The reason I came back to the Saloon today is to look for a thread like this. I get the Outlaw promotional emails at two different accounts. I heard about the 997, though I wasn't as affected by it as I haven't changed to Pre/Pro. Yet. But the failure of the 997 project and the abundance of reselling was definitely seen by me as a harbinger of sorts, and one I felt a little sad about, if I'd found evidence of my 1st favorite audio company struggling.

I believe that Outlaw has found themselves in a bit of a quandry. A company cannot likely sustain themselves on one product, and if they have to, the market has to permit this and their engineering/development needs to be SPOT ON to pull off something as big as bringing a really good product to the consumer and make a profit. R&D is expensive and risky and you need investors to do get something moving. To do this on a smaller scale of economy, while still inventing something as unique as traditional Outlaw products, you have to really have your A game, and the demand has to be there.

Those of us who come here frequently or at all, represent what I believe to be a relatively small demographic. It grew during the boom time, but I think people are less likely to take chances with their money and may lean towards more "stable" brands that don't need to be id'd. We know who they are, we may have bought from them recently in fact.

I have always like the idea of a small American outfit putting their heads together to appease those of us who like Outlaw-type products. China's amazingly aggressive rise in global industry in general, could not have helped Outlaw if their business model did not adjust. Outfits like Emotiva have put a candle to Outlaw. I'm not saying that they make better equipment. I have no experience with it firsthand. But they attract budding audiophiles (and the older crowd) like moths to a nightlight. Whether or not people like their offerings, people are actively discussing them, trying them out, driving interest and sales to a degree. Just like Outlaw used to do. But the game's changed. Technology that is driven ever moreso by software - and tied directly to the development of quickly changing specs (read: HDMI nightmare), and integrating that spec, software, to your software, makes life pretty tough for an outfit like Outlaw.

The fact is that the Model 1070 that I own would make a lot of people unhappy at times. I believe the 970 had a similar set of issues. Some would contend that the last great Outlaw integrated AV receiver was neither, despite the reviews you see about both. The word got out that they were buggy. I saw past it on most days. I still love my Model 1070. She's a beauty and when she's working, she sounds oh so nice. But the masses wouldn't accept it. Outlaw produced, to me, the AV equivalent of a V-22 Osprey. (Google if you don't know what I mean. In short, somewhat revolutionary, genius, loved by its users, but problematic and at times attracting bad publicity.) In short, a game changer that had it's fair share of problems - some serious. I lurked on the 970 board to see similar problems there too. I think to some degree this may have hurt Outlaw a little bit. I also think that the issues they had were fully recognized as problems they'd care not to repeat, at the risk of really losing a grip on their supporters, so they're trying very hard to make sure they get it right this time. I wonder how much they really profited on the 970 considering the ridiculously low prices they fetched towards the end of their heyday. They seemed late to market and as I said, shared similar QA problems.

Software, among other parts of the development pie, is EXTREMELY hard to get right when you are dependent on parts over which you do not have all the control (design-wise and schedule wise; ahem. Sherwood.) I doubt anyone outside of Outlaw knows the full story, but I can sympathize. I work in software and have labored for years on a project that is struggling. BADLY. I don't know if we'll make it. I want us to. BADLY. But that's not enough. Wanting to produce something that works great doesn't resolve vendor problems. It doesn't resolve unreasonable or uncharacteristic (of the company mantra) demands by investors who want to be paid back quickly. It doesn't resolve the fact that the mass population of people are obsessed with BS wattage numbers, HDMI 1.4a, and electro-gizmo room correction, etc etc. I honestly don't care if my receiver does upconversion. I'm not saying Outlaw's fans collectively don't care, but the requirements they're supposed to meet have, in my mind, been drastically expanded and I can easily see why a.) Outlaw might be stretched out or forced to work faster than to what they're accustomed, and b.) it's harder to keep up with the product life cycle of their competition who seem to have comparitively endless R&D money and the flexibility to change products on the fly. I guess my point is, a.) Software is a difficult business, more than people who are not IT might realize. And b.)I see more software bugs across all my gadgetry, than I ever remember seeing, which highlights that software is changing faster and faster, QA for software is a very young science, and the "people" demand more and more functionality at a dizzyingly increased rate.

If I had my way, I'd forgo trinnov, I'd forgo HDMI completely (unless they got rid of the bullsh*t DRM pretense), and I'd be interested in one thing and one thing only - a quality pre/pro or integrated that was made by a bunch of geeks like me - to function without error, to sound wonderful and have tons of simple tweaks built into it (analog bass management still makes me smile), and the ability to be both a movie hub and a place to listen to music and make the Yamaha/Denon/Sony owners go green with envy in the simplicity of the build and beauty of the sound reproduction. Look nice. Look unique. Sound great. Allow me to add to it, tweak it, savor it. Enable me to join a small-ish community of similar minded folks with which are fun to discuss audio/HT. Do so without molesting my wallet. I'm not an business executive, and maybe my utopic vision of what Outlaw could still be is a pipedream. But, maybe not...

Outlaw helped me get my hobby on the right track, even with a somewhat buggy 1070. I was given it as a Christmas gift from my father in law, who I think just wanted to see what Outlaw was all about. I'd never heard of Outlaw, didn't know anything about it until I opened it. When I got it I didn't know the difference between coaxial and toslink. Since then, I've reached a new level of understanding and more importantly I've got this insatiable appetite to expand my horizons in the music listening world. But MOST importantly, I'm doing this still looking for the "best values on the internet" to this day. Owning a 1070 taught me that good companies make good products and are brave enough to battle giants and accomodate the sort of people who care more than the average about value, quality, and uniqueness. It started the day I cracked open the 1070 manual and I knew instantly that this company and this product were different. I'm more than a little bummed that they appear to be struggling. I love the RR2150 and I will probably buy one soon. But that's all I see right now...

I read Peter Tribeman's post earlier in this thread, and I applaud his confronting the issue with the truth, at least as much as he can say. He really seems like a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of guy. I hope he has the authority to make this all well again. I'm not meaning to slam anyone that said "Booo" when Peter wrote what he wrote, but if you haven't done so already, stop and consider the fact that, once again!, the head honcho of a small company that produced and still produces quality, major component-type audio gear (I mean actual receivers, amps, speakers) stopped in to address the concerns. They're listening. They're trying hard, that's very obvious to me. I really, REALLY hope that Outlaw pulls the magic rabbit out of the hat. I love winning underdogs as most of us do. Else you wouldn't be here.

Cheers to you all.