Outlaw Audio - Sept 2001 newsletter (1 Viewer)

[Patrick R. Sklenar]

Per Parkers request, the following post is a copy of the new Outlaw Audio newsletter that I just received.
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pat----
home: [email protected] ... office: [email protected]
no home page yet, so ...
Link Removed ---==*==--- DVD Collection

 

[Patrick R. Sklenar]

The following document is the latest edition of the Outlaw Audio "Latest News". However, before we start, it is appropriate to add some additional thoughts.
Like all Americans, indeed, like people all over the world, the Outlaws were shocked and saddened by Tuesday's events. Boston, the city where some of the doomed planes started, New York, the city that felt the pain of where they unfortunately ended, and Los Angeles, where some of them were bound for, are home to the Outlaws and their families. We've probably flown on most of those flights at one point or another.
This doesn't seem like the time for levity, and our hearts go out to anyone who has been touched by these unfortunate incidents. Indeed, in some way we have ALL been touched by the events of the day and our lives will likely never be quite the same.
That being said, we also feel that it is important that society continue on and not let the perpetrators of these awful crimes succeed by causing life and business to become paralyzed. For that reason, and to prove the resolve of our society to continue on in the face of terror, want to keep to our previous commitment to release this newsletter before the end of the week of September 11th. Please note that other than this introduction, the copy for this document was written before Tuesday's awful events.
Latest News From The Outlaws: Late Summer/Early Fall 2001
Hey, what happened to the summer? Did we miss it?
As one of the Deputy Outlaws pointed out in the Outlaw Saloon, time does have a habit of slipping by. This summer has certainly come and almost gone before we knew it.
We hope that you all have had an enjoyable summer, and that perhaps you even had a chance to take some time off to enjoy the great outdoors and some pursuits other than Home Theater. As for the Outlaws, we've become pale faces. With one exception, which we will explain at the end of this edition of "Latest News", we were chained to our desks and our eyes were glued to the computer terminals as we worked on the tasks necessary to bring you at least three, and probably four new products before the end of this year.
The concentration on that work has made it difficult at times to keep up the communications, and for that we apologize. Having let August completely slip through our fingers, we'd like to deliver some key messages right up front in lieu of an August newsletter. Please indulge us as we face some of the most frequently discussed items we've seen in the various internet forums and in our own Saloon right up front, before we address them in detail later on in this newsletter:

• Don't mistake the long wait between public newsletters or other pronouncements as a sign of any financial or other problems at Outlaw. In fact, both our dollar and unit sales are at record levels, even in the face of increased competition for the Model 1050 from other brands, the economic slowdown and general softness in certain aspects of the consumer electronics industry. As a privately held company we do not release financials, but without violating the confidences of our shareholders, we can say that Outlaw is financially strong and meeting all financial plan expectations. We know that there are some who might not like it, but the Outlaws are here to stay. We will be around to serve our customers with value-oriented products for many years to come.
• We've said it before, but it seems as though it needs to be said again. We may be the Outlaws, and while we may break the rules, we don't want to get on the wrong side of the law. EVERY PRODUCT WE SELL AS NEW IS A FACTORY FRESH UNIT. To do otherwise is wrong, immoral and flat out illegal. Yes, our factory didn't do us any favors including the letter "B" in the serial number sequence of NEW units to indicate a certain part of the production schedule, but that not withstanding, anything we sell as new IS new. Anything we sell as a returned or "B" unit is clearly marked as such.
• As you will read below, the Model 950 is likely to be just a few weeks behind schedule, but not dramatically so. We appreciate that there are many of you out there who are waiting for one, but keep in mind that we had never announced a release date earlier than October, so the schedule slip is minor and it is not indicative of anything other than the normal birthing process for a product as complex as the 950. This is another one of those other things you can't say often enough: We'd much rather take flack on the internet and in the forums for being late to market than release a product that isn't 110% ready for release. We as manufacturers and you as consumers have lived through the latter too many times to want to do THAT again. Besides, if we didn't slip the schedule on each product at least once, what else would everyone have to complain about in the on-line forums?
• We read every e-mail, every Internet posting, and every forum posting about the Outlaws. All e-mails sent to us are answered, but as a policy we are less likely to interject our own opinions into the various Internet based discussion groups that deal with home theater. Suffice to say, it isn't because we don't have our own opinions on all of these subjects. These forums were created for consumer, not manufacturer discussion. For us to put our two cents in would effectively de-rail the on-line dialogue and we don't want to waste the forums' bandwidth for that. If anyone has a question, let us know, but we think that the discussion groups should be for consumers, not manufacturers.

