Outlaw Audio 1050 Receiver.(Evaluation)

Manufacturer: Outlaw Audio, Inc., 18 Denbow Road, Durham, NH 03824; 800/392-1393; www.outlawaudio.com

List price: $599 (factory direct)

Source: Manufacturer Loan

Reviewer: Howard Ferstler

The Outlaw receiver, which is in the same, slightly upscale price category as many everyday "generic" A/V receivers, is not your typical everyday, generic receiver. I want to make this clear, because we live in an era when audio electronics, particularly CD players, DVD players, amplifiers, and receivers, are becoming more and more like appliances. (As I see it, interconnects have been appliance-grade from the word go, and speaker wire has been that way since the day somebody came up with lamp cord.) Most work fine, but few of those "appliances," including some very good models, indeed, have any real character. Well, the Outlaw 1050 receiver has "character," and it couples that character with some very good performance.

In terms of the basics, the unit offers 65 watts on each of its main, center, and three (yes, three) surround channels, has Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM, and Dolby Pro Logic decoding (including Dolby-3, for use if you cannot hook up surround speakers), has a 6-channel input for current and future outboard-decoded surround systems, employs easy-to-use level-trim controls for the center, surround, and subwoofer outputs, and comes with a back-lit, multi-function remote control. Topping off these basic features is a front panel that is both informative and attractive, and also somewhat different looking from many of the more generic units currently available.

The panel controls and features (all duplicated on the remote) include a power button, volume control, a button to select the 6-channel outboard inputs, a headphone jack (which defeats the speaker outputs when used), a surround-mode selector, a digital-input control, preset and tuner controls, tone and balance controls, an input-source selector, the input-trim controls, a crossover-adjustment control (more on this, below), a delay-time control, a test button for setting output levels, and a control to accommodate varying speaker sizes and hookups. The panel's fluorescent display is not as slick looking as some other receivers I have seen, but it is functional and like any display, once you are used to the way it works, understanding the readouts becomes pretty straightforward.