Outlaw 990

[ohskigod]

I picked up Grimster's Outlaw 990 from the Flea Market, finally upgrading my beloved Outlaw 950.

I looked at this as a calculated risk, since I was so happy witht he sound I was getting out of my theater, i was afraid to change anything. Since I have a TV with HDMI (one input only), i wanted to get the 990 for HDMI switching (with adapters on DVI mind you)

Just got the unit yesterday (packed by Grim to seemigly withstand no less than a 2 story drop) and hooked it up late last night.

This is a completly different beast than the 950. I had toruble figuring some things out, making for some panicked late night PM's to Grim :) ) I finally got it up and running, still with some things to figure out, but running. Despite only being able to play with it at very low volume (wifey asleep), I noticed tat it sounded significantly better than the 990 at low volume. In fact, There wasnt the urge to "crank it up" to get what I want out of my theater that I had with the 950.

I will calibrate it more this evening with some higher volume trials to see how it really meshes with the rest of my theater. So far, its looking pretty good though.

[danger boy]

atta boy.... yeah the auto calibrate is actually very good in the 990. Every time I use it to set the levels it sounds good again. It really is a beast of a unit. did you ask Grimster if he had upgraded the firmware to the latest release? If not you can download it from the Outlaw Audio website for free. it's worth it for sure.

the 990 has extensive menu's for set up... i think you're going to like it a lot more once you got it tweaked and dialed in.

Pssst! You may even want to join the Saloon too.... (Outlaw forums) ;) see ya there. :D

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

The 990 is a very impressive HT preamp...

Has alot of midrange clarity, thats for sure...

[ohskigod]

I hear the autocalibrate is pretty good, will use it tonight. I usually do it by ear, but what a PITA!!!!! looking forward to autocalibrate making the process MUCH easier.

Trey, I know you had some brightness issues with yours, which so far seems to not be the case here, and lord knows I'm sensitive to bright sounding gear. We'll see how it goes with higher volume application later today :D

[danger boy]

ummm. Trey has brightness issues with every piece of gear he's ever owned except his Taylos :p;)

[ohskigod]

used the auto calibrate, talk about a cakewalk. might still have to tweak the sub settings a bit, but the rest is pretty much spot on. NICE!!!!

[danger boy]

so how she sound now? proper speaker levels makes a huge difference in movies... watch War of the Worlds or Master and Commander :eek: :eek: ;) :D

[Fireman32]

Damm Lou. I miss living down the street from you and getting to hear all the new gear. Glad she is sounding good bro.

[Grimster74]

Hey Lou, as for the firmware update, I did forget to mention that it DOES have the latest and greatest firmware update already installed, so no need to worry about that. I'm glad to see your really enjoying the unit, if it wasn't for all the gear and the numerous cables I had in my setup, I would not have gotten rid of the unit. I will say this though, I will own another Outlaw pre/pro as soon as the newer model hits the streets. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask, I feel I gave the 990 a once over quite a few times so I pretty much know it inside and out. Thanks for the great transaction and I'd love to do business with you again sometime down the road.

[ohskigod]

Thanks Grim :)

So far just rolled with DVD concert movies and music. definite improvement playing the oppo through 7.1 direct (only 2 channel cd's though so far. I only have one SACD and havent tried it yet)

definitly a marked improvement in sound quality and like I said, the auto calibrate is surprisingly functional. I usually like my sub a little hot, but have so far ignored the temptation to play with the sub level and just roll with what the unit did. smooth, seamless, NICE!

[pearsall001]

Lou, It sounds like your having some fun with your new toy. Congrats & enjoy!!! Aren't new toys great!!