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View Full Version : Outlaw 970 / 990 issues.


piece-it pete
03-26-2008, 09:35 AM
My neighbors Yammie HT receiver (he was using it as a preamp) finally bit the dust, so he had a great excuse to upgrade.

He decided on an Outlaw 970. Out of the box it looked acceptable, although he had a hard time reading the display.

Anyway, upconverting video from s-vid to component looked grainy, and not just a little.

After checking connections, wires, etc, he called Outlaw and told them what was happening. After the requisite questions the guy said they were having a problem and swapped it out, no real problem.

Second 970 - same problem! But now the guy said he was mistaken and there wasn't a known issue, and gave my buddy a fair amount of grief even though this time the cables had been swapped out just to be sure they weren't the problem.

They did end up giving my bud a 990 at a sale price and took the 970 back, and he has only paid the freight one time.

Well the 990 has a problem upconverting as well!! But in this case somewhat faint diagonal lines through the picture.

He got his hands on an older Rotel 1066 HT processor and swapped it in. No lines!

Even though the Outlaw sounds better than the Rotel - and boy does it - he's thinking of giving up on them and maybe keeping the Rotel just because he don't have any confidence in Outlaw now.

I'll post how Outlaw handles this last issue when it is resolved. They've done kinda ok, although I feel they should be very very yes sir no sir right away sir at this point.

Any processor rec's at this price point?

Pete

Jonesy09
03-26-2008, 12:09 PM
Very surprising he's having a problem with their customer service. I have been enjoying my 950 for several years now. It is my fourth unit. The first three had various issues and were replaced promptly at no cost to me. The last one was even 6 months after their 30 day window for replacements and they had no problem just sending me a new one instead of waiting for service. I'd have him try to communicate with Scott directly and explain the situation. They are known for being responsive. The only thing that kept me hanging with them through 4 units was the way I was treated, and the performance of thier products. My 4th unit has been chugging away for a while now with no issues and I'm going to be hard-pressed to find something under $2k that will sound as good.

piece-it pete
03-26-2008, 12:15 PM
Thanks for the comments!

I'll let him know to ask for Scott. Based on SQ I'd keep the Outlaw, with his Rotel amps/B&W speaker/sub setup it was the best HT I've ever heard.

Pete

Jonesy09
03-26-2008, 11:11 PM
I can confirm that what he's running makes for sweet sounding HT and 2 channel. My B&W 604s3 mains are pushed by a Rotel RB991 and can do great stereo via the Outlaw's bypass mode. When I throw in a DVD the Rotel RB 985 mkII pushes the B&W LCR 600s3 center and LM1 surrounds to fill in the room with clear, accurate yet enveloping sound for movie effects and soundtracks. The HSU STF 2 fills in everything below 60hz from the mains, 80hz from the center and 100hz from the surrounds (Outlaws triple crossover provides great flexibility).

Clmrt
03-27-2008, 05:15 AM
These and their variants seem to be selling pretty cheap on the used market.

Jonesy09
03-27-2008, 08:18 PM
I've seen 950's for as little as $350. A true bargain for a worthy 2-channel preamp and it includes very clean DD/DTS processing as well!

Clmrt
03-28-2008, 05:38 AM
But - will it have issues.

I'm getting really sick fo getting used gear with problems.

piece-it pete
03-28-2008, 06:21 AM
Yeah I've had issues off and on with vintage gear and it's frustrating.

Update: my bud calls me last night.

He explained to them that the video side has issues, again.

Get this - they told him that it was out of the 30 day money-back period, because it's been thirty days since he got the FIRST 970!!

Oh they'll take it back, as a 'favor' - less 10% restock fee.

He even asked about this when he agreed to the 990. I call BULLSHIT on Outlaw. I advised him to stop his cc payment.

Pete

McGuy
03-28-2008, 10:45 AM
Call 781 762 6300

Ask for Peter, I promise he will handle it the right way.

piece-it pete
03-28-2008, 02:26 PM
McGuy,

THANK YOU!

It appears to be handled. I will post more info tomorrow.

Pete

piece-it pete
04-07-2008, 12:00 PM
It's a done deal, payment has been credited back to my friend in full.

Pete