I just received this email. Cheer up campers, this ride may be coming to an end. Here is some of the email I just received.


Dear Fellow Outlaw,

We are pleased to announce that work has been completed on the hiss issue that you reported as occurring on your unit. As one of the first customers for the Model 950 we appreciate your loyalty, and we are sending you this message before we release this news to our general mailing list. We realize that it has taken more time than we anticipated to solve the problem, so we wanted you to be the first to know. We appreciate your patience and support during the past few months and we are confident the resolution of this issue will add to your enjoyment of your Model 950.

That said, here are the details and procedures for replacing your existing Model 950 with an updated unit:

Our plan is to send you a unit that has all the modifications related to the performance improvement. To keep things straight, be advised that the unit you will receive is rebuilt to the latest factory specifications and carefully inspected to assure that it is in "like new" condition, but it will probably not be a brand new unit. Our reason for doing this is to speed the replacement to you as quickly as possible so that you are not without a processor at any time. However, for those who wish to have their specific unit rebuilt, we will be pleased to accommodate those requests. And, as previously promised, we will pay the freight both ways no matter which option you choose.

As evidence of our confidence in these units, we are re-starting your five-year parts and labor warranty so that it starts on the date we ship the replacement, not the date for the original unit.

In terms of timing, we have already built up a pool of units that is sufficient to cover the needs of everyone who has requested a replacement due to the hiss issue. Thus, with accommodations for the Labor Day holiday, we will begin shipments during the first week of September. To initiate the process, please follow these steps:
...


We hope this information addresses all of the procedural issues, but in scanning the Saloon, we realize that some of you will have additional questions. So at the risk of making this message a bit longer than we had planned, here's a bit of a "mini-FAQ" on the Model 950 as of this moment:

Q. Is the hiss issue fixed, and what is the status of shipments?
A. Yes, the hiss issue has been solved. As you read this we are preparing to send replacement units to those who have registered with us that their 950 is one of those impacted by the problem. It should take no more than two weeks to replace those units. Once that project is complete we will immediately begin contacting those on the reservation list and begin shipping to those customers upon receipt of billing information. However, due to what is still an extensive waiting list it will take a few weeks to fill all the reservations. Our commitment to assist existing owners before re-starting shipments for new sales still stands.

Q. What was caused the problem?
A. The problem was caused by the stack-up of a number minor items. None of them would cause the problem by itself, and when you combine that with the many variables in your individual systems, you have something that was hard to track down. No, there wasn't one single root cause. Unfortunately, tracking everything down, validating the fixes and making sure that the fix didn't take break anything else was obviously a lengthy process, but we needed to take the time to do it right and test the fix both internally and externally.

Q. How did you solve the problem?
A. Given the fact that there were a variety of minor issues contributing to the cause, the fix was a number of adjustments. In broad strokes, some component values were changed slightly and the circuit flow was adjusted to avoid the introduction of noise.

Q. Were there any other changes made to the product?
A. Nothing major that alters its performance. As we've said all along, if a unit sounds good, it IS good. If it was in a system where there was a hiss issue, the changes will fix that. Some very minor upgrades were made as maintenance issues that all manufacturers make as running changes during a product's life cycle, as well as to allow for the integration of the fixes to the hiss problem.

Q. How do I know that the unit I receive has been updated?
A. All replacement units will have a slightly larger serial number label than the original unit. The serial number will start with an "01" and there will be a red dot on the label. This is your indication that the unit has been rebuilt to the latest specifications.

Q. What will happen to the unit I send back?
A. We will re-build those units to current specifications and hold them in reserve for service replacements, review units and other internal purposes. Of course, they cannot, and WILL NOT be sold as new, and given the relatively small number of units involved, we need them for other purposes and have no plans to offer them as "B" stock.
OK, we'll sneak in two questions that do NOT involve the Model 950:

Q. What's the story on the Model 7100?
A. It is on schedule and barring unforeseen circumstances it will ship this fall. More details on the Model 7100, including the power specs will be available in our next Update newsletter.

