Boy, you didn't even let the ink dry before you replied, gonk. What you said was history-- the tale of a business model that failed. My question could be answered in either of two ways: why didn't they go it alone the first time, OR, why do they think they can this time? I suspect the contract with Sherwood was vaguely written - at least the part forcing OA to wait x days after the Sherwood release. Sounds possible on paper but I'm thinking that no one contemplated the ramifications if the Sherwood release went buggy. My guess is that OA could have taken their share of the circuits and completed the product were it not for the contractual wait. I understood that the Sherwood problems were largely external to the pre/pro functionality.
What I said was history, yes. You asked what has changed and why Outlaw thinks they can succeed with a different partner and a different approach, and I pointed to examples from past projects where they successfully employed an approach that seems similar to the 998 plan.
As for the remains of the R-972, I doubt that they have the option of keeping any board designs - and I doubt there's much desire to do so. They have experience with analog audio, digital audio, analog video, and even digital video switching from past projects that didn't involve Sherwood/Inkel. The only really unique aspect of the R-972 design is the DSP section, and the biggest factor there is probably firmware. If the platform had really compelling value in that regard, the Model 997 probably wouldn't be dead now.
My sense tells me that the financial hit was huge. The pre/pro is really OA's flagship product with some of the amps perhaps close seconds. Other products seem to be me-toos or coat-tail products such as their speakers and cables. Not that they are not good, but so are the ones made by their many competitors who specialize in these products. I think OA's Annex products were rather out in left field for a high end audio shop and the stream of them seemed to coincide with the sinking fortunes of the 998.
Certainly killing the Model 997 is not helping their bottom line, and the Model 998 development isn't going to be a freebie either. Of course, releasing the Model 997 and having it be a flop wouldn't do them any favors, either.
Their current plan of running timed sales on mainstream products I think is indicative of a cash crisis and is irritating as it devalues the equipment that I paid good money for.
It could be
far worse. The sales are spread out across the product line enough that any given product goes on sale rarely, and the sales aren't hugely dramatic. That means that the sales aren't going to have as big a long-term impact on the prices in the used market, as long as you don't try to sell during a sale. It's not like one company I could name, where speaker products went on sale at regular intervals (every few months, especially near Christmas) and the sale prices were often as much as half of the regular price. In some cases, products were reduced in price so consistently and by so much that the used market prices on speakers that were just a couple or three years old dropped to maybe 25% or less of the original price - which for good quality speakers is unheard of.
The reality is that the economy is still in pretty bad shape, and non-essential consumer products are going to see a dip in sales no matter how good the product line is. That's going to force companies to look for ways to keep bringing in sales.
In these economic times, even small business mistakes can have heavy consequences. I personally wish OA success and look forward to a new pre/pro.
I agree. The Model 998 looks like it could be an interesting product.
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