What information do you feel has been withheld, jhunt1? Two weeks ago we didn't know the 990 existed, and today we have full specs, detailed photos, and a lengthy FAQ that even delves into why certain key design decisions were made. That's a whole lot of information rolled out in a short time frame. Also, if you look at the structure of the FAQ you might notice that Outlaw appears to have monitored this thread for the first week to ten days and used it to identify what people wanted to know. The FAQ touches on numerous topics that were brought up in this very thread, and Outlaw was very open about answering questions raised here. They even delved into why they made certain design decisions, which you won't see many manufacturers do.

Are you upset about the pre-order system? It's the same approach they've used in the past, where they basically ask folks not to bombard them will calls that are the equivalent of kids in the back seat asking "are we there yet?" If they fielded those calls, there'd be no time left for getting the units ready for shipment. More importantly, putting something in the confirmation e-mail saying "you are number 475 in line" would do two things that are undesirable: it would be somewhat misleading (since the pre-orders do not represent guaranteed sales, so the 474 in front of you might not all buy units), and it would spawn the question "when does unit 475 ship?" (which can't really be answered while the shipment is still en route). If you are worried, though, you might be reassured by some memories from the 950 pre-order. Each reservation had a number associated with it (which was supposed to be kept secret until after the order was placed, because it was part of how you logged in to place the real order). The first pre-order reservation was number 1000, I believe, and it counted up sequentially from there. We had a thread going where people could post and say they'd gotten their unit and what their reservation number was. I suspect they will have refined their processes over the last three years, but there will probably be a similar way for us to watch the pre-orders get filled once shipping begins.

I do not believe any information is being withheld. However, I would like the Outlaws to release the confidentiality of the Beta testers so they could post their comments on this forum. I do not care much about the defects they found and were fixed, I would like their comments on operability, owners manual and sound quality.

Paratrooper, that's an excellent suggestion. I would love to read the comments.

I wonder if any of the advance units found their way to any of the trade magazines like the Perfect Vision, etc.

Can anyone speculate, based on previous releases of other equipment, on the number of 990s that will be available in this first shipment?

I feel like a kid and Christmas is approaching and I'm hoping that Santa puts a 990 in my stocking.

I wrote Customer Service and asked if they've determined any combo pricing on the 990 and 755 or 990 and 5 M200s. They responded with a "We have not announced combo pricing with the 990 at this time". I hope the "at this time" implies they do plan on having some sort of discount on the amp too when purchased along with the 990.

Based on all of their past pricing structures, I would strongly suspect that there will be combo pricing options available for the 990. I don't remember if the 950 pre-order sign-up included the option of ordering an amp, but I think the actual order form for pre-orders did (it's been a few years, and I already had amps so I wasn't concerned with it).

It would be cool to hear from the beta testers, but their continued anonymity may reflect a change in beta test policy (either an across-the-board change or just a change for this case). The 950 testers provided some good feedback for the waiting crowd of pre-order customers during a waiting period of close to two or three months. During that time, they provided us all with a great service, but they also took a lot of grief on other forums. With production 990's so close at hand (everybody wish for clear weather and a tail wind for that freighter), Outlaw may have decided to leave these testers in the shadows and let feedback come purely from users of the finished product. Or else maybe the beta testers are holed away in the home theaters, glued to their beta samples and incapable of prying themselves away from the system long enough to spend time at a computer keyboard...

That's my question, too. I was going to get in the 990 line and see if they came out with an announcement for a revised 755 with balanced inputs, or just buy it as is and hopefully get free shipping. I figured they'd get a handle on that within the next month (enough time for me to decide). I've been waiting for the 990 announcement for about 6 months. Another month isn't going to matter.

Hello Gonk, Owl's_Warder, and All others, My recent statements,

" The type of hype and anxiety that I have witnessed over the last 2 weeks created by the Outlaws withholding of information is not very pleasing. I can understand not providing shipping dates times etc... because of the variables that are involved, but other information that is being and has been withheld is concerning".

concerns the releasing of the technical information and the units feature list. I questioned with both private emails to the powers that be, as well as post to this list as to why this information was not released with the products announcement on 4/03/05. I feel that this was a legitimate question. I also feel that there was some minor frustration and a lot of speculating going on during the time in between announcements as to the feature list and specifications of the unit. Both by myself and others. I believe that if this information had been released, the discussions in between the two announcements would have been very different. With less questioning and speculation and possibly more productive, with relevance to the actual features and specs of the unit. Albeit this is from my point of view only, and just my opinion and thoughts. Hype, may not have been a good word choice to help convey this feeling. Of course with the recent release of the above mentioned information this is now a moot point. I do still question why the position of ones reservation status would not be disclosed to them. I do feel that by not providing this information people will be speculating and wondering about where they stand in regards to receiving a unit.
To answer one of Gonks questions, " Are you upset about the pre-order system" .
No, Its too trivial of an issue to get upset over, questioning the reasoning behind the no disclosure policy, yes I do respectfully. I hope that this post clears up any misconceptions regarding my previous post and that my opinions and thoughts can be respected if not understood. I intend no ill will towards anyone with my postings.

Thank You

John, with regards to the upsampling and the edgyness you experienced with the P965, is there any reason to think that the 990 will be any different?

(I don't care about DVI, or how the 990 looks. I just want it to sound good)

Cary

I wonder where the 790 is in all of this? One would have thought this would have been the perfect time to bring out both the 990 and 790.

It was 11 months ago that Outlaw announced the 790 and indicated it would go to production at the end of 2004.

More lessons learned about announcements?

I wouldn't be surprised to see the 790 make its appearance at the show in NY.

Uhhh...technically that would be the 790's SECOND appearance at the NY show, but at least this time it will have a pre/pro to go with it.

-SM