Q. How are the Outlaws doing?
A. All things considered, just fine, thanks! Sure, we'd rather not have had to put everyone, including ourselves, through all the hassles the initial shipments have caused. However, we are confident that all of this will end up bringing you a better unit that remains the best value in home theater. Our company remains strong, and we have many exciting plans for the next twelve months that will continue to surprise the competition and please our customers!

Thanks again for hanging in there with us!
Regards,

The Outlaws

Even though they are minor and maintenace issues, there are some upgrades in the new 950.

I just got a call from Scott, asking my to chime in here with some additional positive news for everybody waiting for the hiss fix. Outlaw got at least a few "fixed" units in last week, and sent some of them out for some end-user testing. I received one of those tweaked units last Thursday afternoon, and have been poking and prodding it for a few days now. I was asked to pass along my findings, so here they are. I'm on my way out of town and will not be online until late Friday at the earliest, so if I don't reply to anyone's questions for a while that's why.

Yes, the new 950 has a significantly reduced noise floor. At Peter's suggestion, I switched the new 950 to an analog input (CD player, specifically, set to analog rather than digital) and turned it up to +10dB -- with no CD playing, of course -- to see what sort of hiss I might be able to get. I had to get within 6" to 12" of the tweeters on my mains to hear anything. At my listening position (a little over 6' from the speakers, probably), it was dead silent. For comparison, the center channel (which was getting no signal from the 950) had a hiss at about 2" distance simply due to the system - interference from power cords and the like. I think that would qualify as "fixed". For digital inputs, the results were quite a bit quieter. As an additional comparison, I hooked my old 950 back up and repeated the test. I had never noticed a humm or hiss problem at my listening position during normal use, but I discovered that at +10dB on an analog input with no signal there was a hiss from the old 950 that could be heard at the listening position. (I'll spare you the look my wife gave me when I told her about this test -- neither of us have noticed any objectionable noise from our old 950, and she considered this "max volume, no sound" test sort of silly. Can't say I blame her. ) For people experiencing an objectionable hiss currently, the new 950 should be a real eye-opener.

What about the sound of the new unit in general? Peter asked me to do an A/B comparison between the two, using some fairly revealing material if possible, to see if I could hear any difference and if there were any sonic trade-offs on the new unit. He didn't want to turn loose the new fixes if the result would lessen the 950 in any way. So I did some back-and-forth testing. Both units were connected to a Model 750 amp with the same type of cables, both were using optical cables to connect to my Yamaha CD changer, and both had the mains set to "large" so the sub wasn't involved (saved me switching the sub between the two units). My initial tests were done with the Theater Compensation mode inadvertently turned on on the new unit and off on the old unit. The new unit’s Theater Compensation, of course, was tempering the highs on some tracks, which had us a bit confused. (For those of you who think the 950 is a little harsh, you might play around a bit with Theater Compensation -- I've left it off on mine, but some people might prefer the sound with it on.) Once I caught my mistake, I re-visited some of the more revealing tracks. With both units using Theater Compensation, I could not distinguish between the two units at all. With Theater Compensation off on both units, I felt like the reduced noise floor on the new 950 was showing through, as it seemed like the sound might be a bit clearer or cleaner, particularly the highs. It was a very, very slight difference though – for anyone with a 950 that isn’t exhibiting hiss, you’ll be hard pressed to find a difference between the one you have and a new 950. In general, I would say that the sound of the new unit is essentially unchanged from that of the original unit (except for the reduced noise floor).

There have apparently been a few software tweaks along the way, too, and my test unit (as both Scott and Peter were quick to tell me before I even got it unboxed) has a setup quirk. The 950 has to be in a surround mode for the test tones to work on all of the channels. If you have the 950 in stereo mode when you go to calibrate with the test tones, the unit will show that it's sending all of the tones but will only send tones to the mains and sub. Pro Logic II will do fine for a surround mode (I tried it, in case it actually was looking for a multi-channel input), so even if you are using nothing but stereo analog connections to the 950 you won't have a problem. I don't know if this behavior applies only to the samples they are testing, but they wanted me and others to be aware of it. The new 950 is also a couple of dB quieter, so when I set my speaker levels I ended up bumping them all up a dB or two. Those are the only real differences I could find between the old unit and the new unit. The “standby” lights blinked out of sequence on the two when they were both paused at the same time, but I don’t think that really matters.

