Thread: Outlaw Audio Model 7125 Seven Channel Amplifier Reviewed

Retailing for $999, the Model 7125 is a 125-Watt, seven channel amplifier aimed at the home theater enthusiast with either a budget-oriented AV preamp or an AV receiver with pre-amp outputs. The Model 7125 can easily be integrated into either of the before mentioned systems and in the case of AV receivers, give your system more power. The Model 7125 is a good looking piece in the same way a simple black suit or dress will never go out of style. While housing seven channels of amplification, the Model 7125 still manages to be compact and manageable in terms of its overall size and weight; measuring just under six inches tall by 17 inches wide and 16 inches deep and tipping the scales at a hefty 51 pounds. In terms of connectivity, the Model 7125 offers up seven unbalanced RCA style inputs as well as seven five-way binding posts that can accept all types of speaker terminations from bare wire to spade lugs. The Model 7125 comes with a hardwired power cord as standard as well as a single 12-volt trigger.

Under the hood the Model 7125 boasts a new custom designed 1.6 kVA torrodial transformer as well as six discrete output devices per channel. As I said earlier, the Model 7125 churns out a solid 125-Watts into eight Ohms and power increases to 190-Watts into four Ohms. These figures are real world with all channels driven full-range with total harmonic distortion coming in at less than .05 percent.

http://hometheaterreview.com/outlaw-...fier-reviewed/

Great amps for the money, way better than Emo...IMHO....however it is lacking balanced XLR's...which is a must for me.

what is XLR?

Originally Posted by Hi Resolution

Great amps for the money, way better than Emo...IMHO....however it is lacking balanced XLR's...which is a must for me.

Another method of connection between the avr/preamp and the amp. If they are balanced on both ends, it's the best way to pass the signal from my reading.


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Yeah when wiring between a pre amp or processor to an amp you will most likely have different voltages between the two chassis. Long story short is when you use a single ended connector (RCA) the ground noise will follow the rca cable between the two chassis's resulting in possible added noise and distortion. When using balanced connections a separate shield or ground conductor will be used to connect the two chassis together thus reducing the voltage difference between the two components.

There are some misconceptions about XLR connections. They DO NOT sound any better than RCA. They are designed for pro use when long runs are required and when connections are going to be near power supplies. The truth is, if your home does not fall into that category then they are absolutely not needed and there is no sonic benefit to using them.

All pro amps have them and have had them for years. When some audiofool says "hey look I have balanced connections on my amp and pre-amp" the pro guy says "Yeah so what? I have used them for years on gear that cost a third of what your so-called high-end stuff costs"

They are needed for stage use because of distance, environment, and noise from power lines. In home where distance and power lines are of no concern then there is no benefit. If you were running some lengths in excess of 15-20ft or more then there might be some benefit. Quieter, less chance of ground hum etc.

Bottome line is don't be fooled into the mystique of balanced XLR connections. A Krell or Emotiva or whatever will sound exactly the same with a 6ft run of either XLR or RCA.

Originally Posted by Hi Resolution

Great amps for the money, way better than Emo...IMHO....however it is lacking balanced XLR's...which is a must for me.

I don't doubt they are quality stuff at all and they are built in the USA which is a plus for me. However, way better than Emotiva? That has never been tested or proved by any reputable audio reviewer. Just saying it sounds better on this or that when nothing was the same for either review is sloppy at best and downright disingenuous at worst. Real bench tests and side by side comparisons on the same setup would have to be done to draw that kind of conclusion. Just saying

To be honest; I think the Emotiva XPA-5 kicks that 7125's ass and for less money too. Of course it would have to be tested.

Originally Posted by audioholicjeff

I don't doubt they are quality stuff at all and they are built in the USA which is a plus for me. However, way better than Emotiva? That has never been tested or proved by any reputable audio reviewer. Just saying it sounds better on this or that when nothing was the same for either review is sloppy at best and downright disingenuous at worst. Real bench tests and side by side comparisons on the same setup would have to be

To be honest; I think the Emotiva XPA-5 kicks that 7125's ass and for less money too. Of course it would have to be tested.

