I can already guess what most of you will tell me to do :) , but I can't really decide whether or not I should get an empeg now, or wait to see how the S3 aquisition pans out...

All of the things that make empeg so attractive do not traditionally find themselves in other Rio products... Such as: Great Customer Support, Software Updates, Open Architecture and Upgradability. Part of me says, "Buy it now before S3 ruins it!" and the other part says, "Buy it later because S3 will have no interest in supporting old product!" Also, maybe if Rio introduces a new product, it will have a button layout with more direct access buttons (for a tuner?) and be set up for left-hand drive cars?

I know this topic was talked about quite a bit towards the end of last summer, but it doesn't seem like it has been brought up lately. Possibly more is known now?

I have already noticed that the www.empeg.com website is not up to date. It lists December specials and mentions that units are still on back-order. Is empeg as a company already getting ready for the change? Also, from what I hear, the empeg car is already being demonstrated at the CES as the Rio Car.

Finally, the price has pretty much remained the same on new Mk. II players since July (am I right on this?), even though drive prices have dropped. If I buy now, will I be shocked to find out that I could have gotten a higher capacity unit for the same price had I waited only a few weeks? (I know this would happen eventually anyway, but it would really hurt if it happened only a few weeks later!)

BTW: I am considering the 12gig model... I was in the queue from the days before the first Mk. I's shipped, so I have been following this product for some time. There are just a few issues I am trying to sort out... I don't have THAT much disposible income to buy something like this without enough research...

Thanks!

In reply to:

---

and be set up for left-hand drive cars?

---

Eh?

It works fine in mine.

I may be missing something, but why isn't the Empeg set up for LHD? Do other manufacturers make two versions of their head units for LHD and RHD?

Nick (who's a brit and is suffering with a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side while he lives away from the UK)


--
18Gb blue (now AR red) - s/n 080000299 (original queue position 8724)

I purchased a mk2 12gig in july, and have loved every min of it.. it's one of my best purchases of the year, both in utility value, and geek factor.. (i think my recently aquired TiVo will come in 2nd)


12gig red mk2 -- 080000125

Fence sitting is a popular pasttime, but you have to ask yourself some hard questions.

- Is the empeg something you want, as-is, today? (I love mine and would never want to go back.)

- Is there any alternative to the empeg? (Maybe some of the portable gizmos like the PJB-100, but nothing really comes close to the empeg for all its features)

- Can you afford it today? (If you're on the fence for monetary reasons, go for the smaller hard drive and do the upgrade yourself.)

- If SolicBlue became a big evil company doing big evil things, would you still be happy with the empeg that you bought before all the big evil badness happened? (For me, I'm quite happy with what I've got. Everything else (and there's a lot else) is gravy.)

Admittedly, it would be awfully nice of empeg to drop their prices somewhat, but seeing how they have no real competition, they're charging what the market will bear. Right now, you're paying an early adopter penalty. For example, I got a new cel phone back in August. That same phone now is being advertised for half the cost. That's okay, though, because I wanted it *then*, so I paid a premium. If you want premium quality a MP3 player in your car today, the empeg is your choice. If you're willing to wait, and wait, and wait, something better will always come along.

from everything that empeg has said, the player will not be seeing any significant changes (hardware wise) or new models anytime soon, so the problem of buying one and watching it be replaced with a nicer model is pretty much a moot point.

as has been demonstrated many many times before, and stated by empeg as well, they will continue to fully support both the mark 1 and mark 2 models. there is no problem with rio dropping support, as the empeg guys will continue to handle that job (just under a different name).

i find the empeg to be very well suited to those of us who drive on the right (by right, i mean the correct side being the left one of course :) side of the car. i would rather have the buttons closest to me as opposed to the dial. either way though, i really use the remote for about 90% of empeg control anyway.

regarding the stady price of the empeg in light of falling storage prices, rather than getting the same thing for less money, you really get more for the same amount of money. when drive prices fall, smaller models are dropped and replaced by larger capacity models for about the same price. instead of prices falling, you just get a bigger drive for the same price. all this to say that you will not see any significant price changes to the empeg due to the fluctuation of drive prices.

i got a 12 gig and have been completely happy with it. recalling the question about buying just before a storage increase, you can always pop in a second drive when the 12 gig fills up. i have ~1800 songs on my 12 gig with about 1 gig free still. even if empeg releases a higher capacity model in the future, you can always pick up a drive and install it yourself, or send it back to empeg and have them do it.

now for the empeg plug. buy one. it will continue to be supported. it will not drop in price. it will not be replaced by a newer model next month. it is just a really great car stereo, but i am guessing you already knew that. just go ahead and buy it. i know i speak for myself, and probably every other member of the bbs when i say that you will not regret it.

jeremy (wondering if he delete all the christmas music to free up space, or keep listening to it)

12 gig, green...

