great sound!6.1, dts, good build . great service dept.

1 reciever was diffrent than the second!

I love the 6.1 and it is a very good sounding recv. It did come double boxed and very quickly. At firt the 1050 i got came with a stripped binding post, Right then i knew it had to go back. But i was'nt completely impressed with the sound either. The natural mode at 45 volume would make my speakers sound blown. They are new.That was after 1 week of listening. I sent it back and got a new unit in 3 days no charge to me ,just the hassle.when i got the other one I hooked it up and wow!! it sounded 10 times better and i was glad i gave them another try. The sound feilds leave alittle to be desired but music on 3 channel or natural sounded great!the remote is from china but works well and controls every function on the 1050. For some reason it will not learn my denon dvd 1000 signal,but will do other denon produts??Listen to gladiator and the 6.1 and dts rules! the 1050 is a great value. I'm running 5 boston cr8s a boston thx center and m&k v1250 sub. But outlaw if you read this stop trying to pawn crap off on us consumers and give us the real deal from the start! Some are not able to tell a b unit from new but why risk your reputation? My review is on the second unit only.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha, Denon, adcom

Very Musical presentation, clear smooth highs and mid-range.
Great pre-amp section!

Weak Tuner

For the audio enthusiast who wants to upgrade to Home Theater but is apprehensive of the big prices and lost of sound quality, take a listen to the Outlaw 1050. The pre-amp section of this receiver provides a very musical presentation and it is clear that Outlaw's objective and emphasis is definitely on sound quality rather than features not required.
The 1050 replaced my Accurs LS11 pre-amp, and I coupled the 1050 with my Citation power amp for the front right & left channels. After 4 months of music listening the 1050 proved to be in good contention with the Accurs. The addition of the power amp for music listening is recommended to attain the same quality levels your accustom too. At a later date you have the option to add amplification to 5 of the 6 channels.
This is my first Home Theater receiver and I have not used the 6.1 option as of yet, the 5.1 with dts functions well and I have experienced no switching concerns. You might not need all of the Stadium, Hall and other effects, but some folks may enjoy those features. The Outlaw 1050 is a pleasure to use!
The 1050 does get hot in the rear left hand corner, the unit is designed for this and is not a problem, just keep it in mind when picking a location for installation. The quality of workmanship is on par with more expensive units. The remote is easy to use & understand, its back lighted and difficult to use in the dark.
The 1050 has allowed me to use my exisiting equipment to retain high quality stereo listening while introducing 6.1 Home Theater without complications. Its rare to find such value for performance with commitment to assist the customer. Other companies should benchmark Outlaw's internet use for manufacturing, sales and service.

Similar Products Used:

First Home Theater receiver

A $600 receiver that sounds as good or better than a $1,000 receiver

No phono input, extremely no-frills

Last year I bought the Sony ES 555 receiver,
which still rates today as one of their best
receivers.

I was extremely happy with the receiver, except
for one MAJOR flaw that absolutely drove me crazy --
the Sony put a sound delay every time it switched
between sound formats. In other words, going from
a MENU on a DVD that is probably in Pro-Logic to
the feature in Dolby Digital or DTS, I would lose
about 3 seconds of audio with every switch.

I decided to try the Outlaw 1050, despite
some concerns that I was actually stepping down
from a $1,000 Sony receiver to a $600 Outlaw.

When the OUTLAW receiver arrived, I had to pick
it up at DHL. I could not get a close parking spot
to the door. That was my biggest misfortune that
day. The receiver weighed a whopping 40lbs, and
I nearly strained my back carrying it in both arms
to my car.

In a weight match between my Sony ES 555 and
the Outlaw 1050, the Outlaw clearly weighed 5-10lbs.
more. I have learned that the weight of the
amplification is a good sign of the quality of
the receiver.

I took this receiver out of the box and was a
bit disappointed. It's not an attractive receiver.
The front of the unit has these big bulky buttons
and knobs on them. The power knob is big, green
and protruding.

The hookup was a breeze. You don't even have
to look at the manual. It took me well under 30
minutes to dismantle my Sony and hook up the
Outlaw. Another 15 minutes to set the speaker
sizes, delays, and run a Sound Level Meter with
the receiver's test mode to callibrate all my
speakers.

The remote is rather basic -- but nice.
Buttons are nice and large, and they light up
as you push them. The remote is very ergonomic.

Showtime!

