Since I am still within the 30-day trial period with the 1070 I have been trying to decide if the Outlaw is a keeper.

Last weekend my wife suggested we try a back to back test with a couple of movie scenes - first with our old receiver and then with the Outlaw. She picked the Lobby Shooting Spree from The Matrix and I chose The Bridge of Khazad-dum from The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition DTS track).

I have said very little to my wife regarding the Outlaw, as I wanted an uninfluenced opinion. Her comments were as follows:

1. Our old receiver sounded good with both scenes - but the Outlaw sounded better.

2. Our old receiver played just as 'loud' but did not sound as powerful as the Outlaw. During the loudest parts the sounds across the front speakers were sort of 'mashed together' with the old receiver, but remained separate and more distinct through the Outlaw.

3. The sound from all five speakers seems to blend together as a whole better through the Outlaw. With the old receiver it's easier to tell that the sound is jumping from speaker to speaker.

4. High frequencies were more clear and more realistic with the Outlaw. They sounded a little more "tinny" through the old receiver (shell casings hitting the floor in The Matrix for example).

5. Dialog was more clear with the Outlaw (specifically Gandalf's voice...which for me has always been a bit hard to understand during some parts of the Lord of the Rings).

I have to say I was very impressed with the feedback I received from my wife. She has no interest in the technical aspects of this hobby but she does appreciate good sound and probably has a better ear than I do.

On the downside, the operation of the remote continues to bug me. I still like the overall look and feel of the unit, but why can't it just have a power button for the receiver and a source power button? With my old remote I could just press two buttons and be surfing digital cable. With the Outlaw remote I have to punch five buttons to be in business. And why do I have to switch back to TNR to access the Dolby/DTS/Stereo mode buttons??

One final note - The Bourne Supremacy sounded fantastic on Encore today....