TEST REPORT
The Anti-AVR By Mark Fleischmann
Outlaw RR2160 Stereo Receiver PRICE $799 ONE MIGHT ARGUE THAT NO single product category has brought vastly improved sound to so many, so fast, as the now-retro stereo receiver. Models poured in during the (mostly) Japanese mass-market audio explosion of the 1970s, when Classic Rock was just rock. My first receiver was a 15-watt-per-channel Pioneer SX-434, but it just as easily could have been a Marantz, Sansui, Kenwood, Luxman, or any of several other storied brands. Today, top-line stereo receivers from the ’70s—their shiny silver faceplates bristling with knobs, buttons, and toggles—command eyebrow-raising prices on eBay and are lovingly restored by vintage hi-fi buffs. Outlaw Audio speaks with an American accent and belongs more to our own era, selling direct to the consumer over the internet—thus potentially offering better build quality and value by eliminating the brickand-mortar markup. But while history may not repeat itself, sometimes it rhymes, and the impecunious music lover seeking a good stereo amplifier has a lot in common with his counterpart back in the heart of the original vinyl era. The main difference is that today’s music lover may also want to plug in a laptop or groove to internet radio. The Outlaw RR2160 makes that possible, too.
AT A GLANCE
Plus ■ 110 watts x 2 ■ PC-USB and phono inputs ■ Bass, treble, balance controls
Minus ■ No HDMI or other video switching ■ Ethernet but no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
(one of them THX certified) and numerous small products and accessories. The RR2160’s predecessor was the very successful RR2150, the senior member of
Take Two
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The RR2160 is Outlaw’s secondgeneration stereo receiver. Other Outlaw products include sevenchannel, five-channel, and monoblock amps. The company’s surround pre/pro is five years old, but the Outlaw retail site carries a more up-to-date Marantz for one-stop separates shopping. Also under the Outlaw umbrella are two subwoofers
WIth the RR2160, Outlaw doesn't shy away from front-panel controls.
54 NOVEMBER 2017 soundandvision.com
Outlaw’s line at the time of its retirement. But the new receiver differs from it in several ways, large and small. The aluminum front panel is thicker. Front-panel controls have been updated from analog potentiometers (which oxidize and grow noisy over time) to digital rotary encoders (much like the volume knob on an AVR). Most features are now remote accessible. Digital coaxial and optical audio inputs have been added, along with a second monophonic subwoofer output, USB charging, and 12-volt triggers. An Ethernet jack allows DLNA and internet radio access; digital over-the-air HD Radio has been added to the AM/FM tuner. We needn’t dwell on the fact that, because this isn’t an A/V receiver, it
doesn’t have a standard AVR feature set. It has two channels of amplification, with no video switching, surround processing, auto setup, room correction, etc. It’s rated at 110 watts x 2 into 8 ohms (that’s up from 100 in the previous model) and 165 watts into 4 ohms. This should be sufficient to run speakers that are slightly less sensitive than average, with power to spare in many rooms. The receiver comes safely packed in a dual carton with seemingly indestructible foam. Evoking the silver-faceplate aesthetic of the ’70s—with an unorthodox dash of Art Deco—it wears its knobs and buttons proudly. Front-panel occupants include defeatable treble, bass, and balance controls, a three-setting bass boost called Speaker EQ, a variable headphone output, and a few others. The treble control operates at 10 kilohertz ±10 decibels, the bass control at 50 hertz ±10 dB, and the Speaker EQ provides a 6-dB boost at