Outlaw Model 7900
I replaced my 2 year old Anthem A5 with an Outlaw Model 7900 this past Spring. (I won the Outlaw in an on-line sweepstakes.)
Before the Outlaw arrived I installed an additional 15 amp circuit breaker because, unlike the ATI 3000, which requires a single 20 amp circuit, it requires 2 separate power cords plugged into 2 separate 15 amp circuits! The 7900 is built to Outlaw's specifications by ATI. I also am using 2 APC AV S15 power conditioner/battery backup devices. Yes, I bought a second one just for this 145lb behemoth.
I'm using the amp to power a 5.1 theater system in my main theater room and using the other 2 channels to power a second zone. All connections to the amp are XLR balanced interconnects from a Marantz AV8003 pre/pro. Speakers are all Paradigm Reference Studio, 100 v3 FL/FR, ADP surrounds, CC center, and Servo 15 sub.
I didn't do any critical listening for 3 weeks. Instead, I watched a lot of movies. The sand storm from the first 'Mummy' movie with Brandon Frazier was absolutely scary. The sound of the wind driving the sand creeps up from behind and then overwhelms you and anyone else in the room. The beans and drum scene from 'House of Flying Daggers' was recreated with such realism that you felt like you were in the center of the ring of drums. The 7900 reproduced this scene flawlessly. Blu-Ray movie sound tracks were reproduced every bit as effectively as was with the Anthem A5 amp. Maybe a tad better at reproducing dialog. A friend came by one night while I was watching 'Batman Begins'. When the movie ended he exclaimed, "Wow! I've seen that movie a half dozen times and I don't remember it being so good!"
When I felt that the amp had enough 'burn in' time I switched from the Oppo BDP 83 to the Marantz DV9600 for some music. The Oppo does a great job with DVD and Blu-Ray, but lacks the analog connections and superior DACs of the Marantz. footnote: I really want to do an A/B comparison of the DV9600 with the BDP 95.
When listening to 2-channel music, I always put the pre/pro in pure direct mode which bypasses tone controls and all digital processing. The Servo 15 is eschewed also.
While the comparison with the Anthem rig for movies was a close call, the Outlaw was clearly superior for music. Immediately I noticed far greater control of the mid to deep bass. (Quicker maybe?) Mid range was off the charts good. Norah Jones' voice and piano on 'Come Away With Me' was the best I've heard it sound in any system I've owned. The music sounds denser. More real. The Paradigms now sound really good at low to mid volume. I don't have to turn the volume up as much as before to get the woofers to 'sing'.
Its 300 watts per channel. OK? To say that this thing rocks the house is a gross understatement, I don't care what you throw at it, nothing trips it up. The most complex drum passages are reproduced with a clarity I've never heard. Move over Krell, Outlaw is here! This amp goes to 11 with head room to spare. It reproduces every subtle nuance contained in the recording. Brushed symbols, hushed vocals, piano decays, etc. It sounds polite and petite until you drop in some Ted Nugent and it becomes a monster!
I spent, what is for me, an extravagant amount of money on the Anthem amplifier. I auditioned Rotel, Bryston, Adcom, Krell and others before settling on the Anthem. I'm damned proud of it. I figured that there was no way that this upstart Outlaw could possibly hang with it. I was even hoping that it wouldn't. I was wrong! It doesn't just hang with it; It leaves it in the dust! If I have one minor quibble, it would be that stereo imaging is not quit as good as with the Anthem. But that little quibble is completely overshadowed by the Outlaw's ability to make these Paradigm speakers sound incredibly good. The way this thing brings out the full potential hiding in those speakers just brings a big ol' grin to my face every time I turn it on.
