I am surprised to hear that the filters don't self oscillate...
Many filters don't self-oscillate. Most software filters don't (or if they do, they are usually an unstable squeal that gives rise to digital clipping). I have designed and built a lot of synths in NI's Reaktor and unless anything has changed since the last time I dabbled, their filters don't oscillate (and Reaktor is the 'kore' of many of their other products). Similarly, there are many 'classic' analogue filters that don't oscillate either and some of those that do just descend into instability and/or they just render the lowpass filter into a bandpass and filter out any bottom end! The Moog filter is relatively unique in these respects but there are so many non-linearities going on in that design that (I am told) are a bugger to emulate successfully in software.
Filter resonance/self-oscillation is derived from feeding back the filter output to the filter input... it's a feedback loop much like you get when you hear feedback and 'howl around' from a bad gig's PA. And like a bad gig's PA, it is easy for that feedback to get wildly out of control. As a result, many instrument designers (software and hardware) limit the resonance range so that the signal is 'peaky' but never allowed to become unstable.
Fusion's 'RP FILTER' (an emulation of the famous ARP2600 filter) is nice - it gets nice and 'squelchy' and 'whistley' at extreme resonance ... it just doesn't quite descend into self-oscillatory chaos!
I remain concerned about Alesis's survival and the consequences for product support.
I suspect you have these feelings because of the utter nonsense and bollox being spouted off across the internet at forums such as you have mentioned - people who simply don't have a clue proclaiming their speculation and conjecture as absolute truths. It's all bollox!!!!
So... Alesis dropped the price of Fusion ..... so did Korg recently with their Radias .... and other manufacturers regularly reduce prices.
So... Alesis did a promo deal to include some free monitors when you buy a Fusion between now and the end of December .... Korg did exactly the same recently by including a free $800 MOSS board with any Triton bought between now and the end of December.
Are people wringing their hands predicting the imminent demise of Korg and others? No - thought not! These are just business decisions made in the organisations to promote sales. Other manufacturers do it all the time as do supermarkets (buy one, get one free for a limited period) ... as do garages/gas stations (buy 10 gallons, get a free spanner set for a limited period) ... and so on. Are these people going to the wall of bankruptcy? No - they are simply peddling their wares and doing what they can to encourage sales and shift stock. It's a time-honoured ploy used by sales people since time immemorial!
So... GC are blowing out Fusion's at bargain prices - I am led to understand that they do the same with other stuff to clear stock.
Of course, if Fusion was the ONLY product Alesis had to sustain them, they might be in trouble. But they have countless other products that are almost literally flying off shelves ... even older products like HD24 and SR16 are still sales stalwarts.
Pay no attention to those offering up their speculation and conjecture and (often vicious) rumour-mongering as absolute truths.
Bottom line....
When yours arrives, try it out. Don't do anything daft like downloading shit off the net and dumping it onto Fusion's drive - that's just asking for trouble. Just use it as is and go through it bit by bit. Spend some time with it ... try modifying some sounds ... try making up some of your own (you don't have to save anything - just fiddle and tweak and see how you get on with it). If you like it, that's great... stick with it coz I think you'll find it a satisfying experience as you learn more about it. If you don't, that's fine - pack it back up and send it back for a refund. And in the unlikely event that you get a broken duffer, demand a replacement or a refund.
In conclusion... my experience:
Had a 6HD almost to the day last December - was fine, worked flawlessly and I made up a good few sounds in the first evening I got it (these are now available in a Freepack).
Later, that was replaced by an 8HD - fantastic! Lovely keyboard that's a delight to play.
My 6HD was passed to a fellow Hollow Sun cohort and he has had absolutely no problems with it in a year of fairly serious use. My other HS cohort also has a 6HD and has produced a lot of sound lib for Fusion without any problems whatsoever.
In the time I've had my 8HD, I've not had a single problem that wasn't of my own making.
* Noisy drive? NO ... almost silent
* Bugs and crashes? NO ... just some quirks in the OS and UI I had to familiarise myself with
* Hardware issues? Not one... the thing seems to be built like a tank and every switch, knob and controller works perfectly
* Poor ROM sounds? Maybe in places ... same can be said of other similar products that have left me underwhelmed however
* Buggy sequencer? Not that I have noticed ... quirky and a bit fiddly sometimes but nothing untoward - functional but not CuBase or Logic shall we say!!! And no more quirky and fiddly than other on-board sequencers I've used
And so on ... I could go on.
Draw your own conclusions. Also bear in mind that all of us here at HS are thrashing our Fusions fairly heavily and none of us have had a problem that A) wasn't of our own making or B) our misunderstanding of the UI or some implementation of a function.
I'll conclude by saying this......
Examining my website stats this evening, many thousands of people have downloaded my Freepacks apparently without issue - these are (presumably) Fusion users who have (presumably) installed them sucessfully (no-one has had to email me with any problems ... on the contrary in fact).
As I say, draw your own conclusions. My feeling is that there is a large 'silent majority' of Fusion users out there who don't indulge in forums but there is also a handful of people out there with some agenda/issues who can cause so much damage.
Go figure!
Steve