Now that we've got that off our chests, and have your attention let's get to the news and the "good stuff"!
The Outlaw ICBM
The initial production run of the ICBM is almost finished, the units are in test and QA acceptance, and we expect to have them on the way in about three weeks. As soon as the Owner's Manual is finished we'll post it on the web site so that you can have a sneak peak at the installation and operation of this incredible unit.
For those who prefer to wait until there are reviews before buying a new product, we can tell you that the ICBM is already out for evaluation at one of the major home theater publications. We expect the first review to appear in the November issue of that magazine. We have a feeling that you will like what you read.
Since the "reservation list" for the ICBM has exceeded even our wildest expectations, we are going to send the first shipment to our warehouse via airfreight so that you can have this beauty in your hands as soon as possible. As soon as the units are actually in the air and on their way to us we will begin contacting everyone who has placed a reservation to confirm if they are still interested in ordering a unit and to obtain credit card data and shipping information.
DVD-Audio and SACD players will be hot products this winter, and even some of the newest models on display in early September at the CEDIA Expo still lacked bass management completely, or had very limited bass re-direction capabilities. We expect that the ICBM will be a "must have" for anyone with one of the new high resolution audio playback systems. If you are interested in a unit we strongly suggest that you reserve one now, as initial supplies may be limited.
A few new details: The warranty for the ICBM will be five years, and it will be available for both 110 volt (North America and parts of Asia and South America) and 230 volt operation (everywhere else). Pricing will be as follows:

• ICBM Standard Price: $249.00 plus shipping
• ICBM and three pair of our high quality PCA interconnects in 0.5 meter length (the "Short Stack"): $319.00 plus shipping
• ICBM and three pair of our high quality PCA interconnects in 1.5 meter length (the "Long Stack"): $359.00 plus shipping
• ICBM "Family" Price for Outlaws, which is anyone who has purchased a Model 750 Amplifier or Model 1050 Receiver: $225.00 plus shipping
• ICBM + Short Stack Family Price for Outlaws: $299.00 plus shipping
• ICBM + Long Stack Family Price for Outlaws: $339.00 plus shipping

