After reading through some of the posts, I remember some1 saying about faceplates.

Instead of purchasing the MK2, will there be an option to purchase a face placeplate, I realy liked the look of the new one, and allthough the faceplate doen't look so bad when built in enough on the MK1, it would still be nice to be given the option.



Proud owner of #161

It has been our hope to be able to provide faceplate upgrades for Mark 1 players, however I'm not certain that we can achieve this.

Due to manufacturing issues it has been necessary to change the metalwork of the main case to accommodate the new faceplate and handle. The Mark 2 main case, however, is not compatible with the Mark 1 main circuit board.

It might be possible to fit a Mark 2 panel to a Mark 1 if the handle is not changed, although this is going to look very wierd and might not actually be practical (I'm not sure it would be possible to grip the handle to hinge it open). Even if that does work OK, the display board will have to be changed and this isn't a cheap component.

I'm starting to think that the cheapest option for Mark 1 clients requiring a Mark 2 faceplate might be to sell the Mark 1 and purchase a complete Mark 2. This is almost certainly the case at the moment, as Mark 1's are still fetching good prices.

The above is my understanding of the situation, but nothing official has been announced. I don't think we can say anything officially until we get the production Mark 2 metal and plastic back from the manufacturers over the next couple of weeks.

Rob

I, too, am hoping to just upgrade the face of my MK1.

Here's what I've been told so far:

1) They're not certain that this will be offered as an option at all. They're planning on doing it, and they're pretty sure they will, but no promises right now.

2) If they do offer it, it won't be until after they've cleared the backlog of orders for the MK2 (maybe a couple months).

3) It will be a complete replacement of the display board, handle, hinges, and face assembly.

4) Because of (3), it won't be cheap. Pricing has not been set and they haven't given any hints yet as to what the pricing might be. (Rob: Any hints? I hope it's not too prohibitively expensive...)

5) It's a very involved upgrade which would require sending the unit back to England- you can't do it yourself.

6) The only new "feature" the upgrade will get you is a volume knob. The other new stuff like the improved tuner and voice recognition would still require a MK2 purchase.


Tony Fabris (http://www.jps.net/tfabris)
Empeg #144

Tony Fabris (http://www.jps.net/tfabris)
Empeg #144

Oh no, not the puppy dog eyes, Tony!

We'll do our best, but it wasn't possible to fit the new handle to the old case. It's not really practicable to offer an upgrade where one of our engineers has to spend ages modifiying the product with a dremel tool.

Rob

OK - I can understand all that, but would it possable to produce just a new faceplate. Like just with the Nokia 3210 phone, it's the same shape, but slightly different design on the front.

Proud owner of #161

This has been discussed before. You probably don't realise the cost of designing and tooling a moulded plastic panel. Even a low volume alloy tool, such as the one we had made for the Mk. 2 panel, costs tens of thousands of pounds. There are only 350 Mk. 1 players out there, and even if 50% of owners decided to buy a new panel (which I would doubt) we'd have to charge something like 150 pounds for the plastic, just to break even.

The cost was worthwhile for the Mk. 2 because we plan to sell a lot of them, but we still won't have the volume to start offering options. Don't forget that Nokia sell many millions of phones!

Rob

You know, I'm really good with a dremel tool... And a soldering iron... You could send me the parts...

Here's my reasoning behind wanting just a new face instead of a Mark 2:

- I'd love a Mark 2. But out of all its new features, the only thing I'd really use would be the new knob on the face. That's what I'm drooling over. The new look, too, but mostly just that knob.
- But I'd have to sell my Mark 1 in order to afford a Mark 2.
- It would only be feasible to sell the Mark 1 now. If I waited until the Mark 2's were out, my Mark 1 would have less value. I'd need to sell the Mark 1 for at least $900.00. I don't think I could get that much for it even now.
- But if I sold my Mark 1 now, I'd be without tunes while waiting for my number to come up. Can't have that.

That's all. It's not that I'm trying to be cheap or anything.

Tony Fabris (http://www.jps.net/tfabris)
Empeg #144

It would only be feasible to sell the Mark 1 now. If I waited until the Mark 2's were out, my Mark 1 would have less value. I'd need to sell the Mark 1 for at least $900.00. I don't think I could get that much for it even now.

---

FYI - my mark1 never made it's reserve price; it hit $865, which is below what it's worth for me to sell it:( oh well..
-mark



...proud to have one of the first Mark I units

FYI - my mark1 never made it's reserve price; it hit $865

Yeah, that's what I'd figured. We're already too close to the Mark2 release. Ah well.

It's not that the Mark1's aren't worth their full retail value- they are. They're worth every penny. I'm happy I got the chance to snag one when I did. It's just that no one would want to spend that much on a Mark1 now, when they'll be able to get a Mark2 of their own in a few months.

I certainly don't have a problem with the situation. I'm glad that Empeg is coming out with a new and improved product. I just can't afford one right now and was hoping they could offer the face upgrade. But Rob's right... Out of the 350 Mk1 owners, only a fraction would want the face upgrade anyway. Seems kind of silly for them to try to go to that much trouble to satisfy a handful of users- especially when those users already have perfectly good Empeg units that are working exactly as advertised.

If the face upgrade can't happen, that's fine. I'll just put my energy into wiring up some steering-wheel volume buttons.

Now where'd I put that soldering iron?...

Tony Fabris (http://www.jps.net/tfabris)
Empeg #144

Hope is that thing with wings..... and rob just dashed it and ground it under his foot. tony had his hopes up too! ok i better flee from this discussion before somebody beans me one.

Calvin

you'd probably get a better sale from someone on the street who wasn't up to date on the impending Mark 2 release. I mean , it's seems kinda underhanded , but some buyers I talked to , i told them I was getting the newer model , and they didn't seem to really care. They just wanted the device and now.

Empeg Kicks Ass
S/N 00203
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