Outlaw Audio M2200 Monoblock amps: First Impression

I recent decided that I wanted to give my RAAL towers a bit more power than my integrated could provide.

My budget was in the $500-700 range. I considered going vintage/used but didn’t want to get burned, so it had to be new. I wanted power specs that fit comfortably within the tower’s power handing ratings, and I wanted an improvement I could hear.

After a lot of research, I decided on the Outlaw Audio M2000 monoblock amp.

Most of the reviews and comments I found online were about their performance in a home theater setup...running a center channel or whatever. Very few I found dealt with how they sounded as the primary amplification for a 2 channel stereo setup. I found this odd because monoblock amps are generally popular with audiophiles. They tend to have low noise and high output.

So, I bit the bullet during Black Friday. I bought 2 amps (one for left, one for right) and the cost with shipping was $598. The normal 2 amp price is $720

The units themselves are interesting....they are technically class G amps. They are class AB for the first 80 watts then shift to a higher rail for up to 200 W of power into 8 ohms, 300 W into 4 ohms with .05% THD. The amps themselves are very slim at 1.75” high and can be safely stacked. They’re heavy little suckers at 18lbs. thanks to a giant pancake style toroidal transformer. They feel like a tank. They have both balanced and single ended inputs, as well as a 12v remote trigger. They are fanless but known to run cool and one part I especially liked, they carry a 5 year warranty.

So...how do they sound?

I’m not going to lie...when i first hooked them up, they sounded....congested. The highs were a bit harsh and strident and the lows came off kind of constricted and flat. My first impression was...okay, so they can play louder than my integrated, but are they actually better? I didn’t think so. It was disappointed.

Luckily, I didn’t just pack them up. I just let them play. Within the first 2-3 hours, I could hear noticeable changes happening. The highs lost that rough edge and the low end started to relax and round out. It started sounding good. After more hours, it started sounding really good. I’ve had them for several weeks now and my feeling is that they’re still not fully broken in yet. They continue to improve and I am very pleased with what I’m hearing.

The lows are more impactful and energetic and the speakers seem to “breathe” better...sounding more effortless and assured. My hunch is that both my RAAL towers and my the new amps are continuing to open up as a get more hours on them.

If you’re in the market for an amp, you might want to consider the M2200. In my opinion, it’s largely overlooked and vastly underrated


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Nice write up on the M2200. I also have RAAL towers and have been going back and forth between two of these or the Emotiva A-300. Was the Emotiva a contender for you when you made your decision? What factors pushed you over the edge to go with the Outlaws?

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Originally Posted by BaconDad

Nice write up on the M2200. I also have RAAL towers and have been going back and forth between two of these or the Emotiva A-300. Was the Emotiva a contender for you when you made your decision? What factors pushed you over the edge to go with the Outlaws?

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Yes, I absolutely considered the A-300. In the end, there were a couple of factors in favor of the outlaws.

The first was that the outlaws are fan-less. Some A-300 owners had complained on various forums that they could hear the internal fan kick on occasionally. That idea didn’t thrill me.

The second factor was the isolation benefits you get from a monoblock design. You have separate enclosures, separate power supplies. no chance of channel crosstalk.

Lastly, the outlaws have an extra 50WPC/8ohms, a 5 year warranty (vs. 3 years for emotiva) and have both balanced and unbalanced inputs so if I ever upgrade to a balanced preamp, my amps will be ready.

I don’t regret my purchase. The amps are solidly built and for the money, I am happy with their sound.

did you hear any hissing or noise?

Thanks for the info...very helpful!

Thanks for sharing. I recently bought three of these amps on sale for LCR, and I have three 2EXs on the way shortly. I've not read one negative thing about these amps so I have no reason to spend triple the money on something like Parasound. It might be overkill, but I'm always concerned that receivers just aren't enough. I'm looking forward to comparing them vs the receiver alone.

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Originally Posted by Spamilton

Thanks for sharing. I recently bought three of these amps on sale for LCR, and I have three 2EXs on the way shortly. I've not read one negative thing about these amps so I have no reason to spend triple the money on something like Parasound. It might be overkill, but I'm always concerned that receivers just aren't enough. I'm looking forward to comparing them vs the receiver alone.

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The one thing I will mention is that at fist, at least on my system, they sounded kind of congested. After several hours, i could hear the bass get lower and the mids relax. The high end which was a bit coarse also smoothed out. i’ll be interested to hear how your experience with them goes.

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Originally Posted by drandall

The one thing I will mention is that at fist, at least on my system, they sounded kind of congested. After several hours, i could hear the bass get lower and the mids relax. The high end which was a bit coarse also smoothed out. i’ll be interested to hear how your experience with them goes.

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So I just got my setup finalized. I have Sierra 2EX x3 for LCR, SVS PB-3000 x2, Yamaha RX-A880, Outlaw M2200 x3. The Sierras are replacing KEF LS50s. Prior to that I had Klipsch RP towers and center. The Klipsch are a great value speaker, but I couldn't take the harsh highs anymore. I wanted something more musically pleasing that could still do well with movies. As for the KEFs, they were on sale and I wanted to try out the hype. They were definitely detailed in the high end but fatiguing. I think I'm done with horns and metal domes.

I have a pair of Emotiva Stealth 8s through a Benchmark DAC in my PC/listening room, and I wanted to get as close to that experience as possible for my living room setup. The Sierras remind me a lot of the Emotivas, but they sound even lighter/sweeter on the high end. I'm guessing because of the smaller/different ribbon construction. I can't comment on how they would sound with a different amp/DAC, but I know that I am very satisfied and probably at my end-game. Music is beautiful and movies are very clear. No more straining to hear dialogue.

FYI, I found a crossover of 120hz to work best in my room. It may be blasphemous to some, but my room is pretty open and the bass from the Sierras doesn't fill the room like the subs can. I actually feel like I'm disrespecting these speakers using them with a large open kitchen behind me, but I'm just working with what I have. I've thought about putting a heavy curtain divider behind the couch, but that's not really practical for my current living situation.

I'm rambling now so cheers!

Thank you for the review.

I auditioned both the Emotiva A-300 and the Outlaw 2200s.

I liked the A-300, but ended up returning it and keeping the Outlaws.

Thanks for the review on the Outlaw amps. Per my other thread, I ordered a pair of the Sierra 2EX for my left and right channels and the Horizon for my center. I also ordered three of the Outlaw monoblocks to power these three up front and allow my Denon x4500 power the atmos, four other surrounds, and two HSU 12” subs. The amps may be overkill but I figured I would give them a shot with the Ascends and the others that I’m comparing them against (e.g., the JBL HDI 1600).