drandall
12-18-2019, 08:30 AM
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
1827
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
1827