does any one know if outlawaudio will release new pre-amp with hdmi?

Just want to know how long i should wait.
thanks a lot

Yes, they will be releasing a pre/pro (or possibly even more than one) with HDMI v1.3 support some time in 2008. Based on some news from October, we shouldn't expect anything sooner than this spring, but there's nothing concrete available at this time regarding features, pricing, or any firm delivery window.

If the past is an indicator of the future, 'new stuff' is often announced/shown in conjunction with the Home Entertainment Show, usually in New York City in the middle of May. Often there are introductory deals!

I sure wish Outlaw would really try to speed things up. I am very seriously looking at getting the new Integra 9.8 pre-amp. It has all the audio formats, balanced outputs, 4 HDMI inputs, for around $1600.

While I would like to keep the "Outlaw" seperates (7700 and 990) together, the desire for HDMI inputs is overwhelming!

I am not sure I will be waiting much longer.

As with the LCR, I'm sure they won't put anything out until it's ready for prime time.

Better to work out all the glitches and get things done right out of the gate then put out a subpar product earlier.

My prevoious experience as an early adopter has taught me that impatients leads to paying too high a price and setteling for inferior quality.
I'm holding out for this whole market to mature a little bit.

I agree with KOYAAN, in that rushing with the complexity involved here is a dangerous proposition. Also, there were some hints in the October announcement that left me wondering if they even could speed things up without imposing significant limitations on capability (limitations that could leave them with a "lame duck" product once others caught up).

Well, I can honestly say that I for one can't wait for Outlaw to release a new pre/pro. When my amp crapped the bed a week and a half ago I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Denon 3808 to serve as a temporary solution until my amp came back. After working with the Denon for over a week now, I can honestly say this is one fine peice of equipment. So for right now, I can't wait for my 7700 to come back to see how the 3808 serves as a pre/pro. I had all intentions of taking the 3808 back before the end of January but after seeing what this receiver can do, may be keeping it until Outlaw releases the newer pre/pro's and then the 3808 will be moved to the upstairs rig.

You make a good point. However, I would hardly call HDMI as "new" anymore. Perhaps v 1.3 is "newer", but the hardware is out there, as is the "technology" of the newer audio formats.

Manufacturers design their products well in advance, and I understand that. But the "other" mfgrs also have their new products carrying the newer technologies, and they are available now.

Outlaw needs to keep up, period. I am not mad, just starting to lose patience.

HDMI v1.3 is new - the standard was first published less than 18 months ago (which is "just the other day" in these terms) and the chips that are based on it are still evolving. Heck, there were still no players on the market that would output bitstreams of TrueHD and DTS-HD MA just a couple months ago. Just six or eight weeks ago, they were dealing with delays (which may or may not be resolved yet) created by one of the only two DSP chip makers building hardware to decode the new formats at a receiver/processor level. It's a tough time for the whole industry, which is why I (and some others) have been leery of anything being rushed out right now. I agree that it's in Outlaw's best interests to keep pushing forward as fast as they safely can, but the damage inflicted by arriving too soon and having show-stopping bugs or missing features is going to be worse for them than losing sales in the short term.