Does anyone know if the other 950 clones were suffering from the elevated noise levels or not? And, if so, are the other clone distributors selling the "fixed" units now?

Hard to say for sure. There are apparently not many of the clones out yet. All of them should include the final design fixes that Outlaw and Eastech worked up over the summer, as they entered production very recently (like the Atlantic Tech clone) or haven't entered production at all (I haven't heard about any Sherbourn units reaching consumers, so I don't know if they are shipping or not). About all I know is what was reported here .

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

Given that they're sourcing the (mostly) same parts from the same suppliers I'd guess the clones will be heterogenous too (some quiet, some not). I have one of the original (non-red-dot) 950s, that is absolutely silent from the hiss perspective. You probably don't hear much from we lucky ones.

I would imagine that the higher zoot clones would use the same part, but the selected "A" version, which would give much better uniformity unit-to-unit, and have better performance in areas such as noise.

Are you _sure_ your 950 isn't hissing? Ah, come on, listen _carefully_, I'm sure you will find some hiss in there _somewhere_: misery loves company.

"us lucky ones" have posted at various times, but I think you're right: misery *does* love company. I've never had a response or comment to postings of the smooth sailing I've experienced. I had received my 950 late May. Right out of the box, it was stealth silent... oh wait, I should clarify that. Yes, it powered up, yes it worked, and yes, it did not have the dreaded hiss problem. I am still enjoying it. Even on music, 2 channel the sound has smoothed out.

I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Some background. I have worked in television, radio and theatre audio for 30 years. Mixed a lot of live music, ProTools editing, broadcast, sound effects and soundtrack design and mix. For both music/2 channel *and* the rather artificial world of sound/audio for film, the 950 really *is* a solid value, and capable of revealing subtleties in the playback of a mix.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled ranting

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no 3-wish limit

Good to hear you're happy with your 950 - actually, I am satisfied with mine too, but I use it only for VCR, sattelite TV, and radio. I'm afraid that my original Sony EP9-ES in conjunction with a Smart 'CircleSurround' box for EX decoding works better for me for movies on DVD. The CircleSurround has a less distinct transition from side surround to back surround and 'fills in' a bit better.

I just did't feel like gambling and hoping for a no-hiss product, and therefore will wait to get something else.

My experience with Taiwanese/Malaysia designed and manufactured product over the last 5 years is pretty dismal.

Isn't there some very hi-end stuff thats built in Malaysia?

PatriCanuk-- thanks for sharing your experiences with us regarding your 950. You may be a part of the "silent majority". You are right, it is a "solid value".

[This message has been edited by steves (edited October 29, 2002).]

Some people said over a month ago they purchased one of the clones. I wonder why more aren't available yet.

I think Soundhound said if there's a store in Los Angeles with a clone on display he might want to go and measure its S/N. At the time, he couldn't find a store in LA that had a clone on display. Alternatively if anybody in Los Angeles has purchased a clone and would like to have its S/N measured, please speak up! (Soundhound, please feel free to correct me if I misquoted you.)

Will