Good bye to Cirrus Logic?

I guess this means that the 990 will be the last unit to incorperate a Cirrus Logic DSP.

What does this mean as far as the consumer is concerned?

Cirrus Logic DSP vs TI DSP?

Edit: on an unrelated note, in the article Outlaw mentions the great resale value of their products, but I don't think that really applies to 990 owners who paid $1100... Not necessarily complaining, just pointing this out.

I don't think it means we'll never see an Outlaw product with Cirrus DSP. There's still an opportunity for a 970 successor (especially with a projected $1400 price tag for the 990's successor), and something like that may work well with the 49700.

What does using TI versus Cirrus mean for the consumer? Either can do the necessary decoding for HDMI v1.3 platform. There's some mention of a "revolutionary new technology" that remains rather undefined, and that certainly could benefit from the dual TI chips (such as something that the 49700 by itself couldn't support due to processor resources) - which would be a benefit to consumers who had use for that new technology (whatever it may be). I think the real issue here is what Outlaw saw as the most expedient method of getting hardware developed and ready for the market, and the delays in arrival of the 49700 (which are now on the order of a year or more) must have at some point - probably some point several months ago - reached a tipping point that pushed them in a different direction. From that standpoint, what it means to the consumer more than anything else is that there will be an Outlaw HDMI v1.3 processor available for purchase sooner.

The one bit of info I get from this announcement is a whiff of a retail price for the 990’s successor. This gives us some kind of idea what we need to stash away. It sounds like their target price will be below the retail price for the Onkyo 885 and Integra 9.8.

The "revolutionary" new tech has to do with Room Correction (that actually works, unlike Audyssey that gives different settings when you run it multiple times...).

BTW, proper Room correction also requires massive computing power, so going with TWO chips is surely beneficial...

At that price ($1,400), I would expect it to have a good video processing solution - using probably either HQV Reon or ABT 2010.

And yes, I fully expect to see the CS 49700 in the 970 replacement (whenever it comes out).

Interesting thought.... Outlaw is releasing a new processor, but it still makes sense to purchase their old processor today. The current price is a steal (new). It will be interesting to see the used market on the 990's once the successor rolls around.

I can't wait! Just bought a new home. I have the perfect room for a HT. Currently running 2 channel, but it sounds like that will change later this year. My 7500 amp is taking it easy running on 2 channels at the moment.

The price on the 990 is definitely impressive - all we need is somebody to come up with a Blu-ray player with 7.1 analog output, decoding of all new audio formats, and support for DVD-A/SACD, and a combination of it and the 990 could be a great way to enjoy all the latest and greatest software without getting an HDMI v1.3 processor. Of course, a player like that isn't likely to arrive before the 990's replacement gets here, but at the 990's new price you could get a 990 and such a player for what the 990's successor will cost.

Room correction is certainly a likely candidate for the new technology. Another would be something like Dolby Volume. And I'll be curious to see just what video processing solution shows up, as I agree that the $1400 price point would almost guarantee some sort of video processor.

If Outlaw follows the trail they've already blazed they will offer great value for the buck. At $1400 the new processor should offer excellent audio processing (regardless of what chip is used) and flexible video processing. It is the latter I'll be following closely. There are displays at so many different video standards (720p, 768p, 1080i, 1080p, etc) that I hope Outlaw will accommodate. Other manufacturers have controlled their cost by limiting the video processing to optimally work with a select few displays. If Outlaw expands that list they will attract many folks that have "older" (i.e have not gone to 1080p) displays.

Another thought...I expect to need $800 to $1000 to get the new processor after the $200 savings for being an original 990 owner and what I can get for my 990.

From what I learned while beta testing OPPO's 983H (which uses an Anchor Bay solution for the video processing), supporting resolutions other than 720p, 1080i, and 1080p gets into some nasty issues with display timing that are very difficult to accommodate. Because there isn't a single standardized resolution, refresh rate, and such for "768p" (to name on example), it's messy to try to support output resolutions like these. I think that's part of the reason that we typically only see those standard resolutions supported.

Of course, I could be wrong, and it would certainly be cool to see support for that sort of control from Outlaw, but what I heard from OPPO (who were using chips pulled directly from a standalone video scaler) left me thinking that it's not something likely to show up outside of a $1,000+ video scaler component...

I'm hoping for a comprehensive HDMI, if not processing, then at least switching. With my current TV, I'm maxed at two HDMI inputs and having to fall back to component for everything else. I'd really like something that took *anything* IN and allowed anything to go OUT via a single HDMI. Then I could do all my switching from the Outlaw rather than having to switch the TV inputs too.

Since I don't have a BD Player (just a Pioneer DV-37 DVD player) and my Panasonic 36" TAU HDTV lacks HDMI or DVI inputs (only component), I might wait on purchasing the new unit. But the $200 discount might be enough for me to act within the first 6 months.

