

Interesting. $1K/pr though, so probably not as much fervor as the lower cost ones stirring up the internet direct market. They look very nice though. Looks like a pretty nice response curve too.

RAF- Thanks for the head's up.

Made in the U.S., I like that, even if they are a little pricey.

I'll be curious to see the center, floorstanders, and surrounds if they get that far.

Thanks RAF

I like the Outlaw subs...they were designed by Dr. Hsu...he also has a new bookshelf speaker that is about $125 and it has been a hit at the recent High End Show in Las Vegas.

Thanks again for the post and the link.

At $1k they are up against the Monitor Audio RS6s, which need no stands
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloud...rs/306monitor/

This is a thought process in formation, but I'll put it here anyway.

I really like Outlaw's stuff a lot. But I have kept wishing they'd go "upscale". Imagine the performance a pre/pro by them going for even $2k would have. (I want HDMI 1.3, native decoding of the new DD and DTS formats, and room EQ in my next pre/pro, for example.)

So these speakers seem like a departure. Made in America, not really that cheap, but based on Outlaw's record, I bet they will be competitive with speakers costing plenty more.

So I'm also wondering if possibly this is a hint of things to come, or whether it's an "experiment", or just something they are doing different for speakers?

Like I said, just thinking allowed...

Hi Kevin

I like American made too...how much more are most people willing to pay for American made speakers? The best receivers are made in Japan...and more and more speakers, speaker cabinets...speaker magnets...and other speaker components are being made in China and other countrys...the world is getting flatter and flatter.

They might if the continue to use Sherwood Newcastle products as S_N will likely come out with a pre pro version of their upcoming receiver that has those features.

But some of us still prefer *not* to buy products from a country like China with their human rights record, lack of political, social, and religious freedoms, no freedom of the press, poor environmental record, fixed exchange rate, etc. (And, by the way, Taiwan does not equal China.)

I'm not going to turn this into a political debate. The products a person buys, and whether it matters or not where they are manufactured, is a personal decision. Doesn't matter to me what you do. But to some people, it does matter, and I bet that's one reason why Outlaw is making them here. Even if they do cost a little more. And like I alluded to before, even with the fact that they seem a little pricey (somewhat in part due to the fact that they are made here I'm sure) the performance will *still* be commensurate with the price, and knowing how Outlaw does business, they will be competitive with speakers costing more too.

Depends if you're asking the Chinese or the Taiwanese, much like Tibet.

Anyways, the speakers certainly didn't put their $1k purely into design (The look alot like $250 speakers), so lets hope they have the voice to knock it out of the park!

Hi Kevin

I would not spend $1,000 on something that looks like $250 speakers...however, I would love to hear your review of the new Outlaw speakers when you buy them...I am at least as patriotic as the next guy.

$1300 speakers, @same size

And looks can be deceiving: one of the best selling speakers of all time, the Large Advent, and audio critics even liked them too.

We also do not know what is inside the Outlaw speaker: crossovers - the most important part of any speaker - can be as or *more* expensive than all the drivers themselves.

And not everyone is obsessed with "making an awesome deal" on every product they want to purchase, particularly in light of the reasons Kevin already listed.

With what I know about Peter Tribeman and Outlaw the price they are putting on these new speakers is a bargain in comparison to what you are getting in return.

Couple of comments from someone who has no real interest in these.

1. This isn't the price point I expected Outlaw to compete at. Something in the Ascend or AV123 x-series range would have been my guess. The market is pretty flooded at this price point already.

2. What would the cost be if they didn't have the Boundary Compensation & High Freq tweaking. Useless to me since I have a dedicated room & can position them at will. I would consider this more of a gimmick than anything of real value. Purists will certainly hate it.

3. While I wouldn't consider them cheap looking, there are much better looking 1K monitors out there.

4. While I applaud Outlaw for building them in the USA, I have to wonder how much that is adding to the cost? I'm not convinced it really matters much from a quality standpoint. There are many fine examples of quality products built elsewhere.

I did alot of research on Outlaw while I was looking to upgrade my receiver. I very much liked everything I heard/read about Outlaw subs and receivers and the way they do things as a company. If their speakers follow the same path, I'm sure they will be a tremendous value. But I agree that they seem to be going a little higher in the market than I would have thought. It will be interesting to read the reviews when they start comming out.

Sure, but it is much harder to control quality (the +/- 1/2 db matching for instance) building them in Asia.

Hi Tony

With all due respect...some of the cabinets made for SVS aparently are made in China according to someone who does some consultation work for SVS. I own an SVS subwoofer and it performs perfectly and I have absolutely no concerns about their quality control...and I also have a pair of HSU VTF-3HOs plus Turbos that are probably sourced from China and they are perfect as well...many of the finest cabinetry work being sold in this country is sourced in China and other places in Asia. These are not the only companies obtaining their cabinetry from Asia.

Arthur:

I'm not talking cabinets but the ability to pair match speakers to a reference. That is easier to do when speakers are produced in small batches and tested individually. I'm not sure how many Chinese factories do this (individually test each speaker off the line), but I know that many high end manufacturers here (and some low priced ones for sure, like Ascend) do this as a matter of course.