Well said 'jstrain' you can't ride the fence forever there's always something new and different coming out and at you. I took the plunge and remarkably didn't suffer any 'buyers regret' like I usually do soon after a purchase. I am considered a techno buff and soon tire quickly of the new stuff, didn't happen with the Empeg, I've owned my Mk2 since September.
I would imagine the company at first suffered some losses with their prices and as more & more units sold the price didn't come down but stayed the same to offset the initial loss and start recouping some of that loss, considering what is packed Empegs they weren't cheap to produce on a small scale.

#695 Mk2 BLUE 12Gig

Ask and I may tell you

From literally the day it arrived, I have used it every day. Time in the car would not be the same without it.

- --
Rod, UK Mk2 64gig Red S/No.341

How to begin?

Regarding support:The plan is for the current staff to continue supporting the car player. So that shouldn't change.

Regarding S3 supporting "old product": The currently-shipping car player will be (as far as I know) the same product as S3 will ship. The difference will be a different logo sticker on top of the unit and a different bootup logo.

Regarding the up-to-date website information: They've been busy preparing for CES as well as handling the change-over. I get the feeling there will be a website update after they get back from CES. But hey, not everyone is good about updating their home pages. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Regarding price: Every high-tech purchase comes with the guarantee that the same or better product will soon be available for a lower price. It doesn't matter whether you're buying a computer, a DVD player, or the best in-car digital music player in the world-- there is always the knowledge that technology prices will drop. The question you have to ask yourself is: Will I enjoy my new toy now if I buy it now?

Perhaps this post and others in the same thread will help you off that particular fence.

Regarding disk size: Assuming you get a single-drive model, you could wait to upgrade that second slot. I have to say, though, that even 6 gigs is great. If you want to put every single album you own onto the player, then make sure to get a bigger drive. But I've been finding lately that I've been deleting certain songs and albums (after having the empeg repeat them to me enough times to be sure I really do dislike them), so I've got more space than I previously thought I would.

___________
Tony Fabris

why isn't the Empeg set up for LHD?

Only from the point of view that in some less-than-optimal mounting positions (like mine!) the airfoil shape of the front bezel obscures the first few letters on the top line of the display. A right hand drive car would not suffer this problem.

A while back, pim made what I thought was an outstanding suggestion to rectify this problem (see here ) that I am surprised has merited no followup.

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Well... I broke down and ordered a 12gig Blue Mk. II today! I havn't recieved any confirmation email or anything, but I assume the order went through.... I still have tons of questions for you guys though! But maybe I will save those for another thread or two so that others can benefit from your advice.

I am excited! I have had my eye on the empeg from before Mk. I's were shipping, so I don't think this is exactly an impulse purchase.

Now I need to do a search on the BBS because I think I might want to re-rip my mp3's at 128 VBR instead of the 160 CBR I have been using...

Congratulations on your new empeg!

Now I need to do a search on the BBS because I think I might want to re-rip my mp3's at 128 VBR instead of the 160 CBR I have been using...

Unless you're tight on space, you'll probably be happy with the 160's you've already got. Depending on the encoder you use, 160 is a decent compromise between very high quality and too much disk space usage. So don't worry about it.

Just remember to fill out all your tags right (including album and year) before the empeg arrives. Go to the FAQ section of this BBS and look at the entries on filenames and tags.

___________
Tony Fabris

Well, I have been doing a pretty good job of organizing my folders and naming my files, and I THOUGHT I was doing a good job of touching up my tags, BUT I just found out that I was only updating the v1 tags because the version of Winamp I had been using does not support v2 tags! The problem is that all the mp3's had the "updated" v1 tags I had touched up, but they also had v2 tags with the old info on them! I know that empeg will look for the v2 tags and give them priority, so I have to go and re-do all that!

