I Want Rev. C

[thesoundsmith]

... kudos to Muse here. In my ind, this is the sort of thing that inspire confidence.

I must wholeheartedly agree. Muse has been nothing short of top-quality all the way (well, I would like the rack ear screw holes a tad larger, for additional strength, but... )

I was carrying my Receptor in an old, 2 space rack bag, and the bag was so worn that the flexing actually caused one of the ears to come out and got lost. They got me a new one the NEXT DAY, no questions. Very impressive (I'd have waited two weeks from Kuezweil and two months from Roland...)

This is a great product from a remarkable company, and I highly recommend it to any keyboardists looking for a portable lsolution.

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

Awww, Shucks (blushing)....

Groovology

[thesoundsmith]

Don't be embarrassed - it's a great tool, but it will never replace my wife!




(of course, my wife will never replace the Receptor, either...)

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

Ya know, as tempted as I am to share any of a number of acerbic retorts about Receptors versus wives, and the attractiveness of either, I think that given the fact that my wife might someday read this forum, I will politely decline any reply!

Actually, my wife is completely unreplaceable as well, and no number of Receptors can take her place in my life! (Now I hope she reads this!)

Now if you were comparing Receptor to Hugo, my dog picture at left!) then I'd have to go with Hugo. Its just not the same trying to chase your Receptor around the yard, and the thought of Receptor licking me behind my ears as a sign of affection just doesn't quite sit right with me for some reason...

Groovology

[Goofaman]

Just to clarify--- I was under the impression that my "A" had to be upgraded to "B" and THEN upgraded to "C" based on the (rather terse, actually) reply I received after a long wait from Muse.

Is this true, or can I go from "A" to "C" for $500?

Thanks!

-GM

Is the upgrade B to C only or can you upgrade A to C ?

No problem in going from A to C, same price etc. between either A or B and C.

I hope everyone understands that Rev C does not make Rev A or B obsolete, it is an improvement, and offers a few improvements over Rev A or Rev B, and we offer the upgrade so that if any one wants to stay current they can.

Doing the upgrade is also a great time to consider upgrading your drive, as well as having us do any custom installs you want done.

Just trying to keep everyone happy!

Cheers

Groovology

[Kermit Jagger]

Yes, you can. I had my A changed into a C. And no, it doesn't revert to A past midnight.

[Goofaman]

Cool... The Muse response was so long in coming, and it flat-out said that I would first have to upgrade to "B" for a price, then it was another $500 to go to "C". With the additions of a larger drive and memory upgrade, it was feeling outside of my price range.

There was also the question as to what they would charge for transfer of my drive contents (whether it was included in the cost quoted for the larger drive) and no reply ever came of that.

I don't know why they took so long in getting me what was partial/inaccurate info--- plus I had expected an RMA# and other communications to make it happen. I kinda felt like I had my nose pressed to the glass, failing to get their attention.

[Kermit Jagger]

I can't tell you anything about the drive transfer as I kept the same one I had in Rev A. However, if you follow oGG's faq, it's not a difficult thing to do yourself.

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

[quote="Goofaman"]Cool... The Muse response was so long in coming, and it flat-out said that I would first have to upgrade to "B" for a price, then it was another $500 to go to "C".

I don't know why they took so long in getting me what was partial/inaccurate info--- plus I had expected an RMA# and other communications to make it happen. I kinda felt like I had my nose pressed to the glass, failing to get their attention.[/quote]

If you would be so kind as to send me a personal mail with the identity of the person who was giving you incorrect and untimely information (no need to humiliate them publically),then it would help us improve our processes so that this doesn't happen again. And I'll make sure they get nothing but coal in their stocking as well... (okay, maybe that's out of my control, but I will have a serious talk with them!)

thanks

groovology

[Ben [KVR]]

The upgrade info is now available here:

http://www.museresearch.com/receptor.php?r=upgrades

[Lowieke]

I'm still wondering, is the 750 GB road-worthy and if not, is it possible to get a 'road-pro' version with the ML-44 processor and faster ram, but with a 160GB drive instead of the 750GB one?