Please note that while the ICBM is covered by our standard 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee, the interconnect cables are not returnable when purchased with an ICBM. If you wish to return the ICBM we will accept the return, but you will be billed for the standard pricing on the interconnect cables.
For those who are unfamiliar with the ICBM, please take a look at the June Edition of our "Latest News" on the web site. However, to bring everyone up to date, here are the specifications for the ICBM, as they will appear in the Owner's Manual:
OUTLAW ICBM SPECIFICATIONS
Inputs:
All unbalanced, -10 dBV, chassis-mounted RCA jacks: Left, center, right, left surround, right surround, center surround (SR6), LFE
Outputs:
All unbalanced, -10 dBV, chassis-mounted RCA jacks: Left, center, right, left surround, right surround, center surround (SR6), left subwoofer, and right subwoofer
Controls:
Crossover frequency selectors for left/right front, center, left/right surround, center surround (SR6); potentiometer controls for LFE mix and subwoofer level; switches for L/R recombine, subwoofer mono/stereo, and low pass special/normal.
Crossover frequencies:
40, 60, 80, 100, 120 Hz, and bypass
Filter slopes:
2nd-order Butterworth high-pass in both normal" and "special" modes
2nd order Butterworth low-pass in "normal" mode
6th-order Butterworth low-pass in "special" mode
LFE mix range
0 dB (unity gain) to -10 dB
Subwoofer level control range
Full attenuation to +9 dB
Signal-to-noise ratio (A-weighted):
105 dB
Total harmonic distortion plus noise:
less than .015 %
Relative phase shift channel to channel:
less than 1degree
Relative phase shift low-pass output to high-pass output:
less than 1 degree
Maximum input voltage:
4.5Vrms
Maximum output voltage:
9.5Vrms
Gain:
0dB (unity)
Power supply:
(AC adapter supplied): 15VAC -300mA
Dimensions:
44 x 440 x 175 mm (HxWxD)
1.76 x 17.6 x 7 in. (HxWxD)
The Outlaw Model 950 Preamp/Processor
OK, we know this is the one everyone is waiting for, so let's get to the specifics.
At present we are working with alpha samples of the unit to verify proper operation of the software code, and to assure that the interface between the core DSP processor, the unit's microprocessor and the total hardware platform operates properly. Once those internal tests have been completed we will most likely need to make some minor hardware and software adjustments and then we will spin out the units that will be used for the beta test. At the same time we will obtain the needed licensor and agency certifications, and once all of THAT is completed we will go into production.
The current schedule has the first test units available some time towards the beginning of October and production starting in late October or early November. If we had to make a guess today, we'd say that our goal is to have units shipped from the factory by air so that at least many of you will be able to enjoy holiday movies and music through a 950 by Thanksgiving or even earlier. Barring any unexpected problems, we fully expect to have ample quantities of the 950 available from stock in time for the holidays.
Before you all immediately go out and speculate as to what the cause for this slippage is, the Outlaws will head you off at the pass. The slight delay in our original schedule has been caused by last minute delays in the delivery of the micro-code that drives the DSP processor. We could have gone ahead with an earlier version, but two issues arose.
First, we have received a new version of the code for some of the new generation surround modes that is an improvement over the versions currently available. We felt that having waited this long, we should go for the "latest and greatest".
Second, and equally as important, we thought that we might have to drop one of the features we had promised for this product (due to lack of time to get the DSP code written). The good news is that we now not only have the code, but we will also be the first to offer the feature. The bad news is that the DSP micro-code not only had to be validated, as you will see in a minute, it caused a hardware delay which we could not anticipate.
In and of itself, late delivery of code is sometimes an annoyance, but rarely a big problem. However, what few outside the digital audio/video product development world understand is that when the code for this type of processor is modified beyond a certain level, it is no longer compatible with the hardware platform it lives in. Thus, we not only had to integrate and de-bug the DSP code, we had to revise, re-layout and re-test certain parts of the hardware side of the product that we had thought were already final and frozen. Sometimes, designing and building digital products is not the fun it is cracked up to be.
We can assure you that this delay is going to be worth the wait, but unfortunately, we cannot release information on the details of the way we have implemented the newly revised feature at this time due to a non-disclosure agreement with our DSP provider. To avoid competitive problems and to make certain that the 950 is the FIRST product in the market with this new code, we pledged to keep it under wraps until just before the actual release date. You'll have to trust us on this one. All we can tell you is that it is something that will make the integration of complex speaker systems incredibly seamless and sonically superior than anything else in the 950's price range, and most likely WAY beyond the 950's price.
Due to the delay we will also have to revise the schedule for the beta test slightly. However, to give all applicants an equal shot at getting one of the slots we will announce the opening of the Beta Test application period in a mailing to everyone on our list on the same date.
Finally, it's still a bit too early to go on record with the final specifications or the complete pricing on the 950, including the "Outlaw Family" discount. We'll have that when we get a bit closer to the ship date. Stay tuned for more information on the 950. Before the last leaves hit the ground up at the Outlaw's Hideout, we'll have all the data for you.
The Outlaw Model 770 Power Amplifier
Nothing really to report this time around on our new amplifier, other than to say that it is on schedule for availability at the same time as the Model 950. Specifications remain the same, and pricing will be announced in conjunction with the release of the Model 950. For those who are new to all this, the Model 770 is a totally new, 7 x 200 watt, USA manufactured powerhouse that will deliver the kind of sound you'd expect from the Outlaws at a price below $1800! Outlaws love to surprise, and the Model 770 will do just that: provide the level of power and performance not currently available anywhere south of $3000!
Outlaw Interconnect Cables
Our cable supplier is just finishing up final packaging of our first interconnect products and we are very impressed with the way these products have turned out. They will not only be the perfect match for the ICBM, and connections between Outlaw products, but we are convinced that they will set a new standard for high performance interconnects at an affordably modest price.
By way of background, we took a careful look at the specifications for the ICBM and realized that we needed to provide cables that did not dilute the ICBM's ultra-low noise floor by introducing the least possible influence on the signals they are carrying. Thanks to the superiority of our dual-symmetrical, OCC copper conductor cores and a double-copper shield system the PCA cables are the perfect match for the ICBM and all of your analog interconnection requirements.
In addition, we know that you will be impressed with the high quality of the PDO optical interconnect. Recent testing in Europe confirms our design as one of high integrity and digital path stability.
Initial quantities of both the interconnects will be limited, so where needed, we will give preference to those ordering the ICBM. Before detailing the pricing, a few words are in order for how we will sell the cables, as they will differ somewhat from our standard practices.

