it's worth mentioning that the outlaw is one of the few amps left with a well designed fm tuner section. there are still some of us radio listeners out there. it features hdradio which is very rare on a home unit. this not only gives you digital reception but the hd radio chip has an excellent analog section. the tuner also has manual mono/stereo control for fm. yes! ☺
Ha me too im embarrassed to say about 25% of my listening is of kmhd jazz radio through the tuner their djs are just better than me or any other algorithm deciding on what to play
That vintage front panel vibe makes me want to grab an 8 track tape and try to push it through the display window. That was my first visual impression. Second take was really impressive feature set! Wow. Yes, RESPECT on the honest specs.💜
How did you know I’ve been looking at THESE TWO for like the last couple of months!!!! This review was an early Christmas present!!!! Thank you brother!!!!!
F*ck yes! Years back, a number of people were singing the praises of the MKI version of this amp. OHM even used it in audio shows to drive their speakers. Fast forward through the years, the MKII comes out and . . . crickets! I was beginning to wonder if affordable audio had caught up with Outlaw, and what was once outstanding was now merely Meh. So, kudos to you, my man, for not only reviewing this piece but situating it in today's market.
Interesting piece of gear. Outlaw Audio is another one of those companies that I’d forgotten about. Nice to see that they still offer great bang for the buck
Nice to see a pre-out to input bridge. You can use it as a pure power amp if you want, but more importantly you could if you wanted to take the pre-out, run it through an external DSP and then pipe the result back into the amp. For instance if you wanted to run really tiny satellites that need 120 hz cutoff to subs you could use those to run a MiniDSP.
Outstanding as always Nemo. I see people suggesting reviewers to check this amp out all over RU-vid and now I know why. I have separates currently but if I ever need an integrated amp this just made my very short list. Thank you for pointing out both the power rating measurements and shaming those manufacturers who do not measure as correctly/accurately as Outlaw does. Thank you and keep up the great work. You rock sir....
I'd like to hear a YT review of the Van Alstine CA-1/NP-1. The Outlaw RR2160 and its predecessors have been highly regarded over the years especially in its price category.
My living room system is composed of a NAD M10v2, Maxed out U-Turn Orbit, Sony Blu-ray Disc player and an X-Box. Speakers were original LS-50s with SVS Micro 3000 sub. TV and the Sony are fed to TCL which in turn is fed HDMI to the M10. Loved this system but the speakers just weren't filling the room so got a pair of Wharfdale Lintons and the sound went to 9! But still it wasn't full enough so I dug my seven year old RR2160 out of the attic and used it as power with the M10 as preamp. NOW the room was filled with sound. Since the NAD digitizes the turntable I decided to take it straight to the Outlaw for all analog and OMG there THE sound I needed went to 11. I still love everything about the M10 from streaming Tidal, the HDMI in, ROON and Bluos, the display and size. Yes, I love everything about it except...it's sound. Thanks again Outlaw!!!
yeah, some of these newer class d amps don't have the synergy of the older designs and may need more care with pairing. You can get the M10 to sound good but its gotta be setup right with gear that compiments it well where the more old school a/b designs seem to be a little more flexible.
Thanks for the review - IMO, well done! This Outlaw "certainly" seems to provide great bang for the buck. I look forward to your upcoming review comparison with other lower/similar-priced amps, which "most" of us can afford/ want to spend/ or really need.
Sounds like Outlaw Radio is offering some good equipment that's affordable putting the industry on notice. It's important to have the numbers because "Hi-Fidelity" is in the numbers.
I can vouch for the stoutness of Outlaw amplification. I owned their 1st home theater receiver back in their early years. I was skeptical of the power rating of 60w/channel x 3 channels driven, but only until I played the first movie. It crushed my previous AVR that was rated at 110 watts across the front 3 channels.
nice looking receiver and i love the company......... please do more with this company if possible.........i am into separates but love the looks of this peace..........great review as always.............
they don't really have anythign else up my alley, I don't review power amps and I'm trying to get away from speakers under $2500 for the rest of the year.
@@NemoPropaganda you are talking my language as i have a speaker addiction.....congrats on 20 k but your channel will blow up after summer as more people will not be on there boats and watching the best channel on the interwebs...i am sure less people watch during the summer .......... with that said you are king of the internet for this hobby....
