Just wondering if Outlaw has a replacement for the 950 in the works since the 950 is now well, kind of old.

There's been no word of such a project, and with the recent talk of a receiver next year (which will certainly be occupying a lot of their time in the near future) I doubt we'll hear anything about plans for a new pre/pro for at least six months or so. Having said that, I suspect that there's something on the drawing board, although the 950 will probably be sticking around at least through all of next year and very likely into 2005. That's just my guess, though...

------------------
gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I just don't get why a company like Outlaw would run to the design board to replace something like the 950 so soon. It's not kinda old unless your stricken with a bad case of upgraditis!

I agree, RayBan. For companies like Outlaw, a product such as the 950 needs to be designed to have a good, long production life (the 1050 made it almost four years). At the same time, the design time required to develop a replacement or a higher end sibling is a big deal. They would probably need to have at least some groundwork in place for a "960" -- if not a design team assigned and working -- in order to have something shipping in the next year or two.

------------------
gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I'm hoping that the Outlaws have enough bandwidth to work on the receiver and next pre/pro at the same time.

I'm still hoping for a big brother to the 950 with THX Ultra2 and now DPL IIx.

And a silver face plate with blue led, dvi input, balanced input, IEEE etc...

if the 950 was upgradeable then they would not need to replace it, but it isnt so they should come out with a new model every couple of years. things are only going to start changing faster than they already do.

Well, either another reasonably priced model like the 950 every few years, or a (more expensive) upgradeable rev. Shoot, ever see how often Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, etc, put out new versions of receivers?

Oh yeah, if you look at H/K's new receivers with the Cirrus chip, there is now the quadruple crossover for separate settings with the surrounds and rears.

DVI/HDMI switching would now be nice.

I'd be happy if they just refined the glitches that current exist such as the stereo to 5.1 input and double bass problems.

I am probably 95% content with the 950 but it's that little bit that frustrates me. I will probably be buying Emotiva gear in 2004 and selling off the Outlaw stuff. It's very good, but I'm needing a little better.

Slee_Stack, I am with you on that one. That Emotiva gear looks pretty slick. The 950 served its duty admirably for two years but I need a bit more also. I would like to wait to see what Outlaw has up their sleeves but something tells me its over 9-10 months away and I don't feel like waiting. There is always the next upgrade.

The Emotiva really looks very cool. Let's just hope it is in the same league as the big boys; Aragon, parasound Halo, Anthem and et al. in feature and sound.

I’d like to see a new model with some of the extra features mentioned here but I’d also like to see a truly high end model with everything you could dream of for about twice the price just for the people who want it all. I mean the current 950 has been compared to much higher end gear (read higher priced) and every one says its real close in performance so how much more would it take to make one the king of the audio/video world. I’d gladly pay twice the price or even more for an Outlaw unit that has everything that say a Mark Levinson No.40 has. (and that’s a $30,000 unit.) I know Outlaw could build a unit with that many bells and whistles (and performance) for a whole lot less than 30 g’s.

Lasher

Altho there has been a lot written about the so-called "double bass", I would like it as a selectable feature. I just read a magazine review about a receiver that has "double bass" as an option!! One can select either:

a. full-range signals go to the main channels and the subwoofer gets all signals below the cross-over point plus the LFE channel, or

b. only signals above the cross-over point go to the main channels and the subwoofer gets all signals below the cross-over point plus the LFE channel

No fair arguing about "why would anyone want it" "defeats the artistic intent of the creater" ..... and so on.

I have that in my relatively old analog processor, and am not happy about giving it up when I upgrade.

I do not believe the Outlaws could build a unit that matches the Mark Levinson for twice the price of a 950, but I would certainly buy one if they did. However, I would like the unit to be easy upgradeable, ala the sunfire, have world class 2CH performance, and very flexible crossover settings, for all channels, that are easy for everyone to understand.

There's more to read about Outlaw's next generation pre/pro at http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000164.html

Mark Levinson isn't what it used to be though either...