• In order to provide the best value to all customers by selling the PCA and PDO products at an affordable price, the interconnect wires will NOT be covered by our 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee. The low margin and high handling cost on these products, plus the lack of a market for returned goods makes it difficult to allow returns on cable products other than for defective products. Sure, we could raise the prices and take them back after a trial period, but wouldn't you rather have low prices on a great product instead?
• We thought long and hard about this one, and there were more than a few heated discussions around the Outlaw's campfire. However we have decided that there will be no "Outlaw Family Discount" on the prices for cables when they are purchased alone. Again, the low price and accompanying low margin on these products just does not allow for that kind of discount. HOWEVER, we will package discounts in a number of cases when cables are purchased in combination with another product. A good example of this is the pricing noted above for the ICBM in combination with PCA interconnects. Note that we will also offer discounted pricing for multiple cable-pair purchases, as is the case with our "Short Stack" and "Long Stack" bundles.

With that kind of build-up, we'll bet you are wondering what the pricing is, so here goes:

• PCA, "Pure Copper Audio" Analog Interconnects. 1.8 Meter Pair: $49.95
• PCA, "Pure Copper Audio" Analog Interconnects. 1.8 Meter "Long Stack", Three Pairs: $125.00
• PCA, "Pure Copper Audio" Analog Interconnects. 0.5-Meter Pair: $29.95
• PCA, "Pure Copper Audio" Analog Interconnects. 0.5 Meter "Short Stack", or Three Pairs: $79.95
• PDO, "Pure Digital Optical" TosLink style Optical Digital Interconnect. 1.8 Meters: 19.95