I put in the DTS DEMO DISC #3. First up was
The Eagles performing "In A New York Minute".
I was extremely impressed. The instrumentals were
clear, crisp and percise. I could immediately hear
a more thorough balance between all the speakers than
I did with my Sony ES receiver. In fact, as much as
I hate to say it, this disc sounded better on the
Outlaw than it did on the high-rated Sony.

I then decided to finally open my GLADIATOR
DVD and christen the OUTLAW with it. Folks, I was
blown away! I heard clarity amongst all the speakers
that I never heard before. This is the first time
that I have heard the CENTER channel blend in with
the rest of the speakers rather than become too soft
or too loud.

I called Parker on the phone to tell him how
much I was enjoying the robust sound of the receiver.
I also plainly started complaining about a few things
the receiver lacks....

There is no phono input. I can't understand why
a Home Theater system would lack the ability to
plug in a turntable since there are still many of
us that own them.

The digital display is very small, and from across
the room, you cannot tell what sound mode the
receiver is in. I had to get up several times to
make sure I was playing in DTS.

The FM TUNER seems to be a little weaker than
my Sony ES. Using the supplied wire antenna,
stations had more distinct static in them than
the same sort of antenna I used on the Sony.

But Here is the real moral of this story....

While complaining to my business partner about the
plain look of this receiver, and the lack of this
and that --- He reminded me that this was a $600
receiver that outperformed a receiver costing
nearly TWICE as much.

What OUTLAW did, was produce a bare-boned and
frills-free receiver with no bells & whistles,
in order to give you the best bang for the buck.

What this means, is that you are ultimately buying
a receiver with less glitz, but this baby definately
outperformed my $1,0000 Sony ES receiver, which is
considered just about top of the line.

I have my Sony ES receiver sitting on the floor.
I could easily take this non-attractive Outlaw
receiver and put it back in the box. But you know
what? After hearing a significant difference
in audio, I am going to keep my OUTLAW as
my main receiver and box up the Sony.

Guess the old theory that you can't judge a
book by its cover is true in electronics. Imagine
dating a girl that everyone thinks is sort of
unattractive and doesn't have expensive taste --
yet you know that she gives you the best lay you
ever had! Well, that's how I feel about the
OUTLAW receiver. It's not anything attractive or
fancy, but I bet it will outperform or equal anything
costing hundreds more.

This review would have received 5 stars if not
for the lack of phono input.

Build Quality, Customer Service, Value

Listening Modes, Radio Tuner, Remote

This is my first foray into Home Theater..Therefore I would like to personally extend my gratitude to all those posters who have helped me make my decision.

Sony Wega 32XBR400
Klipsch SF-1, SS-1, SC-1 & KSW-10
Pioneer DVD-333

I am not an audiophile nor videophile for that matter, but since my wife and I enjoy couch-sitting and watching a good movie on the weekends, I deciding to buy a good quality HT system. This will be only a review from someone who is not that difficult or picky.

1- Service: I was very satisfied with the service. The order processing was quick...I had a question before the purchase and did not have to wait...not once was I put on hold. The receiver was shipped on the same day, and I received it in Montreal from California 48 hours later. The package was double boxed and well protected. During my initial set-up, I called Scott from technical support and he was very knowledgeable...He walked me through a couple of set-up questions and was very patient with me...
End result....5 stars for customer support

PS. As I write this review, they changed their web site for the better. For an internet company, I thought their web site was absolutely terrible...But they have improved on that now.

2- Build Quality: Wow! was my first response from opening the box. Excellent build quality and finish. No loose ends here. For the price, best value on the market. The front panel set-up looks well thought out and simple to use.
And the binding post were gold-plated and very solid.
End Result....5 stars for build quality

3- Playing Modes: They offer several modes, but I really use only three. Natural mode for listening TV or music. Surround mode for DVD movies. Natural or Hall Mode for music. The only problem I see is that volume levels are very different for each mode. My only caveat is that I don't here the surrounds too well when in natural mode...you have to pump up the volume. Sound clarity is very good and there definitely is no lack of power here.
I must admit that my Klipsch speakers are amazing and probably the reason why we are listening more and more to music. I work at home and really love to listen to the music...so clean...so pure...Is the receiver partly responsible ...I am not sure.

Home Theater...No complaints here..It does a great job! ....and that is why I bought this receiver. I only have a 5.1 setup now but when I finish my basement that 6th one will be going in for sure.

For the price, can you complain about some of its shortcomings. Not really...but here they are:

1- Listening modes...not too different nor spectacular
2- Terrible Radio Tuner...Engineers must have been out to lunch when they designed it!
3- Remote needs improvement...Engineers must have been out to dinner when they designed it! I am buying a universal remote, that's for sure.