Oh well, it will give me something to do while I wait for my empeg!

Brad

...or just remove all the ID3v2 tags. I believe there are tools which can do this available. I've got a program which does it but it only runs on Linux and isn't that easy to use :-)

--
Mike Crowe
I may not be speaking on behalf of empeg above :-)

...or just remove all the ID3v2 tags. I believe there are tools which can do this available.

Last night I had to remove some V2 tags, and I discovered that the newest version of WinAmp will allow you to easily remove them.

WinAmp's new interface for managing the V1/V2 tags is quite elegant. It doesn't do batch operations (which is what Sport Driver really needs), but for onesie-twosie operations it's great.

___________
Tony Fabris

Cool! I will have to check it out when I get home tonight if my wife let's me near the computer... :( I just downloaded it (the new Winamp) last night when I realized the version I had been using did not support ID3v2 tags.. I also downloaded the newest version of MusicMatch but havn't been able to check either one out..

Actually, I didn't really download the new version of MusicMatch. Instead, the program said "The newest version is available on your hard drive right now, do you want to install?" So, I'd like to know when MusicMatch invited itself to download the newest version... Now wonder my connection has seemed slow lately... This "self updating" software with no permission disturbs me.

I havn't yet gotten any confirmation of shippment... (I did get a reply that my order has been received.) Will empeg give me some sort of FedEx tracking info?

12gig <font color=blue>Blue</font> Mk. II
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Will empeg give me some sort of FedEx tracking info?

Usually, they send you the tracking info after they ship the order. (i.e., once they've gotten something they can send you.)

___________
Tony Fabris

...or just remove all the ID3v2 tags. I believe there are tools which can do this available. I've got a program which does it but it only runs on Linux and isn't that easy to use :-)

find . -name "*.mp3" | xargs id3convert -s -2

It doesn't get much easier than that.

Borislav

I ordered my empeg on Tuesday around 3pm New York time.. (EST). I still havn't heard from empeg yet about shippment. I assumed it would be processed and sent yesterday (Wednesday). I was thinking maybe they installed 1.02 on the thing before sending it out, but I don't know what the hold up is (if there is any). But, I will need to make arrangments to receive shipment, so I kinda need to be able to track this thing.

I have had some luck using MusicMatch of all programs to update my ID3v2 tags... If I use it to edit a tag on an mp3 that I ripped, I can check an "apply to all tracks on this CD" box. It has been great for applying Genre and date changes (which CDDB doesn't supply good info for). It has trouble finding some files if you renamed any folders, but it tells you what folders it is looking for, so I just renamed them again to their original. I am using Winamp to do the rest of the changes. I must say, I love v2 tags and how they allow long track names. I just hated truncating names with v1.

12gig Mk. II (in route?)
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

I ordered my empeg on Tuesday around 3pm New York time.. (EST). I still havn't heard from empeg yet about shippment. I assumed it would be processed and sent yesterday (Wednesday).

This surprises me. Although I know that some of the crew were out in Vegas this week, I'm sure they left some folks behind to handle orders. I also would have expected you to see a shipping confirmation very shortly after the order confirmation, unless there was some sort of complexity regarding the payment.

Email [email protected] and see if they reply.

___________
Tony Fabris

One of my posts got lost.... but, here is basically what I posted this morning:

I called empeg and the unit was shipped yesterday. I tracked the shipment through FedEx and it now sits in Tennessee being held by customs! :( FedEx just called me and they are going to fax me some papers that I need to fill out....

Anyone else have to do this? I am sure it is a random thing.

I am still bummed out that empeg never emailed me when the unit was send out, but oh well.

12gig Mk. II (held hostage in Tennessee!)
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Greetings!

Groan. My condolences. Let me guess - did you order the 40GB model with something else (case, faceplate, etc.) breaking $2,000US?

Customs has this neat little form that you have to fill out for incoming merchandise over $2,000US. Very harmless form. The only thing is that it sometimes makes FedEx and customs pay more careful attention. My empeg required evaluation by the FDA (for FCC clearance), and got hung up for almost a week while they were getting everything ready - even though all of the paperwork was intact.

Keep a very close watch on your FedEx status, and keep calling them at every step in the tracking system.