For more information on the technical specifics of our interconnect products, consult the June edition of "Latest News", available from our web site.
Outlaw Receivers
When we introduced the Model 1050 it was a product both completely different from anything else on the market and significantly ahead of products from the mainstream brands. It was a great value then and it is an even better value now. We have no plans to discontinue the Model 1050 and it continues in production. Even with the introduction of competitive six channel products, the strength of the 1050's amplifier design and the accuracy of the surround decoding allows it to continue to stand on its own against all comers.
One of the most frequently asked questions we receive via e-mail concerns the possibility of an upgrade of the Model 1050. Unfortunately, the architecture of that product does not allow for an upgrade to new formats. However, due to the forward thinking inclusion of our Surround 6.1 mode in the Model 1050, it continues to compete effectively against anything in it's price class and beyond.
Of course, as is the case with any product, someday the Model 1050 will be replaced, though as we said that will not be for some time. We are investigating a number of innovative approaches to a range of new receivers, but our current concentration is on the Model 950 and the other products discussed in this newsletter. It would be foolish to speculate on when we will introduce any new receivers, so we won't.
In the mean time, we invite anyone considering a new six channel receiver to audition the Model 1050 in their own listening room, with our 30 day Satisfaction Guarantee.
The Outlaw DVD Player
As mentioned in our last newsletter, this is still a difficult product category to wrap your hands around. Given the relatively low quantities for an Outlaw DVD player, as opposed to the production runs of tens or hundreds of thousands of units that the "big boys" run, we have not been able to find a stable, reliable platform for a player that meets our design specifications. We are continuing to develop our player, and are looking at a variety of processing chip schemes, but so far nothing is available that meets our requirements.
More importantly, we have decided to wait until we see how the DVD-Audio vs. SACD battle shakes out before committing to a firm hardware platform. While DVD-Audio may originally have appeared to hold significant support from the music labels, the recent announcements from Universal Music and EMI may change that scorecard.
Because over the uncertainty over how much support each of the two formats will eventually receive, the availability of dual format (DVD-A and SACD) machine that also includes digital output capability for the high-resolution data streams now appears to be more important than ever. In addition, it goes without saying that the video performance would also have to be top notch, but rather than be slaves to press releases and the on-line supporters of one manufacturer's chip solution or another, we need to see what the most stable platform is from both the technology and availability/economic points of view. Remember, all of these great new chips you read about require significant support in terms of hardware development and operating system processor code. Unfortunately, you can't take a design based on one chip set and simply plug in someone else's. It's the same sort of issue that is currently giving the 950 design team fits - only it is a more complex by a few orders of magnitude. Beyond that, there are issues pertaining to the availability of high quality laser sled transports optimized for both formats and the need to license intellectual property from two competing patent pool groups.
For that reason we will not announce any expectation for a delivery date on a DVD player until we have a firm path to the hardware and software features that we - and YOU - judge essential for an Outlaw DVD Player.
The Outlaw Video Projector
The good news is that our design team partner for the video projector has gotten clearance from TI to access the technology related to the latest generation 1280x720 DLP chips. We've even seen the first prototype of a unit based on that light engine and it looks spectacular.
Now, the task is to gauge the true quality of the newer, more expensive chips against the slightly lower resolution chips when high quality processing is applied to the scaler. Yes, there is a difference, but it is hard even for our "golden eyed" Outlaws to tell the difference, particularly when you have to take screen size and viewing distance into account. Oh yes, and then there is the pricing attached to this.
Beyond that, we need to make certain that any video display product we sell is compatible with not only both 1394 and DVI input signals and has the ability to accommodate the various copy control and content protection systems that accompany them. This is something that is out of our control, other than we feel that one should wait until these key issues are solved. Yes, we're looking at upgradeable solutions, but the complexities of the encryption schemes that may be used make it difficult to anticipate needs for things such as processor power and memory requirements.
We will continue to monitor the developments in video projection, as well as in other video display technologies such as plasma, FED, OLED and a few other things we can't talk about. However, we'll put projection in particular and video displays in general in the same category as DVD: We'll be there with the right product, with the right features at the right price when the timing is right. However, we won't ship a product just for the sake of the product, itself.
?!? Other Products ?!?
Normally we use this space as a catch-all for unspecified developments, but this month we do have a something in the "Other" category to talk about. Thanks to the research and engineering teams at one of our shareholders, we have been able to secure access to a product that we feel will be an industry first, bringing a totally new category of audio source to the world of home entertainment.
We'll have more information and specific details next month, but in the mean time we'd like to hear from those of you who have broadband access (ISDN, cable modem, DSL, Starband or DirecWay - or a home T-1 line!) installed with networking so that there is Ethernet connectivity out to the Internet in the same room as your home audio system. If that describes your system, drop us an e-mail so we can contact you later to see if this device rings a bell for you.
Yes, it WILL work on dial-up with a standard ISP (but not AOL or CompuServe at this time), but system performance is better with "always on" broadband access. Sorry, no hints now, other than to say that this is a playback source and there is no hard drive or video involved.
And, before the flames start raging in the forums, the engineering team working on this product is TOTALLY SEPARATE from the group working on our other key, core products. They would be developing it regardless of anything that Outlaw is doing, so offering it to us is incremental to work already in progress. We want to make it clear that this additional product will have no impact on the critical path for the Model 950, the Model 770 or any of the other new products described above which all have their own design teams.
This new product is simply an example of the synergy the Outlaws bring to the market through their network of contacts. And, when we give you the details, you'll see the true synergy that will come from how this new product fits in with your system.
More next month.
A FINAL WORD FROM THE EDITORIAL OUTLAW
The Editorial Outlaw is going to take a break from his soap box this month and spare you all an opinionated treatise on an aspect of the audio/video business that strikes his fancy or goes against his grain. Not that his dander hasn't been raised by any number of issues, but time is short and we want to get this Newsletter out to you. He will return with a carefully researched rant next month.
However, we can't let this issue "go to press" without uncovering one of the mysteries alluded to in the copy above. No, we're not going to let you in on the S/N for the 950 or the weight of the 770 (mainly because we don't know either of those yet!). No, we're not going to tell you what the "new product" mentioned just above is.
Look back up top and you'll see evidence of what the Outlaw Wives Society reminds us about at every drop of our Stetsons. We've spent the summer sunshine INDOORS working on new products and plans for Outlaw along with our other "day jobs". That's what comes with the territory, and it isn't a surprise. Yet, in spite of that, one of the Outlaws did manage to get away for a week or two, and we want to make note of that.
If you wondered why Founding Outlaw Tom Young re-took the reins of the Customer Service desk for two weeks this summer, it was because our Customer Service Director, Scott Jackson, went and did the deed. After a wonderful wedding, Scott and his lovely bride took some time off for a honeymoon and well-deserved vacation. Join us in sending congratulations to Scott and his wife Jessica on their marriage. We wish them many years of happiness. (And thanks to Tom for getting back in the day-to-day trenches again while Scott was away!)
That's it for this month. We'll be back with another complete newsletter in early October, and depending on how the schedules for the 950 and 770 progress we'll probably have one or two short "News Flash" bulletins between now and then.
Regards
The Outlaws

