All true... so just what is it that prevents Outlaw from dropping in with an occasional short post to reassure us that they're continuing to make progress and that we're not waiting for nothing? It's been more than 5 months since there's been any official indication of the 978's status!

Gonk, do you believe they will still release the 978?

Yes, I do. Delays are a part of life in this industry, and we can make a very long list of examples of such delays that will include just about every notable mid-fi and hi-fi manufacturer you can think of. Many of the delayed products that would populate that list went on to be highly successful. The Model 950 experienced delays that were quite a bit longer than we've seen from the Model 978, as did the Model 1070. Both were delivered. The Model 997 would have been delivered, too, if it had been up to Outlaw's standards.

Some of the Model 978's perceived late-ness may be related to the fact that it was originally meant to be the platform that replaced the Model 997, whereas now it is serving as the successor to the Model 990 instead - and the gap in time between those two is quite a bit greater. Sherwood's receiver version of the Model 997 started shipping to customers around maybe November 2009, so Outlaw could have been shipping 997's over 18 months ago if they'd wanted to. They chose to ship nothing rather than ship something that didn't meet their requirements. This perception isn't the only problem of course, as the Model 978 has been delayed from the originally announced release date, but it certainly doesn't help matters at all.

Thanks for the response Gonk.

For me (and I suspect most others still waiting) the problem is much less the delay than the silence. I'm sorry, but excuses such as "we have nothing to say at this point" and "we can't accurately predict when it will be ready" just don't cut it.

Desite gonk's assurances, I'm far less sanguine about the prospects for the Model 978. HDMI is a whole new ball game. There was a fairly confident prediction in Scott's January 26 update that the product would ship by the end of June. Big surprise... it didn't. More importantly, there was no status update when it failed to ship (which is a surprise) and repeated requests for such are simply ignored.

Outlaw: just tell us what's happening, whatever it is. Allow us to make decisions based on current rather than 5 month old information. Is that such an unreasonable request?

I'm in the process of building a house and a 978 would have been great. However, the delays and the worry about initial issues have let the bloom off the rose. I'll use my Outlaw sub and amp for the media room, but my patience went away a while ago. I'll probably go with an Integra processor. It has the bells and whistles that I need and whatever possible audio improvements that the Outlaw product has probably won't be the noticeable to me when everything is properly calibrated. Sorry Outlaws.

Regarding the 978 release and even Outlaw as a long term player in the pre/pro market, I guess I don't see any reason not to assume the worst but hope for the best. And take action based on the former rather than the latter. Doing so will not harm you the consumer in any way.

If Outlaw survives, then the 978 will be released. But my primary concern is whether Outlaw can survive much longer. With no new products, a bad economy, and tight credit, it makes me wonder what's keeping the lights on.

Really, really hope I'm wrong.

April 7, 2011

Three months later we have heard nothing. Any bets on when this is released? Q3 2011, Q4 2011, Q1 2012, Q2 2012 or beyond?

According to the Outlaw I just talked to on the phone, they will release the 978 by the end of the year. They haven't announced anything simply because they want to be sure the date is firm. Unfortunately, that's too late for me, as my trusty old 950 finally died, so I now have a Marantz AV7005. So far, I am blown away by it's performance. The 978, or more likely the 998, will have to be something truely spectacular for me to part with my Marantz for a long long time.

With their track record of meeting dates, I am sure that it will be here for Christmas. Also, Santa Claus is real and will deliver each unit to your house.