Outlaw 990 vs B & K Reference 50

I had a Parsound Halo C2 and switched over to the Outlaw 990. All in all I think its a very nice piece and even comes close to how the Halo sounded. BTW, the Halo was almost 4x the price of the Outlaw. The Outlaw has two benefits that I see over the B&K:

1. it has 7.1 analog inputs; keeps you about as future-proof as you can be right now with new formats
2. it does very clean DVI switching; I know some people harp on it not being HDMI, but I prefer the DVI connections for construction quality.

I in fact considered getting a Ref50 when I got the 990, but the lack of any chance to support a new audio format (it only has 5.1 analog ins) took it out of running for me.

With all of this said, I'm moving out of my 990 for some other reasons. Has nothing to do with its performance or my satisfaction. Let me know if you're interested as I'm going to sell it soon.

I think the easiest and most effective way for you to decide is to audition. Advice from Goners and tech papers are great but nothing beats a good test drive. Of course, if budget is the underlying issue here, then go with what works for your budget.

Have you considered a used Ref50? That may be more around the area you're working with.

Personally, I like the B&K myself. Didn't care for the Outlaw setup I heard at a local shop (990 w/Krell bookshelfs). I think the B&K just has a better performance for HT applications (Ref 50 w/active Blue Sky Pro's). Thats just my personally preference; take it for what its worth.

Check for a used Ref50 before you make the purchase of the 990, IMO.

Happy Listening