Build, price, set-up, sound, remote (!)

too few digital coax inputs

I bought my Outlaw Audio 1050 A/V receiver about two weeks ago and have been enjoying it mucho. I did about 2 months of research and stumbled onto this product after seeing it as the only recommended component of its kind/class in Stereophile''s recent Guide to Home Theater recommendations. I then came here and was blown away by the high level of consensus concerning this receiver. I called Outlaw several times to educate myself about home theater receivers (I know far more about music and have invested modestly in a good mid-fi stereo system two years ago), their product and my needs/constraints. Scott Jackson was most helpful, each and every time. There is no limit to his customer service. Hence, one of the reasons for my purchase. I am using this receiver solely for home theater. My stereo and home theater are now separates, and I surely do have a crowded cabinet housing CD, DVD, integrated amp, tuner and receiver...including separate speakers for home theater. I even bought the Outlaw fully knowing that its 1 mere coax digital input would be a problem for me. I have two digital sources that have only coax out''s. I resolved this issue in-advance by purchasing a converter made my MIDIMAN for $62 from Core-Sound.com. I believe this was well worth it. The Outlaw receiver was very easy to set-up, as the manual is super-user friendly and you can always land Scott on the phone. Also, the lack of on-screen set-up is a plus. I do not want extra connections and features like that taking up circuitry and production costs. Let it me on the panel like the Outlaw. The unit has a very strong build; it''s heavy (as others have said). It clearly says "sound first." The remote is quite nice and is backlit (no extra noise on mine either). My movies sound great, and I am confident that this is due to both the receiver and the Mirage speaker system (as sub/sat''s go, this one packs some punch). I just watched Donnie Darko last night and it came through clean, with interesting effects. Shrek also sounded great. I cannot rate this unit on music, but in terms of home theater, the quality cannot be beat. System: Outlaw 1050, Toshiba SD-2109 DVD, Mirage AVS500 and LF-100 sub, MIDIMAN CO2 bidirectional optical/coax converter.

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Marantz SR-5200/7200

PRICE, QUALITY, CUSTOMER SERVICE,AND MOST OF ALL SOUND.

FM RECEPTION

WHEN THIS RECEIVER COMES BREAK OUT THE FORK LIFT BECAUSE THE WEIGHT WILL SHOCK YOU! BUILT GREAT, PLENTY ON INPUTS AND OUTPUTS FOR ME. IT TOOK ME A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO GET THIS BABY DIALED IN RIGHT FOR MY SPEAKERS AND ROOM CONDITIONS. FLEXABILTY OF CROSSOVER AND BASS MANGEMENT ARE COOL. IVE NEVER OWNED A NICE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT BEFORE SO I WAS BLOWN AWAY AT HOW IT SOUNDS. THE DSP MODES ARE NOT SO GREAT. HALL, JAZZ AND STADIUM SOUND THE SAME TO ME AND KIND OF LIKE AN ECHO CHAMBER. THEY REALLY MAKE MY HLS-610"s SING IN STEREO THOUGH. MUSIC IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN MOVIES BUT THE CHANNEL SEPERATION IN DOLBY DIGITAL AND DDTS IS FANTASTIC AND BASS GALORE!!! IT WILL PLAY AS LOUD AND AS LONG AS YOU LIKE. I HAVE VIBRATED ALL MY WIFES NIK-NAKS RIGHT OFF THE SHELFS -TWICE. ALL I CAN SAY IS HIGHLY RECCOMMENED TO ALL. ONE SHORT NOTE THOUGH. I LISTEN TO THE FM RADIO ALOT AND RECEPTION WITH THIS UNIT AT MY HOUSE IS POOR. MAYBE I JUST NEED A BETTER ANTENNA BUT, MY OLD SONY PULLED THE STATIONS IN CLEARLY.

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SONY D665 (PRO-LOGIC)

Sound quality, remote, DTS, 6.1 channels, easy to setup/use.

Me carrying the box to my car after having it shipped to work--HEAVY!!

I love this receiver. It is very natural sounding, easy to use, and has enough features that I can easily grow into it for many years to come. The back-lit remote is a nice touch, too. Blows away anything in this price bracket.

