Tease.
I'm about this far ---><--- from putting my discressionary spending money toward something else rather than buying a 950. Some news, any news, might make me hang on...
EDIT... I just got the email too. I can't imagine that posting their copyrighted stuff on their own board should be a problem, so here it is for thos who are waiting...
Dear Steve:
In keeping with our commitment to provide more information on a regular basis, following below is our July Outlaw Update. It's a bit shorter than our typical Newsletter, but for now it seems that everyone is looking for the specifics of where we are on a number of "hot" topics, so for this Update we'll confine ourselves to just a few items. As news warrants, we'll send out another Update. Otherwise, we'll be back again at the end of the month.
Now, on with the news:
MODEL 950 NEWS
As noted in a special newsletter that was sent in mid-June to all owners of the Model 950 and to everyone on the reservations list, we are working on a final resolution to the problem that some have encountered with objectionable hiss. At this point we have narrowed the solution down to a number of candidates, and we're working to see which of the possible corrective routes is the best one. In the mean time, despite the fact that this problem has been reported in only a small percentage of all 950's shipped, we felt it best to take the cautious step of halting production and shipments.
Once we are totally satisfied that the problem is properly solved, we'll resume production and shipments. We were able to ship a significant number of units before we stopped the production line, and it is our intention to fill all remaining reservations on an accelerated schedule once everything is restarted. We have already staged a large quantity of parts and are ready to go as soon as possible.
Rest assured that we are working on this "24/7" with engineering teams and outside consultants in the US, in Asia, in the factory, and most importantly, with the customers who have contacted us directly to voice their concerns.
It is probably worth re-stating a few items at this time from our earlier message to Model 950 owners on this subject. Most importantly, please keep in mind that almost any audio product will exhibit some hiss if you turn the volume all the way up to maximum and then put your ear right up against the tweeter. (The exception to this is units that totally mute the output in pause, but this only masks the situation.)
We consider the "ear in the tweeter" method an unrealistic test, and if that is what is causing a problem for you, we are unable to help. If you don't hear the problem under reasonable listening conditions, as is the case for the vast majority of Model 950 owners, you are fine. There is no need to do anything other than enjoy the sound of great movies and music. This is NOT a problem that appears over time; so don't worry about it appearing later if you don't hear it at first. Of course, we plan to be around for a very long time, so if something does happen later on, the Outlaws will be there to help.
However, as also stated in the message to current Model 950 owners, if you DO feel that your unit has a hiss problem, please send an e-mail to 950service@outlawaudio.com. As soon as everything is rectified we will contact you to arrange for the pick-up of your unit at our expense, and upon receipt of your unit we will send you a modified unit with freight also paid by us.
We do apologize for the inconvenience that all of this may have caused you in different forms. To some extent, everyone has waited longer for his or her unit than we had planned. A large number of you have waited but now have a unit that you are pleased with, and some are still waiting. Given the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" nature of communicating this news to you, there is no "best way" or perfect timing for the delivery of this kind of information. We can only tell our many friends and the vast majority of the Model 950 customers who are satisfied with their unit that we appreciate their support. To those who feel otherwise we do understand your occasional frustration and ask that you bear with us.
As we move forward, you will all receive additional information on the Model 950 as it impacts your specific situation or in response to any e-mails or calls you send our way. Please note that e-mail is always the best way to contact us, and a phone call is the alternative.
If you do have a specific comment or concern about an Outlaw product that you own, please note that you do need to contact us. While we do read the postings on the various forums every day, the only way to be certain that we respond is to contact us directly. Vent as and where you will, but please don't assume that we will be able to reach you simply because you post a message on a forum.
Some additional 950 notes:
We are undertaking a major revision to the back-end system that drives our reservation and order system to accommodate the increase in our sales volume. In the mean time, we remind our Canadian Outlaws that we still love them even though there are no entries for Canadian Provinces on the reservation form. To reserve a Model 950 for delivery to Canada, simply enter a valid Canadian address along with a comment showing your correct Province and Postal Code, while checking the US state of your choice. We have been shipping Canadian orders for the Model 950 in the same fashion as we have for Model 1050, amplifiers, or for any Outlaw products. If you have any questions about orders from our great neighbor to the North, please e-mail us.
For those living outside of North America, or in areas where 230-volt products are required, we are still planning a version of the Model 950 with RDS, 9 kHz AM spacing and a 230-volt power supply. Regrettably, due to our focus on the current 950 issues, we cannot provide an estimated delivery date other than some time in the fourth quarter of the year.
