Sunfire vs. Outlaw

I own the Outlaw 990 preamp. I run a Musical Fidelity A5 CDP into it analog. I set the 990 on stereo bypass and run balanced out into 2 McIntosh 501 monoblocks connected to Magnepan 3.6's. It sounds pretty good in my opinion. I'm in no hurry to upgrade. My audio guy tells me it's my weakest link, and it probably is. But for $1100 and with DVI switching for video, it is hands down a bargain. I have heard the new Mac preamp, and it was impressive, but was also about 5 times the cost of the 990. I plan on keeping the 990 and at some point buying something like the Mac (maybe with tubes) that has pass thru input. That way I can have my home theater and an excellent 2 channel system as well.

The new Sunfire sounds good for music as well as HT. The Outlaw isn't going to win any 2 channel awards and for that matter neither will the Sunfire, but I've always been a fan of Sunfire and it does sound good and a lot better than the Outlaw IMO.

The Outlaw amps are pretty decent, but remember the Outlaw processor is essentially the same as the Sherwood/Newcastle P965. Both of these are considered more as budget pieces by most and are suited more for HT. I'm not a fan at all of how the Outlaw sounds for 2 channel music. But, I don't want this to come across like I'm bashing the Outlaw to death. It really is a nice piece, I just think it's an HT piece