Beware the Ides of March: News regarding the Outlaw 950 (& the 755) (1 Viewer)

[RAF]

I'm surprised at you, guys. I let something out on the Outlaw forum a few hours ago and nobody picked up on it?

Let's say that I have it on very good authority that letters will be going out to those at the top of the Outlaw 950 reservation list within the next day or two providing details for the exercising of your reservation option. I don't know exactly how deep into the list the Outlaws will go (that's up to them and things I am not privy to) but the last pieces of the puzzle have come together and they are, apparently about to give the go-ahead to start the production line going. For the curious, the final hurdle involved some licensing approvals and all the paperwork is now supposedly in place.
I won't steal the Outlaws' thunder any more and let their impending letter speak for itself. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

Looks like John/Merc/Whatever Morris was right when he said "Beware the Ides of March." But I'm sure there will be those who still find something to fault with his words. It appears that his guess was spot on regarding the start of the release process. Nice call, merc!
And speaking of "nice" I've spent most of the day playing with my new Outlaw 755 Amplifier. I tested it out with my Marantz MA700 monoblocks and also with the amplifier section of my Denon 5700 in all possible combinations. After almost 8 hours of constant listening my initial verdict is in.
If you are planning on getting a 755 (or a 770 which is the functional equivalent of the 755 with two more amps) I predict you will be very, very happy. The individual amps in the 755 match up very nicely with the performance of my MA700's and, quite honestly, I can't say that I can hear a difference. I've lived with the MA700s powering my front soundstage (L/C/R) for over a year and when I put three amps of the 755 in place of the three MA700s the only reason that I knew that this had occurred was because I had done the wiring. Very similar performance in terms of power and imaging. And this is not surprising because the two products have very similar specs. I love my MA700s and the 755 amps are, in my opinion, at least the equal in performance.
Then I replaced the four Denon 5700 amps that were previously powering the four surround channels (LS,LR,RR & RS) with the remaining two amps from the 755 and two of the MA700s. As we like to say here in New Yawk, Fuggedaboudit!! No contest. An acoustic epiphany! Seven clean channels of 300W each into 4 ohms with plenty of headroom. Of course, the MA700s and the 755 amps are more powerful and have much more robust specifications than a receiver's amp section so this wasn't really a fair comparison.
It now just comes down to which amps to use where and for me this is just a matter of convenience. After trying out all manner of configurations I've decided to let the 755 address the L/C/R and L&R side surrounds (as indicated above) and use two MA700s for the L&R rear surrounds. The remaining MA700 becomes a spare until 8.1 or whatever shows up.
I will probably never, ever need all the headroom that this set-up provides, but as with my SVS subwoofer, it's nice to know that it's there for that rare burst of power that is called for. (A similar philosophy guides my predilection for 8 cylinder automobiles.) During normal listening and viewing the reserves make the regular stuff effortless and this shows up in how everything sounds.
I've been speaking very favorably about the performance of the 950 and can now, from personal experience, give an enthusiastic endorsement for a 950/755 or, by extension, 950/770 package.

Wait until you hear what I'm hearing.

 

[Jeff Kohn]

As we Aggies like to say... WHOOOOOP!!!

Too bad it'll probably be 6 weeks before they get down to my name on the list...

 

[Joe Mollura]

RAF,
What did you think about the 755/950 combo in 2 channel????????

 

[Will]

It's not when the call or email comes that really counts, it's when the pesky pre/pro actually arrives that really counts.

I have it on very good authority

Another insider's prediction! The Outlaws for a long time gave many many official predictions of when their pre/pro will ship. That's been going on for a long time. Despite the many many missed official predictions, the Outlaw pre/pro never shipped. So they understandably stopped making official predictions of when it will ship. But now we have this prediction. It's from RAF so I guess it's not officially from the Outlaws. So if it doesn't happen nobody can say the Outlaws missed another prediction. But once again, it generates the oh so familiar Outlaw buzz that the pre/pro is almost here.... I just have three questions?
When will the final specs be published?
When will the final user manual be published?
When will the first 100 customers receive the pre/pro?
I imagine the first two will probably be online whenever they're available.
But seriously RAF, I hope you are correct and the pre/pro does ship soon. One of these days the pre/pro will ship.
But when it does whoever announces it may feel skepticism all around, like the boy who cried wolf. We all know the story of the little boy who cried wolf many times and the wolf was never there. Until one day the wolf was really there. But by then nobody would believe the little boy anymore.

 

[Luke_Khuc]

to RAF,

i wish you had received your 755 much earlier. i just sent a check out today to pay for my used rotel 1095. but i will wait for the 950.

to everyone,

who wants to buy my top (... well kinda top) spot on the list? i registered within the first minute. muuuaww

 

[Sankar]

to everyone,
who wants to buy my top (... well kinda top) spot on the list? i registered within the first minute. muuuaww

May I respectfully remind you of the forum rules: "No items may be offered without a price. No auctions allowed!"

 

[Joe Bauman]

Will,
Thanks, I always wondered what that "wolf" story was about.

 

[Chris_B]

RAF -Nice to hear the good review on the 755. I also have 3 MA700s for my L/C/R. They are great amps. I think there will be a 755 in my future for the side and rear surrounds. Good amps are wonderful, they never become obsolete.

Best,

Chris

 

[RAF]

Well, with wires all over the place and trying to finish some March Madness Entries before the deadline (my mind says The Kansas Jayhawks but my heart says the Arizona Wildcats) I don't have much time to spend here on line so this will be briefer than usual.

