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Need to reach a target goal of 10 units
Click here to pre-order the Ultimate Preamplifier 2
Click here to pre-order the Ultimate Preamplifier Plus
Click here to view the Ultimate Preamplifier 2 fact sheet
Cllck here to view the Ultimate Preamplifier Plus fact sheet
Click here to view the Product Comparison Guide
And quite a few people have said that I was selling it to cheaply the last time so I guess you can't please everyone.
People make the mistake of looking at the hardware content only and equating it with some nickel and dime product that people struggle with to make work properly, but the real secret sauce is truly in the firmware that runs on it and how it all hangs together. I've put countless time and effort into it to get it to this point so it's up to people whether or not they want to see this product brought to fruition. I can't do anymore at this stage so it's over to you guys .
cheers
david
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I don't think that is fair assessment of the value packed inside. What you don't see is the thousands of hours of software and hardware development that has gone into making this. I think David should be paid (rewarded) for his efforts and the minimum number of units he has slated to build wont even cover his hours for the software alone. Many of the boards are hand finished.
I am one of those people who think that its a bit cheap as I know first hand what has gone into this. $3450 is not expensive considering this is a product that you will in all probability never replace as there isn't anything of this caliber to replace it with. The rest of the Audiophile world is many years behind this.
Like many sole operators building any type of equipment be it audio, remote control model electronics, whatever, this is a labor of love for the guys that put their time and effort into it. I for one are thankful David has put his love of audio into his products.
So to say that its expensive isn't really fair or very complementary for what has gone into it. It may be expensive to you, that's a fair statement as only you know that, but it's not an expensive product when you look at what you are really getting for the money.
In my opinion....
This is a commercial venture not a DIY / group buy.
IF these two products were fully tested, certified and production ready (in stock and ready to ship) with several professional reviews based on beta test units which had been sent out 6 months prior to launch then $3,500 and $5,000 for the two versions is competitive with DEQX which I have used and rate it as good value for money.
BUT this is an unfinished speculative crowd funding offer where the early adopters are bank rolling the production of the beta testers ie they are the beta testers!
The only "fair" price for the Beta testers is parts cost plus shipping.....Many crowd funding deals offer loss leaders to get into Beta testing, not charge full RRP!
What happens if the Beta testers dont like the sound and / or there are tech / quality control issues?
What happens if David gets ill / has a change in personal circumstances / has change of heart / just decides to quit...?
There is going to be well over $50,000 of Beta testers money is his bank... I would advise commercial caution!
Any commercial return is only be due to any start up business if he / she has the skills AND resources to finish the R&D, fund the first production run / marketing and the customer support as there will be a LOT of hand holding plus tech issues and bugs....
Just because David has spent a long time on the software and is a really nice guy does not entitle him to special treatment... This is a business not a charity!
This is a commercial venture not a DIY / group buy.
IF these two products were fully tested, certified and production ready (in stock and ready to ship) with several professional reviews based on beta test units which had been sent out 6 months prior to launch then $3,500 and $5,000 for the two versions is competitive with DEQX which I have used and rate it as good value for money.
BUT this is an unfinished speculative crowd funding offer where the early adopters are bank rolling the production of the beta testers ie they are the beta testers!
The only "fair" price for the Beta testers is parts cost plus shipping.....Many crowd funding deals offer loss leaders to get into Beta testing, not charge full RRP!
What happens if the Beta testers dont like the sound and / or there are tech / quality control issues?
What happens if David gets ill / has a change in personal circumstances / has change of heart / just decides to quit...?
There is going to be well over $50,000 of Beta testers money is his bank... I would advise commercial caution!
Any commercial return is only be due to any start up business if he / she has the skills AND resources to finish the R&D, fund the first production run / marketing and the customer support as there will be a LOT of hand holding plus tech issues and bugs....
Just because David has spent a long time on the software and is a really nice guy does not entitle him to special treatment... This is a business not a charity!
Haven't you made a big assumption that these costs would be the RRP should it be a commercial product?
Go have a look at Kickstarter .. see how people pay for pre-orders and how that works.
Of course there should be caveat emptor in any transaction, especially when it's a fair amount of money.
Go have a look at Kickstarter .. see how people pay for pre-orders and how that works.
Of course there should be caveat emptor in any transaction, especially when it's a fair amount of money.
Vendor- yes it's in the vendor forum.
