Appleskinner Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I've been looking at the Outlaw RR2150 stereo receiver over the past few years and was wondering if anyone here on the forum has had the opportunity to try one out. I've read all the reviews on Audiogon and the Outlaw website, but would like to know how these mate with Heritage Klipsch and what you would compare the sound to. I am very fond of the vintage Yamaha, HK X30 and Sansui sound and was wondering if this is comparable. I would also be interested hearing any opinions on the build quality and/or shortfalls of this unit. I love the vintage 2-channel gear, but something about this unit has really piqued my curiosity. ~Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdcarroll Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 The 2150 is a great fit for heritage (I heard it on both Heresy and Lascala). The sound is very similar to HK, or Sansui; lush, warm with good definition. Ample power for any sane application. The phono section is very good at this price point. The build quality is outstanding. You have no doubt noticed the absence of any significant 'grey" market - most of the units sold remain very popular with the buyer. My only (!) complaint about the unit is an absence of digital input: i.e. no direct input for wadia 170i or DAC/transport in digital. The Outlaw "B Stock" sale is currently listing the RR2150 at 499.00. I am confident that no receiver offers the quality of the 2150 at this price point. I presently use an HK 3380, and an old twin power, and the 2150 is my next purchase. I get the usual requests for recommendations for fellow musicians looking to replace vintage equipment or "start" an audio system: I always start with the RR2150. Besides the great sound, great value and excellent feature set - the thing just looks sexy. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I haven't heard the 2150 but I own Outlaw separates & heritage. The separates replaced a flagship HK & my sound quality went up. Obviously the stand alone amp played a part. The Outlaw build quality seems excellent. I would judge the HK to be a tad bit "warmer" than Outlaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appleskinner Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 I owned their 1050 home theater receiver several years ago and liked the build quality, features and overall performance for HT, but wasn't overly impressed by it's sound in the 2-channel environment. In typical Outlaw fashion, I'm sure a lot of thought went into the build and sound of the 2150. If this receiver can provide the sound of a vintage Sansui or HK with the reliability Outlaw is known for, these things should be flying off the shelves. There are a few positive comments on the 2150 here on the forum, but no one has really given an all-out review or comparison against vintage gear. I hate to order one just to try it out for 30 days; although, it is tempting at $500 with free shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennie Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 That is very tempting. [] I don't have any experience with it either. But, have heard good things. Maybe you'll be the one to give us a good comparison between the outlaw and vintage gear. What's the worst that could happen, you have to pay shipping back to them? Might be worth it for $500! Dennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Robin Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I ordered one in December of '08; took it to my best friends to try out on Cornwall's that he was driving with an HK 430. It sounded great with the Corn's. I left it with him to check out; ( I was working 7 days a week to meet the year end deliveries) I told him to really check it out and if he did not like it I was going to send it back; I had my eye on a Mac integrated on Audiogon. He has the RF, RC and RS 7's driven by a high end Onkyo in the living room. The Corn's are in the new game room/ HT man cave. He has over 10 grand in the HT set up with speakers in the ceiling, a big sub woofer, another Higher end Onkyo with a Hi Def Sony Bravia overhead projector with close to a 110 inch screen. The Outlaw is still there and gets a lot of play time; he is really pleased with it. The only thing I do not like is the sensitivity of the remote; it turns up or down too much. It is like it has a delay before it starts moving and once you release the button it keeps going in either direction. It may just be me; he does not have a problem with it. He has moved the RF 7's into the cave to try them out with it. I could not believe how much better they sound with the Outlaw versus the Onkyo. This was a B-Stock model; when we took it out of the box we checked it over from top to bottom. We did not find any defects, no scratches dents or dings it was perfect. Yes it is worth the money, the sound is great and it looks great. Try one out and if you do not like it send it back. I have been thinking about getting one just for a back up. Latrer Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiki Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 We are using an Outlaw RR2150 receiver to drive two sets of Klipsch heritage speakers in our great room. We use the receiver to power a pair of Klipschorns solely for 2 channel music, and also use it to power a pair of Quartets for TV/DVD viewing. Both configurations produce excellent results and we are very satisfied. Over the years we have previously owned and used a Marantz 2270 and later a Pioneer SX-1080 reveiver. The Outlaw RR2150 receiver's speaker-driving characteristics seem to be similar to the Marantz and Pioneer in several respects. All three receivers produce high quality, warm, non-harsh stereo music while providing sufficient amplifier overhead to shake the walls with dynamic movie soundtracks when desired. As always, the size of your particular listening room and the amount of sound absorbing furnishings you place in it will affect your results. Of all the features the RR2150 provides, our two favorites are the quality and power of the amplifier (which are really excellent) and the USB line-in port (which we use to connect our music server computer). While no receiver is perfect, the Outlaw RR2150 meets all of our current needs well and we would highly recommend it. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 mine sounds wonderful through Quartets with Bob and Michael Crites crossovers and Titanium tweeter diaphragms...there are some quirks with the unit but nothing to scare you away (sometimes the knob for changing the inputs either doesn't change or changes a couple places)...you get used to it...100wpc nice... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn5 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 The only way to find out for sure is to listen to your speakers in your listening room and see how it sounds. The Outlaws offer their 30 day in-home trial for just this reason. Buy one, try it out, and if you don't like it, they'll refund your money. http://www.outlawaudio.com/support/guarantee.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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