I thought there was a new newsletter coming out? What happened to the May and June issues???

I am wondering too. Does anybody have information on this matter?

No, but I do know that in the past they have not always put out a news letter monthly. They sometimes go 2-3 months before the writing bug hits them. I'm glad I don't have a paid subscription.

They did sent out an update to everybody on the 950 waiting list a week or so ago, so I doubt we'll see a newsletter this month.

I have my message confirming my registration for the waiting list for the 950 from 4/15/2002 and I didn't receive a message
updating me on the status. Did everyone get one in June ?

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Scott Burns
Scott.Burns@Netcontech.Com

The latest newsletter states,
Also states,

I don't understand, either you have the hiss or you don't. Why then is the production and shipping being stopped if the vast majority of 950 owners haven't experienced this problem?
Then what "Problems" are they trying to solve?

I do appreciate the newsletter. I surmise that OUTLAW does have an idea on when possibly things can get rolling again and that's the information I would like to have. Signed PRE/PRO less for 5 months now.

How about bringing in an intern, or willing wait lister , to listen to the units that are in the warehouse and ship out the ones that don't hiss?

brianca.

I am all for Outlaw taking the time to resolve the issues before shipping new units. I figure, if you are willing to settle for hiss or any other form of substandard performance, why bother buying separates in the first place???

dmeister

I agree with this, however the VAST majority have apparently never had problems. If you as a company put out 100 pieces of product and have a failure rate of 1%, do you stop the production lines or do you just correct those 1% as they occur. I don't know what percentage of 950 owners have the problem, but I wouldn't consider it to be many, when they state that the "vast (IE; of great quantity or degree)majority" do not.

maybe the nature of the problem is such that they can't reliably state what the failure rate will be. In that case I think the best course of action is the one that they chose.
Obviously I'm just guessing here, but that's what we're all doing anyway, at least until they say otherwise.
Thanks

[This message has been edited by bruning1 (edited July 09, 2002).]

Also speculation...

They are using this delay to fix something else (in addition to hiss) that we don't know about.

That thought crossed my mind also, but I think we would have heard about it from the people who have already received their 950's. Unless it's a problem that doesn't necessarily show up on the existing units, but has the potential of becoming a problem. Again pure speculation, but fun anyway.

Maybe they are fixing the video upconversion problem also. Or updating the tuner.

maybe it is time for the other company, AT, to sell its processor for 1500.00 as opposed to 899.00. After that company has made a little profit the 950 sales will resume.

Well, I seriously doubt that they (or any company) would halt shipments with a 1% failure rate on an audio component, no matter what IS0 9k or TQM program they're on. Moreover, my impression was that not many people have actually received their 950s yet. (There is certainly a lot of people lamenting on this forum to that effect, anyway.) Consequently, if there has already been enough of those who have received one, and complained about the problem, to justify a quality investigation, the issue is most likely significant. And don't overlook the fact that some people will likely have the problem but not necessarily notice it under normal operating conditions.

I would agree with applejelly, however. Outlaw already delayed the initial product release of the 950 by several months. It certainly stands to reason that there might have been one or two other technical or manufacturing challenges that the engineers didn't overcome completely before kicking the 950 out the door to get the sales and marketing guys off their backs.

Maybe someone on the inside can post something anonymously!

I believe around 500 or so 950's shipped before they halted production, from looking at the order numbers people were posting to the shipment thread at the time. That's no small number; it equates to around $450k of booked revenue.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Must admit Im getting cold to the idea of making this purchase. Ive been very patient to this point but something new keeps popping up and gives me an uncomfortable feeling. Many out there are happy with there purchase and havent experience these little problems. But, it seems like a gamble to me. The price is great but I dont want the aggravation of having to return the unit. I will continue to read these postings and try to decide what to do when my number comes up/ I believe I reserved my unit 2-16-2002!

Personally at this point if I wanted a 950 I would be very hesitant to plonk down my hard earned $$$ until they've been shipping for 6-8 months. I don't want a chance of buying beta quality hardware for full price.

Just my $0.02

Charlie

Charlie: Actually, based on the performance of my beta unit... you might PREFER the beta unit.

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Take Care,
merc

"Personally at this point if I wanted a 950 I would be very hesitant to plonk down my hard earned $$$ until they've been shipping for 6-8 months."

Hence my "1050 holdover" post...

Are these order numbers continuous? Are they only for the 950, or do they include all products Outlaw ships? These are simply rhetorical questions to think about regarding the estimate.

Outside of the hiss, absolutly zero additional issues in my 7 weeks use of my 950. Any additional "fixes"/mods made by Outlaw during this process would seem to be minor, and most likley welcomed based on my experience. Actually, it be kinda like getting an updated version ala the Rotel 1066, and what it seems like 20 or 30 "updates" via the web/user. Anyone wonder why it appears so many updates have been made post sales/shipment of the 1066? While nice you can do it from home, I wonder why so many. Could it be the 1066 started selling too soon?

Merc, do you think the earlier 950's might perform better than the later 950's?


[This message has been edited by Will (edited July 10, 2002).]

I think, that there may also be "behind the scenes" software updates going on for the 950. I.e., that newer units get "different" software than earlier units as engineers find things to improve. For example, I have heard of at least 2 of the updates for the Rotel containg code to improve the steering to the rear channels.

BTW, the Sony TA-E9000ES was the same way. Fast and furious upgrades at the beginning of product life, and then they petered out as they finally "got it right".

Too bad there's no easy way to find out the "rev" of a 950...

Hmmm... No code for what version software your unit is running?

At least the user can update software on the Sony and Rotel units.

You could probably ask Outlaw based on the serial number...

That's interesting; I wonder if there's a "magic" sequence you can hit on the remote to get it to show you the code version?

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net