Outlaw's response to hiss complaints? (1 Viewer)

[David Werner]

Has OUTLAW responded to the complaints of hiss and seems to be a variety of other quirks? I am on the waiting list for the 950, it just seems to me that they nipped the other concerns in the bud right away and have publicly commented on them, however I have not heard any reply in response to the hiss? If anyone can direct me to a link that deals with this topic, please let me know. Signed a concerned future OUTLAW 950 buyer.

 

[Jed M]

David, no, they have not officially responded to the hiss problem. Fortunately I do not have this hiss problem but I would still like this matter figured out. Someone mentioned on the Outlaw forum that it had been awhile since they sent out email confirmations so maybe they are looking into the problem as we speak. They are probably just waiting for another shipment to arrive but who knows?

 

[Patrick R. Sklenar]

My understanding is that they've been working with the folks who've contacted them with this problem and with the manufacturers engineers to try and figure out what's going on. It's a real bear to diagnose because it doesn't happen in the majority of installations. Although if you're one of the ones who ends up hearing the hiss, knowing that you're one of a few having the problem is of no help. :frowning:

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Hopefully they are taking this seriously.
I saw a comment by someone who talked to the Outlaws at the Home Theater thing, and I got the distinct impression (me, myself, and I! ) that one admittedly heresay comment was that one of the Outlaws made a little fun of some of the HTF people for listening for hiss with their ears up against the speakers.
We can all admit that the picture you get from that can be a little amusing.
But to be able to hear any level of hiss at a distance of more than 3 ft away from a speaker at normal listening levels shouldn't be considered acceptable by anyone. And there have been enough people who have experienced this, that there must be something real to it.
Hopefully soon, maybe in the next newsletter, they'll say something.

 

[Will]

I can definitely hear hiss from a few feet away at normal listening levels as well as at very low listening levels, when there's nothing connected to the inputs and my room is dead quiet. However my normal listening position is quite a bit more than 3 feet away so it's OK, I guess.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

I too hear some hiss from a foot or so away from the speakers with my Outlaw 950 at normal levels when there is a quiet passage on a movie or music, or no signal going into it. I have a power conditioner and use high quality, shielded analog & digital cables.

As a comparison, my old Millennium 2.4.6 DTS decoder was about as quiet as a church mouse. I almost had to crank the volume knob to hear ANY hiss whatsoever from my speakers. However, my Sony ES DD decoder (of the same vintage year) did create quite a bit of hiss which was slightly louder than the Model 950.

Surely there is some sort of Q.C. issue going on. If they can show that a new batch of 950's has had this possible problem (and some of the software bugs) fixed then I would, for one, want and expect a free replacement... whether or not the fixed units were to come after the 30 day trial period had past. It would be swapping out a defective unit if these issues have been noted and corrected--- similar case to the first batch of Rotel 1066 pre-amps.

Sound & Vision just did a review of a Model 950 and it benchmarked with very high noise levels (even worse than a low priced receiver). Hopefully Outlaw will come through for us.

Dan

 

[Will]

Sound & Vision just did a review of a Model 950 and it benchmarked with very high noise levels (even worse than a low priced receiver).

My 950 has a much higher hiss level than the cheap Sony receiver it replaced.

 

[Patrick R. Sklenar]

Hopefully they are taking this seriously.
...
But to be able to hear any level of hiss at a distance of more than 3 ft away from a speaker at normal listening levels shouldn't be considered acceptable by anyone. And there have been enough people who have experienced this, that there must be something real to it.

Kevin,
I talked to the Outlaws about this at least a little bit this weekend at the HE2002 show ... believe me, they are taking this hissing issue very seriously. They're just having a damn hard time figuring out where it's coming from since it's a distinct minority of users reporting the problem and their systems all seem to be appreciably different.

 

[Michael Yung]

Has all the people with the hiss problem been given a new 950 to see if it is the hardware or the environment?

 

[David Werner]

Sound & Vision just did a review of a Model 950 and it benchmarked with very high noise levels (even worse than a low priced receiver). Hopefully Outlaw will come through for us.

- Very interesting, considering all the talk of the low noise floor on this model, hmmmmmmmm...

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Anyone know when S&V will review the Rotel 1066?

 

[Andrew_Ballew]

I have not heard the Outlaw hiss, but I just wanted to remind everyone of something you already know- it is quite normal for there to be a little bit of hiss from you tweeters no matter what the equipment. If you can only hear the noise from a foot or less away from you speaker, then you are will within the norm of most all products and have nothing to worry about. Now I would consider several feet to be dissapointing, but depending on the unit, how much it cost, and how much it interferes with my enjoyment from the listening position would determine my final opinion on any unit.


Also- when did S&V review the 950? I do not remember seeing it in the latest issue I received.

Cheers

Andrew B.

 

[Jed M]

Andrew I agree completely with your post. Also, I think its in the upcoming S&V due out any day I believe. I honestly think this hiss thing has been taken way out of context. I mean its a handful of people that have this problem but unfortunately for Outlaw, one or two of them happen to be very vocal on the forums. I feel stupid telling people I don't have a hiss except with my ear to the grill because its as if I am lying or something. The Outlaw is not noisy, it does not have a long lock on delay, it does not sound harsh and the build quality is quite good but that's just my opinion. This kind of backlash was expected after all the hype. Some people still haven't moved on.

 

[Russell _T]

Does anyone know if the S&V issue is on the stands? Did they have anything nice to say about it?

 

[Jed M]

Russel, it is supposed to be a very positive review overall but I have not seen it either.

 

[Will]

Yeah, but S & V is positive about just about every product they review overall.

 

[Russell _T]

Everyone knows S&V is just an advertisment, but it still will be cool to read the review. I no longer get it, but I'm going to go over to B&N and get a copy this afternoon.
They must have gotten a very early model.

 

[Jed M]

I know Will. I should have rephrased it for Russell, when reading a review from S&V pay attention only to the negative stuff like the noise but ignore anything positive. I think that is OK with everyone.

 

[BruceD]

Jed,

You don't seem to get it. For those of us still waiting to get our 950s, we don't want to get one with hiss.

So we want this problem resolved quickly.

You trying to brush it under the rug by saying,

This kind of backlash was expected after all the hype. Some people still haven't moved on.

is actually deameaning and uncalled for.

 

[Lewis Besze]

I also experience the hiss from analog sources [vcr tv]at the seats,and about 3fr from the speakers from digital sources[cd,dvd].
I don't think that we're a tiny minority,I think there are a few more people like me who haven't called the Outlaws yet,which I will "correct" very soon.
I hope they will do something about it as well.The 950 replaced a Denon 3801 which was much quieter.