i just pulled the trigger on an outlaw 990 and 7125 amp.
but i have a question regarding crossover, my old receiver only allowed one crossover for the whole system ( i kept it at 80hz), but the outlaw allows me to have a different crossover for the center ,surrounds and fronts, i have the mp60 vp150 and qs8 as well as the ep500 ,could anyone suggest the best individual crossovers for these speakers and the outlaw 990 , thanks in advance

I can set my individually and I keep them at 80 Hz. I think that is a good setting for overall listening and that is what THX specifies.

You might try a couple of settings and see if you notice any difference.

Some of the AVR's out now offer this also. My Denon 2805 does not, so like Rat, I use the 80hz setting. I'm sure some of those folks will chime in here in a bit and give you some of their opinions.

I keep mine at the 80hz also. Nothing wrong with experimenting to see what you like best.

Just like already said, there is no a magic number. Set it at 80 and listen for a few days, get used to the sound. Then try to change things around a bit. Maybe you find that setting the main channels at 60 or 70 sound better for you.

What are you using right now as an amp? A receiver? I am very curious in your findings whether the 7125 has made any difference.

Thanks,
Gena

I would also be interested. As we found out on another thread, at high listening levels, peak power may be more important.

If I get a seperate amp, I think that it will be at least 200 watts.

This is where the Avia test disk comes in handy. The disk has a multitude of test tones that flop back and forth between the sub and individual speakers. By doing this, the user can play with X-over settings of each speaker to get a more balanced / smoother overall system settings. My system ended up with the M80’s at 60, M22’s at 80, and the QS8’s at 100.

It really makes a difference in overall sound quality.

Not real sure if any other test disk has the same test tones as the Avia. The Avia is getting pretty dated, but still very helpful.

mdrew has a good point and part of the fun of all this is to get to "play" with the toys. I especially like the test where the frequency drops from high to low and you hear the blend of speakers and sub as the frequency drops off.

I'm in agreement with the others. Start with 80 and try different combos to get the best sound. My thought also-if you can't tell any difference at different settings, then stay with 80.

I'm also very interested in your thoughts on the 7125. I've been looking and thinking about that amp but I'm concerned about whether it will make any difference from my Yamaha 657. $900 is alot for me to spend unless I'm going to notice a significant difference in sound quality or levels.

cgolf,

This review is one that says the 657 may be underpowered and requires careful speaker matching.

The M60s may be just the match that is needed.

IMHO you will hear a difference in SQ and levels, but the in-home trial is the best test. The cost of return is minimal to test it out.

In reply to:

---

requires careful speaker matching.

---

The quote from the article is:

"It is a little underpowered, but pairing with compatible speakers mitigates that shortcoming."

In other words, use efficient 8-Ohm speakers.

I think the M60's fit that bill nicely.

As I said!

I'm curious, did you audition other amps and preamps prior to purchasing the Outlaw equipment? The reason I ask is that the combo you have purchased is what I want to end up with. I have auditioned the Anthem equipment and really loved the sound. I would expect (read: hoping) the Outlaw equipment to have about equal sound quality. Just wondered what else you have listened to.

Rat you can set the x-over for each speaker on the onkyo seperately?

thanks for all the input, i havn't received the 990 or 7125 yet, probably not till the end of this week , the reason for my post was just doing a little homework on the new toy before it arrives
a few people have asked why i choose the 990 and 7125, well for the last 18 years i have been the proad owner of a sony str 2020 amd paradigm 7se speakers, this set up has served me well in fact it still works and sounds great, however i just recently turned my basement into a home theater since i did ( all ) the work myself i figured i deserved some new gear, since i saved so much on labour.
well at this time i also made a big mistake i was in one of my favourite sterio stores and on sale was a recently discontinued yamaha rxv 2500 , well i bought it basically for the yamaha name what the salesman told me , and the discounted price.
well what a disapointment , with music my old sony sounded better, the new movie options -dolby es and so forth worked well but my reciever definitly was lacking in the power department, i read somewhere that with all channels driven the yamaha only puts out 40 watts and i believe it

later i made a few good decisions for example after alot a research i came across axiom speakers, i just like the fact that this company ( axiom )relies on basically good word of mouth , i mean if these speakers were bad everyone would say so , right.
i also purchased the oppo dvd player , another good purchased based on good things i found about it on the web
finally outlaw audio, the jury is still out , i havn't heard them yet but from what i have read they should be great, i will let you know

Jake, the 703 is one of the Onkyos(some HKs and Denons also have the provision)which allows setting a different crossover for each group of speakers(not individual speakers), e.g. mains, center, side surrounds, back surrounds.

A comment on the review of the 657 which was linked is that it illustrates the desirability of having both subjective impressions of features and objective measurement of specifications included in reviews. The rather strange "underpowered" comment would appear to have no factual basis in view of the more complete Sound&Vision test which both subjectively and objectively(129 watts at 1,000 Hz)showed plenty of power for the vast majority of circumstances.

<<Output at clipping (1 kHz, 8/4 ohms)
both channels driven: 129/188 W (21.1/22.7 dBW)>>

<<Output at clipping (1 kHz into 8/4 ohms)
1 channel driven: 181/278 W (22.6/24.4 dBW)
5 channels driven (8 ohms): 67 W (18.3 dBW)>>

Yes, you can set the fronts, surrounds and rear surrround to different crossovers. I just double checked in the manual. I have all of mine set to 80 Hz. But, I can not set the right or left differently.

Hi JohnK,

Your other comments notwithstanding, I would like to point out Dan Kumin's (who used to write for me) technical comments on the Yamaha:

"The Yamaha RX-V657 produced good numbers, but a couple of notes are required. A switch sets the receiver for minimum speaker impedances of 8 or 4 ohms. The 4-ohm position current-limits its outputs to approximately one-half of their potential power. All numbers here were taken with the receiver set to the 8-ohm position, which was contrary to Yamaha’s recommendation, because some of my speakers present real-world loads well below 8 ohms. But there were no ill effects as a result either on the test bench or in my listening tests."

Like many other Yamahas, this one has current-limiting if the impedance switch is set to 4 ohms. It's why Axiom recommends Yamaha owners leave the switch at 8 ohms (and I know you've recommended that as well) even for lower impedances.

I wonder if the other comment on "underpowered" was because the reviewer used lower-impedance speakers and set the Yamaha at 4 ohms, which would drastically limit its output power.

Regards,

I think you will like the 990/7125, but I know you will love Outlaw's customer service and support. Just like the great people here at Axiom. I have the 990/7500 set up and am very happy with both, but I have been thrilled with the cutomer service provided by Outlaw. I had one small (and I mean small) problem with my 7500 (not performance related) and they went beyond my wildest imagination in making it right. In fact, my great experience with Outlaw is a major reason I decided to go with Axiom as well. You can't beat the customer service of either company.

Good luck with your decision.

Regards.

Alan's being kind, but those other speakers were 8 ohm and the reviewer's comment made no sense in view of the excellent power numbers(exceeding the published rating)S&V measured and Dan Kumin experienced. The reviewer possibly felt a need to beef up the "listening" section and pulled some terms out of his thesaurus(or wherever)that he threw into his review.