@@joanfrederick9176 awe thank you for the kind words!! Yeah every hobby has a little addiction to it, a few of my friends got into golf recently, one of them has been playing literally every day and in 2 weeks of the hobby has already upgraded his golf clubs lol.
Appears to be a budget version of the Parasound Halo Hint 6, plus the wifi stuff. Definitely a great step up for people to get into some great features. Can you start mentioning damping factor on amplifiers? Or at least what your opinions are on the topic. Thanks!
I think it's best for me to stick with what I know, I don't understand enough about damping factor or how its measured to talk about it, same reason I don't talk about the internal bits of amplifiers or circuit designs.
love this amp-receiver. great design, great full features, especially that high pass. excellent meld of old-school and new... Great job reviewing this overlooked receiver; it is perfect for so many people.
Thank you so much for this well deserved review , I had the 2160 for a couple of years now and I'm very happy with it's performance I also own a Rotel 1572 mkii and I prefer the sound quality of the Outlaw the upper frequencies seem to be better but in the bass department the rotel clearly as it over the Outlaw , but my taste leans more towards the Outlaw , It's about time this Amp finally got some love ... Nemo YOU ROCK
Interesting, I was considering the Rotel 1592 MkII for a future purchase to replace my Outlaw but would really like to hear it first. Are you saying that on the Rotel the high end may not sound as bright or detailed as the Outlaw? I'm looking for airiness witch the Outlaw is good at but seems a little under powered.
The Rotel 1572 mkii is a fine performer but to me and my wife's ears the Outlaw as a more atmospheric top end but the Rotel has Balls it has more control of my speakers aka Bass response. But have a listen for yourself there is some music I prefer played with the Rotel , happy listening 🎶
BTW the Rotel as a blacker background and more body to the sound not saying that the Outlaw is better , the Rotel Is a better Amp but the Outlaw is not totally embarrassed.
Yes!!! Finally I get to see a review on this piece. I owned both versions of the unit. I think the only difference is the streaming feature, and wireless capabilities. The streaming uses the same software as the WiiM amps which is 4 stream, Outlaw calls their app the outlaw app, WiiM calls theirs the WiiM app and Arylic just use 4stream. It’s all the same. In fact, you can see any of those devices in any of the apps. One of my favorite things about RR 2160 is the ability to add my minidsp flex to either the preamp/main in jacks or the processor loop which would allow me to add Dirac if I wanted to go that route. I using it with a pair of KEF R3 Metas.
wait, the RR2160 MK2 has a built in streamer? Like you're telling me I could have used the app, logged into my tidal and played lossless directly from the RR2160 without using an external streamer?
@@Feliciano12v how the hell did I miss that, that's a huge benifit!!! Now I need to plug it back in and check that out lol, I'll make sure I mention that feature in a future video where I compare the RR2160 MK2, IovaVS SA40, & Emotiva TA2 in a 3-way comparison.
@@NemoPropaganda I was actually surprised you didn't go more in-depth when you said Internet radio. As an owner of the unit, I understood what that meant.
I’ve had my original version of the 2160 for around 4 years, or so now. I mostly play music files from my computer the the USB input, but also use an Outlaw Bluetooth receiver, a 1979 JVC turntable through it’s phono stage, and an Onkyo CD player. It produces great sound from all of them. I also appreciate the decent built-in headphone amp. It’s a great unit for the money.
Great review ! You got right into what many other reviewers don't, and thats regarding power ratings the way you just did. Either the others think we don't care, they don't care or maybe they aren't comfortable pointing it out. I just had this convo with Jiles McCoy on his review of the Onkyo RZ 70 the other day. They don't list full frequency band power specs and he checked. As you say... I digress lol. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Outlaw and ATC still collaborate on amplifier design and construction. Btw ATC amps are no Joke ! Maybe you can get one in Nemo. ✊🏼
In my opinion he's not a reviewer, he's a promoter. I'm not saying I hate the guy but if he invited me out for a beer I'd decline, if I was in a group of guys and we walked up I would not want to be seen with him or associated with him.
I’m glad to see someone reviewing this unit. Thank you! I own one of these. Was my first real amplifier as I got back into audio. I believe it is a great value, a good performer and with a nice pair of speakers, really all many people might need to have a very nice system.
I love the vintage look this amplifier has. If I'm not wrong I think it's one of Stereophile's recommended components. I go back to the golden age of stereo. My former roommate had a system made up of Marantz Tubed equipment back in 1965. I wish I had gotten into the audiophile hobby sooner. I didn't really get serious until about 8 years ago. Advice to those who get the audiophile bug. Don't do what I did and buy willy nilly. Be patient and spend your money wisely. Set your sights on equipment you will live with for many years.
