Hi, Stormseeker --

From studying the empeg website, and reading the posts on this board, I am actually able to answer most of your questions... so here goes.

No AM tuner is included, because the RF interference generated by all the digital stuff (the empeg is a computer, after all, not a normal music player) is incompatible with AM radio. To get an idea of the problem, take your little pocket radio, tune it to AM, and then hold it next to your home computer which is pretty well shielded to begin with. Now imagine how your radio would work if it were actually inside the case of your computer, with no shielding... not a pretty thought.

There is no theft deterrence. You can make it difficult to remove (I am planning to use a solenoid locking device controlled by the ignition switch) but you have to decide is it better to let the thief have the empeg, or have the thief destroy it trying to remove it and in the process do $2000 damage to the interior of your car... Best deterrence will be disguise. Make up a face plate that looks like a cheap cassette player or an 8-track player (!) and stick it to the front of the empeg with suction cups (that was Festus' idea - I like it a lot) or remove it from the dash and lock it in the trunk or hide it under the seat. My stereo system in my car is totally stealth - there's a lot of stuff in the car, but with the exception of a cheap CD player, NONE of it is visible from inside or outside the car. Since the empeg is entirely software driven, it might well be possible to password protect the operating system, but I don't know enough about Linux to say for sure.

There is nothing in the empeg that is user serviceable. This is an enormously compact unit - like a laptop computer but more so. All the components are surface mounted on an eight layer board. Any repairs will require specialized skills and knowledge. Post warranty all units will have to be returned to empeg in England for service (exception being U.S. which will have its own service depot, located (I think) in Florida. Warranty period is pitiful - 180 days in the US, one year everywhere else. All parts and service will have to be done by empeg. At the present, there are no plans for there to be "empeg dealers".

Cradles are standard DIN size. Vehicles that use non-standard sized stereos will have to use adapter plates, readily available from sources such as Crutchfield. Adapters, etc., are not supplied by empeg. If you have a non-standard installation, you will have to get your own special equipment.

Assuming that you have a more or less standard installation scenario, you should not need any additional parts or equipment to install the empeg. My strong recommendation is to have the installation done by an experienced custom stereo installation shop. They have at their fingertips knowledge, tools, resources and answers to problems the average person can't even imagine. If you're going to spend over $1000 (quite likely $2000 for the larger sizes) for the empeg, spring an extra $100 or so and have the work done professionally.

Driving off road will very likely shorten the life expectancy, but by how much, I can't say. The empeg is very tough - only the hard drives are susceptible to shock, and they are built to take a licking and keep on ticking -- they are rated to stand a 150g impact while the hard drives are running, and 400g impact when not running, and not running is the normal mode - they spin up long enough to load the memory (8 MB) and then shut down while the music plays from memory. I think MP3 plays out at about 1 minute per megabyte, so the hard drives are probably only running about 5% of the time, if that much.

From what I've read on this chat forum, you will not be disappointed in the empeg. In particular, follow Schofiel's postings...

Hope this helps you out.

tanstaafl.






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