Outlaw Falling Out Of Favor? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Martin]

I don't think Merc actually owned the 1066. I believe he just demo'd it. It was also before the noise problem was fixed on the Rotel.

Merc owned two. It was before & after the noise issue was replaced. He just preferred the sound.

 

[Allen F]

So, Rotel has already had 5 upgrades to the software? Sounds like they released a product a little pre-maturely to me. As far as companies listening to what the people want, they have to or they will soon find themselves out of business. JMO.

 

[John.Meer]

The 950 has too many compromises. I think Outlaw should have added a few hundred dollars worth of features (that people expect/have) in $600-$1000 receivers. I have a 750 amp, it seems to be a great piece, but it definitely does not have as great a price advantage (to comparable amps) as the 950 has to the next nearest, competitor, the Rotel.

The unit was over-hyped, I was disappointed and sold my 950.

 

[Legairre]

I think Outlaw might have started a trend with other new pre/pro's with the low prices.

Actually Rotel has had the RSP-976 pre/pro for a well over a couple of years now. The 976 listed for $1200.

 

[AVspec]

So, Rotel has already had 5 upgrades to the software? Sounds like they released a product a little pre-maturely to me. As far as companies listening to what the people want, they have to or they will soon find themselves out of business. JMO.

The upgrades were just enhancements to the unit that dealers (and us 1066 folks who hang on the internet way too much) were asking Rotel for and there is a bigger update coming soon that is suppose to add a few features/enhancements..... I think the upgrade feature of the 1066 is very cool and have performed the upgrade twice now.
I had both the 950 and the 1066 living side-by-side in my HT and I kept the 1066. YMMV....

 

[Matt Jesty]

o.k., it's official ,the choir isn't buyin' the "if-it's-direct-to-us-it-must-be-cheaper-and-better" line...
Rotel has done it faster, better, more upgradably,etc., all without costing a lot more!
Here's to Denon givin' it a whirl!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dalton]

What interest I had in the 950 is gone

I feel the same way. I have had it with the wait. I have been patient and said nothing for all these months(feels like years). I have a Rotel dealer only 20 minutes from my house. I am going down there Friday to inquire about the 1066. If i don't go with the 1066, i am going to wait till later this year when some of the other pre/pros will be out. My Onkyo 797 is just gonna have to continue as my pre/pro for the time being. At this point, I have lost all interest in the 950. They have dropped the ball as far as i'm concerned. Someone else will get my $$$$.

Dalton

 

[Andrew Pratt]

So, Rotel has already had 5 upgrades to the software? Sounds like they released a product a little pre-maturely to me. As far as companies listening to what the people want, they have to or they will soon find themselves out of business.

Just to expand on that as far as i know there have been three updates in the firmware since the version they shipped. The first one was to "fix" the DD-EX flag issue which everyone had to deal with since the targets kept changing. The last two were very minor to address dealer requests for such things like the default settings etc so I don't think it was released early at all. Besides since it can be updated why not release it...people are still waiting for the outlaw aren't they

 

[Ron Reda]

A lot of people (myself incl) that were on the never ending waiting list began looking at our alternatives and now that the Rotel is out, affordable and has already had a few firmware upgrades people are choosing to go that route.

The fact that I got on the 950 waiting list late (and wasn't even expecting to be able to purchase one until mid to late July as per their e-mail) has provided me with some extra time to rethink this (for me) rather large expenditure. While I have some very small, admittedly nitpicky beefs with the aesthetics of the Rotel (I'm definitely not talking about the silver color), I am considering it more and more. Plus, the upgradability is a HUGE plus for someone that will have to live with it for a few years. Anyway, IMO, spending an extra $500-$600 now on an upgradable unit is worth it. Well, I guess that's one good thing that came out of the long wait for the 950...I have been able to save more, thereby enabling me to spend the extra cash on the 1066. So, hopefully some time next month, I too will be travelling to my local Rotel dealer for a face-to-face, "kick the tires" visit. However, until then, the processor in my Denon 3802 will have to do!

 

[Ron Reda]

Oops, I almost forgot...

Perhaps this has already been asked in the HUGE Rotel 1066 thread (sorry if it has, but that sucker is way too much to keep up with!), but given that I won't be making my purchase for about another month, is it safe to say that the unit I purchase will already have the aforementioned upgrades loaded on it or will I have to do that myself? Like perhaps there will be a model #/serial # combination on the unit that will tell me what "version" I bought (much like the Panny RP91 firmware "trick")?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Ron all the rotels shipping now have at least version 1.35 installed which fixed the DD-EX issue...the subsequent updates aren't that important so even if they are missing its not a major issue. Rotel will be issuing a more detailed update at some point but I don't have details on that yet (I'd bet neither does Rotel at the moment)

 

[Bill Bradstreet]

I feel the same way. I have had it with the wait. I have been patient and said nothing for all these months(feels like years). I have a Rotel dealer only 20 minutes from my house. I am going down there Friday to inquire about the 1066.

I've been thinking the exact same thing. I like the price/function combo that Outlaw offers, but another few $$$ won't hurt that much. I'll head down there Saturday and see what the Rotel feels/looks like.

