Based on everything that I'd read about it, I was sure that I'd have a better experience with my new Empeg car player than I did with my Neo 35. (My Neo 35 was sent to me with a defective car bay, and I had to pay extra charges in the form of shipping costs for the bad bay in order to get a replacement.)

But no.

I took the hardware to San Diego's most reputable high-end aftermarket installer. In a few hours, the guy in charge of working on my car called me to inform me that wires were coming out of the harness that plugs into the sleeve, and that he could either repair it himself or wait for a replacement. I gave Empeg the benefit of the doubt, and told him that I would have Empeg mail him what he needed.

"Where do you want it sent?" Empeg personnel asked me. I responded with my installer's name and address; the package would arrive on Friday, and my installer is closed on the weekend, so I wanted to maximize the time remaining to him to complete his work. The package was promptly delivered - to my office. I had to take an impromptu one-hour break from work (and ultimately stay there an hour past the time I regularly leave) to rush over to the shop with the replacement harness and wiring, fortunately just missing rush hour traffic.

Wait, it gets better.

I handed the new hardware to my installer. To test its integrity, he tugged lightly on one of the wires. Out it came. At least one other wire was just as poorly crimped, and a couple of the pins weren't even properly aligned. I was told that the replacement was checked before it went out to me; maybe these things need to be shipped as fragile merchandise. Which makes them useless as car audio components, of course.

My installer is going to effect repairs on the hardware himself, but not for free. I'm going to send Empeg a copy of the bill; I just hope that they're decent enough to do the right thing.

At this point, the natural reaction of many of you will be to tell me that I was just a victim of bad luck, that your units have always seemed to work fine and that my case is rare, perhaps even unique. However, I got my player less than two weeks ago, so this could indicate a new problem at the facility where the empeg units are mechanically constructed. (Hugo has told me that they plan to look into this.)

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Milo D. Cooper
http://www.milospace.net/