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DC1 - MC1 upgrade price?
Posted by Philip Brandes [IP: 205.188.198.159] on February 27, 1999 at 02:22:35 In Reply to: DC1 - MC1 upgrade price? posted by Al Carlotti on February 26, 1999 at 14:27:31: I truly feel sorry for you, Al. What you're saying is that the satisfaction you get from your equipment is determined by its market rate rather than your own ears. Do you like what you hear? You say you've been playing the "audiophile trade-up loss" game for years--maybe you should take a hard look at why you can't enjoy a product without knowing it's the "latest and greatest." Do you like the way the DC-1 sounds or don't you? Do you value 7-channel setup or Logic 7 decoding or Lexicon's unique surround modes for music? If not, then no Lex product you upgrade to is going to satisfy you any better--the two new products are evolutionary, but they follow the same focus on digital surround processing, and the value is in Lexicon's software. If you don't like it, bail out now and get a processor you DO like--one that you can be happy with even when it's replaced by newer units. Because it will be. If the answer is yes, Lexicon is giving you a lot of choices: 1. You can upgrade your DC-1 to the latest software--the SAME processing as you'd get in the newer units--and continue to enjoy all the things you like about it, both its proven and its new capabilities. It will be a long time before any new formats (and associated software titles) will emerge that it can't handle. Frankly, there's nothing imminent that justifies this "I've got to dump this DC-1" panic, especially when you can get equivalent functionality for peanuts. 2. You can upgrade to the MC-1 if you want the "latest and greatest." We don't know the terms of the upgrade offer. We don't know how this as-yet-unreleased product will sound. Yet you're already grousing that you've been had. How can you complain when you don't even know what you're comparing your DC-1 to? 3. For a cheaper upgrade route, you can always sell your DC-1 and buy a DC-2. Like every manufacturer, over the last 4 years, Lexicon has made improvements in production and design and passed those savings on to the consumer in the form of a cheaper, more capable processor. Even DC-1 owners can benefit from this if they sell their current unit and buy a DC-2. Yes, it will cost something, but as you point out you've gotten some use and value out of your DC-1. Now I ask you: name any other audio manufacturer that gives you that many options when a product goes out of production. And while you're at it, name a manufacturer that has maintained or upgraded a product over time and NOT introduced a cheaper, equivalent model. Ask Theta Casablanca owners how they feel about the Casanova, or Proceed PAV/DSD owners how they feel about the AVP. Then explain why you're ranting about Lexicon "destroying" the value of your DC-1 by having the effrontery to want to stay in business by introducing new competitive products--like EVERY OTHER MANUFACTURER OF ANY PRODUCT. Frankly, without having compared Lexicon's two new processors, I can't even say there's any compelling reason to turn in your DC-1. DVD audio is still being defined and in its initial implementation won't support digital outputs. THX Surround EX can be supported in software, and Lexicon has given a pretty good indication here that they intend to do so. (Provided of course that irrational expectations like yours don't push them into concluding there's no way to please you so why bother). And as for my being "too supportive" of Lexicon, well I don't see why I should look to Lexicon for the kind of security blanket you seem to demand from them. They're not your parents. They sell products, and as far as I'm concerned they have more than lived up to their end of the DC-1 deal, the deal anyone should reasonably expect from any manufacturer. Since its introduction, the DC-1 has evolved to support two major format introductions (AC-3 and DTS), and has seen many refinements in its software algorithms. I like my DC-1. If that makes me "too supportive" than so be it. It has given me a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction, more than any other audio product I have ever owned. And it still astonishes me every time I listen to it. I am convinced I could live happily with it for quite some time to come, even without trade-in options or new products to choose from. The key word is CHOOSE. You are in the driver's seat with more options than you'd normally have. Yeah, the DC-1 isn't the new kid on the block anymore. Too bad, but it still sounds good. One of the hard facts about being an adult is facing the adult reality of adult toys like high end audio gear--new products do come out. Deal with it.
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