I went to the AVS thread referred to here, and the posts on the R-972 are disconcerting to say the least. I still have faith in the Outlaws to come through, and am still anxiously awaiting a release date for the 997. The Trinnov feature seems "interesting," but I have held off buying elsewhere primarily due to my prior experiences with Outlaw gear and service.

"So a group of audio afficianados can't get it working correctly after quite some time fiddling with it."

What group? And how could they get it working right w/malfunctioning f/w?

I'm Noah Katz BTW

I know how much of an "adventure" beta testing can be, Noah. When you agree to do it on the front end, it is a challenge that is offset by the knowledge that your hard work will improve the product. When you stumble into it with a product that you purchased, it is just plain frustrating with a sprinkling of irritation. It sounds as if you have done the latter with the 972.

There will be one additional challenge awaiting you once properly functioning firmware arrives (assuming you decide to give Sherwood and the 972 a chance to deliver it): separating the user experience of this initial setup from the behavior of the unit when it operates properly. My hope is that the problems you are currently running into can be straightened out, but there is a first impression that has already been made and can influence your feelings long-term. We all must now try to weigh the influence of that disappointing first impression when evaluating the unit with firmware that works. If you get a single firmware update that does the trick all at once, that may be easy to do. If it takes a couple of iterations, it will be harder.

I wasn't expecting this, but after all the delays and problems, I'm not surprised.

I was willing to be a guinea pig at the price I got.

I don't think Outlaw's hints at delays have anything to do with producing the physical units, but with the integrating the Trinnov s/w.

That's good news, at least.
It certainly sounds like a reasonable hypothesis at this point.

At this point, please don't release until next March. Any funds I had set aside for the 997 will evaporate between now and Christmas. It will take about three months to recover, so March 2010 is OK by me. Truly, I was ready to pull the trigger in March of '09, but summer projects came along, bought a few tools and things this fall, planned a fishing trip. Long story short, "Life" came along, cash gone.

Yes, I gathered you were the same Noah. I am referring to messages from yourself and another guy (deeeg-something) on AVS, though you seem to be having more problems than he is.

It's also interesting to note that the other guy is reporting that Trinnov isn't that big of a deal in terms of sound improvement. Is everything else working OK for you other than the seemingly broken Trinnov setup process?

Best,

Pretty much.

I am afraid that we are expecting too much out of Trinnov. Other than some CEDIA reports I have found nothing to lead me to believe it will have a significant impact on an already semi-corrected room. It is, after all, a room correction technology and if your listening area is not way out of whack, it may not do anything dramatic. Being able to remap your speakers to different areas may already possible with the 990s correction system. If I tell the system manually where a speaker is, does it not apply the delays expected for that position. It sounds like Trinnov is more complicated than some other similar devices but it does not sound like it will make your systems components sound better. If someone has first hand experience with the system, please correct my understanding.

Noah, how does the 972 sound? Is Trinnov ruining your experience or does the gear sound good?

I am reading reports that the Emotiva UMC-1 is almost ready to ship.
I currently have a Denon 3805 and want to replace it with a new pre-pro. The 997 and Emo UMC-1 have been my primary front runners to replace my Denon thus far.
Now, with the UMC-1 reportedly shipping in November... then add to the fact that first reports are that the Trinnov on the 997 is over hyped.
I am leaning towards the UMC-1.