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Outlaw's new pre/pro, the 990. (1 Viewer)

Tony Genovese

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Oct 5, 2000
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Believe me, my friend, you don't need instruments to support this: the noise I'm talking about is easily discerned using the instruments attached to your head, provided there's some gray matter inside: I'm talking hum you can hear from across the room, and is clearly a grounding issue. With my Symetrix 551E I cannot get noise free performance with unbalanced cables. In some circumstances, balanced cables lead to an easier attainment of noise free performance. I've experienced it in many different systems. YMMV.
 

JeremyErwin

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Feb 11, 2001
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Gee, I thought that ad copy sounded familiar. Perhaps it sells more seperates than "Now with an even lower noise floor".
 

RAF

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Jul 3, 1997
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I just came back from the NYC HE2005 show where I was able to audition the Outlaw 990 in person. It was matched with an Outlaw 770 amp and AT8200 speakers with Outlaw subs. In my opinion at under $1100 this is a remarkable piece of equipment.

As the original beta tester for the Outlaw 950 and a current owner of a Lexicon MC-8 I can speak with a bit of experience (see my web site for background). When the 950 was introduced, Outlaw promised that one day they would release a more fully featured pre/pro and it appears as though that promise has been kept. Let me just say (without any particular allegiance or obligation to Outlaw) that if the 990 had been available when I purchased my Lexicon MC-8 I most likely would not have gotten the MC-8. The few issues I had with the 950, specifically the time it took to lock onto a signal when changing sources, has been addressed with great success on the 990. I liked what I heard, and since the 990 is priced close to the $1K mark, this is probably going to be a huge success. Its feature and specification set at that price point is an ear opener.
 

Lawrence X

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Are you serious? You paid the big bucks on a Lexicon primarily because your Outlaw 950 was slow locking on to signals?

I also used to own the 950 but made a similar jump to the Cary Cinema 6 for sound quality reasons. For just a bit more than double the price, I went from a budget sounding piece to high end sounding gear for both movies and music. I guess Outlaw's a decent place to start for HT seperates (given the price) until you know more what you're looking for.
 

Nicu

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Apr 17, 2004
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"if the 990 had been available when I purchased my Lexicon MC-8 I most likely would not have gotten the MC-8"

If the 990 is that good why don't you sell your MC-8 and buy the 990 instead?

Nicu
 

RAF

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Regarding selling my MC-8 and getting a 990: this is not something that appeals to me. Besides not wanting to go through the hassle of switching out another pre-pro, the economics are not as favorable as might first appear. True, I could probably net a few dollars with the switch but the nature of used equipment pricing (not to mention the inconvenience of the switch in all its aspects) doesn't hold any appeal to me. If I were young and struggling I might be tempted but, then again, I probably wouldn't have been able to afford a Lexicon in the first place. My comments were directed at those looking to upgrade what they already have. The 990 offers another option for them. And I didn't purchase the Lexicon just because it locks onto all signals quickly (although that was the straw that broke the camel's back). I did my homework and considered a lot of options and models before settling into the Lexicon family. I love Logic 7 for surround modes and, without actually placing the 990 in my system (as I had with the 950) I can't say for sure that I wouldn't miss it or that any of the sound modes of the 990 would be as satisfying for me. The 950 came close in some surround areas, and I would think that the 990 would also be a strong contender in this area. When I mentioned that if the 990 had been available 2 years ago I might not have moved up to a Lexicon I was talking about an upgrade path that wasn't possible at that time. But it is now - for those looking to upgrade.

Finally, there are many other features of the MC-8 that were not available on the 950 so lock-on issues was not the only reason. Also, Lexicon has traditionally been very good to existing customers when new products come out with their liberal trade-up policies. And firmware and software upgrades are possible on their units to some extent. Therefore I'm not worried about obsolescence with my MC-8. (The 990 also contains an RS-232 port so there is potential for upgrades here as well, unlike the 950).

The bottom line is that I'm happy with what I currently have and it doesn't make sense to me to switch the MC-8 for the 990. But if I still had the 950 and was looking to move up, or if I was interested in getting into separates then the 990 becomes very enticing, especially at its price point.
 

Gregg Loewen

Founder, Professional Video Alliance
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Balanced vs composite (RCA) connections. This is a no brainer if you have an amp that has balanced inputs.

I will be ordering 2 of the 990s.

regards

Gregg
 

RAF

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Good point, Gregg. (For your QSC amps, right?) If the 990 offers a feature that you must have then this is a no brainer. With my MC-8, I'm fine with what I have for the forseeable future and happy with the performance. With a potential upgrade path already in place, there's no reason for me to switch.

My point was that the 990 offers a tremendous value to those looking to upgrade to separates and/or enhance their current separates. That option wasn't available to me two years ago but I don't regret my decision to go with Lexicon for one minute. If the 990 had been an option at the time I probably would have gone that route instead but that's now history in my case.

Waiting to hear how the 990s work out with your amps.
 

Philip Hamm

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Assume I have no brain... What exactly does advantage does a 3-6 foot balanced cable offer over an impedance matched connection.
 

Adil M

Supporting Actor
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Nov 21, 2001
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Gefen makes a 4 in 1 out HDMI switcher for 350.
2 in 1 out for 250.

Buy the Outlaw if that's your fancy or wait for a ?newer Sherwood Newcastle.
What about the Emotiva thing from Onix?
I am buying the Sherbourn 7010A which I got a recent pre-listen to. First time I had that special feeling in a while.

BTW, the mob and group-think mentality on forums has never been good for it's members.
 

Gregg Loewen

Founder, Professional Video Alliance
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my thoughts are if you have a balanced output why not use it....in this regard it is a no brainer....if you do not have amps that support it then your argument is a waste of bandwidth.

regards

Gregg
 

Jed M

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Oct 2, 2001
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I just received my confirmation email. :emoji_thumbsup:

Looks like the preorders are beginning to ship.
 

Philip Hamm

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Jan 23, 1999
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I still don't understand, guess I don't have any brains. ;):D I suppose I can check down in my list of "stuff" that I'm using neato XLR connections.... Cool! I am using a pro amp for my sub BTW...
 

Jed M

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Oct 2, 2001
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Here is a thread from Outlaw's site that so far includes a nice, well thought out review and walk through from Jim (Gonk) and a few initial impressions from me. I assume more will be added later as more people get their 990's.
Anybody want to offer some user feedback for the folks in line?

The 3 things that stand out to me after two days is:
1. Its warmer, sonically, than the 950.
2. The DACS are improved. I am giving it some time to see if it can beat out my CD-88's DAC, an area where the 950 couldn't compete.
3. Much more flexible and customizable than the 950. Not even close in this department.

So far I think Outlaw has a real hit on their hands.
 

Steve Lumbert

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Oct 13, 2003
Messages
85
Just received my 990 this weekend! This thing is a monster and will barely fit on my rack, way bigger than my Outlaw 950. It will take me a couple weeks to get my system reconfigured and dialed-in before I can review it. I'm still waiting for my balanced XLR cables to arrive which is holding up the show.
 

John Menoni

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Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
220
I was going to settle for the 950 because of my already tight budget. Unfortunately Outlaw has discontinued the 950 and there are no more available. I inquired and it is only going to be an extra $400.00 for the 990 and the 7100 combo. I guess I will be happy that they discontinued the 950 when all is said and done.:)
 

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