I only want a pre/pro for 2-channel sound that's clean. I'll only have two speakers hooked up to it. So, even the Rotel will only be partially utilized in my environment.

Bill

 

[Jed M]

Bill, do you ever plan to add a HT setup to your two speakers? If not I am sure you can do much better than the 1066 and 950 combined for that price for two channel listening.

 

[Tung Enkhych]

O.K., Then ,BESIDES Beta-testers and Administrators , anyone care to take the other side of the coin?

 

[DaveHo]

I have heard neither. However, I will say this. I have been following the Outlaw fiasco. Any company that conducts business in this manner will never see a dime from me. I view Outlaw as an unreliable fly by night company who will soon be out of business. They have lost me as a customer before they even had me.

-Dave

 

[Bill Bradstreet]

Jed: You may be right, and if you have any suggestions please do share. I may end up moving this to my HT setup upstairs, but not right away. I have some odd criteria in my wife-factor that can make my decisions seem strange. Things need to be very easy to use. Put it this way, most appliances in my house Braille labels on all the buttons.

 

[Brian Corr]

Bill,
head over to the audioasylum. You can probably get some very good advice on an analog pre/pro and tube amp set up for less than the outlaw. If all you want is 2 channel audio, there really isn't much point in paying for a pre/pro designed for HT.

 

[Jed M]

O.K., Then ,BESIDES Beta-testers and Administrators , anyone care to take the other side of the coin?

I am sure there are. Take a good look around lately and it should be easy to see why we don't frequent this forum much. I for one am not going to look like an idiot and fight 8 die hard Rotel fans all day. Remember when this started the 1066 and 950 were described as sounding very similar (or maybe a better word would be equal) but with time and backlash the 950 has somehow been placed just below the fisher HTIB at Radio Shack to a lot of people. With all the delays I understand the anger and frustration directed at Outlaw, but I also understand if I try to get in the way of these people it will be directed at me. That's why I choose not to participate.

 

[Mary M S]

Any company that conducts business in this manner will never see a dime from me.

When you've spent your dime - is where Outlaw shines. If I had to choose between the chatty rush to deal with potential customers vs after purchase response. I will always choose the company with an excellent track record for their after sale care.

Can't count the # of times I've called a purchase line which is answered instantaneously, then sat on hold at the same helpful Co. for 15/20/30 minutes, having to try back repeatedly for the tech OR return department, whom may or may not get back to me.

I think a large amount of flack, is the disgruntled cylindrical surge up which builds and crests when too much time has passed between 'Outlaw updates' (only as relates to waitlisters).
This has traditionally plagued Outlaw, and I would agree that they should respond quicker (with any info other than silence) rather than letting it get to such volcanic proportions each time.

The % I see on after purchase satisfaction seems to be in line with any other product launch so far. JMO.
x % bugs/ x % returns / x % quiet satisfied owners who have gone off to enjoy their lives.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

I don't know if this means a new batch is ready to ship or not, but I just received a replacement 950 the other day and the serial number (if this is indicative of what batch they're on) ends in 427. Hopefully, it does mean something will be happening soon.
They also seem to have modified the digital format logo silk screens on the front panel to be in equal proportion to each other. A minor thing, really, but it does look a little better. Also, there are a couple small software mods. I've noticed while accessing the remote. Again, nothing huge since I'm sure they're still working within the confines of the same Cirrus Logic processor's memory capacity.
So far, for me their attention to their customers has been exemplary. I feel that since this is their first foray into the pre-amp biz. that there is a certain learning curve.
If they can rustle up an even better design team and manufacturing facility for a $2,500 audiophile grade, true XLR balanced output pre-amp with better aesthetics, build quality in and out (ex. 16 top grade, dual differential mode Burr-Brown 24 bit/192 kHz DAC's with quality up-sampling capabilities & Meridian's quality 7.1 MLP decoder for the PCM side, and Sony's best DSD decoder and DSD DAC chips for the Direct Stream Digital side), and a lot more upgrade-ability via software (requiring much greater processor capacity) and hardware (especially perhaps a daughter card slot for any firewire or DVI audio connectors coming down the pike for SACD and DVD-Audio). Stereo back channel capabilities (along with a Logic7 type processing). A professional grade, multiple bitstream type master clock chip for reduced digital jitter. Adjustable slopes and crossovers, and delay settings for each and every channel. Great user interface and features. Top drawer copper shielding of the chassis, separate high end power supplies for analog, video, and digital sections, wide bandwidth circuitry, and professional circuitry shielding and grounding for greater detail and ultra low noise.
If they can pull something like that off for ~$2,500 plus extra specially packaged shipping/handling (since these fancy new $3,500-$5,000 retail pre-amps from Integra Research, Cinepro, Krell, Tag McLaren, Anthem, etc. probably cost much less to manufacture than that and they're still adding enough padding to make a profit from their dealers-- then there's the big dealer markup on top of that to create these retail price margins I mentioned above) then I would again put my money in the Outlaw camp.
IMHO.
Dan