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Technics, Yamaha

Clean and ample power, 6.1 channel surround, high-end looks and build quality

Short on digital inputs (two optical, one coaxial), video signal switching...not a problem if you switch through your TV

I wrote this review because I read the 104 reviews written on the Outlaw Audio 1050 before this one. Yep, all of them. I decided to give the Outlaw a try based on numerous articles written about it in trade magazines, as well as the reviews from this web site. I''ll simply say that the Outlaw has lived up to or exceeded all my expectations of it in light of what I read about it. For $554 delivered to your doorstep this unit is an absolute steal. Even with the best internet deals on other 5-7 channel recievers, (see similar products used) you would have to spend around twice as much to get comparable audio and build quality.

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Listened to and considered Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Harman Kardon, & Yamaha before trying the Outlaw

Price,quality sound,and good insides

Tacky front panel

The 1050 is a good sounding,well built and reasonably priced receiver.Though the first unit i received had a bad rear channel.And it took a while to get a replacement.Like 7days. So for customer service on that end well i guess thats what you get over the internet. But other than that its up in sound quality with Onkyo. Wich was a previous receiver of mine.As for the controller it does look like a Radio Shack knockoff.But it does the job.And the front panel could use a upgrade in the cutouts of the sheetmetal and buttons. But all in all for the price you cant beat it.

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Onkyo tsk-575

customer service is a-i, 2 channel sound is un matched in the price range, fantastic in home theatre applications.

none but the weight, but that''s not a weakness maybe the delivery man would disagree? lol

the 1050, is by !!!!far!!!the best unit out there in the 5 to9 hundred dollar range and believe me i heard a lot. denon 3802 onkyo 797 yamahas the only thing that is on par with this wonderful unit is the nad forget the#? The 1050 plays clean loud enough for most users great in 2 channel stereo, great on home theatre,

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denons, onkyos, yamaha, and older pro logic units.

this reciever has it all everything,customer service is (out standing)!!!, try that with another co

heavy 36+ lbs logo to big

clean sounding, user friendly, good remote, built like a kenworth truck, better than (any i mean any) reciever out there for the money and better sounding to so long as this outlaw is in town the rest will be second best. and i mean that.

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denon sony es onkyo yamaha

Build quality, customer service, manual, shipping, neutrality in system.

Aesthetically kinda ugly, S-video switching is defective (run direct), only 1 coax and 2 toslink inputs. But these are really minor flaws. Still worth every cent and then some!

I strongly recommend this product. The build quality is unrivaled in this price range, as is the customer service. Most importantly, the unit is very nice in both 2 channel and surround. DD and DTS are clean and crisp. The remote is an easily-hackable Radio Shack 15-1994 clone. I don''t think you could touch the quality of the receiver until you get up into the $800-900 range. This unit drives 4ohm speakers flawlessly. My setup: Outlaw 1050 Modified Apex AD600A DVD (N6 firmware, LI17 driveware) Technics SL-PD9 CD player (Bargain of the year here folks) 1970 Bang & Olufsen HT5000 mains (1 12", 2 5" mids, 4 2" tweeters per cabinet) M&K rears B&O center DCM-70 sub

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Marantz SR-8000, Denon 3802, Bang & Olufsen.

Good, effective Dolby and DTS decoding. Plenty of power for my speakers (Polk AB755 X 5 and Polk CS245i) in moderately large room. Good input flexibility for my needs.

None apparent so far but I have not tried to program the remote for my other devices yet.

Santa brought me my 1050. First thing I noticed is that he was wearing a truss - this thing is heavy! First thing I did was remove the top to see the interior construction. As an electrical engineer, I''ve seen the inside of a lot of equipment and this unit has very good design/build for a consumer product. Installation was easy and the unit sounds great in my home theater.

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NAD T770

ease of setup, superb sound, packed with the features you want, simple, clean face.

I have not found a weakness so far.

I have been wanting to purchase the Outlaw 1050 since I read its review in Home Theater Mag. and I am glad I finally did, I replaced my Yamaha RV-1103 with the 1050, the sound quality is amazing! the difference between the Yamaha and the 1050 stunned me! I thought I had problems with my speaker setup, but the OUTLAW unit proved I was just using the wrong reciever! the Yamaha was 250.00 more than the 1050, I feel that I have been cheated by yamaha!
I haven't heard sound quality this good since my pro-logic ONKYO. I would place the outlaw on a level playing feild with ONKYO and Denon for build quality and sound.

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Onkyo Yamaha