In closing, I am very satisfied with my purchase. After-sales service is very important to me. Outlaw scores big on this department. If you like to stretch the dollar, the 1050 represents Value (price/quality/service) you can not deny.

Frank

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned - Marantz 7000, Denon 3801

Great Sound Quality & Clarity. Build Quality. VALUE!

The quality of this unit is awesome, which is not news on this board. The sound is great, both for stereo and HT.

This unit sacrifices gadgetry for quality. sim modes are limited (who cares!) and there isn't a GUI. But I listen to my reciever/HT, so the sound's the important thing.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon

Build quality, much larger than average capacitors.

No Component pass thoughs only Svideo. I don't really care though.

I was a bit concerned about ordering something like this over the internet. My fears were unjustified. The service was outstanding. My Outlaw came in 1 day from CA to Michigan. I was impressed by the rapid delivery plus the unit was packaged very well.

The thing is a tank, it feels like it weighs 80 Lbs its not that heavy but much heavier than any Denon amplifier (maybe they just put a lead weight in it for effect :) )

Hookup was easy as were learning the controls. I like the remotes backlighting. The sound is very clean and has plenty of punch for HT. I like the fact that it allows changing the sub crossover frequency.

Some may find that you have to turn the volume to a higher number than on most amps. The never turn past 12 o-clock rule does not apply. It has a linear volume scale so you have to turn the knob to 50-60 out of 80 for load HT sound. So basically it can use just about all of the volume scale without distorting like most amps will.

Similar Products Used:

Kendwood A/V 100 W/channel

Seems to have some DVD compatability issues with DTS.
Display hard to read.

This is my 3rd model 1050. 1st was doa B-stock. 2nd worked well except during DTS dvd's when I would fast forward a chapter DTS light would just flash and sound would mute. Dvd player would have to be shut down and process started over again. This was an upgraded b-stock unit.
When I contacted Scott about this he offered me an upgraded
brand new unit for $550. This unit works well except has same problem with DTS. OK, that said I am otherwise very happy with this receiver. Unit is very well constructed
Heavy, connections well laid out and 3 way binding posts for all speaker connections. Could have more digital connections but hasn't been a problem yet. I was concerned about 65wpc being enough power, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sound output is incredible. Internal sub crossover is a wonderful feature. Looks of unit is a matter of personal preference. I like it. Remote is so-so but then again I don't tend to like any remotes anyway. As long as remote can turn volume up and down conveniently I'm happy.
It does seem to buzz louder all the time though. 6.1 surround works very well, however effect is only desirable
on certain movies. All in all this is a wonderful receiver for the money. Everyone that previews my HT setup wants to know all about it. Customer service is excellent. Don't be afraid to give this receiver a preview , you won't be dissappointed.
My setup.
Outlaw 1050
Toshiba SD1009 DVD
Infinity SM-120 front speakers(15 years old,last of the good ones)
Infinity cc-3 center channel
Niles ceiling speakers (3 across back of room)
Sony 36XBR400 TV
DVDO i-scan line doubler
General Instrument 4DTV digital/analog Satellite receiver

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer elite.

Good sound & build quality

Coarse tone controls and useless "effects" modes

Anyone reviewing a piece of audio/video equipment has a particular perspective and certain criteria on the importance of features and quality. My approach to reviewing the Outlaw 1050 is from the perspective of an audiophile who is primarily interested in sound quality. Separate systems are set up in my home for audio and video enjoyment. I actually watch very little television - and while I did spend a few dollars on my video system - I put the money in what I felt to be minimally acceptable quality components. To keep costs low I purchased both new and used equipment with the majority of the budget allocated to top-notch sound. My video system ancillary components are a pair of full range Apogee ribbon speakers for the main channels powered by a Classe 10 stereo amplifier, a pair of inexpensive Boston Acoustics surround speakers powered by the Outlaw, a Panasonic HiFi VCR and a 32" Sony Trinitron TV. There is no DVD player and TV programs are received off the air with no cable hookup.

First let me say that as an audiophile used to listening to multi-kilo dollar equipment the Outlaw receiver sounds very nice. Its high frequency response is good and bass is clean. Although I have no center channel (there is no center channel available anywhere near the sound quality of my Duetta Signatures) center imaging is very precise and dialogue clearer than any five channel system I have heard so far despite my less than optimal sources. When I first assembled my system I used the receiver to power all four speakers, which it was able to do quite well considering its cost. In the long run, however, the 1050 was not quite up to the task of powering the relatively low efficiency, 4 ohm ribbon speakers and thus I bought a used Classe amp which is rated at 250 watts/channel into 4 ohms to help. The preamp outputs of the 1050 made this hookup simple.

