Outlaw Audio Model 975 Processor Preview

[Irvrobinson]

Did they give you fore-warning on the remote? Or was it "surprise", we supplied a crappy remote?

That there would be a temporary remote was no surprise. That it would be so functionally challenged in usability was a surprise. A remote that is too small and has difficult to read buttons is one thing, a remote that you can use reliably from your seat only twelve feet from the component is another. The former is annoying, the latter is unacceptable.

 

[Irvrobinson]

a remote that you can use reliably from your seat only twelve feet from the component is another. The former is annoying, the latter is unacceptable.

This line has an important typo in it. The line should read:

a remote that you can't use reliably from your seat only twelve feet from the component is another. The former is annoying, the latter is unacceptable.

 

[gene]

Some questions for fellow owners:

• Does it have OSD overlay for HDMI during simultaneous video source
• Does it have a true analog bypass for analog audio connections or is it digitized?

Hope to review this next year to confirm and measure but please share your thoughts on its operation. thanks.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Some questions for fellow owners:

• Does it have OSD overlay for HDMI during simultaneous video source
• Does it have a true analog bypass for analog audio connections or is it digitized?

No OSD overlay. In other words, when you adjust the volume a display for volume level does not appear on the TV. Was that your question?

I have seen no documentation anywhere about the 975 analog audio circuits. You'll have to ask Outlaw directly.

 

[agarwalro]

Does this need updated? From the writeup,

The Model 975 is the culmination of a lot of work and design. Outlaw has thought long and hard about what is important to their customers and has striven to bring them everything they can for the most reasonable price possible. The Model 975 has just about every type of audio decoder available. This includes Dolby's entire suite with Pro Logic IIz and their height channels, and all but Neo:X from DTS. It has four HDMI inputs and one output with ARC (Audio Return Channel). It also features an on screen display over HDMI.

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why does this product have the "Gotta have it" rating? Gotta have it for what?

 

[Irvrobinson]

Does this need updated? From the writeup,


I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why does this product have the "Gotta have it" rating? Gotta have it for what?

The 975 has an on-screen display over HDMI for set-up functions that wipes out the selected video input and is displayed against a blue-screen. It is not an overlay on the source you're watching, like, for example, my Sony TV does.

I agree that the "gotta have it" rating might be a little ambitious. It is a great product for me, but I have wondered about its broad appeal. Even I don't use all of the analog video capability, and if I had a more serious HT system I'd probably want more HDMI inputs and balanced outputs.

 

[agarwalro]

The 975 has an on-screen display over HDMI for set-up functions that wipes out the selected video input and is displayed against a blue-screen. It is not an overlay on the source you're watching, like, for example, my Sony TV does.

Ah! Like mid level AVRs did in 2005 .

 

[morkys]

How is this useful for legacy gear without a 5.1 or 7.1 analog input?

 

[Irvrobinson]

How is this useful for legacy gear without a 5.1 or 7.1 analog input?

Why is such an input important? What would it be used for?

 

[morkys]

Why is such an input important? What would it be used for?

The 975 supposedly has good enough audio that it would be nice to connect a multi-channel SACD/DVD-Audio player to the 975. If you've got a home theatre with good speakers, why not listen to some multi-channel hi-rez audio on the system as well?

 

[Irvrobinson]

A couple more updates.

I found a magic angle with the "Danny" remote, and now by pointing it just the right way I can use it from my listening seat.

I have upscaling turned off, because my sources are 1080i anyway, but video quality is definitely nicer than with the old Sony AVR. My wife noticed the difference without me mentioning it, so that increases the chance the effect is real. I'm too lazy to set up a test where I switch between inputs on the TV monitor, so I can't tell for sure. The problem must be with the old AVR.

Video switching is not as fast as the demos I've seen with some of the newest AVRs in stores. Switching between the HDMI inputs takes about 8-10 seconds, which is definitely not SOTA.

Overall, I'm liking the unit more and more as I use it. I haven't experienced any hiccups or problems, and the only real negative is the temporary remote that is being replaced soon.

 

[agarwalro]

Video switching is not as fast as the demos I've seen with some of the newest AVRs in stores. Switching between the HDMI inputs takes about 8-10 seconds, which is definitely not SOTA.

8-10 seconds! That can't be normal! Did you correspond with Outlaw on this?

 

[slipperybidness]

Yeah, 8-10 seconds??? To switch from 1 HDMI source to the next?

