#229188 - 01/08/2004 22:42
Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
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journeyman
Registered: 06/01/2002
Posts: 80
Loc: Seattle, WA
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So Audi is now selling their20GB phat noise for $399 and i'm wondering if i should consider selling my 20gb mk2a and get it. i have an audio with the bose system so it would integrate nicely.
i have been a die hard empeg user since they had the big fire sale, so i'm VERY hesitant to give up my empeg, but i don't have another car to put it in and don't need it for my house.
I remember seeing a link with a good comparison between empeg and phatnoise awhile back but can't find it.
I guess my initial thoughts are: usb 2.0 is awesome, the cradle is better than the home cable thing (unless you get the dock, i suppose), and the software has GOT to be better than emplode (no offense!).
also, surely the empeg is going to die *eventually*...mine is over 2 years old now.
anyway i never considered it when the phatbox noise whatever was $899 and even $699 but $399 has me saying hmm
oh and my tuner died a long time ago so i have both a cd player with a tuner and my empeg in my audi which is a TIGHT fit - in fact, it's all pulled apart right now because i pulled a wire apart when pushing it in there, got it all plugged back up but am struggling with fitting that whole rig in my dash
any opinions are most welcome!
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#229189 - 01/08/2004 23:24
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Neurot]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31583
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
I remember seeing a link with a good comparison between empeg and phatnoise awhile back but can't find it.
A simple FAQ search on "Phatnoise" gets you the relevant page.
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#229190 - 01/08/2004 23:51
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Neurot]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31583
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Another follow up reply, to respond to some points you raised...
Quote:
i have an audio with the bose system so it would integrate nicely. ... i don't have another car to put it in...
Is there simply no way on earth that you can install the empeg into the Audi dash? Or have you just not talked to any installers who are willing to do custom work?
My opinion... Any amount of money I'd have to spend on custom work to get the empeg installed in the dash is going to be worth it.
Quote:
I guess my initial thoughts are: usb 2.0 is awesome,
The first time you load all your tunes into it, yeah. After that, loading a couple albums at a time and it's not that much different from ethernet. And keep in mind that your empeg is already loaded up. 
Quote:
and the software has GOT to be better than emplode (no offense!).
None taken, but keep in mind that the software you need to worry about isn't the loader software, it's the player software. The user interface to the Phatnoise is basically as interactive as a CD changer. You have discs and tracks and you press next track and previous track, next disc and previous disc.
If that's all you ever want to do, then fine. But think of all the other features in the empeg software that you wouldn't have... Title searching, tweak order, least-recently-played shuffle, bookmarks, all of the features in Hijack such as dynamic range compression, the ability to set a fixed boot up volume, etc. Not to mention (with alpha software) playback of Ogg and Flac, crossfade, etc...
And have you seen Emphatic yet?
If you really honestly don't care about any of those things, then definitely sell the player to someone who will, and get the phatnoise.
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also, surely the empeg is going to die *eventually*...mine is over 2 years old now.
Okay, consider this.
The empeg has pretty much two "big" components that will break on you over time: Hard disk (easy and cheap to replace), VFD display (hard to replace but it would only need to be replaced if you broke it). But at least there's an active user community here to help you if any of that happens.
Now... when the warranty on that phatnoise runs out, how confinent are you with the user community that supports it? I mean, compared to the people here on this BBS...
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but $399 has me saying hmm
Yeah, "Hmmm, a really big CD changer for $399..."
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so i have both a cd player with a tuner and my empeg in my audi which is a TIGHT fit - in fact, it's all pulled apart right now because i pulled a wire apart when pushing it in there, got it all plugged back up but am struggling with fitting that whole rig in my dash
I thought the empeg wouldn't fit in the Audi at all and that's why you're considering selling it. You're saying that there's room to fit the empeg and a CD player, and you're just simply having a little custom-fitting trouble? I'd say... go to whatever trouble is necessary to fit it, enlist professional help if needed.
Quote:
any opinions are most welcome!
Well, um... there it is.
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#229191 - 02/08/2004 02:19
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
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Quote:
And have you seen Emphatic yet?
emphatic, emphatic, emphatic
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#229192 - 02/08/2004 03:32
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Neurot]
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old hand
Registered: 14/02/2002
Posts: 804
Loc: Salt Lake City, UT
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Quote:
Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
No.
