|
I got my current RP91 from crutchfield, and it was made in Oct 2002. It was defective, so Crutchfield shipped out a replacment the next day. It was also manufactured in Oct. 2002 with the version 259 firmware, which is the most recent. So if you order from Crutchfield, you should get a recent one. I think highly of crutchfield as they provided great service on my first defective 91.
As for the "black market upgrade", the RP91 is firmware upgradeable, and panasonic creates new versions of the firmware to fix certain issues with the player. They do not release them, but some clever folks who get the 91's with newer firmware can rip the firmware and it can be burnt to CD. You can them play the Cd in your 91 and it will first check to see if you need the upgrade, and then perform it if you need it. The whole process takes about 10-15 minutes and is pretty simple. It seems as if the newer firmware versions just fix minor issues and not anything major. Again, 259 is the most current and you can check what version yours is by pressing the Pause and stop buttons on the unit, and 7 on the remote at the same time. The firmware will be displayed on the 91 and it is the last three numbers.
|