OK, Here we go. Review of Outlaw 950 vs. HK 520 Battle! WARNING-LONG (1 Viewer)

[Serge Breton]

Great Googly Moogly........
i forgot all about that saying! I really liked it along with the commercial

 

[Rich Malloy]

Never seen the commercial in question, but unless it was broadcast pre-74, it most certainly is not the origin of the expression, "Great Googly-Moogly".
(And I thought you guys were music lovers!)
To my knowledge that phrase was first uttered after a spasmodic outburst of electrified guitar notes in the song "Nanook Rubs It" (aka "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow") from FZ's great album "Apostrophe", and the verse in question goes:
...whereupon I proceeded to take that mittenful of the deadly yellow snow crystals and rub it all into his beady little eyes with a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mudshark in your mythology... here it goes, the circular motion, now Rub It!
(rub rub rub "Here Fido!")
And then In a fit of anger... I pounced!
(blamp!)
And I pounced again!
(blamp! blamp! spasmodicelectricguitaroutburst!)
Great Googly Moogly!
For reference: http://www.science.uva.nl/~robbert/z...trophe/02.html

 

[Paul Clarke]

Rich is correct. Now whether or not the expression goes even further back is another matter but that's the first time I remember hearing it.

 

[chung_sotheby]

Rich, you are probably right, but I was referencing my "Great Googly Moogly" from the snickers commercial. Whether or not it is originally from a Zappa song, I have no idea, but my reference comes directly from the sweet, old, helpless line painter's mouth.
Its almost like someone saying, on their own wit, "Well, I got that going for me, which is nice," and having never seen Caddyshack before.

 

[Jed M]

Thanks for the review Chung.
If anyone really cares... http://www.greatgooglymoogly.com/origin.html
For the most part Zappa is correct.

 

[David S]

"One last question, with the Outlaw, did you use the Analog Bypass mode for your comparisons in 2 channel since you deem the DAC's in your sources to be superior?" -

Same question from me as well. Did you listen to the 950 in bypass for at least the vinyl?

"Chris, I auditioned three of the preamps with my current setup in my current room, and indeed the Outlaw bested all of them". -

Correct me if I'm wrond Chris, but I thinks you mean in 2 channel/music listening? Any thoughts here Chung?

 

[chung_sotheby]

David, I listened to 2 channel bypass, and while it was better, it still lacked musicality. In terms of 2 channel listening, I preferred the bypass of the Outlaw to the HK, but only by a slim margin.
In terms of besting the other preamps, here is how I would stack them up, from high to low:
Movies:
Outlaw, Lex, Sunfire, B&K, Anthem
Music:
Sunfire, Outlaw, Lex, Antehm, B&K
Hope this clears a few things up

 

[David S]

Thanks for the reply.. By the way, was the Zep III the new Classic Records reissue? I'm readying to buy some new vinyl, and these reissues are high on the list.

 

[Kevin L K]

YGM chung-thanks.

 

[Jeff H]

Chung, I appreciate and value your opinions. Thanks for the excellent review. Have you compared the Outlaw and H/K to the DC2 with a 7.1 setup? I have never listened to the Outlaw or the H/K, so I can't compare. But, to really appreciate the sound and flexiblity of the DC2, I really believe you have to use a 7.1 setup with bass enhance. I agree that the stereo section of the Lex isn't the greatest, but I almost exclusively use the music mode. I used to have the Citation 7.0 preamp and thought the 6 axis mode was the best, Lexicon's Logic 7 is better. I don't think the H/K 520 or the Outlaw can compare to the Lexicon with 7 channels of properly callibrated sound. This is just my opinion and I could be wrong. Thanks again for the review. Jeff

 

[Mifr44]

" But, to really appreciate the sound and flexiblity of the DC2, I really believe you have to use a 7.1 setup with bass enhance."