I just bought a used RR 2150 for $350. Cant wait to receive it.Currently using a Realistic 2100d at 120wpc and .05 THD. I am hoping for an improvement although I love this receiver.
I own a RR2150 and RR2160 MK1 and love love love them (especially considering I picked both up for $250 total at an estate sale 😋, these pop up on FB marketplace occassionally, check it out) but what wasn't mentioned in this review was the phono pre-amp on these things, they are excellent. Also, the remote is metal and heavy, backlit, excellent quality. That said, it is big and the volume buttons are very small for some odd reason. Anyways, the RR2160 has effortless bass and I've pushed it at 100db+ levels for 6+ hours for house parties with some ML Motion 40s and it never broke a sweat. These drive my other ML Motion 60Xti's to perfection, especially with bass heavy music. I use a Marantz 5015 for home theater and thats a little airier and sparklier in the treble but not as tight or powerful down low. Highly recommend any Outlaw product.
Looks like an awesome amp. I like the looks. The price is about the same as all my seperates (BasX a2, V3 Mono's, etc). I do like bi-amping my speakers though so I can dial in my bass to my mids and highs.
Definitely looking forward to a 3 way comparison! I’ve been eyeing the ta2 for a while. Currently running a fosi V3 and a smsl SU1. I’d love a bit more power and the bass management features.
I’m sure it’s a great amp. What I have the rarely reviewed is the Vincent SV 500. It has bass,treble, balance controls. It has 50 W with the first 12 in class I believe. A tube preamp section a very nice dac. Extremely clean power making the 50 watch feel stronger than many 100 W amplifiers that I’ve experienced. I never thought of 50 W and integrated amp would be my endgame but I believe this will and I got this for $1200. I believe the list is 1299 truly an excellent integrated amp, I would love to see it reviewed
Hello, thank you for your work. Interesting product. It would be interesting in comparing this product to the new Onkyo TX-8470 ( 800 dollars) and roksan k3 v2 , this last is sometimes proposed atv1000 dollars
My journey into Hifi started with an SMSL SA300. Then upgraded to this 2160MKII. I enjoy it very much. Added a WiiM pro for improved user experience and Ares II for more flavor. Great all around amp especially the phono with my mofi studiodeck.
I've owned this receiver for two years for playing music only. I listen mostly to jazz, classical, and light rock on occasion. For speakers I have Magnepan LRS+, Rel T/Zero subwoofer, Cambridge Audio Azure 851N (for playing FLAC files from SSD), and Rotel CD11 Tribute. Good amp overall but it seems a bit under-powered with 4 ohm loads. I was also using a pair of Emotiva T2+ before I purchased the LRS and I had to turn the volume up to around 75% to get about 86db sound levels even though the Emotiva are a bit more efficient. The unit gets quite hot as well. I don't particularly care for the volume display, it seems backwards and negative db as you turn the volume up. I keep the dial at around -30db for a decent listening level which is not very loud. I have a 35 year old Carver receiver with less wattage that kicks this receiver all over the place as far as power is concerned, but does not have the modern features. The unit sounds good overall with a nice clear sound. Some folks don't like the looks but I think it's a very nice looking unit and very heavy and solidly built. Absolutely no background noise. I'll continue to use it and eventually sell it for an upgrade, possibly a Rotel 1792 MkII.
@@Feliciano12v It's about 14 feet with a slight tow in. But that's not the issue at all other wise I'd have the same problem with other amps with this speaker setup and I don't. This receiver also has an app that you can use in place of a remote to control volume, input, source, presets for internet radio, etc. When you check the volume with the app. It's about 75% up. Never had to do that with my Carver; a 3rd of the way up and it's blasting, or a cheap Fosi class D amp I have for kicks. Now, the Outlaw sounds better and more airy but just seems under powered. Cd's that were recorded with a low volume level really suffer.
You mentioned old Carver! I would love to have a Carver. Saw one used 300.00 at my local vintage repair used shop. The Receiver as it’s called. Also used Adcom gear. Moral of the story not everyone can afford this new stuff in this economy.
Warranty compario: Outlaw - 2yr, IOTAVX - 2yr, EmotivaTA2 - 3yr. I remember a while back Arcam had 5 year warranties on their amps, but not sure anymore (or if those were good amps).