FedEx may also bill you for your trouble - I received a bill for about $30US for special handling, duty and customs. Very low when you hear what the other folks pay in VAT, but annoying. Billing by FedEx also tends to be very random. Most people do not pay anything at all. It seems fairly random.

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (40GB Green)

OH MAN, not the dreaded customs hold up. I feel your pain man. Do a search on the BBS and you'll find quite a few threads on this. Same exact thing happened to me, i didn't recieve confirmation, AND on top of that it got held up in customs. Just fax em the papers back and it'll be cleared up quick more'n'likely. Just wait til you get the fed-ex bill a month later....


|| loren.cox
|| 080000446

Odd, I thought it was standard procedure to send a shipping-confirmation e-mail in addition to the order-confirmation e-mail. Rob, if you're reading this... Am I wrong about that?

___________
Tony Fabris

My total "only" came to $1350 or so. Not too sure what made it get caught by customs. I just faxed the papers back in, so I will see what happens. Of course this happens on a Thursday! I don't think FedEx ships on Saturdays, so I might have to wait till next week.

12gig Mk. II (held hostage in Tennessee!)
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Order confirmations are sent each day around lunchtime (GMT) and dispatch confirmations early evening. That is - unless someone forgets to run them!

Rob

OH Boy! Maybe I don't want to know what will happen today or Monday...Mine apparently is on it's way but I was suprised to find out that my shipping charges are going to be $125, a big dollar for within Europe ( I guess FedEx are the only ones able to ship to a post office here at extra cost? ). But I guess the real test will be with Bosnian customs. I have asked and have been told that I shouldn't have to pay any taxes at all! I just hope that the guy at the counter is not corrupt or on the take, don't want the player held hostage :( I will let you all know early next week. J

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue/Red MK2

Well... my empeg DID get caught in customs, but I just faxed in a form yesterday, and I got my empeg today! I brought it into work and all the engineers were wow'd by it. One guy is a car audio buff and he was a bit skeptical, but I think he just needs to see it hooked up. ANYWAY, once I got home, I started loading music on it.

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to answer all the questions I have had in the last week. I wouldn't have bought one if it weren't for that. I guess I had been reading up on the thing so much that when I took it out of the box and plugged it in, it only took me about 30 seconds to figure out most of the basic functions.

Thanks again! I will post more in the "Reviews" forum after I get some time with this thing!

Brad

12gig Mk. II (held hostage in Tennessee!)
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Well here it is Thursday and my player has been enroute for three days. It left England really quick, arrived in Frankfurt and dispatched to Bosnia the same night. Now two days later, it sits in Sarajevo awaiting a "regulatory clearance agency delay" Just great :( Bosnian customs must be trying really hard what to do about this nice shiny box. I hope and pray it doesn't arrive here open and handled. I will have to keep waiting......Too bad I can't call FedEx and ask them what's up here. Major Bummer

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

I think I could have predicted a customs delay with a high value consignment into Bosnia. Anyway, FedEx should keep you up to date if you call - or ask someone in customer services here to call them.

Rob

Thanks Rob, you're right on top of things eh? I sent an email to FedEx requesting a contact number for Sarajevo, I will wait and see what happens...I am speculating that maybe I shouldn't have mentioned SFOR in the address? It may have opened a can of worms ha ha. I will keep tracking it tomorrow and hope it may arrive before the weekend. J

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

SFOR!!
You gonna stick that bad boy Empeg into a Grizzly??



Smoker_Man
#080000449 MkII - 36Gb Blue

ha ha, small world, actually I was going to install it into my Iltis :)

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

A "Tonic For the Troops"

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

nice! Is the computerised hydraulic suspension been fully deployed to the field?

Perhaps the empeg can adjust volume settings based on hydraulic activation? lol

Smoker_Man
#080000449 MkII - 36Gb Blue

Is the computerised hydraulic suspension been fully deployed to the field?

Perhaps the empeg can adjust volume settings based on hydraulic activation?

Or vice versa? Now that's a subwoofer...

