Outlaw's "Retro" Receiver for the 21st Century - the RR2150 - some impressions (1 Viewer)

[RAF]

mackie,

Thank you. Actually, I'll be doing some upgrades over the next couple of months to the video portion of my equipment. The Runco stays for now, but the 45" Pioneer Elite Pro-45 is getting a little long in the tooth (over 15 years old, non-HD, etc. etc.) I'm looking into getting a 1080p HD set to replace it. Right now the main contender is the new HP 58" monitor because it has true 1080p input. I've also added a long digital cable (over 50 feet) to the projector so I'm taking advantage of the digital DVI input of the Runco (instead of Component HD) which fine tunes the picture a bit. I'll also be adding a HD scaler/switcher (DVDO VP30) that will allow more digital sources to go to the Runco.

Ironically, when I'm finished, the Runco (at 720p/1080i) will be the weakest link in the HT. Someday I'll replace it with a 1080p projector once they come down in price a bit more. Sony's new projector broke the $10K barrier and I expect that to be cut in half within 5 years.

This never ends, right?

 

[mylan]

Regarding the Outlaw, Would the amp section be suitable to use in a whole house audio system with a switcher and four pairs of in-ceiling speakers?

 

[Philip Hamm]

That's what I was talking about before. Probably a quesiton for Outlaw. That kind of application requires pretty serious amplification because the impedence of that many speakers gets extremely low.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Robert,

This is exactly what I'm doing in my rec room where my home theater is. I have L/R front speaker "A" as my main B&W602 L/R in the home theater part of the "L" shaped room, and L/R front speaker "B" is some in-ceiling rounds from Parts Express above the pool table. There's an Infinite Baffle sub in the wall int he theater part of the room. For stereo only listening I can use either pair of speakers or both and the sub is always pumping no matter what. Of course the sub is level matched and optimized for the home theater, but it still sounds nice in the pool room.

So give it a try!

 

[mackie]

I don't think so... It's hard to imagine a HT set-up where a Runco projector is the weak link. That's a mighty fine problem to have

I too have been exploring options for my next upgrade and have been exploring speakers, amp, sub, TV. The TV will probably be next for me too. I like the new Sony LCOS sets.

 

[RAF]

As to the Outlaw running a large number of speakers (beyond the A+B configuration) I really wouldn't want to do this since, as Philip mentioned, you can run into impedance problems. I suspect that the RR2150 is very conservatively rated at 100W/channel into 8 ohms (it looks like the components are quite beefy) but it still isn't designed as a distribution amp. You might get better advice from people who have more experience with multiple (more than two) room set-ups.

Like I said at the start - I like the RR2150 for what it is and tries to do - in fact I was surprised how well it does it. But I would never recommend it as the heart of a home theater system since that's not what it's designed for. There are plenty of great low cost AV HT receivers from a lot of manufacturers (including Outlaw) but the RR2150 doesn't fall into that category.

 

[RAF]

That's what I've done, Phil. Thanks.

 

[RAF]

It's all a matter of progress, mackie. The Runco is still a fine machine and I'm sure I'll be using it for my "Big Screen" movies for some time. It's just that 1080p devices have started to crop up and since it's time for me to replace my 4:3 SD Pioneer Elite RP CRT this is a logical upgrade path. A while back I replaced a 20 year old SONY XBR 32" Monitor with a Panasonic 37" HD Plasma upstairs and the difference is remarkable (as it should be). That's why it's become "difficult" to watch the Pioneer in comparison.

This is what prompted my comment about the Runco soon being the weakest link. I'm not overly concerned at this point since there isn't much 1080p source material and I can live with the 720p/1080i Runco for DVDs and HD, but eventually HD discs will appear and when the sources become more mainstream then upgraditis will set in again. It all depends on how soon 1080p source material becomes widely available rather than being a niche market. Let's hope that this is all timed with 1080p projectors becoming more affordable.

 

[mylan]

Robert, (and all) thanks for your advice. I am trying to find an inexpensive alternative to those 2K whole house set-ups that control multi zones. I'm thinking a good AV receiver with built in XM and three impedence matching volume controls. I'll try to post in a different forum.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Honestly, Mylan, I'm doing something like this right now, I'd be happy to share my experience. Check for a PM.

 

[RAF]

I just noticed that the Outlaw site has removed the "temporarily out of stock" designation from the RR2150. It was my understanding that this unit, like a lot of Outlaw products, takes a long time to ship from the factory so maybe they had some more units drop shipped (which is usually quite expensive to do). I can't imagine that they acquired a large number of units in this fashion since it isn't cost-effective. Rumor had it that RR2150s in quantity would not be available until after New Year's. Just an FYI for anyone interested.

 

[RAF]

As an FYI, I've been told that the January Stereophile will review the RR2150. I believe someone here hoped that they would do this. Let me know if any of you see the article.

 

[mackie]

Great I had a feeling they would jump on this since it has to opportunity to bring many people back to the 2 channel listening.

Imagine this receiver, a good Hsu or SVS sub or two, and a good pair of bookshelves. For less than $2000, you can have a truly stunning, high end system.

 

[Mark Russ]

Allow me to play Devil's advocate here for a minute, but what else out there would some of you buy new (key word there) for 2 channel listening only that comprised of pre and power amplification, and a tuner for around $600 or less.

I suppose you could swing a good NAD, Marantz, or Cambridge Audio integrated and tuner for around that price point, but you still wouldn't have the bass management unless you used the sub's own built in.

But then you still might not have a phono stage.

As for AVR's which have all the same features that could hold there own with the Outlaw for 2 channel music at this price point, any potential competitors?

 

[Mark Russ]

John Garcia

"The 8511 and 8211 are relatively new models that replaced nearly identical ones that were around for many years. I would expect this level of features to become standard also on future stereo receivers from the big names."

Actually, they have been around since at least 2000 or 2001 that I know of.

 

[Mark Russ]

Robert A Fowkes

"Mark,

Actually, I feel that it would be more appropriate if the RR2150 had an HD Radio tuner in it for a couple of reasons.
In the first place, I think that HD radio will be terrestial radio's answer to satellite radio to some extent. There are currenty 969 licensed HD stations in the country and 586 are already on the air. Here's a link to see the current station roster in the U.S."

I hear ya Robert. I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 640T tuner I just picked up on a closeout price that has a built in DAB tuner, but unfortunately, I can't use it, so that feature is pretty much worthless to me. :frowning:

 

[David Grove]

I'm wondering if there may be an further thought on Mark Russ's post above on comparables.

Not trolling, just interested in informed comparing and contrasting.

DG