From the conversations I had with Peter last week, Scott’s post on Friday, and this new e-mail, it is clear that the Outlaws have decided that the changes included in the 950 I’ve been testing have satisfactorily solved the hiss problem. From what Scott told me, they should be shipping soon. Hang in there, crew. Good stuff is coming.

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

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited August 29, 2002).]

From what Scott told me, they should be shipping soon. Hang in there, crew. Good stuff is coming.

[/B][/QUOTE]

Happy Days are Here Again!!!

DmC

Good news!

Okay! Hiss totally fixed. Lower noise floor. New warranty start date. Okay, I'll take one.

------------------
Take Care,
merc

Haven't heard anything yet from the Outlaws about my unit (I've been in contact before), but I will chime in that I'd definitely swap mine out with a finalized unit. New preferrably.



Dan

Even if it is re-built, it still has to be perfect cosmetically... right??? If it arrives ugly, then we can send it back right???

I think this means the replacement 950's will probably be refurbished, not new.

Yeah.

------------------
Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Disclaimer on following post: Cut me some slack guys I've never done this before.

I use to hum the song by INXS/Brighton; Deliver Me, when I surfed the Outlaw site. After I received my original 950 there were days I felt sheer relief I had it, other days it was hard to be on site watching the other ‘wait listers’ bite their nails. Imagine my surprise (and chagrin) when I got a call from Outlaw asking if I would be willing to listen to the new 950, placing me in the enviable position of having two 950’s under the roof.

I must be a faster box opener than Gonk! I was dismayed the first hour when I thought I had blown amp channels, or had a malfunction rendering my system useless for Outlaws purposes when I was not able to bring up test tones on all speakers to calibrate the new unit. Very quickly you become aware while on the receiving end of phone calls from Outlaw how intense and driving their efforts to complete the process of moving the 950 out the door are fully consuming them. I got a call from Outlaw to notify me I should shortly received the unit and then a direction to use DPLII for calibration, sighed in relief and moved forward. Be aware of this small difference in setup, if it ships on the 950’s coming out directly.

Outlaw requested I not change any parameters on the system, just replace the old unit with the new.

I focused listening on the 2 sources in heaviest use in my system for the last two months.
I have 2-channel interconnects in service on the DVD player and Satellite decoder that are awaiting our system location change, to be replaced once new run length is calculated.
Panasonic DVD-RP91 Progressive: Analog Input Pair: Monster cable Digital Optical Input: Outlaw
HDTV RCA DTC-100 Satellite: Analog Input Pair: unknown/unmarked. Digital Optical Input: Outlaw
The 7.1 Main Audio Outputs: Outlaw PCA interconnects.

The ‘hiss’ heard on my Outlaw Unit One, was from seating distance (approx. 8’) with dB at +10 down to roughly –8 while in analog/no source, with no hiss and a audibly dead quiet noise floor, while using Digital Coaxial or Optical inputs.
Unit two had no hiss from seating or at speakers using Digital Optical inputs, and no hiss heard from seating at +10 using analog input/no source. My results parallel what Gonk has detailed in his post, the hiss could only be heard raising volume to max +10 dB from approx. 5 to 6 “ from speaker fabric, on the fronts and surrounds and 4” to 5” on the center.
It might be worthwhile to note that my husband never heard the ‘hiss’ on unit one. So I had a similar situation to Gonk's household, my husband considered me to be extreme (and possibly dangerous if a source were to be inadvertently selected) when I was testing for hiss at +10 dB.

The first day I received Unit two, I spent listening to CD’s, DVD’s, and Satellite with Analog and Digital inputs selected. The second day I removed a secondary 3-disc DVD player from the rack so I could go back and forth between Unit One/Two changing out only the interconnects I focused my first hours for 2 days selecting DVD’s which had been played extensively recently on the 1st 950 . On Optical input many hours were spent comparing DVD’s I am recently very familiar with between the 2 units. I was again impressed by the Outlaws seemingly consistent amplitude across the demanding frequency response of HT applications. I honestly could formulate no preference for one or the other unit. Sonically hearing no difference with the exception of one DVD, ‘Super Speedway’ which I felt I slightly preferred on the new 950.