I had an older model maybe five years ago. Good features but it had a distinct sound character that I didnt like. I talked to someone at Outlaw and I got the attitude boy telling me thats the way things are supposed to sound implying that I didnt know anything after forty years of being an audiophile. I sent it back. It sounds like they improved it. Good for them. Nice unit for he money. Now if they have fired "Mr. Knowitall" everything is right with the world. Maybe you want to give their subwoofers a spin. Cheap enough.
I couldn't speak on the previous version since i havn't heard it but it seems like Outlaw is a company that's more focused on neutrality & clean output, that's the best way I can describe the RR2160 MK2. Neutrality certainly can be boring for some, especially if it's paired up with equally neutral associated equipment but ultimately I think your taste is just a little more expensive than what a $1k SS amp can offer. You're been driving a lexus for too long, a toyota camry no matter how well optioned out won't impress ya!
@@NemoPropaganda i think i remember steve guttenberg posting that outlaw was founded by ex-nad people. nad was known for being "effortless" at handling transient peaks. i have the nad c316bee in my apartment and that has been my experience, too.
@@NemoPropaganda This was back when I hadn't lost my mind and was just getting back into high end. I was trying to get in at a reasonable level but that went away pretty quickly $$$$$$$$ ago.. I think the old model was the 100.
We need more integrated amps with HPF. Very overlooked but important feature. Maybe even an HDMI (most basic AVRs have it so it shouldn't be too much of a cost)
the good news is HDMI arc adapters are very inexpensive now and easy to add to any amp, like $20 ish or less, see here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LsOR37pF0FI.htmlsi=Wp6ddN7SXbNIdquK
@@NemoPropaganda Its been in "last call" status for few months now and Schiit has a history of discontinuing things before the replacement is ready so who knows.
not really, the H190 I reivewed was a little smoother in the top end and warmer in the mids. Also the Hegel is more of a purist amp while the RR2160MK2 is a full featured amp.
@@NemoPropagandaagree about the Hegel sound but they sell their amps as all in one integrated. Think what the OP was getting at is the sound is flat or mostly neutral. IE.. boring to many. lol. Wanted to love Hegel but they sound dull and not musical to me without the right speakers
@@Pok-001 I know what he meant, what I'm saying is tonally they are not similar at all, they don't sound the same. The outlaw sound is not boring, it's clean & clear output overall. An affordable amp that sounds more like a Hegel H190 would be the new IotaVX SA40, and I mean that as a compliment.
They seem to do both specs which is better than most, their NC502MP 2-Channel is listed as having 500w at 4ohm but if you look at the next box over its true wideband spec is listed as THD: 0.0018% (250W, 4Ω, 10Hz-20kHz), I appreciate that its included. I wish more companies did this. Here we can see wideband power can be a significant difference, kudos to them for being transparent.
Hi, can you please explain to me how I can use Eversolo as a UPnP, if my server is a laptop, not a NAS? now I would also like to use Eversolo SSD as a library. I hope that despite my weak English you understand the question?
Hi 👋 Good morning, Where it’s made, Is it 220 volt, do they have Black, gray color, Speaker out A& B is mentioned, can we connect front & Rear at same time for listening for speakers together. Does it have blue tooth?? Thanks for your good review. Wait for your reply. I am in Middle East. 220? is our voltage.
Hi bro, this one is 115v only but check out the IotaVX SA40, it is very similar and is 115v/230v. I have not reviewed the SA40 yet but will in 2 weeks!! It also has a & b sets, yes you can use them at the same time, it also has BT and HDMI ARC!
Dear lord I genuinely grow tired of these pedantic comments. I’m shocked that you don’t know this but language allows for a wide variation of words to be used for the same thing. I’ll give you some examples here: A car can be referred to as a sedan, an automobile or a car for the most part they all mean the same thing sure sedan means four doors but everyone knows what you mean when you say sedan car or automobile. This product has a preamp and a power amp housed in a single chassis and that makes it an integrated amplifier. It certainly has other features like a tuner so one may call it a receiver and that would also be correct. It also has a streamer built-in so one could call it a streaming amplifier, and that would also be correct. it also has many features so One may simply choose to call it a full featured integrated amp, and that would also be correct. Thank you for coming to my ted talk, next time. please focus on the product and don’t worry so much about the way I talk.
