Outlaw 2220 Review (Monoblock Amplifier)

[IEales]

Manual says 122dB - A weighted. I can hear ZERO on the 84dB woofers driven by the M2220s. Room is ≈37dB ambient.

 

[iraweiss]

I checked the manual and didn’t see this! I do not know how I missed it. Thanks very much!

-Ed

Glad to help

 

[Miser_Audioman]

I haven’t made my mind up yet whether or not I’d get a pair. Frankly my system just sounds so good right now, I may not bother. It seems silly but I guess my main desire is to have something with 12V triggers, which V3 Monos do not, and I’m not the biggest fan of the audio-sense auto-on/-off. Too bad ZA3 doesn’t have defeatable volume circuit, or PFFB.

-Ed

I’m with you on that, I’m having trouble believing I’d get much of a practical upgrade in sound from the v3s. They are small which is nice because I use an old 1960s hi fi as an audio stand. Real monoblocks like the Outlaws would need to go on the floor. So i’ve been focusing on wall treatments, and I traded out the old avr for a real preamp (Freya S). With treatments, Im happy to drop any bass management, not needed…. I gave up on any sane on/ off setup, the furman i put in gave off way too much Em interference…

 

[Deleted member 72219]

I’m with you on that, I’m having trouble believing I’d get much of a practical upgrade in sound from the v3s. They are small which is nice because I use an old 1960s hi fi as an audio stand. Real monoblocks like the Outlaws would need to go on the floor. So i’ve been focusing on wall treatments, and I traded out the old avr for a real preamp (Freya S). With treatments, Im happy to drop any bass management, not needed…. I gave up on any sane on/ off setup, the furman i put in gave off way too much Em interference…

My main issue up until now was the +20dB gain on the V3 Monos’ XLR input wasn’t quite enough as my room correction (DSpeaker Anti-Mode X2D) eats up quite a bit of gain once I have it set the way I like, and the +28dB of the Model 2220 would be great to have, but I finally used my brain this morning and simply switched over to RCA input on the V3 Monos and it’s now loud enough. I just need to re-run my room correction calibration and re-level-match my subwoofer, especially since I discovered this morning that I’ve been using the wrong phase setting on my SVS SB-3000 (I’m crossing over at 80Hz, I played an 80Hz tone and messed with the Phase setting and I had it at 0°, but it turns out that I should have set it to 90°, so now I need to rerun room calibration with Phase at 90°).

But yeah…RCA input in V3 Monos gives me the missing gain. I will deal with the auto-on/-off, it is what it is.

-Ed

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Hmm, I'm thinking about one of these but it will have to be inside my equipment console and I won't be able to reach in there to turn it on. Would it hurt anything to just leave it on all the time? If it only draws a small amount of amps while "idle", then I guess I'd be okay with that. I don't know if my Denon AVR X-4700 AVR has any sort of trigger feature.

I leave my two units on all the time. Although, mine are situated in an open, well ventilated space, so heat is not an issue at all for me. Even so, it's probably fine to leave them 24/7 set to "on" in a cabinet. When not driving them hard of course. At moderate settings, or when in "standby" mode, they generate very little heat. With regards to the trigger, there are three trigger mode settings on the back. The toggle switch is labeled: "Off", "Music", and "12V". I leave mine on "Music", allowing signal to trigger the unit, since my preamp does not have a proper 12V trigger out. It works fairly well, although sometimes at quite low settings the trigger takes a while to turn the unit back into active mode once it goes to standby. In that case, I just turn the volume up for a second and it triggers, then I can put it back down to my desired volume.

Also of note, at quite low input levels, the 2220s can go into standby mode while receiving low/no volume signal from your preamp. That could be a concern with surround sound channels while watching a movie with long, quiet segments.

 

[MarcT]

I leave my two units on all the time. Although, mine are situated in an open, well ventilated space, so heat is not an issue at all for me. Even so, it's probably fine to leave them 24/7 set to "on" in a cabinet. When not driving them hard of course. At moderate settings, or when in "standby" mode, they generate very little heat. With regards to the trigger, there are three trigger mode settings on the back. The toggle switch is labeled: "Off", "Music", and "12V". I leave mine on "Music", allowing signal to trigger the unit, since my preamp does not have a proper 12V trigger out. It works fairly well, although sometimes at quite low settings the trigger takes a while to turn the unit back into active mode once it goes to standby. In that case, I just turn the volume up for a second and it triggers, then I can put it back down to my desired volume.

Also of note, at quite low input levels, the 2220s can go into standby mode while receiving low/no volume signal from your preamp. That could be a concern with surround sound channels while watching a movie with long, quiet segments.

