I have just recently discovered the Empeg player and have a few questions. I am intrested in buying one-- but a few things are holding me up...
First, I like my music good and loud like anybody else, but there is some news and radio talk I listen to in AM as opposed to FM-- is there an AM tuner included or on the future agenda? I have not seen any mention of AM tuner being included with the player-- am I missing something obvious here? I have noticed alot of digital audio products I have seen have been omitting the AM tuner.
Second, is there any kind of theft deterrent against those who know what it is you have in the car, or just against any thief period? I understand you can remove the unit, but I am not about to carry it with me to a nice dinner, shopping mall, dance club, etc. Is there any kind of encrypted PIN in the flash ROM that one could turn on? Or maybe a locking device that is enabled until a secret pin,password, or even a key is used?
Third, I am concerned about the hardware-- hard drives, CPU, flash ROM, etc. Is the unit designed for easy and inexpensive replacement/upgrade of hardware such as the CPU or hard drive. If I am going to pay $1000 or more for this-- I don't want to be buying a whole new unit to because a part has worn out or has become defective after warranty coverage. And say I want to change out the hard drive-- can I get one from a local hardware dealer or is this something that needs to come from an Empeg dealer because of specialized formatting, etc.
Are the cradles standardized, or are there different cradles for differnet cars. I have a 1995 Chevy truck, which as you know uses a larger head unit from the factory than say a Honda-- how well does that work and how does is look after it is in? Also I am contemplating getting a T-REX , which is an awesome hand-made Hummer look alike (www.jurassictruck.com)-- do you think your cradle will work with this truck too?
Obviously, not all installs will be the same from auto to auto-- regardless of wether or not Empeg has a single standardized cradle. Does Empeg provide everything to complete the job, short of tools? And if one doesn't want to do the installation-- can any able car audio shop install it without hassle?
Sorry this post is getting windy-- one last question, I know you have built some shock protection into the unit, but is going off-road going to shorten the unit's life in anyway from shock.

Thanks,
SS

There's no AM (in common with a lot of other digital products) because AM receivers don't deal with impulse noise well - and where there's digital stuff, there's a lot of noise.

The unit isn't like a PC when it comes to upgrading: for size (not to mention shock/vibration) nothing is socketed. The flash shouldn't need upgrading - it's 1Mb and isn't full (and in any case, only holds the kernel and boot ramdisk - the player software is loaded from the HDD). The CPU can't be upgraded, it's not like an AMD/Intel, it's an embedded controller: we do have a LOT of free CPU time at the moment though. Hard drives have no special formatting, but (a) opening the unit voids the warranty and (b) we can't give support on drives we didn't supply - but we aren't trying to obstruct people fitting their own disks.

As for fitting, the unit is a standard DIN sized unit - like a Sony, Kenwood, etc. You will have the same problems fitting the empeg to a non-standard slot as you would with any other aftermarket head unit - most audio installers can get hold of replacement trim panels with DIN sized cut-outs in them for such installs, and these work fine with the empeg unit.

We don't provide everything - you need phono cables to run to your amp, for example - but we provide everything that's common between installs.

As for offroading - you should always treat the unit with care. If it's going to get real bumpy out there, turn it off. The hard disks are practically indestructable (400g shock) when off.

Hugo

Thank you for such a fast response-- you have answered most of my questions. But I still have a few from the last post that need answering. I would like to know if any kind of theft deterent is being built into the Empeg player to make it useless if someone else other than you takes it from the car-- like I mentioned in the previous post, I really don't want to carry this unit with me everytime I go shopping, clubbing, etc. And if you do have a theft deterent, is there something visible the would be burgular can see so he won't bother.
The other point/question, you mention the CPU and I think you said the flash too are embedded-- what happens if one of these parts cease to function and the warranty is out? So I guess that leads me to ask what kind of warranty are you planning to offer? And if you don't have a plan on the table officially-- what kind of warranty is gaining popularity in your company discussions? I know that the problems with embedded chips are rare, but your product will be introduced to shock from car accidents and driving, humidity, electrical noise, heat, and cold to name a few. I know that you have set specs for this product that will allow it to continue to function, but how long before reaching a point where there enviroment starts to degrade performance? I know out here in Texas our cars sitting out in the sun can get up to 140 degrees Far.

Thanks,
ss

We're putting a security code in there, yes. There's nothing visible I'm afraid, but pulling the unit and putting it in the trunk is a good deterrent: nothing to see, nothing worth stealing.

Out of warranty there are ways to fix a unit - eg, board swap - but it's not commercially viable to repair boards with a lot of surface mount. The chips won't go faulty - and if a connection goes, then it's just as likely to be anywhere, including within the 8-layer PCB "sandwich".

Noone repairs electronics anymore - everything is too high density nowadays. If your PC goes wrong, it's usually not the CPU - it's the main board. All you keep is the CPU, you just toss the mainboard as it's not practical to repair.

As for high temperatures: our sensor works at both ends, in that the unit won't spin up the drives if it's over 55degC (131F). Turn on the A/C for 5 minutes :)

Hugo

The subject of theft is an easy one to comment on. The absolute truth is as follows: If someone wants anything out of your car they can take it, it takes a pro theif about 60 seconds to break into your car and remove the stereo. Secret codes and access things mean nothing to a theif, if they see something that looks expensive they are goign to take it. The only absolute way to make the unit theft proof is to take it out of your car when you park. Its amazing but stereos are stolen even if the removable face plate is not there because it is worth money to the theif. The best thing to do is to add the unit to your auto insurance policy which adds about 4 or 4 dollars a month.

And go back on the waiting list for a new one? Heheh, I think mine would be riding everywhere with me.

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.






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