OK, my subject line is horseshit. I have *no* inside knowledge about what will appear at CES. (I wish I could go!!). To follow up the recent Phatbox thread, though, I had the urge to start a thread on a *mythical* Empeg Mark 4. This is not necessarily an expectation of a product that will appear anytime soon. Rather it is a meditation on what my *ideal* Empeg would be.

This ideal is not necessarily realistic. For one, a primary rule is that:

1) Cost is not a major design issue -- I assume that 17 zillion will be sold so that unit prices will come down under $1000 or $2000.

Another rule is that:

2) Software is assumed to be everything you want, more or less (well, hey, it was written by the Guys, wasn't it?). I don't spend a lot of time thinking about small feature additions -- that's the great part about implementing so much in software.

My ruminations were more on the hardware side and how things would be organized. OK, here goes:

- Storage: 2.5 inch laptop drives still the weapon of choice. Mk4 still has space for 2.
- The body of the unit can be installed in the trunk/boot. This "box" allows vertical or horizontal mounting, by virtue of a drive carrier that can be rotated 90 degrees (connector on the box can be rotated 90 degrees to accept drive carrier in either orientation).
- The drive carrier has a quick disconnect plug. This carrier is what you take into the house to synch -- either in a cradle al la Phatbox or in conjunction with another SB home product.
- The Box and drive carrier include some sort of magical anti-theft technology that allows user-defined passwords and is somehow (hey, I said it was magic!) not defeatable by a villain with an EEPROM programmer.
- All IO is integrated on the Box in the trunk. This includes front/rear/subwoofer line outs, ethernet and serial. I can't decide whether I want USB master or just more RS-232 (implemented as RJ-11/45)
- Connection from Box to display is "single wire" -- sort of -- and standards-based. I'm thinking 1394. 1394 also supplies power to the display. Not sure if this is realistic, but I'm dreaming, aren't I?
- Display?? Is VFD still the best technology? Remember, we can spend some $$$ here! What I'm thinking of is a DIN-sized display, but which is only as deep as the average removeable faceplate -- more mounting options, and removeable, too. What other features? IR, of course. An integrated microphone?
- OEM integration? Sure. How would it work, though?


Well, that's just my start. And I'm not holding my breath as money *does* matter. I am pretty happy in any event. My main goal with the Empeg was always for boat use, and I have the best thing of its kind in the Empeg, whether in boat, car or home. I'm just a fan of the "in-the-trunk" aspects of the P__Box.