A final note on the Model 950 concerns an accessory that has been developed for us in response to your suggestions. We know that a number of you have rack-mounted systems, but rather than develop a special unit ourselves we turned to a leader in rack mount adaptors, Middle Atlantic Products, Inc. If you own a Model 950 and want to convert it to a rack-mount unit, go to
www.middleatlantic.com and do a name search of "Outlaw" in the RSH series of custom mounts. Middle Atlantic is well known in the custom installation community, and they have created a special mounting plate system specifically to the dimensions of the 950.
CURRENT PRODUCT NEWS
The balance of our existing product line, the Model 770 and 755 amplifiers, the Model 1050 receiver and the ICBM are all in stock for immediate shipment. If you are looking for high-power, audiophile-grade multichannel power amplifiers, an entry level surround receiver, or what has become the industry standard for external bass management, Outlaw Audio's range of current products has the answer for you. We invite you to check our web site for specs, reviews and pricing.
We also have all lengths and models of our PCA, PDO and new PSC cables in stock for immediate delivery. This includes 1.2m lengths for the PCA and PSC, in response to your requests. Also in response to your suggestions we have slightly reduced the overall outside diameter of the connector barrel on the 1.2m PCA cables and in the future we will convert all PCA models to the narrower diameter connector. There is no change to the quality of the connector, but we want to address some of the questions about this in the various forums.
IR 1000 News
We are continuing development of our Internet Radio, the IR 1000, but at this time we are indefinitely postponing its introduction. Although the unit is technically ready for shipment, we are concerned that the outcome of recent decisions by the Librarian of Congress on royalty rates for internet streams may greatly reduce the number of "stations" available to potential IR 1000 owners. As an example, Yahoo has removed their re-broadcast of terrestrial radio stations, and other stations and streamers are threatening to "go dark" due to the economic impact of the latest rulings by the CARP.
Although we continue to be strong believers in the concept of internet radio, and despite pleas from our beta testers to hang on to their IR 1000 samples, before we charge anyone for a product such as this we want to make certain that it will be able to deliver long-term value from programming sources that are outside of our control. We sincerely hope that a compromise is reached that enables the internet radio business to develop, and we'll keep a watch on this to see if (and when) the timing is right to release the IR 1000.
HOUSEKEEPING NOTES
We are pleased to offer the Outlaw Saloon as a free and open forum for you to discuss both our own Outlaw products and home theater in general. While there are many independent internet forums and discussion groups devoted to home theater and related subjects, we know of no other manufacturer that not only sponsors such a forum within its own bandwidth, but actually allows for free and uncensored discussion, even when it is sometimes blatantly (and often incorrectly) critical of its own products.
Despite what we sometimes feel are uninformed and unjustified comments, we are firm believers in a participatory economic democracy, and we'll take our lumps along with the praise. We have only deleted one or two messages in the entire history of the Saloon, and it is not our intent to begin editing or deleting messages despite our right to do so.
That being said, we do need to remind you that it is OUR Saloon, and there are some ground rules. We read every post and reserve the right to delete any post, specifically with regard to the following:
· No posts about group buys of competitive products or links to competitive sites or retailers. Feel free to compare our products to our competitors and discuss the relative merits of each. We encourage the free exchange of ideas and opinions, but we will not allow our bandwidth to be used for overt sales solicitation of competitive products.
· No postings with obscene, indecent or inappropriate language. Once in a while something flies below our radar, but if we find any posts that violate common standards of decency or any legal regulations they will be deleted.
· No personal attacks. If those who hang out in the Saloon can't behave we're going to ask you to take it somewhere else. Humor (and ponies) are great, and sarcasm is tolerated within reasonable boundaries. Spirited debate is encouraged and objecting is fine. However, flaming is questionable and defaming will NOT be tolerated.
· No postings will be allowed that violate or suggest the violation of any Federal, State or Local law. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, the posting of copyrighted material without the consent of the copyright owner. Here, the Outlaws will serve as the Sheriff! Postings of copyrighted material to which you do not own the rights are subject to deletion.
· No links to sites or postings that violate any of the rules stated here.
· Factually incorrect postings are subject to edit or deletion.
NEW PRODUCTS
No, we didn't forget. Yes, the All Star Game is almost here, and as promised back in March we are announcing a new product before the mid-point in the baseball season. Also as promised, the unit will ship well before the end of the baseball season.
So what is the new product? On a strict, stand-alone basis, the product is a new power amplifier. Moderately priced, it is a seven-channel unit that will be Outlaw's first entry into the mid-powered amplifier market. However, we have designed it to be more than that, as you'll see below.
