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Outlaw 1050 or Kenwood 6070? Help

I currently have a Denon 1800 AVR running Paradigm Monitor speakers and a Pioneer 45A DVD player. This set-up sounds very good but I want to try a 6.1 set-up now. I have read tons of good stuff on the Outlaw unit and some pretty good stuff on the Kenwood. The Kenwood is intriguing because of the THX Select feature and all the other bells and whistles. What I really want is a improvement in my music listing, since I now listen to a lot of DVD-Audio. I think the Outlaw will give me a better music experience than the Kenwood but is it enough to dump my Denon for, or should I keep saving for seperates? The Kenwood scares me from a quality standpoint, am I taking a step back from my Denon for some added features? Any help would be most appreciated as I am hot to do something (this upgrade bug is a awful pain).
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picasso_04901
12 posts
 
I'm running an Outlaw 1050 mostly for music and am extremely happy. I now am using the 1050 as a pre into a Lexicon NT512. I'll recommend a deeper fuller sounding speaker cable, such as Monster M2.2, a real bargain. I haven't heard the Kenwood, but you can always return the 1050 during the trial period.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
You answered it yourself: Quality vs quantity. The outlaw has more than enough features to keep you happy. What about another Denon if you like it so much?
hamman
1 posts
 
I also am using the 1050. I absolutely love it. It reminds me alot of the previous NAD amp I was using. Very good quaulity. But I have to say Denon does make a good unit also.
beetle63
3 posts
 
This doesn't exactly answer your question, but two years ago I owned a Kenwood VR-510 (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=55&sortBy=name&pageId=2&productId=752). The Kenwood was THX, had Dolby Digital, DTS, and Circle Sound. I was extremely happy with it until I did a one-to-one comparison with a used Harman Kardon I bought to resell. The HK was fuller and brighter than the Kenwood and had more available headroom, even though the Kenwood had better numbers on paper. Also, I found out later the Kenwood had trouble processing some DD tracks. To make a long story short, I was disillusioned with the Kenwood, and after several different swaps, I settled on my current Outlaw 950 and Parasound amp combo. Granted, I'm comparing a $450 to a $2000 set-up, but given the quality issues surrounding Kenwood, I would lean toward the Outlaw. But don't rule out Onkyo, they make some really nice stuff.
jcl6688
6 posts
 
If Dolby Prologic 2 is not important to you I would go with the Outlaw. The Outlaw 1050 is one of the best recievers I have owned. It was a perfect match with my Paradigm Reference 60's. I would have kept it but I needed Dolby Pro-Logic 2. If Outlaw came out with a new reciever with all the bells and whistles I think I would sell my Denon 3803/HK Signature combo. Anyhow, you could try the new Denon and if your not happy with the sound add an external amp like I did.
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