Yup. The Gate '67 model was made by someone that actually gave a damn back in the day, and it shows. For all the companies in the broadcasting business that aren't with us anymore, it's a darn shame Arrakashit isn't one of them. They are the poster-child for poor quality and service.
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New Wave Automation
- Thread starter oldiesstation
- Start date
We all hate Arrakashit...
I will say that I love...
AudioArts D75. It's my current favorite console.
BE Audiovault. I do beta for them, so I am partial, since I get to play with all the new stuff.
I will say that I love...
AudioArts D75. It's my current favorite console.
BE Audiovault. I do beta for them, so I am partial, since I get to play with all the new stuff.
Another vote for the Audioarts D75 here. It still looks like a console, works like a console...and runs like a champ...the coffee warmer unintended feature on one of the modules is a nice touch. I love it's flexibility. Didn't need an analog channel anymore. Changed daughterboard... Bam, AES.
Had one problem with it, due to a manufacturing flaw in some early ribbon cables (caused a random pop in some channels). Didn't show up until it was way out of warranty. They fessed up to it, overnighted a new cable for free and all was well.
Had one problem with it, due to a manufacturing flaw in some early ribbon cables (caused a random pop in some channels). Didn't show up until it was way out of warranty. They fessed up to it, overnighted a new cable for free and all was well.
I have trepidation about being a dissenting voice in the Arrakis hate-fest, but I'm going to stand up for this company, which just happens to make good products in America using actual Americans. Not a small factor these days, gentlemen. Call me the anti-DeFelice, at least in this post.
Just for the record, I'm an ARC-8 owner, and I'm happy to report that the unit has held up perfectly for a year and a half under tough daily use in a podcast farm.
A while back, I promised to 'try to obtain a schematic' and report back, in response to the claim that Arrakis refuses to give them out. I'm sitting here, looking at the schematic, which Arrakis is happy to share via .pdf with customers at no cost. Call or write 'em. They're friendly about it, actually.
The ARC-8 works great, and for less than $800 I find I have a board which is electronically quite similar to the now nearly $1900, Audioarts AIR-1, of which I am also a fan. Same IC's...inexpensive 5532's...in the ARCs and the AIRs...comparable designs and even slew rates Well, fancy that!
Am I a shill for Arrakis? No, those people are unlikely to know or care who I am. Am I really stupid, or somethin'? No, I've done studio builds and maintained a variety of boards for most of my adult life. I've even built 'em out of Daven steppers and Opamp Labs components, which was hot stuff back in the day.
DeFelice and I even agree about the good features in Station Playlist, which is unbeatable in the under-$500 automation market. I'm writing this, Bill, because everywhere I go I read your ARC-10 story, repeated. Repeated. Repeated again. After all this time, it just seems petty for the actual amount of damage which was done to you.
Of course, I often find online forums tempting for that sort of thing...I could be posting everywhere on God's Green Earth how I almost lost my house to Chase due to a bogus balloon payment. But, notgonnadoit. Be happy and well, Bill, Arrakis...and Chase. Most things in life improve with a dash of forgiveness.
Just for the record, I'm an ARC-8 owner, and I'm happy to report that the unit has held up perfectly for a year and a half under tough daily use in a podcast farm.
A while back, I promised to 'try to obtain a schematic' and report back, in response to the claim that Arrakis refuses to give them out. I'm sitting here, looking at the schematic, which Arrakis is happy to share via .pdf with customers at no cost. Call or write 'em. They're friendly about it, actually.
The ARC-8 works great, and for less than $800 I find I have a board which is electronically quite similar to the now nearly $1900, Audioarts AIR-1, of which I am also a fan. Same IC's...inexpensive 5532's...in the ARCs and the AIRs...comparable designs and even slew rates Well, fancy that!
Am I a shill for Arrakis? No, those people are unlikely to know or care who I am. Am I really stupid, or somethin'? No, I've done studio builds and maintained a variety of boards for most of my adult life. I've even built 'em out of Daven steppers and Opamp Labs components, which was hot stuff back in the day.
DeFelice and I even agree about the good features in Station Playlist, which is unbeatable in the under-$500 automation market. I'm writing this, Bill, because everywhere I go I read your ARC-10 story, repeated. Repeated. Repeated again. After all this time, it just seems petty for the actual amount of damage which was done to you.