Why a mid-range powered unit when we already offer two of the most highly regarded high-powered units available today? The answer tells the other side of the story. As just noted, this introduction is more than a single stand-alone product. We have specifically configured this new amplifier so that it is a logical companion to the Model 950 in terms of physical size and price. Thus, when paired with the 950 and the proper combination of Outlaw PCA interconnects, the end result will be more than a match for virtually any high-end receiver available today in terms of performance, and it will be very competitive in price. Indeed, the combination will carry a price tag that will half that of some of the popular "super receivers", making you question the need for them.
This might lead you to ask why we don't simply build an amplifier into the Model 950 chassis and create a new receiver. Quite frankly, it would be very easy for us to do that, but we feel that if given a choice, our customers would prefer the flexibility of separates, rather than a receiver, once the price goes above a certain point. In addition, the ability to produce the 950 in a single configuration helps increase our overall production volume for the 950, which in turn allows us to continue to hold the line on the Model 950's price.
Finally, while we know that high powered amplification is generally preferred in the home theater community, it is also clear that there are some who do not need or simply cannot initially afford both a high performance processor/tuner and an audiophile grade, high-power amplifier. This new product, both as a stand-alone unit and in the value-priced "un-receiver" combination, will enable more Outlaws to enjoy state-of-the-art home theater performance at an affordable price.
In terms of features and performance, you will see - and hear - all the signature features that have made Outlaw amplifiers award winning values: discrete channel modules, torroidal transformer construction and bulletproof protection circuitry. As with our other amplifiers, it will be made in the USA. For the most part, the only difference between the new amplifier and its bigger brothers will be power, physical size and of course, price.
Given our recent experience with the Model 950 we'll keep the announcement short at this time. We'll provide the complete details on specs, power, pricing and the model number as we get closer to shipment. This product is very real, and we'll be getting our first look at the amplifier modules the day after the All Star Game. A few final points in the form of some bullets:
· The new amplifier will be available both as a stand-alone product and as a combination package that gives you all the power and flexibility of separates at a price that will be well below that of the "flagship" receivers. The advantages of this approach over a receiver should be obvious to all, particularly for those on a tight budget who see their power needs increasing in the future.
· Yes, anyone who has previously purchased an Outlaw electronics product (Model 1050, 750, 755, 770 or ICBM) will be eligible for a "family discount" when purchasing the new amplifier.
· As our amplifier technology is very well established, there will be no beta test for this model.
· This is a totally new product and it does not replace any of our existing amplifier models.
We'll have more information on this exciting new product and the "un-receiver" package we are building around it some time in August. And, for those who might ask, we are working on a number of other products, but for the moment we'll leave it at that.
A FEW WORDS FROM THE EDITORIAL OUTLAW
Actually, the Editorial Outlaw is on vacation this month, so you are spared his discourse. He'll be back next month with more than a few well-chosen words on a subject of interest to audio and home theater buffs.
However, he wanted us to make sure we kept his space, so he sent us a postcard with this month's media-themed book suggestion for those times when you simply want to take your ear out of the tweeters and relax with the printed word. OK, perhaps some soft, soothing music in the background, but nothing loud or heavy.
The title is simple: "TV", by Brian Brown (ISBN 0-609-60615-8). With experience as a newspaper reporter, Emmy winning documentarian, TV director and the coordinating producer of HBO's On the Record with Bob Costas, TV obviously plays on Brown's real-life experience. While a work of fiction, the book acknowledges the parallels to the real life world of sports production as it details the career of fictional TV director Caesar Fortunato. The Editorial Outlaw has spent more than his share of time inside network TV control rooms and remote trucks and attests to the reality of this fast paced look at what it takes to produce and direct TV sports, and what it takes out of the people involved. For historical accuracy there are very complete explanations that set right the parallels between the characters in the book and some of the true-to-life figures that bear a strikingly close resemblance to Fortunato and his colleagues.
We've all encountered too many long waits in airport lines and on the "other side" of the security checks. If you think you'll find yourself in that situation this summer, Brian Brown's TV is a wonderful way to pass the time.
That's it for this month. Don't forget to take some time away from the Home Theater and "Root, Root, Root for the Home Team" no matter if it is baseball, or best of all, your child, niece, nephew or grandchildren's Little League, AYSO or tee-ball team!
Thanks and regards
The Outlaws
The contents of this Newsletter Update are copyright © 2002 by Outlaw Audio, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution or reproduction is prohibited. Outlaw Audio and the Outlaw Audio logo are trademarks of Outlaw Audio, Inc.
[This message has been edited by SteveO (edited July 07, 2002).]
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