My concern is that with everyone getting the new unit and selling their 990 (eBay/Audiogon) the resale value is going to drop even more. My guess we'll be able to sell our used 990 for about $500. That would leave $900-$1000 difference for the new unit (after $200 discount).

For those that need the expanded options of a stand alone video scaler and the new audio formats don't provide a perceived improvement a 990 and a scaler might be a better option. Are the new audio formats all that much better than our current options? There are many questions to ponder as we wait for Outlaw's new pre/pro.

Can you say Trinnov Optimizer? The Sherwood Newcastle receiver that is also using the dual TI chips will have this robust EQ. For those that don't know, the stand along EQ is >$11,000 and those that have heard the pre-production R-972's have been blown away. This EQ system takes what Audyssey does, adds user selectable target curves for in room response (not just flat) and allows you to spatially reconfigure where each speaker is located. It is amazing stuff... and hopefully the new Outlaw pre/pro will have it!

BTW, in the upcoming R-972, you can also set independant hi-pass and low pass filters as well as correct phase for your sub. A vast improvement over Audyssey... we'll see if all these features end up in the new pre/pro.

With a $200 discount, I would be more than happy to sell my 990 for $500. They are hardly selling for that on Ebay, so I would be suprised to see it go for that much. I would sell mine for $400 shipped.

I know when the announcment is made that the newer model is "available", I will be placing my order.

It will be interesting to see how it looks. There are some very nice pictures of how it should look in one of the other saloon sections.

CP1966,

where are the pics? I can't find them! lol

The desciption of the new Outlaw sounds much like the Anthem D2:

http://www.sonicfrontiers.com/HTML/Products/D2/D2.html

Given the price differential, I'd be curious to know how they compare!

Yes, it seems the high resale value of the 990 will soon, if not already, be a thing of the past.

I'm hoping Denon will make a 7.1 blu-ray player, similar to their current:

http://ca.denon.com/ProductDetails/3095.asp

thanks,

John

The Integra 9.8 uses three of the TI DSP's, Audyssey Pro, and includes Reon video processing for around $1600. Decodes everything up to DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD.

We don't have a feature set yet, of course, but the price point and current market pretty much assures that it will need to provide HDMI switching as well as transcoding/scaling of analog video sources (composite, s-video, and component) to a single HDMI video output. That would do exactly what you are talking about.

I've read a little about Trinnov in an AVS thread about the 972. Sounds like a potent tool. If that is their new technology, that'd be interesting to play around with...

Interesting! Please note that they said the 990 replacement would cost at LEAST $1400. It may be a few hundred more than that by the time it's out.

Also noted that they are still trying to sell B stock 990's at the same price as the new ones ($699). Wonder how long it will take for Outlaw to fix that problem?

They're close enough to bringing it to market that they've got to have the hardware well defined, so I would be very surprised to see a price above $1400. The "at least" language has appeared before over the years, and has in those cases been a protection against the unexpected that they've not had to use.

This really is exciting news. I'm very happy they set a rough price target for those of us saving our pennies. Hopefully they'll be accepting orders before October 10th which is when my $150 outlaw bucks expire. With the $200 original 990 ownership discount, that brings my target down to ~ $1050.

- Jason

What a string. It'll be nice if the new unit keeps its phono input, with maybe a bit of upgrade and about 10db more gain - maybe MC capability like the RR1250's? - and while still dreaming, how about an on-board active crossover for true biamping?

Gonk: Any chance that the 970 replacement would be a 990 with the Cirrus Logic 49700 replacing the current Cirris Logic DSP? It would seem to be a lot more solid platform then a true 970 follow-on. Potentially it might also be cheaper because so much of the platform is being reused. It would also enable Outlaw to follow the Sherwood lead and use the same box for a 1070 receiver replacement?

That seems like an interesting idea. The 990 presents as a very solid platform. The 970/1070 has been plagued with all sorts of problems with the "no audio" bug. That makes me a little leery of buying the budget pre/pro or reciever or anything originating from Eastech.

On another note, how about some pictures of the anticipated pre/pro. I know SN has even released thier product brochure.

The re-working required to roll in the 49700 and associated HDMI support would probably get pretty messy. It'd likely be easier to develop much of the platform from the ground up for the 49700. Aspects like the analog section might be easier to recycle, but in that case they could even look to something like the 970 (which had a pretty successful analog section from what I've heard) or just start with a clean slate.
Eastech has done some good work with Outlaw over the years (the 1050, as Peter Tribeman recently mentioned in another thread, is still a great platform). Having said that, I wonder if Outlaw hasn't already moved on from that partnership? The 990 has been very successful, which would suggest that they might keep cultivating the partnership with Etronics, and with the huge shake-up that HDMI v1.3 and the Cirrus delays have created it's possible that they've had reason to look for new partners as well.