They've not encouraging us to change it ourselves, are they? Some people will but I imagine a lot of people won't unless Outlaw says its ok.

Can someone who opens their box to change it post pictures of the 950's innards? I haven't seen any pictures of innards of the current version of the 950.

I would imagine that would open a can of liability worms. My advise would be to have a qualified service facility do the work - you'll be reimbursed for the expense.

Hi all
Before you decide on a hifi service shop or a computer repair facility to do the EPROM replacement, I suggest that you determine if the service shop/repair facility has adequate ESD procedures and equipment in place. I have been in more than one computer repair facility where there were no antistatic workstations, no grounding straps and the sales personnel handled ESD sensitive RAMs with no regard to safe ESD procedures. I do not have much knowledge of how hifi service shops handle ESD sensitive devices such as EPROMS, but they may be as bad or worse than the computer repair facilites. I would make sure that the repair facility/service center knows what they are doing beore I would let them service my 950 if I could not do it myself.
Regards,
TCIII

TCIII,
Thanks,but I decided,to send it in,since I still have the hiss issue as well,so I hope they can take care of both.
Thanks again!

I wouldn't worry about it too much. The odds of frying it are pretty slim, and even if you did, it's still under warranty.

brianca...

I agree. The odds of frying the chip are extremely slim. Also, the only requirement to work as a computer technician is A+ certification. This course is very easy and any one can go through it in a few months.

My point is that if Outlaw recommends a PC repair shop to to the swap, you can be sure it is a very simple procedure. As long as you ground yourself while working, you shouldn't have any problems.

Antistatic precaution is not just a matter of avoiding a total failure. The following is information from ESD Systems:

In many cases, ESD events of only a few volts is enough to cause serious permanent damage to semiconductor devices.. At the microscopic level, the damaged area looks like a moon crater or a welded spot where the silicon materials where melted and fused together. ESD events do not always destroy an electronic component immediately on the first occurrence. Sometimes, many events occur over a period of time. Each occurrence adds a bit more damage until the component finally fails. Any damage is always permanent and cumulative. Once the device finally fails completely, the failure is referred to as a catastrophic ESD failure. ESD damage which is not catastrophic leaves the component operable, but damaged, such that it will fail at a later time under normal stresses. The worst part of ESD is that the damage occurs deep within the device at a microscopic level, so you cannot ever see it to verify that ESD was the culprit.
Many electronic companies, large and small, spend a lot of money each year employing ESD preventative practices to reduce the amount of scrap product produced by ESD. Since ESD cannot ever be completely eliminated, you could say that "It's not a matter of if a part will fail, but when."
The scariest thing about ESD is that there are thousands of little computer stores and repair shops around who put together PCs or fix VCRs, TVs, etc. and sell chips who do not practice ESD prevention in any way. Some have told me that they know about ESD and that it really is nothing to worry about with today's technology which is a shock (no pun intended) to me since today's technology is more complex and sensitive than it has ever been. It really bothers me that these people are so much more interested in making a buck than in doing quality work that they will not make the slightest effort to protect your product from ESD even though you think you are paying a professional to take care of anything that could damage your equipment. Part of the reason they prefer not to use ESD preventative practices is that they are just plain lazy or stupid, but the main reason has to do with money. ESD has a way of bringing customers back to the repair shops since most ESD events are not immediately catastrophic. It's people who do business like this that make our world worse for everybody. As far as I'm concerned, this kind of malpractice is rampant, and is the same as stealing from innocent hard working citizens.

Just a word of warning. Be sure that the service center has and uses ESD procedures.

Recieved my replacement chip yesterday, Monday the 7th. Installed it this morning in about 35 minutes and it works great.

All speakers set to large, Gladiator DVD, DTS-ES selected, power amps off, sub on.... the bass was there and in abundance.

The procedure is very simple to perform by following the directions using a grounding strap and philips screwdriver. The toughest part was disconnecting, and reconnecting my system to the 950.

The interior of the 950 is something to behold. Very state of the art and well layed out. Sweet!!!! Just a little pride of ownership...I think you all know what I mean.

Same story here, GMAN. I got mine yesterday and installed it last night. I kept track of my time out of curiosity. I spent ten minutes unhooking the 950 and getting it out of the equipment rack, fifteen minutes to open the 950 and swap the chip, ten minutes to close it back up (I got slowed down by a phone call), and fifteen minutes to get the 950 back in place and running (including a second phone call). The instructions that are provided are very thorough -- several pages long and complete with color pictures of every step.

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

I did mine last night. Took about 35 minutes all told. The hardest part was trying to get my short fat fingers under the latch connector thingies. Then I happily set it all back up with my rear surrounds and sub/center reversed. ACK! That Test button comes in handy.