Peter

Hello all
Quick update: Called Sarajevo today and they (FedEx rep) told me it was a customs issue. Empeg on the other hand told me it was a addressing issue. I tend to believe Empeg's version as the correct and logical one and they were more helpful than the people I spoke to in Sarajevo. The problem remains that while Empeg seems to have a good grip on it, the people in Sarajevo are the ones who are holding my player so I don't know who is 100% right. I will know Monday I hope. I am getting impatient but I shouldn't whine I guess because I didn't have to queue like the original owners did. J

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

Whether or not there is a customs issue, there was definitely an addressing problem - which we fixed. At the time FedEx were not aware of a customs problems, or of the customs procedure of which you were informed (having to travel across the country to sign paperwork!); but that doesn't mean it ain't so.

As you say, we'll probably find out more on Monday. With hindsight you may have found it easier to ship the player to Canada (max two days) and have it forwarded to you through an armed forces consignment. I would guess that the army don't get these problems with customs :-)

Rob

Hi Rob....Thank for your imput again..I am very worried because I don't see any resolution to this soon....I am interested in what the problem with the address was though, I checked that very carefully to ensure that it was accurate. Maybe it was a transcription problem? The people in Sarajevo never mentioned anything about the addressing. In any case you are right, it would have been easier to ship to Canada. Had I known how difficult this would turn out to be, there would have been no question. I just wanted to take advantage of the time I have here to load the player up with tunes before I went home...

I just hope FedEx can sort this out soon.

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

The address was correct in our database, I don't know why FedEx had a slightly scrambled version.

Any customs issues won't be down to FedEx, it's a domestic issue with Sarajevo customs. FedEx will help monitor the situation, however, and provide advice. We would usually use TNT to ship to an eastern european destination, but as you know they're refusing outright to ship to most Bosnian destinations right now.

Rob

Well, I just hope that some one can resolve it. The main problem is that I cannot leave my post here to go to Sarajevo, and I shouldn't have to anyway as far as I am concerned. I paid a big dollar to ship the player and I feel that FedEx should make good on their delivery, no matter what the problem is. I did some checking and it is normal practice for them to pay any duty and bill the consignee, I don't know why that never happened in this case? It seems that the FedEx rep in Sarajevo is not on top of the situation because when I called Friday, they had no idea what the delay was at the clearance centre...makes me wonder. In any case I am spending a lot of time and effort trying to get my shipment. After paying over $100 to get it here, it is beginning to piss me off now. BTW, I wasn't aware that TNT wasn't shipping to Bosnia but thanks, that answered one of my questions.

John

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

In fact FedEx have no responsibility for customs clearance. They check in a package with a bonded agent and that agent (typically a government agency or authorised company) has complete authority over the clearance procedure. In most countries this takes a few hours or days at worst, but clearly Bosnia have some extreme procedures right now. The fault doesn't lie with empeg or FedEx, although both companies will try hard to resolve any problems that crop up.

I think it's a little unrealistic to expect it to be as easy to ship a package into Bosnia (a country with extreme political and commercial instability) as easily as the US or Canada. The fact that FedEx charge over twice as much to ship to that destination compared with neigbouring countries says much about the complexity of logistical operations there at the moment.

From our perspective, we receive very few complaints about these issues because people who live in countries with such problems are usually well aware of local procedural shortfalls or delays. In this case I guess you're used to goods moving through military channels without restriction, and you may not have come into contact with the domestic procedures of the country in which you are currently located. We'll do our best to expedite the shipment, or at least determine the exact state of play.

Rob

Thank again Rob, you guys are going above and beyond for this one. In retrospect, I realize that shipping to Canada would have been the way to go. I just wanted to play with it here while I had the time :) As for customs here, I really thought that being a member of SFOR would have cleared it easily but I guess that was a pipedream. I am not holding Empeg responsible for any of this, it was my choice to ship it here and like I said, you guys are doing your best and I appreciate it. John

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

Random question: is there any way that either you or empeg could get Fedex to reverse the shipment and pull it back? Then reship to another destination? Or is it too late for that (my guess)?

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (40GB Green)

Hi Paul, actually, that is exactly what Empeg and I discussed today. I am going to have the player shipped to Canada and pick it up when I go home on leave next month. A round about way to do it but it sure beats what I have been through this week trying to get it here. Kudos to the Empeg staff, they really went to bat on this one. J

Technoweenie
12 GB Blue / Red MK2

..and for the record, we nolonger ship to Bosnia!

Rob