Thanks for the great info. Looks like the 2220 would work great for my in my ventilated console. I see you replied to my post before I deleted it, after realizing that the 2220 has the signal-sensing turn-on feature.

 

[IEales]

Thanks for the great info. Looks like the 2220 would work great for my in my ventilated console. I see you replied to my post before I deleted it, after realizing that the 2220 has the signal-sensing turn-on feature.

I have signal sensing on my subs and the M2220s. It's a PITA.
If your AVR device has a switched out, just plug a 5-12vdc wall wart in to it and feed the trigger input.
Works every time

 

[MarcT]

All my testing was balanced as noted with "XLR" designation on the graphs.

Would you expect the RCA performance to be significantly different? I will only have RCA connection from AVR to the 2220.

 

[MarcT]

I have signal sensing on my subs and the M2220s. It's a PITA.
If your AVR device has a switched out, just plug a 5-12vdc wall wart in to it and feed the trigger input.
Works every time

Wait, I just looked at the back of my Denon AVR and it does have two trigger jacks. I assume the AVR came with some cables to connect to the 2220? I guess you're saying the trigger connection is superior to signal-sensing?

 

[IEales]

I guess you're saying the trigger connection is superior to signal-sensing?

Absolutely.
The sense option as mentioned above starts late and goes away when there are long sections that are either quiet or have no low end [my M2220s drive woofers only in a tri-amp system + subs].

 

[MarcT]

Absolutely.
The sense option as mentioned above starts late and goes away when there are long sections that are either quiet or have no low end [my M2220s drive woofers only in a tri-amp system + subs].

Okay, I just ordered a 2220, will see how it works with my center speaker, compared to the AVR alone.

 

[TomH]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Outlaw 2220 single channel amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $399.
View attachment 191107

The look is simple but elegant in its slim form factor. I like that it is just heavy enough to give you confidence but not so much that you can't lift it.
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Nice set of features are provided from balanced XLR input to trigger. A larger toroidal transformer indicates class class AB design (not switching).

Outlaw 2220 Measurements
Let's start with our usual 1 kHz dashboard into 4 ohm:
View attachment 191109

I like the very low distortion spikes that are around -108 dB or so. Some power supply noise (120 Hz) and general noise lower SINAD down to 85 dB which is still quite competent:
View attachment 191110

Noise level could be a bit lower at 5 watts but still respectable:

View attachment 191111

Multitone test shows the very low distortion of the amplifier:

View attachment 191112

Frequency response is flat which is an improvement over the 2200 model which drooped at 20 kHz:

View attachment 191113

The word "monoblocks" sets up expectations of high amount of power and the 2220 delivers:


View attachment 191114
View attachment 191115

View attachment 191116

This should be plenty of power for just about any use.

Finally we can examine performance at different frequencies:
View attachment 191117

Some strange distortion mechanism sets in at highest frequencies but only during a limited power range (hump in green). Fortunately you hardly ever have content at high frequencies at high amplitude so not an audible concern.

Conclusions
Performance of the Outlaw 2220 is solid, solid, solid! What can I say. It delivers what you expect with nary any results that raise an eyebrow sans that high frequency distortion. You have ton of power which should be handy for both stereo music listening and home theater. At $399 it brings great value as well.

I am happy to recommend the Outlaw 2220 monoblock amplifier.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

It has a music setting for auto-on as well.

Question - some of your tests show frequency response driving a complex load such as the Crown XLS 2502. Some just show the frequency response into a simple resistive load. I’m curious why the complex load test is inconsistently applied. I do appreciate your reviews.

 

[TomH]

Nice review. I purchased a pair and tested them as well. They are quite neutral sounding and are non fatiguing.

 

[SonicOldTimer]

Thanks for another great review, @amirm. Regarding your concern about the ON/OFF switch been on the back, there is a Standby button on the front and the amp has auto-ON sense function as well.

http://outlawaudio.com/outlaw/docs/2220OM.pdf

I know the manual shows a Standby Button, but just want to confirm that the 2220 does NOT have one, no idea why they put in there. You also clearly see from the images on their website that no button is there, and I also own two 2220 amps.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I know the manual shows a Standby Button, but just want to confirm that the 2220 does NOT have one, no idea why they put in there. You also clearly see from the images on their website that no button is there, and I also own two 2220 amps.

I think that section in the manual is a generic copy/paste included in their current generation amp manuals. It ought to be excluded in the 2220 as it is not a feature. The 5000x and 7000x do have this feature, but the 2220 does not, only goes in and out of standby via the trigger/auto-sense options on the back of the unit.