My Pre-pro died. Now what?

[mck22mck]

Hi everyone. My Outlaw 926 pre-pro literally went up in smoke last night (or at least a burst of acrid fumes). The worst possible time, of course. Can anyone point me to the least expensive receiver with line-level outs for the front speakers? I have amps I'm happy with and would rather not sink a lot of money (for me) right now into something that might have a temporarily inflated price.

 

[highfigh]

Hi everyone. My Outlaw 926 pre-pro literally went up in smoke last night (or at least a burst of acrid fumes). The worst possible time, of course. Can anyone point me to the least expensive receiver with line-level outs for the front speakers? I have amps I'm happy with and would rather not sink a lot of money (for me) right now into something that might have a temporarily inflated price.

The fact that the fumes were acrid makes it seem that a power supply capacitor has gone to meet its maker- look inside and if the top/end of at least one capacitoris bulged/split, look for a replacement. it's not always the end of the world when this happens.

 

[ban25]

Perhaps the Denon X1800H. If you only need 2 channels in total, there may be cheaper options.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hi everyone. My Outlaw 926 pre-pro literally went up in smoke last night (or at least a burst of acrid fumes). The worst possible time, of course. Can anyone point me to the least expensive receiver with line-level outs for the front speakers? I have amps I'm happy with and would rather not sink a lot of money (for me) right now into something that might have a temporarily inflated price.

You mean pre-outs rather than line-level outs?

 

[trochetier]

Consider buying factory refurbed? https://www.accessories4less.com/

 

[j_garcia]

Refurb might be an option, and I've use AC4L too.

There is also the Marantz NR1510 which has pre-outs for the front channels only.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi everyone. My Outlaw 926 pre-pro literally went up in smoke last night (or at least a burst of acrid fumes). The worst possible time, of course. Can anyone point me to the least expensive receiver with line-level outs for the front speakers? I have amps I'm happy with and would rather not sink a lot of money (for me) right now into something that might have a temporarily inflated price.

Is that the correct model number? I can find no information on that unit and there is no mention of it on the Outlaw legacy site.

Despite this dramatic event, I suspect that unit is easily repaired.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi everyone. My Outlaw 926 pre-pro literally went up in smoke last night (or at least a burst of acrid fumes). The worst possible time, of course. Can anyone point me to the least expensive receiver with line-level outs for the front speakers? I have amps I'm happy with and would rather not sink a lot of money (for me) right now into something that might have a temporarily inflated price.

I think you mean Outlaw 976 and NOT 926. As far as I can tell the 976 is the only pre-pro like that, they have ever produced. See if you can get a service manual, or at least a circuit out of them. This has to be a power supply section problem and likely easily fixed.

Be careful with Marantz/Denon, they are facing an uncertain future and you can't assume warranty will be honored.

I strongly recommend repairing that Outlaw unit if you can. Given the chaos of that Trump bloke it is not a good time to be thinking about new equipment.

 

[j_garcia]

EVERY international electronics company will face some uncertainty right now, thanks to Trump. Marantz/Denon are a little more worrisome due to their parent company, but it won't happen overnight.

You might check with Outlaw as they may be able to repair it for you, if you are not capable of doing it. They seem to have gotten out of the AVR & Pre/Pro game and focused on Amps and speakers.

 

[Bernie Williams]

There are a couple listed on EBAY. It can be a crapshoot but might be worth a shot. FYI I used to own a 976, really liked it, but it burned out also.

 

[TLS Guy]

There are a couple listed on EBAY. It can be a crapshoot but might be worth a shot. FYI I used to own a 976, really liked it, but it burned out also.

If he buys those, they will blow up as well.

The thing to do is see if Outlaw will release the circuit. Almost certainly the problem is in the power supply. So in this case the repair will require a modification to stop it happening again.

 

[Alex2507]

a burst of acrid fumes

 

[Verdinut]

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Explore a world of music with music streaming services* built-in. Synchronizing your playlists and tracks from your smart phone or computer to the AV receiver, music streaming services make it impossibly easy to either listen to your favorites or discover new music.
*Music streaming service availability varies by region.
*Service may change or be discontinued without notice.

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Despite that missed misprint, IMO Yamaha AVRs would now be the the best way to go for replacement of expensive and unreliable pre-pros, as some can be used as pre-pros.

 

[PENG]

Yamaha's AVRs now have a STEAMING SERVICE:

Steaming Service

Explore a world of music with music streaming services* built-in. Synchronizing your playlists and tracks from your smart phone or computer to the AV receiver, music streaming services make it impossibly easy to either listen to your favorites or discover new music.
*Music streaming service availability varies by region.
*Service may change or be discontinued without notice.

RX-A6A - Overview - AV Receivers - Products - Home Audio - Audio - Yamaha - Africa / Asia / CIS / Middle East / Oceania

Feel True Sound with AVENTAGE 9.2 ch AV receiver A6A: Surround:AI™,11.2-ch processing, Dolby Atmos®, DTS:X®, HDMI™ 7-in/3-out, the latest QCS407 and more.

asia-oceania.yamaha.com

Despite that missed misprint, IMO Yamaha AVRs would now be the the best way to go for replacement of expensive and unreliable pre-pros, as some can be used as pre-pros.

That's a good one, definitely higher end than the Outlaw prepro, but I thought the OP doesn't want to sink a lot of money at the moment. The RX-A6A is still relative expensive, much more so than the comparable Denon AVRs such as the X3800H/X4800H or even the superior (specs/features) X6800H in some cases.

 

[highfigh]

If he buys those, they will blow up as well.

The thing to do is see if Outlaw will release the circuit. Almost certainly the problem is in the power supply. So in this case the repair will require a modification to stop it happening again.

My guess- low quality caps or spec'd too close to their voltage limit.

 

[TLS Guy]

My guess- low quality caps or spec'd too close to their voltage limit.

Agree. That is almost certainly the problem. A paltry few cents limiting the life of an otherwise adequate design.

However as I say, this unit is likely easily repaired.