OUTLAW 975 - Page 7

I'm a bit perplexed as to how to comment here. I ordered a 975 on 11/30 and got an email stating shipping within 5 working days. I also registered for an account on the Outlaw Forum - the Saloon. After a week I have heard nothing about my order nor has my forum account been approved. This, along with the limited discussion on the Outlaw forum regarding the 975 which is supposedly shipping, is disquieting. I emailed them regarding my forum account approval yesterday - to check status of my order requires an Outlaw login which hasn't been approved after a week. If I don't hear from them by Monday I most likely will cancel my order. I knew the shipping window was inexact, but not approving a simple forum account after a week is unacceptable...

I have found that the forum lately is not moderated much, not sure why. I pm'd a question to the mods and never got a response. If you want to ask a customer service question, I'd phone them up, having your invoice number. I bought an amp from them last spring and found that they are very helpful.

Sorry. Didn't think of checking their forum. You'd think they'd have a "now shipping" or something on their product page...So the 975 is available now?

You're right, I just checked their product page and it still says "Now Accepting Reservation Orders", asthough the 975 is due to be released soon rather than already shipping.

Take off the blinders and you could see the reason for the remarks. I have not denied that Emo has problems. It has been posted too, too many times. It is time for the critics to take a rest and tell about problems with other brands.

Hi wyliec2,

The email you are referring to is the generic "auto-responder" that is sent for all on-line orders. Our newsletter and Model 975 product page reflect the correct status for the Model 975. As for the Saloon, unfortunately, your registration from the fifth was unnecessarily delayed. It has since been confirmed, and I apologize for that inconvenience. That said, I do not have any record of an email inquiring about the status of your registration. If you don't mind, would you forward it to my email address so that I can look into where the breakdown is in our support system? My email address (delete the spaces and underscores) is "sjac_kson_@ outlaw audio .com" Please also include your name and order number so that I can look into your order status.

Hi Runnin,

The forum is no more, or less, moderated than ever. We have left the Saloon open for as free of a discussion among our existing and potential customers as possible. In the more than 10 years since we opened the original Outlaw Saloon (we migrated to new software a few years back), I can hardly recall a time that we've had to "close" a member thread, or even remind members to remain respectful of their fellow members. We are quite grateful for the tone and broad knowledge our forum members share with each other. That said, you are absolutely right. The best method to reach support is on our toll-free support line, or online through our support desk or contact request form.

Finally, if you could forward me (see above) a copy of the PM you sent to the forum admin, it would be greatly appreciated.


Hi lonwolf615,

We are not quite ready for "real time" shipments yet. We have been shipping reservation orders since last Friday, and continue each day to process and ship as many orders as possible. We are making progress and expect to be shipping in real time by Wednesday of next week...quite frankly, I'm hoping we can ship the remaining reservation orders and those that are received over the weekend on Monday, but some of the latter may be delayed until Tuesday or Wednesday.


Hi, sdurani:

Since we are not shipping in real time just yet, we are technically still accepting reservation orders. However, since we do expect to be able to fulfill orders in real time early this week, I'll change the wording on the site to reflect something a bit more precise.

Re: user feedback: The reservation orders, with few exceptions, have been shipped Fed Ex Ground. Therefore, since we're shipping from MA, most ground deliveries are going to take between 3-4 business days. Given that, a significant portion (most) of the units we have shipped are still in transit.

Best,

Scott

Thanks Scott for the informative feedback; I've been a long-time owner of Outlaw equip and anticipate forthcoming reviews on the 975....my 990/7500 combo still impresses me with its excellent sonic/HT capabilities....

Scott, thanks for the update. I did know that the order response was automated. The link in the order response took me to forum login, and without an account there were few options to communicate with Outlaw. I now have my account approval and can login. My processor need is not urgent and my expectation was not for an immediate shipment so I'm fine to be waiting patiently.

Thanks Scott for the update. Have never bought from Outlaw yet but have come real close a few times. I'm a cautious soul so I'll be waiting for a few more reviews of the 975 before purchasing but I gotta admit I'm excited about the product. It seems to me your company has introduced some much needed common sense into the pre/pro market place and for that you should be applauded.

Hi there, great thread! I am looking at this pre/pro to replace my Lexicon lossy DTS/DD pre/pro of 10 years. The too good to be true price, the reviews, and the literature on the Outlaw website make it sound very good! I like the matched components in the analog output stage and the high bit rate DACs. Before I purchased I would want to know more details on the DACs (make/model) and how the output stage is setup as this is what really defines a pre/pro's sound. Anyone at Outlaw care to share or has someone poped the top yet?

I know Outlaw might not want to release this information to remain competitive however. I own a high-end FM tuner where the op-amps in the output stage are covered with paint to prevent copy cats.

How ironic . Maybe you should take your own advice and back off on slamming Onkyo products. Which you alone have posted "too, too many times". It works both ways won't you think . Take a look around the Onkyo threads and a few specifically discussing issues with Onkyo AVRs/prepros. There is probably more negative discussion due to the issues with Onkyo AVRs/prepros than any other brand. So please don't act like Emotiva is being picked on here at AVS.

