If the chip manufacturers hadn't been so far behind when the 997 originally went to design I bet Outlaw wouldn't have looked for other sources and we'd all be happily listening to 997's equipped with Audyssey right now.

Well, as dsps/processors get faster and cheaper, I think it's only a matter of time before serious digital room correction (think Tact Audio, not Audessey) trickles down to more affordable products. Now that the hardware grunt has reached "commodity" pricing, it's all a matter of sorting out the software.

Barring fire sale prices, I think a lot of informed people are going to avoid this current generation processor from SN. Maybe they'll get it right on the next pass...or maybe not. The 990 was decent product based on their designs....time will tell.

Bingo!

I talked to a certain Outlaw at the October 2007 Rocky Mt Audio Fest and inquired if they were working on a HDMI prepro. He confirmed this, and estimated a possible summer 2008 release date. This was only a confirmation that Outlaw was working on a new gen prepro at the time, and certainly nothing official. At some point, Outlaw apparently realized that the ongoing delays with the chip manufacturer at that time were unacceptable, and changed platforms. Little did they know that they went from the frying pan into the fire with the SN implimentation of Trinnov, in terms of the projected release date. It's really a shame that SN let a handful of 972s out without a final debugging.

Gotta agree with that...

Hi Guys,
I'm one of the guys that jumped ship and bought a Denon 4810,Emotiva XPA-1,XPA-2and XPA-5 and I am very happy.
My original intent was to purchase a 997 and all Outlaw amps (was thinking of a stack of 2200's or maybe 2 7500's!).

Gonk personally answered many of my questions and I am very grateful to him for his help.

Even though I went in a different direction and other factors were involved (Emotiva is on the "other side of town" from me), I truly believe that Outlaw Audio is a very respectable company. I hope that this 997 debacle, that I do not believe was their fault, will not hurt the company too much. They still have very fine products and I am sure they will come out with a replacement processor soon.
Thanks Guys For All Of Your Help.

Blessings,Brian

I purchased my first Outlaw Audio component (amp) about two years ago, and followed that with a 970 processor to hold me over until the 997 was ready for shipping. I had stumbled across a review of one of Outlaw's processors, and then further investigated Outlaw's products and customer support and was hooked.

Here it is over 1 1/2 years later and still no 997!

However, during this time frame I have seen a well-respected company falter; albeit not 100% their fault with respect to the 997, but, nonetheless, Outlaw must take their fair of the blame.

Although this may not be Outlaw's intent, but, as it appears to me, Outlaw looks like it is becoming merely a private-labeled re-packager of other company's products or a mini-amazon (offering other companies' products online) and not an innovative forward-thinking company and designer of their own products. It seems like almost every recent message from Outlaw is for the promotion of another company's goods.

As for the 997 debacle, if Outlaw hasn't done so already, then they really need to find a new partnership for the design and manufacturer of their processors. Perhaps Outlaw has already done this and the offering of the Onkyo is the prelude to a forth-coming announcement of the two companies' partnership. Outlaw could also be more forthcoming with their position of readiness with the 997; that is, once the contractually required delay period has passed with the R-972, will the 997 be immediately available for shipment or, will it be delayed for many months while Outlaw "continues to work out any bugs?"

And while they are looking for a new partner, why not look for an American company, located here, in the United States? I know I wouldn't mind paying a modest premium for a "Made in U.S.A." product.

I do hope Outlaw takes this reply constructively and as an insight into what some of their customer may be thinking.

It is not too late, but, you really need to stop peddling other companies' products; lest you want to lose more respect of your current and potential customers. Outlaw Audio should be a designer/seller of products, not an online retail outlet of products like bestbuy.com, walmart.com or target.com, etc.

Very well put. I agree and don't put any blame on Outlaw. I don't really need to upgrade my pre\pro and am very happy with my Outlaw amps.


I sit patiently waiting

I just hope they are making some decent coin on the Onkyo to tide them over.

For those of you not following the Sherwood R-972 thread on the AVS forum, there's an interesting development. Kal Rubinson of Stereophile has received a review unit and will be hooking it up this weekend. He said that his understanding was that he wouldn't get a sample until SN was comfortable with the firmware.

His evaluation should be interesting. If I recall, he's been please with what Audyssey, so a comparison with the Trinnov should be instructive.

It could also be damaging to both the 972 and the 997 if there are significant flaws. If not, we may be close to seeing the release of the 997.

Scott

That is interesting. It may be a while before we hear Kal's findings, though: if he writes a review, he will keep pretty quiet until after the review goes to press - which will be months from now. That's how the BDP-83 went, and if I remember correctly he's got similar findings under wraps until February or so for the BDP-83SE.