1066 v. Outlaw 950

[luszer]

Has anyone done an in depth comparison on the 2 units? Why is the Outlaw so much cheaper, I know the Outlaw can not handle HDCD. I am not sure what to really look for in making a quality comparison
Any recommendations and comments greatly appreciated.

[Andrew Pratt]

There have been a lot of people trying both models to compare their sound and in most (if not all cases) given the oppertunity they kept the Rotel.

Basically the Rotel offers better sound quality in 2 channel, is upgradeable, doens't have the hiss problem, was easier to obtain, was a dealer network to support it, looks a lot better, has HDCD support, has better second zone features and is a Rotel

The Outlaw offers most of the same features at a cheaper price and comes with an analog bass filter for SACD and DVD-A.

[Rock Dog]

The 950 is no slouch! The main reason why it is so much cheaper is the fact that they have no dealer network. No middle man persee'. This can be a pro and a con. I've heard that the folks at Outlaw are very quick to respond to customer issues. You ship the unit, and get it back quickly (if there is a problem). There are all the things Mr. Pr@ mentioned as well.

Has the 1066 had Bass Management issues? Yes. But depending on who you are, or what your listening habits are, this may or may not be a problem.

The Outlaw has had a very annoying "hiss" problem, reported by many customers. And to my knowledge, it is not completely resolved as of their last "version"

So if I had my choice between a Bass Management issue that in the worst case, requires some tweaking, and work arounds. Or a "hiss" problem that cannot be avoided. I'd take the ROTEL everyday and Sunday.

On a personal note (and of course I have not had any direct contact with Outlaw) ROTEL customer service and support has been absolutely excellent. I have never dealt with such a professional, and considerate group in my life. They are wonderful. Easy to get a hold of, and very helpful.

On the looks issue... Everything is subjective. That's why there are so many different cars out there. One man's work of art, is another man's butt ugly annoyance. But the Outlaw is the Aztec of audio. I've only seen maybe one or two owners who like the look of the piece. The Aztec is a very well built, good handling, and comfortable vehicle with great features for the price. That's if you can get past the "pigs anus" styling. uker: Now the Outlaw is not THAT bad. But... it's not even a decent looking piece. IMHO.

I guess if it's in a cabinet, behind closed doors most of the time, no big deal. But most people, including myself, like to have their gear out in the open. The ROTEL gear looks great out in the open. :T

$0.02




-Thomas-

The easiest way to find something lost around the house, is to buy a replacement.

Hey You! Make sure you stop by the HTguide Off-Topic section. It's FUN!!!

[luszer]

Thank you Andrew

I am a true believer "you get what you pay for". The only impressive feature is the bass filter for DVD Audio and SACD, based on the numerous threads posted discussing the "double bass problem". I'm still a little confused on the issue, my 2 front channels specs are as follows:
3-way tower speaker system with powered subwoofer
150-watt subwoofer amplifier built-in
10-inch molded composite subwoofer and 10-inch passive radiator built-in
Two 4-inch molded-composite midrange speakers
1-inch reinforced silk dome tweeters with Neodymium magnets
Speaker level, LFE and L/R link connections

Do you have an idea on what can I expect for bass management/reponse if I go with the 1066 and 1075 combo? Right now my setup is only 5.1 DTS and DD for HT and 2 channel for music. I am still undecided to go the RSX 1055 or with the 1066, the 10 channels does make a strong arguement
Thanks

[Chris3G]

Thank you Andrew

I am a true believer "you get what you pay for". The only impressive feature is the bass filter for DVD Audio and SACD, based on the numerous threads posted discussing the "double bass problem". I'm still a little confused on the issue, my 2 front channels specs are as follows:
3-way tower speaker system with powered subwoofer
150-watt subwoofer amplifier built-in
10-inch molded composite subwoofer and 10-inch passive radiator built-in
Two 4-inch molded-composite midrange speakers
1-inch reinforced silk dome tweeters with Neodymium magnets
Speaker level, LFE and L/R link connections

Do you have an idea on what can I expect for bass management/reponse if I go with the 1066 and 1075 combo? Right now my setup is only 5.1 DTS and DD for HT and 2 channel for music. I am still undecided to go the RSX 1055 or with the 1066, the 10 channels does make a strong arguement
Thanks

Do you have a seperate sub, or only the built-in subs in your main speakers? If it's just the mains, then you won't have any bass management issues.

[luszer]

just the built in subs, and usually set all channels to small, including 2 fronts

[Chris3G]

just the built in subs, and usually set all channels to small, including 2 fronts

So the subwoofer section of your main speakers have seperate inputs which are connected to the LFE output of the receiver/processor? If that is the case then you'll have the same bass management issues as anyone with a seperate sub.

[luszer]

yes, appears that I will experience the same issue The 2 speakers are basically daisy chained together and have one connection in to my receiver, sub out - i believe. Does the rsx 1055 have the same issue as the 1066 :?:

[Chris3G]

Yes the 1055 is the same. What's going to happen for SACD/DVD-A is that the midrange/high portion of your towers is going to receive a full-range signal, and the subwoofer portion is going to get a duplicate of the bass information in mono, split to the 2 speakers.

THe 950 differs in that it offers an 80hz analog highpass filter on the multi-inputs for your main speakers.

[Andrew Pratt]

The Aztec is a very well built, good handling, and comfortable vehicle with great features for the price. That's if you can get past the "pigs anus" styling.

:rofl:

I see we have the same feelings on how fugly the Aztek is :throwup:

[wng]

I thought Pr@ was pretty creative. :-)

[Rich Wenzel]

being fair to the Outlaw, the hiss problem occurred in a very small percentage of peoples stuff and it was replaced. According to them, they have not had problems since then. Also, I could say that the rotel 1055 (not quite the same) has had at least one complaint regarding clicking in the speakers when changing volume in multichannel (that would be mine).

Also, the outlaw has a tuner, the 1066 does not.

The outlaw has 6 digital ins (4 optical 2 coax) versus 5 for the Rotel (2 optical 3 coax), for whatever that is worth.

In addition, the Outlaw has some proprietary DSP's as well.

Finally, if you want to compare a similarly priced version, with a dealer chain, you could look at the sherbourn or the atlantic technology, and compare them against the rotel....now finding them may be harder than the rotel...

as for ugly, yeah, the outlaw is ugly, but at least its not H&K ugly, or that pioneer elite with the wood binding crap. Man it was like someone said lets make something ugly, made it, smoked some pot and looked at some picasso crap, then looked back at what they made and said, not ugly enough....

Rich

[Foxman]

I was with Pontiac when the Azteck came out and my initial response was: Wow, I bet someone lost their job over this. That pig is a Pacer on steroids, and thats no joke.




You just can't fix stupid

[Bruce]

THe 950 differs in that it offers an 80hz analog highpass filter on the multi-inputs for your main speakers.

There is one distrubing issue with this Outlaw 950 feature, it has been reported that the 80Hz bass filter for multichannel input is 180 degrees out of phase with the digital bass filters for DD and DTS.

This means you will need to flip or change the phase switch on your sub every time you switch between SACD/DVD-A and DD/DTS.




Bruce
____________________________________________

[justin]

My brother owned a outlaw 950 for a short period of time. I think it is ugly too. He got rid of it, becuase of the sound from front to back watching movies. It seemed at some points the rear's were not there at all. We checked all the settings on the 950. they seemed to be right. We even set up the reference level's again. We were watching the phantom menace( the pod racer scene). The bass that came out of the 950 was very good. We had tested it against the rsp 1066. The 1066 didn't have this bug/problem.




Jus

Taking it one day at a time. Life moves quick.