Hi Guys,

Item One: The first one is more a favor than a question: Would one of you guys do me favor and measure the 990 width at its widest point (faceplate or back end?) to confirm the width of 17.38 inches as stated in the manual. This dimension is critical to me because the 990 has to fit in the wife's entertainment cabinet. The shelf max width "wall to wall" is 17 3/4". The wife and the cabinet need to go but that's a separate issue.

Are the vents on the 990 on top surface only? it ability to breathe on the sides will be about 1/4"

2nd item is a question: What confidence do you guys have that the Outlaw will support the 990 long-term?...Let me explain....

Over the past 3 months or so, I have read many posts from here, AVS, audioholics, etc...all the 990 published reviews plus user reviews here... Based on all these inputs there is no question in my mind that the 990 is a hi-quality pre/pro which cannot be touched at the $1099 price point!

New pre/pro from major players such as Parasound, Anthem, Lexicon etc..was more than I wanted to spend or could really afford without eating only mac & cheese only for 6 months! Arcam avp700 was on my shortlist too, but those unit static freeze issues are unacceptable on a $2200 unit! The fact that the above pre/pros cost 2X - 5X a 990 is not the purpose of my topic.

Now a used AVM20/AVM30 or used Lex DC-2 money-wise is in the ballpark of the 990..the anthems few $100's more, the used lex few $100's less. I don't want to start A better than B, that's old too..the Lex sound etc...There are 1,000+ posts on those issues...

Now to the matter at hand:I'm pretty sure that if I had an issue with my used Anthem AVM30 or Lexicon DC-2 that needed repair, I would get treated like a number. However, electrical tech #4, John Smith, will fix my DC-2. Might keep it 4 weeks, but it will get fixed....

If my 990 requires service, question is..Is Outlaw only a single layer deep across the board? President, head of marketing& sales guy, and 1 tech in the back?...That other post by John about he had OSD troubles...Gonk stated, "one Outlaw employee is taking a few days off...no prob..nobody answers phones til he come back??? That makes me assume Outlaw is 1 layer deep.

I understand the the internet direct part, no factories, no retail store part...makes for a good business model...But if there is that one Outlaw tech in the back, lets call him "Andy", Andy's a real wizard and fixing analog and digital circuit boards...he knows the 990 insides real well!
What if Andy leaves Outlaw for XYZ electronics in near Boston...who will service my 990...head of marketing?

Any thoughts from Gonk or the other Outlaw users that know Outlaw structure well enough that what I describe above has a low or high probability of happening. With Parasound or Anthem, they are 3-4 people layers deep in every area…With that size overhead, that is why the they charge 3,000 + for pre/pro…. so if their Andy tech leaves, they had 3 other guys fixing AVM20’s along side him, they will be short a little while til they train the new guy…. The $1400 used AVM20 or the $900 Lex DC2 is a different story…..

Not looking to down Outlaw, I believe in the internet direct model. I bought Swan Diva speakers, 4 years ago, and Axiom EP500 sub 3 months ago. Both are killer values at their respective price-points.

Any thoughts would be appreciated,

Vince