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Outlaw reviews - Page 2

post #16 of 79
6/17/02 at 5:23am
this is going to be one BIG interesting review on the outlaw!

outlaw would be a good reference point for comparison between all the other different cables everyone owns too. of course it's still all opinion based.

i for one, hope the outlaw will give me a brighter, detailed sound over my existing cardas quadlinks. it better!
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post #17 of 79
6/17/02 at 6:30am
I prefer my Acoustic Zen Silver References to the Outlaws, but the Outlaws do hold their ground. The AZ's are more extended and airier. They throw the most amazing soundstage. They are a very cohesive sounding cable, in that everything is in balance. No noticible peaks or valleys.

In comparison, the Outlaw's bass response is equal to that of the AZ's in that I could not tell a difference between the two. The soundstage was a little truncated. However, there were two main differences between the two that I could tell. One was a slight hump in the midbass/upper bass of the Outlaws. Things got slightly muddy in this region. which makes the sound a little on the warm side of neutral, and congested with some music. The second difference is the lack of extension up top. A little less air and a little less sparkle.

Still, the Outlaws are a bargain, and the differences between them and the AZ's are not earth-shattering, although noticeable and important to me. Are the AZ's worth $898/meter? Hell no. No cable is, in my book. Are the Outlaws worth $50? Yeah. I'd pay twice that. Maybe even three times. They're excellent cables. When I get around to it, I'll compare them to a pair of DH Labs.
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post #18 of 79
6/17/02 at 9:40am
Anyone besides me notice the remarkable similarity between the Outlaws and Harmonic Tech low end ICs?

Harmonic Tech

The photo in not great (click photo to enlarge) but the RCAs connectors are the same and HT has been using OCC copper for several years now, one of the first companies to do so. HT has nice shrink tubing connecting RCA to cable jacket that Outlaw omits.

One big difference is even the low end HTs cost 3x the price of the Outlaws
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post #19 of 79
6/17/02 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally posted by DarkAngel
Anyone besides me notice the remarkable similarity between the Outlaws and Harmonic Tech low end ICs?

Harmonic Tech

The photo in not great (click photo to enlarge) but the RCAs connectors are the same and HT has been using OCC copper for several years now, one of the first companies to do so. HT has nice shrink tubing connecting RCA to cable jacket that Outlaw omits.

One big difference is even the low end HTs cost 3x the price of the Outlaws
I've long suspected that they're built in the same factory on contract for Outlaw.
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post #20 of 79
6/17/02 at 10:03am
<runs to check outlaws>

Wow! You're right, they do look very similar!

<checks price>

GOOD LORD! I'm happy I got the outlaws.
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post #21 of 79
6/17/02 at 10:59am
Quick question for KW or other electrical wiz.

Since Outlaw ICs have large diameter RCA connectors, if you connect to gear and RCAs are physically touching each other
is this harmful.......should you place plastic insulating strip between them?

I think I will get some Outlaws for things like CD/cassette recording which requires 2 pair of ICs and can't afford high end ICs here.
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post #22 of 79
6/17/02 at 11:56am
99% of all consumer gear has common ground between L & R channels so there's no problem if connectors touch. Even if grounds are separate in one piece of gear, if ANY other gear in your chain has common ground, ALL of your gear has common ground, like it or not.

Cheers!
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post #23 of 79
6/17/02 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by kwkarth
99% of all consumer gear has common ground between L & R channels so there's no problem if connectors touch. Even if grounds are separate in one piece of gear, if ANY other gear in your chain has common ground, ALL of your gear has common ground, like it or not.

Cheers!
Makes you have some appreciation for all those power filters doesn't it?
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post #24 of 79
6/17/02 at 12:04pm
Everything shares (or should share lest ye risk the dreaded ground loop and possible shock) a common earth ground, this is vastly different than the signal ground single-ended ICs will see.
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post #25 of 79
6/17/02 at 1:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by Nezer
Everything shares (or should share lest ye risk the dreaded ground loop and possible shock) a common earth ground, this is vastly different than the signal ground single-ended ICs will see.
That's debatable. The theory behind a lot of power filters implies that the noise in ground does sometimes have an influence on the signal. Kinda like leaky plumbing, I guess.
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post #26 of 79
6/17/02 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally posted by DarkAngel
Anyone besides me notice the remarkable similarity between the Outlaws and Harmonic Tech low end ICs?

Harmonic Tech

The photo in not great (click photo to enlarge) but the RCAs connectors are the same and HT has been using OCC copper for several years now, one of the first companies to do so. HT has nice shrink tubing connecting RCA to cable jacket that Outlaw omits.

One big difference is even the low end HTs cost 3x the price of the Outlaws
I too noticed the physical similarities of the Harmonic tech cables and the Outlaws.While they may look the same they couldn't possibly sound more different.The Outlaw does not have the frequency extension or vocal sweetness of the Harmonic cable but the Harmonic cable can't touch the Outlaw's bass.the Outlaw is one of those cables that I think requires some component matching.It is an incredible bargain for the performance you get but it has limited range of components with wich it matches well.With my solid-state gear it sounds wonderful and I would say it comes close in some ways to the best I have heard.This cable is not tube friendly at all especially in the critical pre to amp connection.It makes the sonics very muffled and compressed.In the less critical component to pre connection the effect is less obvious but still present.The bad part about this is that it has this effect in the obvious places in the sonic picture.In back-to-back comparisons the Outlaw just kills the midrange on some lush vocal tracks and makes the singer sound as though she had taken a huge step back on the soundstage or from the recording mike.I still think that you can't go wrong with the outlaw,I just think it is not as versatile as some have implied.A solid "B"grade for performance and an A+ for value.
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post #27 of 79
6/17/02 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally posted by kelly

That's debatable. The theory behind a lot of power filters implies that the noise in ground does sometimes have an influence on the signal. Kinda like leaky plumbing, I guess.
It absolutly can and should be filtered.

I'm just saying it has nothing directly in common (or it shouldn't) with the signal ground and everything in the chain should share the same earth ground or you will introduce noise due to the voltage differential between two points in the earth. If sufficiently apart and under the right circumstances different earth ground points can have quite a voltage differential; enough to shock the living crap out of you and fry equipment. That's a mistake I don't plan on *ever* making again.

Crap, now I'm way off topic... Anyway, as Dusty said it shouldn't make a difference in 99.99% of the equipment out there that the jackets touch. That .001% should (and better) be using balanced ICs anyway.
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post #28 of 79
6/23/02 at 6:28pm
Has anyone heard the Outlaw PSC silver digital cable?

How is this superior or inferior to cable you've heard?

Thanks...........
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post #29 of 79
6/23/02 at 10:36pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Nezer
Anyway, as Dusty said it shouldn't make a difference in 99.99% of the equipment out there that the jackets touch.
Actually, it wasn't me, it was Kev...but if it helps, I concur!
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post #30 of 79
6/24/02 at 4:17am
Thread Starter 
I finally got to hear a pair of Outlaw today. I didn't AB them so I don't have anything much to say except that nothing bad jumped out at me and the build quality was good.
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