I do not wish to dwell on what other people on this board commented about build quality except to concur that it is outstanding for a unit in its price range. I did have a problem with a couple of units but the company was fast to respond with replacements, which I commend them for (they may be working out some quality control issues).

I do have a couple of nits to pick with the unit. First off the bass and treble tone controls are too course in their adjustment offering only three settings either side of neutral with each increment 2 dB in magnitude. One dB or finer would be more useful. Perhaps my speakers are too revealing but use of the balance control has a subtle but audible effect on the sound quality. The best description I can give of the sonic impact is to say the sound becomes less airy and a little more congested. Again, this is only a very subtle change but never the less noticeable to me. This may be why many hi-end preamplifiers lack balance controls.

Unfortunately I cannot comment on its video switching capability or DSP modes other than stereo, Dolby surround and "effects" since I have no DTS or 6.1 channel sources. I perform video switching at the TV to keep the signal path as simple as possible. As others have commented, the three "effect" modes are useless as they result in an abomination of sound. This criticism is leveled not just against the 1050 but any other "effect" modes I have heard on other receivers.

Other than these few minor complaints I am very pleased with the unit. Second to the Sony SCD-777ES SACD player this is the best audio bargain I have seen easily surpassing any Japanese unit below $1200 and I am sure rivaling many above that price point. Customer service is first rate.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 555ES and Denon 3801

Value, Build Quality, and Clean Sound

Appearance,

I would like to start off by saying I have yet to hook up the rear center though I have plans to shortly. This is the heart of a system being used in a bed room (The 3rd DD/DTS system in the house) and am using Acoustic Research AR 15s for mains and AR 17s for rear surrounds and center. (I have another AR 17 that needs to be mounted for a rear surround) with a Klipsch KSW 200 sub-woofer.

The unit appears to be of a very high build quality and does produce a rather nice sound. It does most all things right. I tend to be a real nit picker on gear and while I may find many quirks an stuff if I do not like a piece of gear I will get rid of it. At this point I am very happy with what Outlaw has provided in the 1050 and at a cost that is very good. Sure I could find something nicer but NOT in this Price Range.

First things first. I have been at the HT thing for just over 10 years now and in to stereo gear for much longer.

I feel that in most cases I can set up a Digital receiver without reading the manual but such is not the case with the Outlaw. The Outlaw's set up does not feel intutitve to me though once you read the book and play with it a little it is not bad. I like the flexible crossover. I have been going back and forth between 60 and 80 hz. :)

Then there is the units internal test tones. They work fine for speakers but [b]DON'T[/b] try to use them to adjust your sub. You see they send a signal to the sub that is of such a high frequency that it is not in the range of what a sub is supposed to do. This results in a very soft rumble for the sub and you will not be able to get an SPL meter and turn that rumble up to match the speakers level. If you attempt this and watch a DVD you will quickly realize that your sub is set way way way to high and you will be rushing for away to mute it quickly.

Then there is the Volume control. I knew going in that it was a bit quirky when compared to other units. Once you get beyond the years of mental blocks telling you to never turn it beyond the halfway point you will find that it is just [b]way cool[/b]. IT is very easy and accurate to adjust and gives you a great deal of control.

The Amps are rated with some pretty low sounding numbers but I have found that they do sound pretty clean at the maximum volume I want to generate in the small room I am using it in. I would even venture to guess that this would still be the case in a medium size room as well. Numbers matter little with wattage what matters is how it sounds. I am sure these amps will sound better then many with over inflated numbers.

The Tuner seems to pretty good for the most part with my only minor problem being that I can't figure out how to delete the presets stations I do not use. There are 32 presets and about 10 stations at most that I want on my radio in the local area. I would like the presets to roll over to the begining when I am done going through the presets I put in there. Anyone with info on how to do this please let me know.

The remote is actually a pretty nice light up job where every button lights up. It seems to handle my TV and DVD players very well for the most part with just a couple of problems. With my DVD player the enter button does not work and you need to hit the play button instead. (I have a Sony 650 matched up with it) Also There is no buttons for changing discs. The remote fits your hand nicely and the lights are a nice shade of blue that is easy on the eyes in a darkened room. The only thing I would change about it would be a button on the side to turn the light on. As it is now the light does not come on until you press a button. It fit the hand nice and my fingers tend to fall to the right spots.

