I have read on this forum and on Facebook about some very unhappy campers concerning Outlaw Audio. Mostly about the ghostly 997.
I myself thought that Outlaw let the cat out of the bag about the 997 way to soon not realizing the negative impact the publicity or lack of...concerning the 997 would have on the company.
No-bodies perfect.
As I stated in an earlier post I have owned the 990/7700 combo since 2002 with no problems. I have not done the latest upgrade but I am currently using the DVI inputs for my projector without a hitch even though I had to update the firmware in my Infocus 7205 to utilize the DVI.

I too was very excited about a newer processor from Outlaw, reasonably priced with an automatic $200.00 discount since I am a current owner of a 990.
The 997 was just about off the drawing board when all of the hype was flying around on this forum.
I think a BIG mistake for Outlaw...and shame on Sherwood a company that Outlaw might reconsider.

I think that for all of us owners of the 990 patience will reap rewards.
Also I am enjoying what I have (990) an I am rethinking whether or not to buy the 997 whenever it comes out.
The 990 has given me eight years of enjoyment and continues to do so.
The 997 is not a priority but Outlaws message statement to me is what really counts.

The fact that Outlaw has been completely mute on the subject of the 997 for some time now is a clear indication that something is amiss. PeterT needs to give the loyal people waiting for the 997 an update based on fact.

I agree. I'm beginning to wonder if this thing will get pulled. The stuff being written by users on the R972 AVS Forum are pretty bad. I assume Outlaw is trying to produce a unit that doesn't have the same problems. Imagine the uproar if they release the unit this late and it still has massive bugs.

The cool thing here is that we all wish Outlaw well and want them to succeed. We'd all love to have a 997 that worked well and was up to date in terms of technology.

My concern for Outlaw is that their competitors are moving forwards and 2 years is an eternity in this market place. There is no announcement of a delivery date, in fact I've nothing about anything. The sad fact is that in March 2010 we have no HDMI switching and no capability to deal with the higher end audio formats of Blu Ray. Competitors have this on the entry level products.

This is very strange from a small company dealing with their most loyal users and biggest fans. You can only draw one reasonable conclusion here.

Something with the 997 is wrong.

Even a quick read of the R972 thread at AVS yields much pessimism.

All this is sad because we all want Outlaw to succeed. Guys, you need to engage with your users and fans and say something. On March 9th it will be 6 months since we last heard anything. I run my own company and just cannot imagine in this day and age, leaving it 6 months before we updated people.

All the very best
Rob

I am having a hard time figuring this out as well. In addition to the 990, Outlaw has known that it would need to replace the 970 and 1070 as well. Given that the agreement with SN does not allow Outlaw to develop a receiver off of that platform, you would think that something different from the 997 should have been ready by now as well. I think that the 886 was the contingency plan on the high end. I am wondering what would be the plan is on the lower end?

On a completely different note, given all of the positive comments about the the OPPO BD-83 and 83-SE, could OPPO be a potential business partner for Outlaw? Imagine a merger of the 990/BD-83 or 83-SE into a single unit?

im amazed someone from outlaw isnt doing some damage control in the PR department around here. all this chatter unanswered from them sure does reinforce the bad vibes.

Hi guys, I've been following this 997 story for quite a while and as a prior Outlaw owner, I can't understand what Outlaw is thinking with this silence? It's obvious that the 997 has hit a brick wall, but come out and say so...

The Emotiva UMC-1 has been out for a few months now and they are working on getting the bugs out. I've heard it and it sounds fantastic. They at least tell their customers what the status is and what they are doing to address the issues. Outlaw better follow suit.

Hey all!

Just a thought that's been running through my mind over this situation. I've also been keeping track of the Sherwood 972 and at times shaking my head over how buggy that thing is, or should I say that Sherwood had the nerve to actually sell a product that was that riddled with problems. I can empathize with other's desire as I find myself practically chomping at the bit to get my hands on a 997 of my very own. I'd love to get some information regarding progress, but what if the Outlaws simply have no idea when it's going to be ready. Regardless of PeterT comes on and says 'we don't have a definite date' it's basically the same thing, just we'd know he doesn't know either.

I temporarily jumped ship and auditioned a Pioneer receiver and it was the classic 'green/black screen' plus no way for the user to update the unit that caused me to take it back to Best Buy. I have no desire to deal with that again. It's Outlaw's past history and the praises it's current customers (I'll be happy to add to that with the experience with the 7125 amp!) that keeps me waiting. Plus this Trinnov deal sounds appealing what with (When they happen) positive comments regarding the 972.

If it took six months of Beta testing on the Oppo BD-83 player and considering how more complex a pre/pro likely is, and I seem to remember Outlaw having preliminary 997 units last July, it might not unreasonable to expect to not see the unit until this Summer.

Yeah, kinda hurts me too, but maybe a totally random point of view might help some?

While I'm sure that everyone here are quite civil, it's not always in the best interest of a company for them to offer information. I'm sure that any comment here would find it's way to other forums where the people aren't quite as nice.

I have officially jumped ship. I purchased an Onkyo PR-SC5507P that everyone seems to be happy with. I heard that there is some relay noise when skipping commercials on a dvr but I contacted Onkyo and they got back to me in less than 24 hours telling me that a firmware update was coming in a week or two to fix it.

It has been months since we have heard anything useful about the 997.

I will send my 990 back to Outlaw to be repaired since it is still under warranty and you will find it on Audigon or ebay soon.