 

[AVspec]

WOW!
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-Mark
**** Digital Vortex ****
The Digital Electronic Site
www.digitalvortex.com

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Outlaw is cooooool...
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[John Cain]

Thx a million for the post..
-- John
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[Parker Clack]

Patrick:
Thanks for posting that.
Parker

 

[ChristopherS]

I am curious to what this new DSP might be. I am definitely looking forward to the 950.
Chris

 

[SC Trojan]

how much does anyone want to bet that the dsp feature will be some form of autosetup/calibrate a la ead or citation?

 

[Razvan V]

The ICBM will come with a 5-year warranty and that's very nice. I wonder if that's also gonna be the case with the 950 preamp? So far Outlaw has provided a 2-year warranty on its made in Taiwan receiver and a 5-year warranty on its made in the USA amp ( and made in the USA ICBM?). As far as I remember the preamp will be made in Taiwan so I suspect - although I certainly hope that they can offer a 5-year warranty on it - that it will come with a 2-year warranty.
It's not clear from their newsletter if the price of the preamp will be changed or not. I myself am ready to pay more than $900 for it, say $1200, if the extra cost would be spent to better its sound and to make it software upgradeable.
Razvan

 

[Randy G]

I find it humorous that some companies act so secretive about a product's features right up until the product is released. Do they really think that other manufacturers can "steal" ideas, fully implement and test them in a matter of a couple of weeks? Or do they just like to tease us....:^)

 

[John-D]

These forums were created for consumer, not manufacturer discussion. For us to put our two cents in would effectively de-rail the on-line dialogue and we don't want to waste the forums' bandwidth for that.

I couldn't agree more with their policy. They exhibit class here.
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The things we own end up owning us

 

[Will]

quote:
It's not clear from their newsletter if the price of the preamp will be changed or not. I myself am ready to pay more than $900 for it, say $1200...

It's also not exactly clear when the preamp will be
readily available. Same with the 7 channel amp.
I agree with you about being willing to pay $1200 though.
They'd probably have no competition in DPL 2 preamps even
if they do raise the price $300 above $900. But still....
it would be nice if they priced it at the price they
previously announced and which so many people had
budgeted for.
[Edited last by Will on September 15, 2001 at 01:05 PM]

 

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Perhaps the new dsp is this "Crystal Surround" mentioned in another thread here. Other than suggesting that Outlaw is using a Crystal Semiconductor chip as the heart of the 950, I don't know what "Crystal Surround" means.

 

[Shanthi]

I wonder if they going with standards or still proprietary on the decoding logic?

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Outlaw statement
***These forums were created for consumer, not manufacturer discussion. For us to put our two cents in would effectively de-rail the on-line dialogue and we don't want to waste the forums' bandwidth for that***
>>>I couldn't agree more with their policy. They exhibit class here.

 

[Randy G]

Tom, I couldn't agree with ya more.
Now, for an excellent non-sequitor; how about a sunfire size mini-tube sub? :^)

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

>>>Now, for an excellent non-sequitor; how about a sunfire size mini-tube sub? :^)

 

[Henry W]

I like all the input from all the manufacturers and other individuals who earn their living from home theater. I think it is great that we can communicate with all those individuals. Everyone and anyone associated with home theater be it customer, manufacturer, sales person, owner, or writer has a right to participate in these forums, share information, and learn. I can only fault those who remain silent and ignore the exchange of information.
Best regards-Henry
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[Randy G]

Tom,
(re:mini-sub)
Glad to know that you're at least considering the idea. My mini-stack of 2 HGS-10s offers pretty darned good performance(relatively speaking, of course) for their 11 x 11 x 23" size...and low distortion too! Problem is cost: List is about $3600.00!!!!!! Outrageous, huh?! That's why I'm sure that you guys could come up with something similar, but with SVS pricing. :^)
Keep trying, so that I can sell the Velos and pocket the difference. ha
As for the legal stuff, I'm assuming it's between Sunfire and Velodyne, right? I wonder where I can find some info on it. Seems that the fights would boil down to small cubes with massive driver magnets. I wonder what problems you'd run into with small cylinders instead? Anyway, keep trying.