First Look: AV Receivers

Price: $899
Channels/Power: 7x65W
Decoding: DD, DD EX, ProLogic IIx, Dolby Headphone, DTS, DTS-ES Discrete/Matrix/Neo:6/DTS 24/96
Ins and Outs: Four coax and four toslink digital audio, one 7.1-channel analog input, two DVI, three component video, RS-232, one 12V trigger
Highlights: 24/192 D-A conversion, transcoding of composite and S-Video to component video, A/V sync delay, multi-source/multi-zone, backlit universal remote

This company offers so much value for the money that it's apparently against the law. At the budget price of $899 Outlaw Audio's Model 1070 AVR offers seven channels of high-current 65-watt power, all the processing accoutrements Dolby and DTS currently offer, and even DVI switching that's backward compatible with HDMI video. In addition there's 24/92 A-D and D-A conversion, component switching, a backlit programmable remote, and lots of other stuff that usually costs a lot more to get in AVR. Outlaws indeed. Available now.