A few questions

[markkjr]

I was thinking about the 950 Outlaw Pre/Pro as they have this secret:

"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."

Now the thing I really dig about the RDC-7 is that it has balanced outputs and since I have Pro QSC amps, I have nice balanced inputs and I already have the balanced cables so I am set there. I wonder if this new DSP or code will then be available for the RDC-7?

would you say the RDC-7 is pretty much future proof? What sort of life line do you think it will hold? 5-10 years?




-Mark
Home Theater Specialist
www.digitalvortex.com

[Lex]

Well, looks like the pre-processor has all the right stuff going in, and is software upgradable. I think it's a beautiful piece, and you would be hard pressed to do better with an Outlaw, but that's just my opinion. Burke may disagree, lol.

Lex

[Burke Strickland]

Do I disagree that the RDC-7 is a great sounding, feature-laden, high value package? Let's see -- reports of an eternally hot place getting very frosty, sightings of self-propelled airborne porcine objects and a bear electing not to take a dump in a forested area are all about as likely. :>)

Not knowing what the "secret" DSP that Outlaw is promising will actually be, it is impossible to know a) whether it is something I (or anyone else) should actually desire to have in their system, b) assuming it is a desirable enhancement, whether or not it is technically feasible to incorporate it in today's software upgradeable units with just a software update, and c) if it is feasible, whether the manufacturer would actually offer it.

My guess is that if it is a DSP being introduced by a "mainstream" player (e.g., Dolby Labs or DTS) and not a "sideshow" (such as Ambisonic), Integra Research will figure out a way to include it in a future update.

If it is not really just a "DSP" featue -- but is something related to increased bandwidth, requiring a change in the DACs beyond their current 24/192 (and that will probably happen sometime in the next ten years, but probably NOT this year), then it becomes a question of how difficult, and how expensive, the required hardware upgrade would be. Until we know what we are dealing with, who knows? But every vendor of processors in the universe would be faced with the same dilemma (except presumably Outlaw in this immediate scenario, and frankly, I don't think any mainstream DSP-format player is going to give them a feature "coup" that would hobble the competitiveness of the big boys in the pre-pro/receiver business -- unless they have a financial stake in Outlaw and want to make a lot of others in the industry very angry!

Just my thoughts. I don't have any inside information on this so it is all conjecture.

At some point, you have to bit the bullet and make a choice. Someone will always be promising something "better". And occasionally maybe even delivering it at an unspecified time down the road. :>) I think the RDC-7 is about as good a delivered package of useful features, outstanding performance, prospects for upgradability and a reasonable price as you will find in the foreseeable future. I've compared it in my own system to another pre/pro that had very appealling features on paper for a lower price and found that the competing model sounded appalling in real life (connected to my system and listened to over several days) -- so all the "bells and whistles" in the world didn't make it acceptable for me.

That's one reason why I don't think we can make any valid assessment of what the Outlaw unit really offers until there is a product in hand, so that we can try out the features and listen to it in our own systems. I'll be interested to find out what corners they've had to cut to include so many features while keeping the price so low. I hope for future buyers' sake that sound quality hasn't been the "sacrificial lamb".

Burke

[Jimmy]

Wouldn't it be best and wait for the Outlaw to come out and then make the decision? Advertising that you have a "mystery" DSP mode means nothing but empty hype as far as I'm concerned.

[Lex]

Well, if I can inject this much. A pre-processor is about much more than some mystery DSP. There's overall sound quality, ease of use, upgradability, flexibility, remote functionality, inputs and outputs, etc... Really, you need to make informed decisions about each of these items as they relate to your needs, and then buy that piece. It's that simple.

Lex

[markkjr]

So who else makes a Pre/Pro with Balanced XLR connectors in the same price range as the RDC-7?




-Mark
Home Theater Specialist
www.digitalvortex.com