Thanks for the update on the 978. How about some real information on the 998? For those of us that have waited through the fiasco that was the previous dumped processor and now the roll out of the 978 which looks to be a great design. Should we continue waiting fot the 998? Will it be better than the 978 in features excepting the trinnov vs. MultEQ XT32? Will it ever become a reality or should we figure not and just buy the 978? I think most of us are just looking for some real info on the 998.

The original plan for the Model 978 was described as using the same hardware platform (or very similar) with different room correction, and I have a hunch the plan is still in place - although in all likelihood the bulk of their programming effort is focused on getting the Model 978 out the door.

I'd say buy the 978. If done very well, which I expect it will, you'll have all you'll need for quite a while. I think the 978 will have a long product life cycle and the 998 will be quite a ways out in the future.

You can bet the farm on that one.

Truthfully, I have all I need now for quite a while with the 990, as I am using the analog inputs from my blu ray player. All i'm missing is the HDMI which from most posts on the internet looks like is a questionable technology compared to component cables. (HDCP, connectors falling out, issues with long cables runs) I have no issues bypassing the 978 and waiting for the 998 but I'd like some real timelines from outlaw. Are we talking another 6 months, a year, 2 years, 5 years?

I doubt they'll try to make firm predictions on the Model 998 until the Model 978 is done and they can focus more resources on the Trinnov integration - especially since part of me suspects that the biggest reason for the decision to create the Model 978 was uncertainty from developers on how much time they needed to squeeze Trinnov onto a dual-TI platform.


Practically speaking, if it's five years or even two years, the core architecture of the Model 978 platform is going to start looking too dated and they'll likely need to start making changes there, as well. I doubt that's going to be the case, for a number of reasons. Trinnov's engineers have had time to learn more about scaling the code to fit on consumer platforms like this, which is only going to help, and Outlaw's not going to want to miss the chance to make full use of their new hardware. Based on all that, I'd think they'd push really, really hard to keep the Model 998 from being more than 12 months behind the Model 978.

Also, we don't have any detailed specifics on possible differences beyond Trinnov. If they keep the hardware unchanged, they should be able to either avoid or significantly fast-track a lot of certifications, which would also save time...

The 998 has been put on hold until we fully complete and introduce the Model 978.

AVR and processor technologies have changed so much in the last year (and will continue to evolve with new chips, solutions etc) that we have to re-assess every feature that we originally planned. There simply is no other way to overlook this reality.
By economic necessity, anything that we build must serve us for at least two years or more. In that regard, we are quite comfortable with the 978 because it focuses on simplicity and sound quality and affords most of our customers with what they want.

The ongoing features "arms race" has heated up again with the bar being raised (or lowered depending on the way you look at it) every year. With these new "features" comes complexity. We are not saying this is bad. What we are saying is that feature crammed products are not what we are about. Therefore in the near future we have to look at our available choices and take the best shot for our customer base.


Our pulling the plug on the original 998 was the most painful decision we ever made. We had thousands on the "very interested' 'list. Yet had we gone ahead we would have suffered the same fate that the Newcastle 972 AVR has encountered. It would have been a nightmare for you and us.

For those that want the latest in features and options, we carry one of the best "players" in that arena- Marantz. Their parent, (D&M Holdings), is a massive company with large worldwide resources and even they take their time developing new models.

The new Model 978 will be a product that we want for ourselves, just as we all own and love our 990's. The step-up 998 should be good enough that we will want to make the upgrade. That is the bar that we have set for ourselves and we are re-thinking now just what we have to do. It will not be easy

That is a long answer. However, after so many delays that have mostly been out of our control, we prefer to provide you with our straight-forward thinking.

Peter

Thank you very much Peter!

Thanks Peter.

Appreciate the honest assessment - it really does help those of us who do plan purchases to evaluate what is worth waiting for and what is worth "pulling the trigger" on our "plan B"...

For the record, the 978 has moved way up on the "pretty much everything I will need for quite a while" list and the 998 will have to be that much "more compelling" when it comes closer to reality.

Finally, I doubt I am alone in saying that with recent economic realities every expenditure has to be scrutinized a lot harder -- the value that the 978 and associated "package deals" promises to offer faces a very different set of competitors than the "sky is the limit" offerings that were relatively common a few years back...