I also made use of several warm bodies (non-audiophiles passing through) asking for their impressions when pressed into service for some quick A/B listening. From my prior posts some might be aware I just acquired a new Sony LCD 60” display which is quite popular at the moment, providing me with approx. 6 people whom had recently spent many hours at my location, watching HT with Outlaw One providing audio. I will relay the results of this unofficial poll for any additional insights it can provide:
One: preferred the old Outlaw. Two: could not hear any differences between units. One: thought he might slightly prefer Unit Two but waffled back and forth on that statement. One: decided he liked the tone of the new Outlaw better.

For all, I suggested that they listen for ‘background noise’ (if any) between the 2 units. Directing them away from tracks we all own, which have noise/hiss audible at an upper range of dB but recorded in the sound track on particular CD’s. Five stated Unit Two had absolutely no ‘noise’, but all remarked hearing noise at their various described levels of intensities on Unit One. The 6th stated he could not hear noise/hiss on either unit.

I am confident that the Outlaw has achieved a ‘hiss’ fix. The 950’s performance and build quality combined with close to as versatile and comprehensive a feature set as is currently available at market is a refreshing return on the dollar. I look forward with great excitement to their future offerings.


[This message has been edited by Smart Little Lena (edited August 30, 2002).]

Does anyone know if these refurbished units are preexisting models that were never shipped out and rebuilt, or are these pre owned, or used, models we will be receiving?

John Morris quote:
"Serge: One of the toughest things I've been trying to do is to describe what "nothing" sounds like. Revealing is accurate to the point that whatever you put into the 950, it passes on to your amp. This preamp adds no grain, no hiss, no sonic character that can be called 950-like. It doesn't add an edgy solid state or tube-like quality to the audio. It adds Nothing more, and nothing less. It is like trying to describe what perfectly still, perfectly clean air smells like... "

It looks like Merc has NO hiss in his unit , but I suspect they will give him a new one anyway as he's whined enough.

Merc, the e-mail does say that "be advised that the unit you will receive is rebuilt to the latest factory specifications and carefully inspected to assure that it is in `like new' condition, but it will probably not be a brand new unit." `Like new' would mean cosmetically perfect.

Whether they will be units that never shipped or not, my guess is that Outlaw was deliberately vague about this because they could be either. As long as they are `like new' and have a full warranty, it's okay by me.

The steps to follow were ommitted and I was wondering how it works. Does the old unit get sent to Outlaw and then they send the new unit? (I imagine this means we won't compare them side by side, in our own system.)

"The steps to follow were ommitted and I was wondering how it works. Does the old unit get
sent to Outlaw and then they send the new unit? (I imagine this means we won't compare
them side by side, in our own system."

Will - nope, you can. Remember our earlier posts/discussion on this. Again, Scott & co. our coming thru as they will ship a "fixed" unit to you, you inspect/listen/evaluate with you first unit (or do you still have 2:> ) in hand, and make your decision. They established a reasonable (two week I think) window to return your first unit (on their dime). And if you decide you like the first better, you keep it and return the second (unless your Bob and keeping the first will cause you stress regarding your precious re-sale value on a $899 unit to begin with -- laughing loudly now!).

Anybody think Rotel, B&K, Anthem, or any other co. would "better" this "customer comes first" approach? I dont. Sure, the 950 got stuck in 2nd gear out of the blocks, but so have most everbody elses Pre/Pro's. Crap, did Rotel ever fix the DTS issue on the 976? My understanding is that an earlier Acrus(Spellin help) Pre/Pro hissed like crazy and was never fixed. Think they accepted/ran such a accomodating returns process. Did B&K ever upgrade the Ref 30??

Send me my "fixed" 950, I gots some new vinyl to listen to!

I apologize for the confusion I seemed to have created by trying to leave out the procedural details. You will have a week to audition the two. Here is the missing part of the email I posted.