My 5 year old Pio Elite swaps sources in about 0.5 seconds

 

[User5910]

While I am glad you've had good experience with room correction software, I can think of several people for whom it wasn't good at all. To quote one friend, "It sucked the life out of my speakers. I switched it off."

That's why I like the Yamahas with which you can manually tweak the parametric equalizers if you don't like what the auto setup has done. Currently available on Yamaha RX-V671, Aventage RX-A720 and up. You have to climb up the chain to the Aventage RX-A2020 to EQ your subs.

Even if you never use the auto setup the PEQ capability is worth the price premium over other receivers IMO. If you wanted to add your own PEQ you would likely need a separate premp/processor to run into something like a Behringer Feedback Destroyer (or a few to do 5.2), then into power amps/subs. What's the preferred setup for this?

In my case the RX-A1020 YPAO improved my fronts (one is nearer a wall, the other is near an open arch) but I'm dubious about what it did to the center. I can easily kill/tweak the PEQ for the center and leave the fronts alone.

 

[neilgabriel]

Would work for me: I think

I wish there were more citizn reviews. I having been planning to buy.

I want to keep my Rotel HTR, but I need HDMI inputs. I don't need networking, wifi, built in ipod link, etc. For just an I want the basics buyer, this seems like the ticket.

Boy this interface is hard for me to type in. Maybe it is me.

Neil

 

[itschris]

I like the whole idea of this. Processors come and go as advanced features make your receiver behind the 8 ball every couple or so years...not unusable necessarily, just out of date. My Pioneer Elite looks ancient compared to even budget receivers.

My my view is good quality power rarely changes. So why not invest more heavily in that (which you'll keep forever) and less on the processor which you'll like need, or at least want, to upgrade in a few years? I've had my Sunfire for 16 or 17 years and I still prefer it over the power my Elite has. My Elite is showing its age...text menus, rudimentary networking, etc. I want more features than the Outlaw provides and I'm still looking at the Integra, but I like that they're bringing separates to the masses.

 

[fuzz092888]

I like the whole idea of this. Processors come and go as advanced features make your receiver behind the 8 ball every couple or so years...not unusable necessarily, just out of date. My Pioneer Elite looks ancient compared to even budget receivers.

My my view is good quality power rarely changes. So why not invest more heavily in that (which you'll keep forever) and less on the processor which you'll like need, or at least want, to upgrade in a few years? I've had my Sunfire for 16 or 17 years and I still prefer it over the power my Elite has. My Elite is showing its age...text menus, rudimentary networking, etc. I want more features than the Outlaw provides and I'm still looking at the Integra, but I like that they're bringing separates to the masses.

The only counter point I'll make is that many receivers these days that are about the same price as or often less than separates have pre outs to be used as processors. You get all the benefit of the new features at a lower price. The DHC-60.5 carries a price point well above many good receivers with pre outs that will have most if not all of the features of the Integra.

Like you said, the Outlaw is a cool concept and bringing separates to the masses is definitely a good thing. It just lacks a bit too much at this point for it to be worth it, even at that price, for many of us.

 

[itschris]

Back in the day, power...quality multi-channel power was where it was at. There wasn't all that much consistently changing year after year. To me that when receivers made more sense. Now the processing and features are changing all the time, it seems to make more sense now to unbundle the power from the processor. The power isn't gong to change.

If we could grow the separates market with more affordable or upgradeable processors, you'd have to worry about little else.

 

[fuzz092888]

Back I the day, power...quality multi-channel power was where it was at. There wasn't all that much consistently changing ink year after year. To me that when receivers made more sense. Now the processing and features are changing all the time, it seems to make more sense now to unbundle the power from the processor. The power isn't gong to change.

I agree, although I'm saying that for as long as they're charging premium to separate the two, you can still use receivers to do so at a lower cost. I was using an Onkyo 3009 as a processor for awhile and it did great and it was a lot less than many processors out there that provided the same or less feature set. It sucks to pay for the amp section since you're not using it, but if it's still cheaper than a dedicated processor then it's not so bad.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Back I the day, power...quality multi-channel power was where it was at. There wasn't all that much consistently changing ink year after year. To me that when receivers made more sense. Now the processing and features are changing all the time, it seems to make more sense now to unbundle the power from the processor. The power isn't gong to change.

True, but you, me and fuzz are the very small minority - with receivers market is drafted by sales of HTIBs I could image and even then that dedicated processor market is drafted by receivers market itself... you where I am getting to... the unfortunate reality... and lack of pre-pros on lower end models is certainly is not about cost savings, but to prevent market erosion of processors...