Quote:

Sankar,
Interesting comment, and much more insightful than you probably realize. People who get letters (I estimate a couple of hundred will be sent out in the first wave to allow for some drop-outs) will be told that their place on the waiting list cannot be transferred to someone else. (For all the people who are saying that I'm just guessing about this letter you will be enlightened in a day or two). However, based on the number of units that will be initially available (here I offer no guesses because I don't have any inside information) I would suggest that a person can purchase the unit with their credit card and then sell it to somebody else. Outlaw couldn't really do anything about that and, if you weren't sure about this there's always the 30 day return policy to fall back upon. Think about it a bit. Remember the first Miatas? 'Nuff said.
And finally,
Where there's a Will there's a way.
I was just waiting for your sincere comment. What took you so long? My day would not have been complete without it and I'm certain that your many fans are grateful that you added your usual two cents. And a fable or two to boot!?! We are truly blessed, people!
While we are talking about "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" let me remind you about the "Boy Who Was Never Satisfied." A slightly lesser known tale, perhaps, but just as relevant, I would think.
Once upon a time there was a young boy who, no matter what was done or said, was never satisfied. He constantly found something negative to say no matter what the situation as he circulated among the many other boys and girls in the kingdom. A classic example of the "glass half empty syndrome" in a "glass half filled" world. One day he woke up and nobody was there except himself. And he didn't understand why. And nobody cared. Not even the wolf. But at least he didn't devour the little boy because of the aftertaste.

The moral of this story is, life's too short to always be complaining. It takes many more muscles to frown than to smile. Go down to the Santa Monica pier and skate along the strand. I might join you the next time I'm in town. (I always park at the first parking lot on the PCH at the end of I-10, near the snack bar.)

 

[Russell _T]

RAF,

I'm wondering how the Outlaws design tested the 755 and 770 with the 950, since they were all being developed in different locations, and never really seem to have come together at least until the end. They are supposed to be a synergetic combination. Do you have any idea how they could make this happen? In other words, how do they know the combos will mate well when they are selling them as mated pairs?

Thanks,

Russ

 

[RAF]

Interesting question, Russell_T. (Go Wildcats!)
Actually, I don't believe that selling them as mated pairs means that they have to work together in any special way. If you produce a quality pre/pro and a quality amplifier to industry standards they will work fine together. That's the beauty of separates. You can mix and match just about any of the good stuff with no major problems.
The 950 is being manufactured somewhere in Asia and the 755/770 are manufactured in the USA (according to the backplate). As an interesting sidelight the Outlaws were on the phone with me today more than several times asking what I thought of the pairing (they obviously knew the answer) since I'm the first "civilian" to have heard the combination in a home environment. Everything they've done up to this point has been prototypes connected to prototypes at shows and in the lab.
The 950/770 and 950/755 packages are, in my estimation, simply a marketing idea. True, the faceplates match so I guess you could call them a "matched set" but, like I said before, there are industry standards that most manufacturers follow which will assure that these, or any well designed components, will mesh well.
Another example of this. I commented on how close my Marantz MA700 monoblocks seemed to perform to the 755 amps and one of the Outlaws mentioned that even though the MA700s are THX Ultra certified and the 755/770 are not, they still exceed the minimum standards required for this certification (which costs money) so this is not surprising. In fact, as I've stated before, THX certification just guarantees that a product meets a certain standard. Not having THX certification doesn't mean a product is inferior. In fact a wide range of high end products don't have THX certification but outperform those that do. There is absolutely no substitute for looking over the specs and, most importantly, auditioning any equipment you want to buy.
Hope I answered your question. This is the situation as I see it.

 

[Russell _T]

Robert,

Thank you for your reply. You are probably correct. I was just wondering. BTW, regarding specs, there is a VERY interessting thread on AVS right now that is involving one of the chief designers of Ayre's power amps. He generally feels that most amplifier specs are useless to the average consumer. It's very enlightening. The thread is called something about being a "Specsman."

Thanks again, and we do love Lute and our Wildcats.

Russ

 

[Jody C Robins]

Great... I had settled on the Sherbourn 5/1500A amp, but after reading this review, I have doubts again. Esp since I am planning on getting the 950 and can save money with the combo buy. Does anyone know the specs of both to compare?

 

[RAF]

Quote:

Jody,
I'm not sure about the Sherbourn but the 755 specs are found here. Happy hunting. And remember what I said about specs and auditioning equipment.

 

[Will]

Go down to the Santa Monica pier and skate along the strand. I might join you the next time I'm in town.

Sounds like wonderful plan. We can check out the chicks along the strand from our inlines. Let me know when you'll be in town.
----
From JULIUS CAESAR - Scene II - A public place.
by William SHakespeare
Soothsayer Caesar!
CAESAR Ha! who calls?
CASCA Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!
CAESAR Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.
Soothsayer Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR What man is that?
BRUTUS A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
CAESAR Set him before me; let me see his face.
CASSIUS Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
CAESAR What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.
Soothsayer Beware the ides of March.

 

[Serge Breton]

RAF,
no emails yet, but i am holding you to it! Could it be finally, we'll soon see

 

[brian a]

Hey RAF,

Did the manual you got have remote info in it as well? I'd like to know if you were able to get the learning working. I'm going to go ahead and buy a new remote if you're having issues with the one that the 950 come with learning from other remotes.

 

[Matthew Anderson]

All I can say is cool! I can't wait to hear what my dvd's will sound like in 6.1 surround sound.

 

[Russell _T]

RAF,

Sorry to hear about the illness in your family. I hope all turns out well. Next time you are out this way, email me and I'll take you to lunch.

Russ

 

[brian a]

It's the Ides. How about making the official "My confirmation mail was on this date and time and I just got the mail" thread? Is your confidence that high?