1. Please send an e-mail to 950exchange@outlawaudio.com with the following information. We apologize for the inconvenience of yet another e-mail, but in order to insure accuracy and to get the unit to the proper address we need to confirm certain aspects of the logistics process.
a. We need your name and the billing/shipping address.
b. We need the serial # of your unit.
c. If you would like the replacement shipped to an address other than your original billing or shipping address, such as your office, please indicate that.
d. If you would like to have your specific unit upgraded, please let us know.
e. Unless you note otherwise, we will assume that there is no problem in shipping the unit at any time during the first two weeks of September. If you wish to have the shipment postponed due to vacation or for another reason, please let us know when you would like the unit shipped.
2. Upon receipt of your e-mail, we will send you a confirmation message acknowledging your choices and with further information and instructions.
3. Unless you advise us otherwise, your replacement unit will ship within ten days.
a. If you have requested an update to your specific unit, we will forward the information needed for the return shipment via e-mail. You will need to use the original carton and packing material to avoid shipping damage. Our estimate is that it will take two to three weeks, depending on our workload, to re-build the unit and have it shipped back to you.
4. When the replacement unit arrives, please unpack it carefully, as you will need to use the box and packing materials to return your original unit to us. Note that the replacement unit will NOT contain any accessories. Please keep the remote, power cord and antennae shipped with the original unit.
5. Each replacement unit will contain a shipping label/FedEx call tag that you need to use to return the original unit to us. We will allow you one week to swap the units and return the original unit to us. Please use the packing materials from the replacement and be extra careful to make certain that the unit is packed properly. Follow the instructions packed with the unit for the return shipping.
6. The original unit is due back to us within a reasonable time period that allows for shipping and your one-week installation time. If the original unit is not returned to us as requested we reserve the right to charge your account for the additional unit.


[This message has been edited by Jed M (edited August 30, 2002).]

This is really excellent. Being able to compare the two units at home, in our own home theater environment, is absolutely fantastic, in my opinion. I'm quite pleased.

~Happy Will

The outlaws have said several times that if you don't have the problem now, you won't develop it. I've also noticed that in all of the mail and posts where I've seen them talk about the causes of the problem they have mentioned the interaction with various end user configs as a factor. That would make it seem that if you don't have it now you could develop it if you change equipment. Does outlaw have a stance on if they will swap out a unit in six months or a year from now if you didn't request a new one now but then develop hiss when you upgrade your speakers or amp? I haven't seen an official stance on this.

I guess the question is how long with outlaw honor swap out requests?

brianca

" Does outlaw have a stance on if they will swap out a unit in six months or
a year from now if you didn't request a new one now but then develop hiss when you upgrade your speakers or amp? I haven't seen an official stance on this."

Your kiddin - Right?

By the way, I heard they decided to actually PAY "YOU" $899.00 for a 950. What an awsome deal, you get a new preamp + $899.00.

Why do I have to be kidding? If outlaw tells you not to swap out your unit because you won't develop the problem if you don't have it now, and they turn out to be wrong, you think you should just be stuck with a bad unit because you trusted them?

You're the one that's got to be kidding.


brianca..

After reading these posts particularly Smart Little Lenas' I thought I better check this out again. Just to make sure I do not have it. So I put it to tape and raised the volume to +10 and sure enough a loud hiss. Well I have been enjoying my 950 for months now and have never noticed it. I even moved on to other forums for a while because this whole issue was so annoying to read about. Then I made the mistake that Smart Little Lenas' husband said she would. I put it on a source component, cable. My wife jumped 6' and my ears are still ringing. Anyway I guess I will send in an Email to swap it out. I sure do not like the whole refurbished vibe but I guess it is better than waiting 2 to 3 weeks.

Wow. Another groupie. Teehee.

minuteman: Although I am honored that you took the immense time to look up one of my many hundreds of posts on the 950, it might help us if you list the date for this post and that way, we can better discern exactly which 950, of the many I've had, I was referring to when I made this wonderful eloquently descriptive statement.

If you were a bit more diligent in your search, you'd find the posts where I spoke of the hiss I could hear from the 950 unit #3, the final shipping 950. Then again though, that wouldn't have properly allowed you to be a nasty little boy. Bend over now, it is time for your spanking.

Minuteman: Like I just said, next time, do some more thorough research before you make incorrect statements about someone else. Trying to make others look bad by lieing about them just makes you look bad. Next time, if you are unsure, just send me an email at merc@kgjack.com and ask. That way you can be sure you will know the truth.

