How many people think they will get their 950 by Christmas?? (1 Viewer)

[Evan S]

You know, the free PCA interconnect is all well and good, but I'm on the reservation list as well for the 950 and I didn't get that e-mail. What gives?

 

[Razvan V]

Anthony,

The Parasound 1800 coupled with a Sony TA-N9000ES amp sounded worse than the Sony DA777ES flagship receiver and about the same as the combo Denon 3802 + Sony TA-N9000ES.

I tried the Sony TA-E9000ES preamp at home for a few weeks and it sounded very good indeed. I returned it hoping that the Outlaw 950 will be better. The Outlaws themselves hinted at this on their site: "Our initial testing tells us that the noise floor is incredibly low and that all other "techy" specs are equal to, or better than, products costing two to three times as much as the 950 in both analog and digital performance".

Razvan

 

[Legairre]

All I can say is I'm REAL glad I bought my new amp a Rotel 1095 now instead of waiting any longer for the 770 amp. I passed on buying a amp in March because of the 770 rumors. Then I waited until September. Then I waited until November. Finally I got tired of the delays/lies just to keep me hanging on. So I bought the amp I wanted right after Thanksgiving.

I know this sounds harsh, but what you guys call me if I kept coming back every two months and said just wait one more month.

Not to even mention that the Outlaws used to state that the 770 would weigh over 100 pounds and now it's going to weight 86.5 pounds for SEVEN channels? Heck my Rotel 1095(and a lot of other amps with 5x200 wpc) weights 75 or 80 pounds. I'd expect a seven channel amp to weight more.

I'll definately be waiting to see what the reveiws of the 950 are before I put my name on any list. To me buying the right pre/pro is worth more that 49.95 worth of free cables. Sounds like another marketing ploy just to get our names on the list.

Yeah, I'm venting, but hey it's been a long time and it just seems to get longer.

 

[Sebastien David]

Anthony,

The Parasound 1800 coupled with a Sony TA-N9000ES amp sounded worse than the Sony DA777ES flagship receiver and about the same as the combo Denon 3802 + Sony TA-N9000ES.

I tried the Sony TA-E9000ES preamp at home for a few weeks and it sounded very good indeed. I returned it hoping that the Outlaw 950 will be better. The Outlaws themselves hinted at this on their site: "Our initial testing tells us that the noise floor is incredibly low and that all other "techy" specs are equal to, or better than, products costing two to three times as much as the 950 in both analog and digital performance".

Razvan

Razvan, would you then say that the Sony TA-N9000ES w/ Denon 3802 is not a worthy combo? Would it not be better than a Denon 4802? I was considering both purchases and leaning towards the separates option, but now...

 

[Razvan V]

Sebastien,

The Denon 3802/Sony TA-N9000ES combo is good. I haven't listened to the Denon 4802 so I can't compare them. The Sony DA777ES was better than the combo though so maybe the Denon 4802 would also be better. If I were you I'd get the Sony TA-N9000ES + the Outlaw 950 preamp for a few hundred dollars more than you'd pay for the Sony amp/Denon 3802 combo. That would probably sound better than both the Sony/3802 combo and the Denon 4802 and you'd have true separates.

The Sony amp is very good, I have 2 of them, no problems at all, they're very well built, sound good and have plenty of power.

Razvan

 

[Sebastien David]

Razvan,

thank you for the prompt answer. before logging off for the night, I might add that I was planning to use the Denon to drive all rear channels, and the Sony for the front/center channels (in 3-channel BTL mode). all that driving RF-7s, RC-7, and miscellaneous speakers in the back.

the thing is, I have access to cost pricing on Denon and Sony stuff, but not on Outlaw gear, and the 950 would probably cost me a bundle in Canadian money with the exchange rate and duties.

what would you therefore advise me to do? 4802 and have all the nice extra features, such as the remote, better component switching, widely adjustable xover, etc., or go the separates way and get the Denon 3802 followed by one Sony amp? the Sony/3802 combo would run me a couple hundred bucks more than the 4802. oh, and how would you explain the advantage in sound of the 777ES (or 4802) over the separates? I have seen the 4ohm power rating for the Sony amp, and it does not double the 8ohm one, it actually DROPS 10 watts, which apparently is a sign of an amp that is not high-quality or high-current enough.

I am really torn between those two solutions, I need help fast, the purchase is imminent! thanks.

/EDIT/

Actually, i checked out the specs for the Denon 2802 and it doesn't look too much different than the 3802... I might use that as a pre/pro/rear amp and the Sony as the main amp instead. that would save me some cash. Anyone see a problem with this?

 

[Razvan V]

Sebastien,

I like my Sony amps a lot, before buying them I did a lot of research so I knew what I was buying. The Sony 9000ES amp improved the Denon's sound a lot. The Sony DA777ES is an exceptional receiver, the best I ever heard ( this includes the B&K 307) so I was not surprised that its sound was better than the Denon/Sony combo. Someone posted a link to an ezboard site where they discuss the Sont TA-E9000ES preamp and the Sony TA-N9000ES amp, go there and read the amp discussions, most people are very satisfied with it.

Maybe the preamp part of the 2802 is not as good as the 3802's. I wouldn't buy the 2802, the preamp section of the 3802 is very good but who knows if the same is true for the 2802?

If I were you I'd do this: buy the Sony amp and the Denon 4802 at cost. Sell the Denon for a nice profit, keep the Sony amp and buy the Outlaw 950.

If that's not possible I think that I'd go with the Denon 4802. If you don't like it you can sell it, can't you?

Razvan

 

[Will]

I don't know the updated schedule for the Outlaw 770. I hope it will be out soon. Its situation is like the 950 but may be different since (1) the 770's manual has been online for over a week and (2) the 770 and the 950 are made by two different companies for the Outlaws. Like the 950 the 770 was expected long ago. I just read Legairre's post from back in December again, about the 770, and thought to myself this could have been written today.

I passed on buying a amp in March because of the 770 rumors. Then I waited until September. Then I waited until November. Finally I got tired of the delays/lies just to keep me hanging on. So I bought the amp I wanted right after Thanksgiving.
I know this sounds harsh, but what you guys call me if I kept coming back every two months and said just wait one more month.

 

[Legairre]

WOW, Will you pulled this one out of the ashes. Hopefully some people will be enjoying there 770 amps soon. As for me, I've been loving my 1095.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. See ya around Will. You know where to find me.