I have an A6 with the Bose system. I lived with the stock deck for 4 months before I was able to get my empeg in. Like you have said, it is a tight it, but if your is like mine I can have the sled completely removed in 2 minutes flat without tools. I feel my empeg integrates perfectly with my car (see pics attached), and I would never go back.
Attachments
228039-empegdash.jpg (147 downloads)
_________________________
-Michael
#040103696 on a shelf
Mk2a - 90 GB - Red - Illuminated buttons
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#229193 - 02/08/2004 08:54
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Waterman981]
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enthusiast
Registered: 21/08/2000
Posts: 346
Loc: Rochester, NY USA
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I have to 2nd that the EMPEG is the way to go in the AUDI! Audi TT Install Details 
_________________________
Cheers,
-Doug Morrison
Mk2-32G Back light buttons, Neon red screen
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#229194 - 02/08/2004 15:22
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: RobotCaleb]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Quote:
Quote:
And have you seen Emphatic yet?
emphatic, emphatic, emphatic
/me whacks TFabris with a +3 Staff of Decapitalization
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#229195 - 02/08/2004 15:29
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: tonyc]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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i dOn't kNow wHat yOur pRoblem iS. i tHought tHat iT wAs cOol tO hAve cApital lEtters nOwadays. aLthough i dO aGree tHat hE gOt tHe wRong lEtter cApitalised. sUrely iT sHould bE "eMphatic".
_________________________
Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
sig.mp3: File Format not Valid.
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#229196 - 03/08/2004 22:14
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: tfabris]
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journeyman
Registered: 06/01/2002
Posts: 80
Loc: Seattle, WA
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thanks tony. i didn't know that i have only the track buttons to skip between my 5000 songs. without sorting by artist/album, it's of no use to me.
all the other details can be overcome...
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#229197 - 04/08/2004 16:34
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Neurot]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31583
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
i didn't know that i have only the track buttons to skip between my 5000 songs
Well, you have track and disc buttons, and perhaps a bit more depending on the CD changer interface on your audi head-unit.
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without sorting by artist/album, it's of no use to me.
It would probably sort by artist or album just fine. Each disc is either an artist or an album, I think. Probably an artist, that would make the most sense.
It's possible there's more to it than that, so do some research into the phatbox product and see if you can read an example of how it works.
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#229198 - 04/08/2004 18:14
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: tfabris]
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journeyman
Registered: 06/01/2002
Posts: 80
Loc: Seattle, WA
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when i said 'all the other issues can be overcome' i was actually referring to issues with the empeg - like installation, etc. I'm going to try emphatic and see how i like it. i've also been kind of disappointed that this community has seemed to have been languishing as of late...not a lot of action on the bbs, no recent software updates (before emphatic), etc. I was thinking if i bail out now, it's free since i can sell the empeg for the cost of the phatbox.
thanks again for the input, i'll do more research and get my empeg mounted again regardless then look at phatbox's feature set.
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#229199 - 04/08/2004 18:37
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Neurot]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Well, let's see. Over at the PhatBox forums, only one forum has been updated today, and then only 7 posts all day ('til now). Which community is languishing again?
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#229200 - 04/08/2004 18:48
Re: Audi Phat Noise for $399 - is it worth it?
[Re: Neurot]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Quote:
i've also been kind of disappointed that this community has seemed to have been languishing as of late...not a lot of action on the bbs, no recent software updates (before emphatic), etc. I was thinking if i bail out now, it's free since i can sell the empeg for the cost of the phatbox.
Yes, and your 38 posts over the course of two years really helped the "languishing BBS" cause... right? Either you're part of the solution, or you're part of the problem.
I'm flattered that you are open to the possibility that my software might convince you to stick with the empeg, but abandoning the empeg in favor of the Phatbox because of a bit of a slowdown in development and activity here is like throwing away your '68 Corvette in favor of a Schwinn bike because Schwinn has a new model out.
If you really want some valuable responses to your questions, maybe you can clarify what is so bad about emplode, or what "installation issues" would make the Phatnoise a better option. Complaining about a "languishing community" or saying "anything else is better than emplode" (without providing any reasons why) doesn't help things.
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