Although I have some very slight hiss, it is something that doesn't bother me and is something I could live with. The hiss I get from the 950 is about the same hiss I could hear from many other units that I've had during my life, and is only audible when you place your ear near the tweeter of the speakers. However, if any of those other companies produced a hiss free unit with better noise floor and offered to replace it for free, I'd have taken them up on their offer as well. Remeber, I will serve no whine before its' time.

I find it very strange that at a time when we should be rejoicing in a hiss-free, lower noise floor, tonally wonderful 950... some folks decide to attack others. Heck folks, let's smile and be happy... we're all getting perfect(hopefully)Outlaw 950 preamps!

------------------
Take Care,
merc
Edited to add email address.

[This message has been edited by merc (edited August 31, 2002).]

"Why do I have to be kidding? If outlaw tells you not to swap out your unit because you won't develop the problem if you don't have it now, and they turn out to be wrong, you think you should just be stuck with a bad unit because you trusted them?

You're the one that's got to be kidding."

No I'm not. You can't really expect them to hold this open for a year (how bought for as long as you own the 950/or 5 years whatever is longer).

Lets say you upgrade and introduce a new amp into your set-up, and you get hiss/or a hum/ or somthing else. Do you think its reasonable to blame the 950 for contributing this "new" noise? What if its the amp? Should that maker automatically replace your new amp (post any return period) cause of the noise.

Same thing for speakers, cables, etc. Sorry, I just dont buy this one. Future upgades sans 950 dont apply in my book.

Darn Merc, you took all the fun out of it. You're so cute when you get all ruffled and blustery. And BTW, there was no time involved. There are dozens if not hundreds of similar posts of yours leading people merrily down the garden path. It just took a minute really.
I AM glad the 950 will start shipping because I smoked my Denon last night. Up until now, it made perfectly acceptable prepro. Oh well.

[This message has been edited by minuteman (edited August 31, 2002).]

Minuteman: Dang! Sorry to hear that. I hope it still was under warranty....

Merc, your farther down the garden path than me. Logic tells me that those with hissy 950’s already cover such a broad range of setups: speaker brand/sensitivity, interconnects, amps etc. If you don’t have the hiss it’s not there! Another point, (one of your test units had it / the others did not).
WHA DA ya think?

Ouch, ouch, ouch Minuteman! What brand of rolling papers did you use?

So you don't expect this to be covered under the 5 year warranty even though it's a known issue?

brianca

No I would not.

if manufacturing and design errors are not covered by the warranty, what is?


brianca..

Holy cow!!! Have I got some stuff I'd like to sell to you! They have a known design issue which was significant enough to halt production for MONTHS. But you don't expect them to honor returns/repairs/fixes for anyone who discovers they have the problem in the future?? Wow!

Absolutley not what I'm saying. He's talking about "introducing" new equipment into his system in the future with a 950 that CURRENTLY DOES NOT HISS. How can you say HIS UNIT has a design flaw. Remember NOT ALL units have the problem. Anyone who thinks this company should be responsible for potential noise in a unit that from the get go was fine/that introduces/changes their system/environment/gets a hiss and AUTOMATICALLY thinks the 950 is at fault (that did not hiss from the get go) is full of crap. You guys need a lesson or two in business/contract law. And no thanks, I don't need your hand-me-downs, quite happy with what I got.

Of course I'm assuming that you can reasonably show that the 950 is the source of the hiss. I don't think you should just pick a part of your system at random and replace it when you have a problem. If you can swap out the 950 with several other pre/pros and the hiss is only there when the 950 is in the system, I would expect the outlaws to cover the product under thier warranty. That's all I'm saying. I'm somewhat astonished that you don't think they should cover it.

brianca..

Well gee, now you've added "If you can swap out the 950 with several other pre/pros and the hiss is only there when the 950 is in the system, I would expect the outlaws to cover the product under thier warranty. That's all I'm saying. I'm somewhat astonished that you don't think they should cover it".

This is ALOT different from what you started with. You now describe "specifics" re: the 950, before you talked in generals re: speakers or an amp. Under this scenerio, based on the excellent customer support I've received from Scott and Mike, I'm confident they would work with you to solve your problem.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey. I just thought it unreasonable in your original post that if you "changed" your system, and sumpthin was amiss, you automatically get another 950. Of course, under the 5 year warranty if the 950 was the problem, they should/and I believe they would get you all "fixed" up. Peace to both of you!