RRP for such a unit would be $6000-$7000.
I've been using the first UP for over 2 years now and there is indeed nothing else that works as well. I also paid up front and waited for delivery, it took a while but the service has been excellent.
But if you don't like it, or it's not for you, just ignore it.
RRP for such a unit would be $6000-$7000.
I've been using the first UP for over 2 years now and there is indeed nothing else that works as well. I also paid up front and waited for delivery, it took a while but the service has been excellent.
But if you don't like it, or it's not for you, just ignore it.
that's why it is in vendors bazaar which is the topic of this forum. ie
"Vendor's Bazaar Commercial Vendors large & small hawking their wares".
And no one is bank rolling a purely speculative product that hasn't even been built yet like you see on kick starter etc. There are already a handful of existing preamps running out in the field for at least 18 months or more. The next generation of preamps on offer is built on this framework and the prototype is running out of an existing preamp design which is why I can make the claims on the website.
This is not some hare brain idea on kick starter that raises millions of dollars and ends up being impossible to build like many have been. I have spent countless hours on this which would easily equate to a million dollar project if it was taken on by a big design house and that's if they even have the skills to do a design using a DSP !
cheers
david
If its a $6,000 to $7,000 RRP then its dead in the water.... RME and Dolby Lake have killer pro solutions at these prices.
I have one of first units, for last two years or so, and I'm happy with it
(whell mine state serial number 0001)
And I have no plans for update
The only thing is that AudioWeaver is not that much user friendly as software from behringer DCX, miniDSP, Najda or hypex...but it's not a problem for me as long as it work and sound nice/great
(whell mine state serial number 0001
)And I have no plans for update
The only thing is that AudioWeaver is not that much user friendly as software from behringer DCX, miniDSP, Najda or hypex...but it's not a problem for me as long as it work and sound nice/great
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Sorry but I'm not selling a pro-audio solution with only a 96Khz sampling rate, 24 bit conversion and 4 outputs as in the Lake audio case. There's not a single RCA connector on it either !
cheers
david
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The Octo 8 is just a DAC and nothing else. No preamp, No phono input, No DSP, No analog inputs, actually not much at all, FOR 3 TIMES LESS. Didn't they have a DSP version, what happened to it? What are they selling now minidsp pulled the rug from underneath them? They have nothing.
You guys obviously cant read and compare products and specs.
The psychology here is you see minidsp for 80 bucks, a DAC on aliexpress for 100 bucks and expect everyone else to match it. So go and buy the cheap crap.
You guys obviously cant read and compare products and specs.
The psychology here is you see minidsp for 80 bucks, a DAC on aliexpress for 100 bucks and expect everyone else to match it. So go and buy the cheap crap.
Which RME? They make a passel of nice looking AD/DA convertors, but I haven't found anything specifically aimed at speaker control.
Dolby Lakes can do Butterworth/LR filters, true, but FIR configurations are not on the menu. With some A/B testing I can hear phase rotation between 100 Hz and 250 Hz so IIR filters, at least in that range, are a non-starter for me.
I have the answer. Anyone who thinks it is too expensive, go to university for 6 years, get a job in an industry for 20 years and refine your programming, circuit design, analog and digital signal processing skills, spend countless hours after your day job designing, testing and refining your software and hardware, invest your own money at a loss in a batch of 10 preamps for testing, distrubute them worldwide, gather the feedback from the recipients, incorporate that feedback into your new design and then do it all over again. NOW GIVE IT AWAY FOR NOTHING. If you think you can do better then do it. Or as I said earlier buy the cheap crap.
DIYers and sticker shock.... I wish I could afford one but I get by with a pro unit. But a small market startup like this is a tough economic case all around, you're going to pay a solid chunk of money for the device, and the manu is going to have a tough time moving enough units to recoup investment, much less make a profit.
If you want something cheaper or more established that's understandable, but realistically complainants- how many do you think he'll be able to sell? And what hourly salary would his net revenue represent considering the long devel cycle? ROI on the materials used in betas and R&D? Overhead?
I can't justify spending that amount of money but it doesn't mean it's an unfair price.
If you want something cheaper or more established that's understandable, but realistically complainants- how many do you think he'll be able to sell? And what hourly salary would his net revenue represent considering the long devel cycle? ROI on the materials used in betas and R&D? Overhead?
I can't justify spending that amount of money but it doesn't mean it's an unfair price.