That's the problem with drawing a conclusion based on listening to an audio component or setup in an audio store. It is very rarely set up properly and usually does not have the combination of components (preamp, amps, speakers, etc.) that you will have in your own system. And this seems to be very true with Lexicon processors and 7.1 setups (or the lack of them).

"I don't think the H/K 520 or the Outlaw can compare to the Lexicon with 7 channels of properly callibrated sound. This is just my opinion and I could be wrong."

Nope, you are not wrong. Your opinion is on equal footing with Chung's. Your selections will be based heavily on what you experienced, remembering always that biases and preferences will play a large part in your decisions.

Michael

 

[Kevin L K]

Hi chung. Emailed you a few times-I don't know if I'm having trouble with my ISP's email servers or what.Let me know-thanks!

 

[Ted Kim]

my own comparisons rate the Stereo preamp section about on par with a NAD 314 integrated amp (~$400 list) used as a preamp. A Classe CAP-150 integrated amp ($2000 list) used a preamp does sound far better than the Outlaw, but costs a lot more and is only for 2 channels.

After reading some posts on the Outlaw Saloon (Forum), I noticed a number of posts that report improved stereo capabilities of the newer units relative to the original units. To clarify my previous post, I will state that my findings were for the older unit and I have not had the time to test the revised 950 in my 2 channel setup. However, as I no longer have the original unit on hand (Outlaw gave us a week to ship back the old units), doing A-B comparisons with the original would be impossible -- though I suppose the NAD would provide a useful benchmark.

 

[Doug Brewster]

Chung
Thanks for reinforcing my already tightly held belief that the money I invested in my 520 was well spent.
The GREAT GOOGLY MOOOGLY!!! quote actually generated more controversy than the remarks about the products themselves.
"Very Interesting... but Stupid"

 

[MichaelFusick]

Excellent---Excellent review!!!!!

Now, about the DD-EX thing and the lack or DD-EX in the 520, does this really matter?

I mean, can't you simply run it in the 6.1/7.1 mode and it still uses the rears about the same way, just not licensed Dolby spec...Right?

Does not having DD-EX matter?

The new HK arriving this month might have it, the replacment for the 520 comes out in early october.

It does have DTS-ES, thats all that really matters. L7 is sweet too...

 

[Lewis Besze]

The HK won't do DD EX nor any type of "pseudo" matrixing once it detects the DD signal.
The L7 is only available on 2ch sources,and not even sure if it is working with digital[pcm] sources or just analog,someone correct me.
Yes it does DTS ES discrete and matrix.
The Outlaw on the other hand lets you use Cirrus extra surround in conjunction with, DD, DTS, and DPLII.
This pre/pro is my choice as well over the HK 520 and the Denon 3801 it replaced.

 

[Frank_S]

DaveS,

By the way, was the Zep III the new Classic Records reissue? I'm readying to buy some new vinyl, and these reissues are high on the list.

I can offer my opinion on the Zeppelin Classic records, fantastic. Led Zepellin III, play Bron-y-ur stomp(?)unbelievable, it will have you playing air guitar like never before, LOL! I also have II, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti, all sound amazing. Happy listening!
Sorry for the off topic response.

 

[Robert Tonkin]

Great Googly Moogly!


And... is followed by some of the cleanest hottest guitar licks anyone has ever graced the instrument with. I was fortunate to find a pre 76 copy of the original CD used on Amazon last year. Had to pay $27 for it, but was ESTATIC I found it. The newer post 76 copies HAVE been remixed, leaving out some really sweet material, including alot of Ruth Underwoods Vibes. George Duke appears on the album playing Keyboards and Synthesizer, Jean-Luc Ponty on Violin, Ansley Dunbar on drums. The CD also has the entire Overnite Sensation Album on it too. It is one of the CD's I'm taking to Seattle next week to auditon speakers with.

I'm VERY hopeful I can find a way to listen to most of the CD on B&W Nautalis 800's where I'll be auditioning the 9NT's. I can only hope, how sweet it will be.

"I was born to have adventure"