Why would I suggest that they would swap it out if it wasn't causing the problem. the entire premise of my argument was that the 950 developed a hiss down the road even though the outlaws have assured you that it will not. It would be so absurd to expect outlaw to replace your 950 if you bought an amp that hissed that I guess I didn't feel the need to spell that out. I was just curious if this repair was a one time offer. You had me nervous that it might be.

Glad we're all on the same page now, and I agree that I expect outlaw to hono exchange requests for the full five years based on thier record of post sales support.


brianca..

[This message has been edited by brianca (edited September 01, 2002).]

Why not just swap now and be done with it? I'm trying to see the upside of keeping a possibly defective and certainly 'outdated' unit, can't see it......

Is outlaw replacing units that don't have any problems?


brianca

I would hope so.

Because they say there is an interaction with source components. So even if you don't have the problem now, they should be gracious enough to accept your old unit in return just in case you're worried you might get the problem in the future with a change in componentry. They say, if you don't have the problem now, *with your current set of components*, you won't get the problem. In other words, it's not a question of a component inside the 950 slowly going bad or failing.

Plus, for people with 950s now, there is always the issue of OK, when I sell it in the future to maybe upgrade to Outlaw's higher end pre/pro whenever it comes out , would the potential new owner have a problem with his/her set of source components?

So hopefully, you can swap it out now even if the unit doesn't exhibit the problem.

Plus, we all know there have been a few software upgrades for the Rotel over the interveening time. You'd get any new software for the Outlaw with a swap too, I imagine.



[This message has been edited by Kevin C Brown (edited September 01, 2002).]

If my system did suddenly develop hiss, I'd most certainly first suspect the 950 as the most likely culprit.

------------------
Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

I got the call. The Outlaws called to say they will ship out a FINAL hiss-fixed unit so I can compare it to my old unit. I am so pleased they will permit this comparison in my own home! Also I want to return the INTERMEDIATE hiss-fixed unit I got a while ago, because I prefer the sound from the original unit a little bit more than the sound from the intermediate unit (despite the hiss in the original unit).
~ Happy Will

Will: You dog! I am still waiting till you guys all get your new hiss-fixed units till I get mine... and all that time, while you were so antagonistic about Outlaw on the forums, you thought you'd receive less than typical Outlaw customer service and courtesy because of your posted opinions. Come on... admit it. You were WRONG, and I was RIGHT, about that. Outlaw deserves some props. RIGHT?

[This message has been edited by merc (edited September 03, 2002).]

Will,

Let us know what you think of the final fix and how it compares to #'s 1&2!

Frankly, if I could get us all in the same place, I'd buy every single member of the Outlaw team the adult beverage of their choice. Whatever our frustrations have been as wait-listers or buyers or whatever, it can't possibly compare to the aggravation, disappointment and mind-numbing stress the Outlaws have experienced through this thing.

I got $50 worth of free interconnects. I got shipping BOTH WAYS (for cripes' sakes) if I want to replace my 950.

They get an ulcer.

Sure, they have a financial upside at the end of the road; but this has been a costly project for them. If it's any consolation as they're paying those extra shipping bills and airfreight charges from Malaysia, I think they're buying a helluva lot of customer loyalty with those investments.

This has been a rocky road and I know I'll get lots of naysayers, but I think the agonizing history of the Outlaw 950 has shown that Outlaw can create a fine product and get through the bad times while remaining a class act.

OK. Now some of the rest can tell me what a butt smoocher I am.

So how far up the list did this post move you?

Sorry, Charlie, good guess but no cigar. I actually was one of the lucky ones who got an Outlaw 950 back in May, so I've been enjoying it for the past few months.

If it makes you feel any better, I do feel a little guilty enjoying mine while so many other folks are still waiting. Cranking up the volume another 5dB usually fixes the guilt, though.

Also works well drowning out the paper concerns of “Double Bass” and “Hiss”.
I agree with your post wholeheartedly Bobliinds. I’ll buy a round, (and buy them a designated driver).