As an Outlaw fan and customer, and as an owner of an Onkyo 886, my initial reaction to this announcement is Wow!

I don't even have to read between the lines to know that this is a shrewd business decision on the part of the Outlaw's - for numerous reasons that will come up over the coming weeks.

This is a big win for both Outlaw customers and 886 owners.

Hoping to post lots more as I collect my thoughts - once the initial shock wears off!

Jeff Mackwood

That was surprising! As an 885 user, I'm going to be curious to check out this new guide...

Think they'll come up with a better price? Wouldn't mind buying from them as I am a loyal Outlaw customer, but not paying that much of a premium!

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of the 997, but getting a little restless and was thinking of starting to look around and see what else is out there in my price point. I've owned or own a 950, 970 and 990, and am looking forward to the 997. Then Outlaw goes and partners up with a competitor so as to provide us with an alternative to going elsewhere to get a new pre/pro now. That is a very shrewd thing to do. I commend you on showing loyalty back to your customers, while keeping them within the family. I don't yet know what I am going to do, but I am still anxious for the 997 to get released. I don't need a new processor, as my 990 and 970 (to a lesser extent) do everything that I need, I'm just restless to play with something new. I'll probably end up waiting for the 997, but I guess that I'll start reading up on the SC866 while waiting.

Jeff

This is really interesting. I'd been regularly reading about a few close competitors including the Integra/Onkyo line thinking--really--that if only Outlaw offered a pre/pro with the Onkyo's specs I'd be very quick to pull the trigger. The two missing features for me were the phono preamp and an HD tuner; my room is too small and well-designed for the room correction stuff to make a difference.

Time to make a really quick decision, but I haven't figured out what the downside might be. First step is reading the Outlaw guide. (Has anyone else tried to download the actual Onkyo manual? Doesn't seem to work, but I haven't tried very much.)

Mike,

As I mentioned in my other thread their server's running pretty slow right now. I managed to get a copy with a little patience. Trust me - it's well worth any wait!

Jeff Mackwood

They're offering better prices if you buy a bundle. Historically their prices have been pretty locked-in unless you bought a package deal of some sort, but you can always call or email and ask them - worst they can do is say "no."

Yeah, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed in the price of the 886. Onkyo must be close to at least announcing a replacement if they haven't already, so we'd be paying a premium for something that's almost reached the end of it's life cycle which some of us would really just be using as a hold over.

Shop Onkyo has not had the 886 refurbs on their site for a week or so. I wonder if this is part of the reason.

As an 886 owner, I wonder what features you think are just around the corner and worth waiting even longer for?

I guess I could see Trinnov being one - in which case the 997 will be it. But anything beyond that?

As far as I'm concerned the 886 is as full-featured as I can imagine any such piece of gear to be.

I think this is only about halfway through its life cycle - the 885 was out about 1.5 years before this one popped up...if past performance is an indicator etc etc

I wonder if they'll stop selling the Onkyo when the 997 comes out?

Hey, at least you can now find the 886 at a reputable online dealer.