I had read about people getting some extra noise in their DSP modes. I played with them a bit and have not really noticed any extra noise in them. Now the modes themselves are really just noise IMO. I am not one of those that gets off trashing DSP modes and swearing by the god of stereo, in fact I have a Yamaha DSP A1 and actually enjoy some of it's DSP Modes. :) The ones on this are not great and should not really be used or needed because it does sound very good in stereo mode.

Whose Idea was it to create a DSP mode called Natural? IT is the furthest thing from natural. I would bet that this is what most companies call Live. I say that because it is hmmm very lively in the reflections it adds.

Then there is the Jazz mode. I have heard Mike make jokes about Jazz room DSPs all sounding like Bathrooms well Mike would really enjoy hating this one.

Stadium is another music DSP I have never understood. Why?!? would anyone want to recreate the ambiance of the worst sounding concert venues? This Statdium mode is very juiced too. Think Of it as a ghetto blaster in a small concrete tunnel.

If I wanted to use more then two speakers for listening to stereo music then the Phantom mode is the only way to go. It uses the front speakers in stereo and tosses a little ambience into the rears in form of out of phase sound that is actually in the recording.

Sorry for the rant on the DSP modes even though I realize most on this forum would never use them, it was just to easy to trash them. :)

So far I only have 5 speakers hooked up to mine and can't use the rear center but I would say that what I have heard of the 5.1 processing sounds very good with not any great amount of crosstalk or interference. DTS music sounded good and clear. I check out the DD decoding using a Scene or five from Men in Black. I played the scene with the frictionless ball that bounces all over the office and the ship crashing in Edgar's front yard very carefully. It did a good job on both of these.

Overal while I tend to be a bit of a nit picker on ergonomics in most cases and like good sound I have to say the Outlaw while a little ackward at first is rapidly becoming an easy to use and great sounding piece of equipment that really seems quite cheap when you consider what you would have to pay to find something else with it's wide-range of talents and build quality.

Quick Summary.
While if you read the review you will notice that I seem to mention many of the quirks and stuff like that because those are the easy things to point out. What you need to know though is that I feel most of the negative things are very minor when compared to what this unit does right.

First off many movie DVDs include test tones for setting speaker levels on them and I have genrally used external sources for this anyway. I just felt that users should know about the sub level thing beforehand.

I generally do not use DSP Modes if the music is stereo it gets played that way and if it is 5.1 then it gets played that way.

This unit appears to be rock solid, has very clean sounding amps and while intially felt quirky is proving to be quite easy to use and set up. I am sure a beginer with fewer pre-conceived notions would find it quite easy to work with.

I would have to grade it out as follows
Quality 4 stars out of 5
Value 5 stars
sound 4 1/2 stars
Ergonomics 4 1/2 Stars
Appearance 4 stars

Keep in mind that my grading is based on cost and and relative to other units in the same price range. I really do not think that I could have been happy with anything else at in the $600 range and likely would have spent closer to the $850-$1000 range to find something I liked as much or more then the 1050.

The Outlaw 1050 seems out of place in it's price range and I felt tempted to compare it to units from a higher price range. It's combination of value and performance seems to make for one heck of a deal.

Max

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V995, Yamaha DSP A1, Yamaha RX-V 592, Yamaha DSP A 1000, Yamaha RX-V1070 etv etc etc I have had tons of recievers including some Sony's and other brands

Price

Quality control

I am always leary of a company that has too good a customer service department, especially a new company. I have read alot of reviews about how good this product is for the price; which it is. My problem comes in from the number of customers that have had to send units back. This is often how you learn about a companys customer service dept. I purchased a unit and recieved it in a few days. It was double boxed. Upon opening the first box and removing the inner I noticed large B's written on the outside of the box. I know from this site that they do sell B-grade units. I called them and they said that shouldn't have happened and would send me a new on immediatly. They asked me where it shipped from, Calif., they said they don't have B units in Calif. I checked my tracking manifest and the unit shipped from N.Y. to Calif to N.J. The N.Y. origin was not on the package. This seemed strange; buyer beware. The second unit sounds great and is very well built. The first unit made all music sound like it had some kind of warble to it. It was very slight and I thought it might be from somthing else. I switched recievers and it went away.
It seems to me they have alot of returns and a well tuned customer service department and the expense of the customer. I give it 3-stars for value because I put a high dollar on my time. We, the consumer, should not have to go to so much trouble. It is a 5 if you do not mind the running around or if your life has no value. Good Luck.