I said in my opinion the Outlaws sound better, and balanced XLR's have been proven to sound better even in short runs...the more connections and wires behind your rack the more interference is possible.
It is also no secret I don't like "made in China"

A closer look:



EMO upa-7
125watts X 7 @ .1% THD
850 VA power supply
90,000 cap supply
damping- unknown
4 outputs per channel

Outlaw 7125
125 watts X 7 @ .05% THD (Bench tests have shown this amp to deliver 140+ watts per channel without clipping)
1.6 KVA power supply
140,000 cap supply
damping- 400
6 outputs per channel

Originally Posted by Hi Resolution

A closer look:



EMO upa-7
125watts X 7 @ .1% THD
850 VA power supply
90,000 cap supply
damping- unknown
4 outputs per channel

Outlaw 7125
125 watts X 7 @ .05% THD (Bench tests have shown this amp to deliver 140+ watts per channel without clipping)
1.6 KVA power supply
140,000 cap supply
damping- 400
6 outputs per channel

It looks like quality stuff for sure and the price aint bad. For my 999 though I would rather have the XPA-5 is what I am saying. The 7125 is no doubt a more solid amp than the UPA-7 ( not available anymore though) but for 799 I think the XPA-5 is a better deal and more amp. It will be interesting to see what Emotiva replaces the UPA-7 with if they do.

Originally Posted by Hi Resolution

I said in my opinion the Outlaws sound better, and balanced XLR's have been proven to sound better even in short runs...the more connections and wires behind your rack the more interference is possible.
It is also no secret I don't like "made in China"

Well I have not heard an Outlaw amp yet so I can't give an opinion on how they sound. I have never read such an article or ever seen any bench testing to prove there is any sonic benefits of XLR over RCA other than less interference and noise. If one manages cables correctly then interference is rarely an issue with RCA and short runs. Of course if it makes you feel better then by all means do it If I had all balanced outs and ins I would use them just because, but they are not some sort of magical connection that will suddenly make your equipment sound better is all my point was. All things being equal you won't gain better sound but you certainly will have less chance of hum, noise etc., and XLR's are certainly a more robust connection. I hate trying to pull off some RCA cables. I have broken a few at times trying to pull the darn things off.

I too try and purchase made in USA when I can and I am not trying to argue with you. Just talking audio junk

Here are some guys talking about XLR vs RCA. Couple of these guys have it correct. http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=5309

I don't have much experience using XLR connections so I can't comment as to whether or not they are better than RCA. I simply was stating the reasoning behind their use. However I can't help but wonder if the use of them even in "our" setups would be helpful with ground loop issues????

Originally Posted by caliberconst.

I don't have much experience using XLR connections so I can't comment as to whether or not they are better than RCA. I simply was stating the reasoning behind their use. However I can't help but wonder if the use of them even in "our" setups would be helpful with ground loop issues????

That is one very good thing about them. Not nearly as susceptible to that as RCA which why they are used so much in pro sound.

I did some looking, that Model 7500 looks like the real deal man.

"Power output: 200 watts RMS x 5 (all channels driven simultaneously into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than 0.03% total harmonic distortion). 300 watts RMS x 5 @ 4 ohms"

Yeah, its $1500, but still a great price when you look at what some of the high end stuff sells for. So is Outlaw made in the USA? I see they have no factory, and spec the stuff out for build.


Their dang bookshelf speakers must be serious at $1000 a pair.

ATI builds them, they also own Theta. In fact, ATI uses many of the same components as Krell and other super high end amp companies. Outlaw is the real deal.

ATI started as SAE, Remember them.Also companies that ATI makes amps for including Onkyo, Integra, JBL, Creston and others. Most are designed by ATI to customer specs, but not all.

Yepp, seems a reviewer years ago likened the inside of one to a Lexicon, and ATI is well respected in the amp industry by everything Ive read. "American Muscle" Ive added them to my notes for the upcoming PJ room.


I wonder who builds their speakers.

Great review of the 7500.

I connected the Outlaw 7500 to an Anthem Statement D2 pre/pro using balanced cables with XLR connectors. As I mentioned earlier, balanced connections reduce interference from extraneous electromagnetic fields and improve signal-to-noise ratio, so I use them whenever possible.

For source and complete story..Click here

Yepp, the 7500 is the one on my list.

With five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads, the AVR reached 0.1% distortion at 260.1 watts and 1% distortion at 301.1 watts. The manufacturer’s stated distortion of 0.03% was reached at 238.7 watts, which is actually higher than the spec'd 200Wpc at that distortion level with all channels driven.