Outlaw 950 - buy it in November/December or wait? (1 Viewer)

[Razvan V]

I was wondering if you guys are going to order the preamp as soon as it is available or you will wait for reviews/opinions from magazines/owners? As far as I remember their receiver had a few bugs when they released it and it took them a while to fix them. Not to mention that you had to ship the unit back to them and pay $50 to have them fix the problems.
Razvan

 

[Bob-N]

I'm planning to buy ASAP. Been waiting all summer to get my HT going. I've got all of the other equipment in my garage waiting for the 950. I'll be auditioning a few pre/pros when I get my hands on the Outlaw unit.
If there are problems with the unit, would you expect to pay for return shipping? I wouldn't. I guess we could ask early 1050 owners if they had to pay shipping to return the unit. Anyone out there?

 

[Razvan V]

Bob,
The 1050 owners had to pay shipping AND $50. It says so in the 1050 section of the Outlaw FAQ, just go to their website and read it.
Razvan

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

With the delays that have occured, beta testing underway, and the ability to program with the latest code....one would think that these babies should be pretty close to ready when they release with very few bugs.
It seems like Outlaw has taken EVERY precaution to make sure these things are bug-free and that they're going to sell like hotcakes.
That may be the only problem with them....trying to get one if you wait
Jeremy

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I would probably wait until next summer or so.
Until rev "2" of the software is released.
I would personally not be looking forward to:
1) Buy it
2) Install it
3) Hear that there are some software/hardware upgrades/retrofits and have to return it
4) Then I would be pre/pro-less!
I hope that Outlaw is different, but I got burned on the early Pioneer DVD players with their lip-sync problems, and the Sony TA-E9000ES and the bum remote. But Sony finally did get their software right, and it was upgradeable in the field. That was nice.
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[Razvan V]

Yes but don't you think that they took every precaution with the 1050 too? And it wasn't bug-free, far from it.
Razvan

 

[Brandon_T]

I am kind of torn. I have been waiting like so many people all summer for this piece. I had my heart set on it. Then 3 weeks ago, there was mention of a group purchase here at the forum. I have been really intrigued by the mention of the Aragon soundstage at a really good price. Yes I understand that it won't offer the features of the Outlaw, but I am concerned about overall sound quality.. The soundstage offers balanced outs and would go nicely with my Anthem amp. They said we would know in a week or two and now it has been three. I wish I knew what the deal is. I am getting anxious to get into a pre amp and the outlaw has been my choice to this point. This really dosen't answer your question, just kind of rambling my thoughts out loud. Sorry,
Brandon

 

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

The outlaws have said that the 950 will have a socketed eprom - so most any upgrade that is required should be no more than a chip swap. No shipping it back and forth.

 

[Matthew Anderson]

I,like a great deal of others, have been waiting for a good while for this preamp and I plan to buy as soon as it comes out. I am really anxious to hear what 6.1/7.1 surround sounds like from all the opinions I have been reading for the past year. I still have to get an additional amp and 2 speakers but I will eventually get there.
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[Bob-N]

Raz, thanks for the pointer. However, take a look at the wording:
"Q. If I own an earlier version of the Model 1050, can I get it updated to the current spec?
A. As a service to our customers, we will upgrade any unit for a nominal charge ($50). Also, you must pay the inbound shipping and we will return the unit prepaid."
This seems to imply that the latest upgrades in software and not "problems" or "bugs" are subject to the $50 charge and shipping fees. I can understand that but I still am of the opinion that if there are legit problems with the 950, that Outlaw would have us foot the bill for shipping and "upgrading" of the unit. Just IMO or maybe wishful thinking.

 

[Razvan V]

Bob,
The upgrade fixed the problems reported in the Sound and Vision review. I find it bizarre that Outlaw would charge $50 for it as any problems, software related or not, should have been covered by their warranty. A while ago I had a software problem with my Sony DA777ES receiver and Sony upgraded it for free under the receiver's warranty.
Razvan

 

[John Morris]

I bought one of the early release 1050 units. When I had some of the problems with it, I called Outlaw and was told to send it back in and they would fix it. There was no charge for the fix and they even paid shipping back to them. In the end, I decided to simply return the unit and wait for the preamp/processor.
I cannot imagine Outlaw selling a faulty product and then charging us to fix the unit. I believe that the current FAQ which is quoted is meant for units who are not faulty but which do not have the latest and greatest upgraded software. This could be akin to those Lexicon owners who have software v3.0 wanting to upgrade to v4.0. If I am not mistaken, Lexicon charges a bit more than $50+ one way shipping for this upgrade.
As for the topic of this thread:
I was counting on getting a beta unit(fat chance?) since I've needed a new pre/pro for a while now. I may be forced to buy a used B&K Reference 30 which I can get for $450 more than a full priced Outlaw 950. If I can hold out till the Outlaw units are finally for sale, other competition may also be shortly available which might give the 950 a run for the money, such as the new Sherwood Newcastle unit.
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Take Care,
merc
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God Bless America!!!

 

[Patrick R. Sklenar]

Well, since I don't seem to have been picked to be a beta tester this time, I'll have to wait to buy mine at full price until after I've closed on, and moved into, my new house in January/February. Need to keep as much money in the accounts as possible until after closing.
Sure would have been nice to be picked as a beta tester and been able to buy it an half price though.

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pat----
email: [email protected] ---===--- Finally! A home page ... Grumpy's Lair

 

[Will]

quote:
other competition may also be shortly available which might give the 950 a run for the money, such as the new Sherwood Newcastle unit.

As I understand it, a pre/production model will be shown
at the CES in January 2002. Pre/productions of Sherwood
Newcastle receivers with DPL II were described at CES in
January 2001 and those DPL II receivers are only now
in production.
The Outlaw 950 may be the only pre/pro with DPL II for the
price in production, for a while.
[Edited last by Will on November 05, 2001 at 01:28 AM]

 

[John Morris]

If in fact, the Sherwood Newcastle unit does not come out till Spring, any release before Christmas of the 950 will give the Outlaw unit a heck of an advantage and will be a real credit to the Outlaw gang for getting their preamp/processor out to market so far in advance of the competition. It suprises me that SN and others would ever let a Christmas season go by without a major new product. It looks like with the new interconnects and the ICBM, Outlaw may have 3 new products in time for the holiday buying season...
My CC is ready!
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Take Care,
merc
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Link Removed
God Bless America!!!

 

[Antoine Peltier]

what model of Sherwood are you referring to?

 

[Will]

Now that so many people want an Outlaw 950, I gotta ask
how many Outlaw 950's you think will be in buyers hands
by the last day of December.
50? 250? or more?
I really hope the number won't be 0 due to delays.
[Edited last by Will on November 09, 2001 at 08:48 PM]

 

[Will]

Any news?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Will last we heard they are still saying there will be 950's under at least some people's tree's this christmas..question is how many?

 

[Bob_M]

If I remember correctly Outlaw allowed a few of the beta testers to report their findings or first impression here. Pat wasn't that you? Do you think that will happen this time.

Anyone know if Outlaw 950 is slated for pro review. Would love to see it on S&V's bench. Then we could at least compare the lab results to the Ref 30.

-Bob