OutLaw 990 on the way

MSALLA

I'm running the yamaha right now. When I upgrade I want to go with a pre/pro. I was looking at the Outlaw because it was on the cheap side and was talked highly on here. I also have 2 outlaw 200's that I'm happy with.
But I will just wait and save for something higher end. Thanks for the info though.

wingnut4772

millerman 3732 wrote: »

Ill trade you my HK for it.

Me too:D

danger boy

ben62670 wrote: »

The SQ is about the same, but my Adcoms require 1.61 volts(GFA-5800 requires almost 2 volts) for full out put. I could easily drive my Adcoms with my HK to the point where they would get full power. I have been through every menu to see if there was some sort of night mode on. No dice. If I were to make a recommendation I would say Get an HK with say 65 watts per, and add an externally amp with say 200 watts per. Then you could bi amp all the speakers, and have very nice smooth detailed highs of the HK, and the slam of the Adcoms.

the night mode on the 990 pre is the bottom left of the remote. toggle thru it while hooked up to your TV.

Also, Outlaw Audio released two firmware updates since the 990 was released.. you may not have the current software installed..

visit the forum at Outlaw Audio.

it's amazing sounding in 2 channel as well as 5.1 DD and DTS and DPLIIx

danger boy

MSALLA wrote: »

I'm running the yamaha right now. When I upgrade I want to go with a pre/pro. I was looking at the Outlaw because it was on the cheap side and was talked highly on here. I also have 2 outlaw 200's that I'm happy with.
But I will just wait and save for something higher end. Thanks for the info though.

so based on one person not liking the 990 pre, you've blown it off?

I guess it winning three editors choice awards doesn't mean squat huh??

ok. it's not a giant killer.. and it's not in the same league as say your B&K's, or Krell's, or Mark Levinson's.. but for the $ it's a dang good pre. not without it's faults.. but what pre isn't?

ben62670

danger boy wrote: »

the night mode on the 990 pre is the bottom left of the remote. toggle thru it while hooked up to your TV.

Also, Outlaw Audio released two firmware updates since the 990 was release.. you may not have the current software installed..

visit the forum at Outlaw Audio.

it's amazing sounding in 2 channel as well as 5.1 DD and DTS and DPLIIx

Yeah I did find the nightmode, and toggled through it. I also looked up the software download. I will call Steve in the morning, and I hope there is a simple solution.
Thanks for your interest Ben

MSALLA

danger boy wrote: »

so based on one person not liking the 990 pre, you've blown it off?

I guess it winning three editors choice awards doesn't mean squat huh??

ok. it's not a giant killer.. and it's not in the same league as say your B&K's, or Krell's, or Mark Levinson's.. but for the $ it's a dang good pre. not without it's faults.. but what pre isn't?

Whoa, slow down big guy.
I'm just saying when I upgrade, I want a BIG improvement. The outlaw might be good, but if I'm going to spend the money to improve I would rather spend alittle extra and get big improvement over the receiver I'm using now then going with something that's cheaper and only getting slightly better SQ.

ben62670

OK DB i went to do the upgrade. Read the instructions many times before starting. I used the USB connector. It started the upgrade, then failed half way through. The frigging thing wouldn't even turn on. I went to Rat Shack and bout a DB9 straight through. Hooked it up, and continued to program it via com port1. Success. It is amazing how much the sound has improved. The dynamics are there now, and the sound stage is almost where the HK was. It now has the almost the slam that the Adcom GTP-500 had, and the smooth detail that the HK had. One thing that surprised me was that the component video going from the DVD to the Pre, and then to the projector really improved the color depth. I have all the crossover setting the same as it was before the software upgrade. I am now a happy camper. I still have a lot of respect for the HKs as a pre. For a 1/3 1/4 the price I would still recommend the HKs. Now I just have to figure out the remote. The previous owner really tweaked it.
Back to the music.
Thanks DB for the software upgrade advice.
Ben

dudeinaroom

Congrats Ben.

engtaz

Congrats Happy camper.

ben62670

What a difference. Before it sounded like there was heavy grill cloth over the speakers! I am listening to some Don Williams Yeah Haw!!!

McLoki

So, a decent upgrade now or is it just now up to the level that your HK was?

ben62670

Its better than the HK for sure. At 3 to 4 times the price it is up to the individual. My HK served me very well, and was surprisingly musical.

danger boy

nice Ben, congrats on getting it all figured out.. it really is a very good budget pre... EVERYONE has a software upgrade story to tell you about.. it usually takes two or three times for it to take. but once it does.. it's good to go.

plus the firmware upgrade is free.. that's a nice bonus.

Crank up those tunes my friend.. check out 2 channel bypass or upsampling.

ben62670

danger boy wrote: »

nice Ben, congrats on getting it all figured out.. it really is a very good budget pre... EVERYONE has a software upgrade story to tell you about.. it usually takes two or three times for it to take. but once it does.. it's good to go.

plus the firmware upgrade is free.. that's a nice bonus.