Regards,
Louis

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

This is a really good and a very important question. Pardon the detailed response, but I think it is worth it for the purpose of general knowledge sharing.

In the Rev A and Rev B Receptors, there were three concerns about using larger capacity hard drives:

1. Mechanical concerns, especially shock and vibration.
2. Thermal issues that could contribute to an overheat condition.
3. Power supply headroom issues, especially on spin up.

In Rev A and B, we were (and still are) most concerned about #2 and #3. Larger capacity drives have more platters. More platters mean more rotational mass and more friction while spinning, which means larger start-up power requirements and higher operating temperatures.

Thermally, the Rev A and Rev B Receptors use the Athlon processor, which is not as efficient as the newer Turions that we use in the Rev C. As a result, the power supply works harder in these units and the operating temperature can get quite warm, especially with the larger drives which by themselves run MUCH hotter than the smaller capacity drives. Whereas in a well cooled studio this isn't an issue but on an amphitheater stage in Phoenix when its 120 degrees F, this is definitely a concern.

In Rev C Receptors, the operating temperature is considerably lower, and the power supply isn't working nearly as hard, so there is plenty of thermal and power bandwidth to handle any drive configuration that is currently avaialble.

That brings us to #1. This is a concern in all models of Receptor as the drive has to be relilable. Larger capacity means more platters, and more platters means thinner platters. As a result, we were very concerned that the larger capacity drives would be far less reliable, especially on tour, than the smaller drives. One thing is true: the G-shock ratings on larger drives is less than the smaller capacity drives (350 Gs for the smaller drives versus 300Gs for the larger drives) which makes sense, as there is going to be a lot more in the way of arms and heads in the larger drives, making them a bit more fragile and less resistant to shock. Contrast that though with the reported annualized failure rate of less than 0.34% for all models of drives, suggesting that although the larger drives are a bit more fragile, they are not statistically less reliable, at least according to Seagate's published specs.

Empiracally, we put several large capacity drives in our marketing units, which have been shipped all over the world, used in several trade shows, suffering the indignity of being tossed on luggage belts by TSA goons (don't get me started) and accidentally (really) falling on the floor of the Javitz center from a height of about 3 feet (and it still worked fine). As a result, we are feeling pretty confident that the larger hard drives are holding up well and will prove to be reliable over the long term.

Add to that the fact the drive mechanisms come with a 5 year warranty and our customer support is exemplary (or at least we try to be!) then I think that as long as you have a Rev C unit, the larger capacity drives are fine.

Of course that isn't any kind of endorsement of installing a Receptor in a demolition derby car or playing "here, catch" with your Receptor between you and your roadie. But treated with appropriate aplomb, we think the higher capacity drives will hold up well. And of course no hard drive should be moved or subjected to vibration when it is spun up (gyroscopic forces are the most notorioius of hard drive killers) and Receptor should always be mounted and / or ship with appropriate protection from the evils of the road.

By all means, if you don't need the super high capacity, and you want the most bullet proof with the highest performance Receptor configuration, going with a 160 or 200GB drive with the ML44 would be the answer. Pretty much any drive above 200GB will have multiple platters...

We've spoken to several people at Seagate about this issue, and they claim that their larger drives are just as reliable as their smaller ones. If I can glean any more info from them, I'll be sure to post it.

Cheers

Groovology

[Goofaman]

Thank you for the new link to the upgrade info! It is very clear and helpful.



-GM

[looneytunes]

Hi Brian (groovology),

I'm not quite clear on the upgrade paths.

Is it possible to upgrade a/b units to a Receptor Pro? I think this is true since the upgrade page suggests upgrades from a/b -> c, and c->Pro. If this is the case, is the update from a/b -> Pro $1800.00 (ie. $499 + $1299)?

Thanks for any confirmation, Regards,
Kevin L

[Lowieke]

Thanks for the detailed answer! Sounds convincing enough for me to go for the 750GB and not having to worry about HD space for the coming years.

Louis