Bill

I certainly think it works both ways. Otherwise I would let those redundant responses from others go unanswered. Those like you who are quick to slam Emo remain silent on other brands that have had serious problems.

Taking one's own advice also works both ways.

Maybe you should look at the many Onkyo threads where I posted many times that I did not blame people for slamming Onkyo for their issues. Many times I agreed with those that said they would never buy an Onkyo product again after the troubles they had with them. I know if my 805, 885 or 886 had failed I would have felt the same. Do a little research and you will find the many times I suggested Emotiva products including the UMC-1 and the USP-1. I did this even though my experiences were not to my liking. I'm not like yourself and get all bent out of shape if someone posts negatively about gear I own.

Bill

I received my 975 on Thursday, it's use is for my family room 2.1 system. Replaced my current Pioneer VSX-1020 with it and hooked my sources and Amp up to it. I purchased an Emotiva UPA-500 to drive my 2 front speakers. Setup was a breeze and straight forward. My biggest settings gripe is that I cannot change the Input names. I was able to watch TV on it and Play the Wii U that night. The next morning played some more Wii U and went out for the day. I went to watch TV that night and no video displayed on my TV or audio. Switched the unit through all HDMI inputs... Nothing, OSD.. Nothing. Switched to FM and was able to sound. Replaced the HDMI cable from the 975 to the TV... Nothing. Put the same HDMI cable on the cable box and got video. Looks like my unit's defective. This all happened after 5PM, yea lucky me. I called for support and left them a message, hopefully they will call me on Monday.
From what I was able to hear and see from the unit, I was very impressed. I do not possess golden ears nor eyes but with the change between my existing Pioneer my 2 channel soundstage sounded much better. I was very happy with it for the day I got to use it. Hopefully I can get a replacement unit soon.

I know some might believe that I am making this up, so I include this.

The truth about Outlaw's excellent customer was witnessed by me today. I received a call from them and a new unit will be shipped out early this week.

What video chip is doing the processing in this unit?

Pfffst...obviously a doctored photo.

I do wish more units would come in low profile versions.

The CS497024 supports Dolby headphone and multiband parametric EQ.
Could these features be possible in a future firmware release?

I understand DH may require additional licence fees but the EQ should be part of the package and a useful feature for some.
Am I off base on this?
Edited by bootman_head_fi - 12/10/12 at 7:04am

I think I answered my own question.
I got this off the saloon.

Source:

http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=91681#Post91681
Edited by bootman_head_fi - 12/10/12 at 11:54am

So I guess you're off base as Outlaw explained their decision on the limitations of the chipset. Better to maintain one's performance standards than have a product with a crappy EQ system. I think Parasound did the same thing when they cancelled their to-be-released processor because it just didn't meet their standards.

Isn't that what I said above?
I answered my own question.


The Parasound you mentioned was cancelled when, almost two years ago now?
Different DSP we are talking about here I think. (same manufacturer different DSP)

But what about DH? Not a useful feature with a unit that has a headphone out?
Also something worthy of a question at least.

When I referenced the Parasound, I was listing another company besides Outlaw that was willing to make a tough decision to maintain their performance standards. A lesser company would have gone ahead with the release, perhaps thinking about the bottom line.

As for the headphone stuff, only a small minority would consider it a deal breaker. There are other companies out there if they so choose.

understood.
DH isn't a deal breaker just a nice option that the competition does not offer.

so anyone got one yet? I'm really interested if the music playback is as good as the review states.

Me too. Looking at this unit to replace my Lexicon, which does 2 channel very well, although not as well as a passive 2-channel pre-amp I have. I was hoping Outlaw would post something regarding the output stage specifics by now. I registered with their forum a week ago and no confirmation e-mail. If the 975 is as good as it seems, I hope Stereophile reviews it for us music first/home theater second types.

Picked mine up after work today. Weekend forecast is rain/sleet/snow - perfect for testing and setting up the 975 in my family room system (it will not be replacing my Lexicon in my theater)...

Ditto... I'm in the market for a pre like the outlaw 975 or the UMC-200. And of coarse looking for some good honest and insightful reviews. it can be hard to sort through the "good the bad and the ugly"

What do you think about the 975?

After two days of completely rebuilding my family room system I have completed my 975 install. It went uneventfully - everything worked as I expected it to. I am quite happy with the performance from an audio standpoint. BluRay and HD DirectTV work flawlessly. CD playback is fine. I have everything connected with both digital and analog inputs - the analog inputs are necessary for the stereo REC OUT jacks which feed a receiver in another room. I haven't found anything buggy or odd. It is totally quiet running output to an Emotiva LPA amplifier (roughly 6 years old). I am very happy with the small form factor and minimalist setup for my family room system (about $4k in speakers/sub). A few things I wish it had - power-on volume setting; default surround settings for input format - ie. if I'm watching DirectTV and have PCM running to PL-II Movie and change to a channel with Dolby and then to another channel with PCM - it will just be on PCM with no surround. So far the only real issue is, after a couple of tries, I haven't been able to learn the remote codes to my URC MX-850. This was a hurried effort so I'll try it again in a couple of days. I had an HK AVR435 receiver using the pre-outs so this is much smaller, much less heat and doing everything I need it to do!