Hello again,

Please help. I'm deely mired in the process of creating a new system from scratch... and about 15 minutes (give or take) away from placing an order for the 990. It will be paired with a B&K 200.7 amp I already own. I am quite excited about it, I must say...

However, I am wondering if there is any reason to hold off... for example, possible new product releases from Outlaw? Such as a 990 equivalent with HDMI 1.3? I'm guessing that such a thing is very unlikely to come in January, and they have said that the first new products will be in a NEWcategory.

Nonetheless, I can't help the nagging feeling that buying NOW might be a mistake.

Absent additional input or info, I plan on buying anyway. Does anyone have thoughts about this?

I wouldn't anticipate HDMI v1.3 processors from anybody (Outlaw, Anthem, Rotel, Arcam, or any other surround processor maker) before July at the earliest - probably closer to October, maybe even year-end. The chips needed to design such beasts are still squeaky-new. Whatever's coming this month will certainly not be a surround processor.

HDMI has made a real mess of things, but the reality is that while it can lend some nice things to a surround processor it isn't as critical a resource as it might first seem. DVD, CD, cable/satellite, and every game console except the PS3 wil work just as well with component video or DVI switching as with HDMI v1.1+.

Worst case scenario: you find yourself desperately wanting an HDMI v1.3 surround processor, but you don't want to wait system-less while such a beast appears. You can get a 990, use it and enjoy it for a year, and then sell it for a significant chunk of what you paid for it (I got $525 for my 950 in 2005, just after they were discontinued at $700, and mine was three years old) to help finance the purchase of an HDMI v1.3 processor once they are on the market.

Thanks for the reassurance. Like I said, I was planning on going with the 990 anyway. Your logic seems to work.

Also good to know you can still get some $ when selling, even after discontinuation of that product. Hopefully, I'll not need to sell for many years!

Are there any rumors as to what's coming this month?

Just that it's something in a whole new category for Outlaw...

That's not very helpful of them is it?

Any specifics on a date? My curiosity is piqued.

The December newsletter (available here ) just said to expect something "next month" (meaning this month, so presumably some time in the next 29 days). I'll quote the relevant paragraph:
It is a bit of a tease, isn't it? Hopefully we'll see something more concrete in the next few weeks.

GC
The 990 will sound outstanding with that B&K amp.

Outlaw told me months ago they were working on a firmware upgrade to address graphic equalization with each channel. My guess is outlaw is coming out with a unit to handle this vs. building it direclty into the 990 with firmware. It's just a guess at what the new product might be.

Just to "tie up" my part of this thread, in case anyone cares -- I bought the 990. Lovin' it. No remorse whatsoever. :-)

Thanks again.