Hi Folks,

Beta Tester #3 signing in. I have a lengthy report to share, that I'll have to enter in bits because I do have a day job! I'll also answer any questions I can about the 950 and the beta process.

Yes, you're going to want to buy this piece. It's worth the wait.

First, let me tell you how this all started...

GOT A CALL

Sometime back in October, I got a call from Peter at Outlaw saying that I had been selected as one of the possible beta testers - if I agreed to their non-disclosure rules. Sure! (I didn't realize at the time I was talking to Peter Tribeman, one of the Outlaw principals.)

He said in reviewing my beta application, my system was "unremarkable", but two things stuck out. First, that we host regular movie night get-togethers with our friends, and second, that I lived just one town over from where he was. He said he'd like to come over to hear it when we got it installed. Sure!

I asked what they expected the differences to be between the beta unit and the finished product. The biggest thing would be that there wouldn't be a manual for it. He also said something about the remote not being ready.

I asked if he'd heard the early production model. He hadn't, but said that the specs they got back were incredible and were better than they expected.

The next day I called Scott and left my shipping information. He said I'd probably get the unit by Thanksgiving.

On November 26th, we had our first child and I spent a week with Mom and baby at the hospital. I hadn't gotten the 950 yet, and was worried that it was sitting out on our front steps. We got home and there was no box from Outlaw. I waited another week, and then got worried that maybe since nobody was home, it had either been stolen or had been returned to Outlaw. Sent mail to Scott and he said it hadn't shipped yet. Later, I got a call from Peter and he mentioned that the hardware was ready, but some software challenges were holding them back.

With everyone else I got the Outlaw mail in December saying that everyone on the reservation list was getting a PCA cable for their patience. I sent mail to Scott and said I was being patient waiting for my beta unit. He said we'd be getting the cables too. Cool!

Every time the Outlaws have mentioned a shipping date, I've calculated how long I would have to do the beta test. Obviously it's going to be short, so I decided to write up a test plan. I started with the list from the Favorite Demos saloon. Since the other Outlaws have these disks and are familiar with them, I thought my comments might make more sense if I used the same reference disks.

IT ARRIVES!

After weeks of waiting for the DHL truck to arrive, we got a call from Peter saying he had a unit and I could have it that night if I wanted. I drove over to his place, met him and his wife, and picked up my new charge. We plugged it in at Peter's house just to make sure it worked - but we didn't connect it to anything. While we were talking, the manufacturer in Malaysia called to discuss something. It sounded like they were many overseas calls happening at this late date.

I went home and started plugging things in. Around 11:00 that night, Peter called and asked how it was going. He said he somehow thought I might still be up playing with it. At that point I was mostly connected, but I was having a problem with one of the rear speakers not working. Turns out it was my fault - one of the wires had come undone when I was moving things around on my equipment shelf.

MY UNREMARKABLE SYSTEM

List price on this setup was around $16.5k. I think it's a great system!

Sony DVP-S7700 DVD player
Sony VCR
Pioneer CD changer (not used for this test - I prefer the sound from the DVD player.)
Mitsubishi VS-7083 70" RPTV

Main Speakers: Snell C/IV (34-33kHz) - biwired with Monster Original, powered by an AudioSource AmpThree at 2x150 watts.

Center Speaker: Snell HCC-1800 (80-20kHz) Monster Original, powered by one channel of AudioSource AmpThree at 150 watts (My goal is to eventually power the front three speakers with a Bryston 6B-ST amplifier. Snell told me they used Bryston 4B-NRB as their reference amp when designing the C/IV's, and Bryston told me they used to have some Snells in their listening room, so I expect this to be a great combination.)

Surround Speakers: Snell J/III (48-20kHz) 14 gauge generic in-wall speaker wire, powered by my old Yamaha RX-V1070 receiver's main pre-outs at 2x110 watts..

Rear Center: Boston Acoustics HD-7 - temporarily used as center surround for some 6-channel testing, with generic 16 gauge speaker wire, powered by the other channel of the AmpThree at 150 watts.

Subwoofer: M&K MX-100 subwoofer (18-125Hz, 200 watt, 2x12") - with a custom-made interconnect
Salamander rack and Salamander amp stand
Power - dedicated 15 amp circuit for audio equipment. Intermatic whole-house surge suppressor wired in at the circuit box.
Room - 17' wide, 19' long, tall 18' ceiling. Soft carpeting and couches, no drapes.

TESTING PROCEDURES

Sorry, no single or double-blind testing. I set up each test and then switched back and forth. Sometimes my wife listened with me, sometimes not.

I always let the whole system warm up for an hour before doing any critical listening. I don't know that it really improves the sound noticeably, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

At times I used the Avia test disk and Radio Shack SPL meter (slow mode, C weighting). 0dB on the 950 volume scale was dead-on at 85 dB. This is actually much louder than we typicially listen to music or movies, so I did most of the tests around -30dB.

(to be continued...)