Crank up those tunes my friend.. check out 2 channel bypass or upsampling.

The upsampling is a nice feature. It seems to take the digital out of the digital that wasn't hardly there!

danger boy

when you introduce any new piece of gear into your system.. it takes some time to adjust to the difference in SQ. it may not sound as good at first.. since you are used to the HK sound..

How long did you use the HK? how long have you had the 990 pre? see what i mean.. LOL

it'll hopefully grow on you Ben... did you calibrate the speakers with the microphone yet? are you running your fronts on small or large?

ben62670

danger boy wrote: »

when you introduce any new piece of gear into your system.. it takes some time to adjust to the difference in SQ. it may not sound as good at first.. since you are used to the HK sound..

How long did you use the HK? how long have you had the 990 pre? see what i mean.. LOL

it'll hopefully grow on you Ben... did you calibrate the speakers with the microphone yet? are you running your fronts on small or large?

The Mic was way off minus the distance. The fronts, and rears are set to large. When I do an upgrade I sometimes have to get used to like tweets. The 990 just wasn't their before the upgrade.
I am listening to Don Williams right now. male vocals are so tough to get right, and this is getting it done in spades.

danger boy

so Ben, any other things you noticed about the 990 pre, now that you've had it for a few days??

ben62670

danger boy wrote: »

so Ben, any other things you noticed about the 990 pre, now that you've had it for a few days??

Yes the remote control is smarter than I am!
I also got my bass slam back that I had with my adcom pre, and the nice highs of the HK, and even better mids than both. You were definitely right about the CD up sampling. It really does help with dynamics.I was in the camp that running vid direct to source was the best route, but I needed the OSD for the 990. I am running my DVD component video through it. The colors are more vivid using the 990 than straight to the projector.

JWBurns

When is Outlaw going to come out of the dark ages and get on board with HDMI and drop DVI?

ben62670

JWBurns wrote: »

When is Outlaw going to come out of the dark ages and get on board with HDMI and drop DVI?

It has. You use a DVI to HDMI adapter per Outlaws instructions, and you use optical, or coaxial for the sound.:)

danger boy

Outlaw Audio just dropped the price of their TOTL 990 model pre amp. :eek: NEW LOW PRICE $999!!

ohskigod

I was checking in on this thread from time to time, I remember thinking you would probably change your opiniononce you got time and tweaking in. with a new processer, it always takes time to tweak things around and get that sound that when you know its right, it's RIGHT.

that process is one of the only things keeping me from going from the 950 to the 990. I have things sooooo set the way I like, I dont want to go through the process again

glad you got it dialed in Ben, have fun with it.

ben62670

Well a little more time has gone by with the 990. I don't like the remote much. I wish you could see them menu when going through the setup on the display. You need to feed it to some sort of video device to adjust channel levels, crossover, and such. As for sound here comes the good stuff. It is very nice, and neutral. Very similar with my HK with a bit more punch. It has a great up sampling feature that works well with crappy flat CD recordings. DB was right on with the up sampler. I am not into conversion kinda stuff, but this works very well. Electronics came a long way since the introduction of bass boost, and acoustic expanders. Is this thing worth 3 times what you can find an HK for? Well that depends on you. It is definitely better. It does have Phono in, and balanced out. If you use these 2 options the answer is YES, if you don't the HK's are an awesome bargain. As technology hangs around the price of quality components drops. HK IMHO makes a great receiver that can be used as a great pre. I have total respect for both models. I do have a very sensitive ear, and I am very analytical when it comes to sound. I find myself spending to much time figuring out how to make the sound better than enjoying the music sometimes. Which is the reason for upgrading:mad:

Oh well I am going back to listen to some more tunes, and enjoy them!:)

cfrizz

I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying yourself Ben.

ben62670

Thanks Cathy. I am coming up your way the beginning of July to CT in the NE corner. I keep forgetting it isn't nasty yucky winter up there, or soggy spring, but beautiful New England summer time!

cfrizz

Yup, hopefully it won't be too hot either.

Enjoy your trip.

ben62670

Thanks. I will. I have a very large family up there. We are going to get some camping in, some fireworks, and a lot of visiting. I moved away about 5 years ago. I broke my back and neck in a couple spots, arthritis, herniated disk. Needless to say the cold winters kill me in CT.

I was just thinking about my Grandma the other day. She is 92 years old, and has experienced the greatest change history has ever seen. When she was a little girl she used to ride in a horse, and buggy. Now they have cars that do over 200 mph stock. She used to wash cloths in a tub with a wash board. We now complain about sticking them in a machine, and pushing a button. Never mind traveling long distances. She didn't even have electricity when she was a little girl!

cfrizz

You are very lucky to still have her around! Enjoy her while you can.

ben62670

cfrizz wrote: »

You are very lucky to still have her around! Enjoy her while you can.

I do I do I do;)

auto_pilot

Out of curiosity...which HK receiver to you have B?