Of course, I often find online forums tempting for that sort of thing...I could be posting everywhere on God's Green Earth how I almost lost my house to Chase due to a bogus balloon payment. But, notgonnadoit. Be happy and well, Bill, Arrakis...and Chase. Most things in life improve with a dash of forgiveness.
ironbear said:
UIh - not quite the same application as a 24/7/365 broadcast station...but go ahead, please.
ironbear said:
That's because you were the ORIGINAL PURCHASER of said ARC-8. Try getting that kind of treatment if you acquire one secondhand. Even if it's never been used. Get that credit card out.
ironbear said:
Guess you've never had a bad meal at a restaurant and have told everyone you know and everyone who will listen about how bad it was and you'll never go back again. Ever hear the saying "you never get a second chance to make a first impression"?
ironbear said:
That's true. It's easy to forgive. It's hard to forget.
CairoP said:
Oh, I've stated here and in other forums that I wouldn't use an ARC-8 as a station's only board in a 24/7 live operation (mostly because of the mechanical switches), but who would actually do that in this age of ubiquitous automation? The board's main market is probably LPFM, webcasting, podcasting, remotes, newsrooms and light production. I think most buyers would understand that and want a higher-end Arrakis, an Audioarts or an Axia for those heavy on-air sorts of things. What do you want for your $800, pure gold?
Nobody knows what Arrakis would do about a board not in the hands of an original purchaser, but since you don't actually know, why not give them a call and report back here what happens? I took the Arrakis challenge...you can too!
My little podcast factory sometimes does work with a client about what animus does in American society, so you can see I have a natural bias right there:
"A rattlesnake, if cornered will become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is - a biting of oneself. We think we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves." ~ E. Stanley Jones
ironbear said:
I can comment on that first-hand, and have in my Arrakis ARC-10 review published in Radio World. To quote myself from the referenced article:
A sore point with me was that Arrakis only offers a warranty to the first end user. I had purchased my console from the original owner, who had it less than two months. Arrakis informed me that it was no longer covered under warranty.
I had purchased the board a couple of months after it was introduced from a party who had their head buried and needed to get out of their studio venture. I was put off by being denied warranty coverage for a piece of equipment two months into production only because I was the second owner. While my snail letter with Arrakis went M.I.A. their President contacted me via email a couple of months ago regarding my comments. While I was appreciative of him taking the time to address my concerns I have to say I would never purchase another one of their products nor recommend one for any of my freelance clients as the whole experience soured me. Adding to this several of their 1200 series consoles where I had to replace VCA chips with regularity.
chriscollins said:
I installed a D75 at my college station - I love that board! The kids havent killed it yet, and setting it up was a breeze with the prewire kit and built in mix minus for the phone pot.
I do love AudioVault, provided it was installed correctly in the first place. My current workplace has some issues that I think are caused by the system not being set up properly.
I've not had ANY experience with this, so I may be way out in left field... but... isn't that pretty typical for a lot of purchases?
If somebody buys a refrigerator, and then I buy it from that person within their warranty time... aren't I SOL if it goes out?
A search on Google for non-transferable warranty http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=non-transferable+warranty turns up what looks like quite a few companies that do this exact thing.
I'm no fan of Arrakis; I've watched their boards practically dissolve in front of me (ESPECIALLY in a high-RF field)... but this doesn't seem to my untrained eyes to be a valid argument against them... unless most other board manufacturers DO transfer their warranty from individual owner to individual owner.
Anybody more-informed have examples?
In over 37 years of broadcast engineering this was the first case I ever had of a manufacturer stating point blank that a piece of equipment was no longer eligible for warranty repair or coverage. If this was the case every station that installed new equipment for the purpose of selling a station would be S.O.L. if the buyer found out all the shiny new equipment would have no warranty coverage that could be a nice negotiation point and a waste of time, money and resources for the station performing such an upgrade.
When you buy a year old automobile few (if any) the car manufacturers void the warranty and a car is cheaper than many pieces of broadcast equipment. I never had a problem even with vendors that enjoy a poor reputation (such as the big H) but Arrakis decided to stick to their guns and consider the warranty void on the console - not only two month after its initial sale but two months after the product introduction.
Your mileage may vary but I am now very selective on vendors I spec out for those who ask me for assistance.
When you buy a year old automobile few (if any) the car manufacturers void the warranty and a car is cheaper than many pieces of broadcast equipment. I never had a problem even with vendors that enjoy a poor reputation (such as the big H) but Arrakis decided to stick to their guns and consider the warranty void on the console - not only two month after its initial sale but two months after the product introduction.
Your mileage may vary but I am now very selective on vendors I spec out for those who ask me for assistance.
Turnpike Tuner said:
I love Audiovault. I know it inside out, so my system just runs and runs. The new stuff (V10.10) is really nice. I have enjoyed using it (as well as leaving XP behind).
chriscollins said:
We're still on V9 - all the Greater Media stations I worked at had it run flawlessly 24/7. My current employer is having issues with the event file not updating properly, audio files disapearing, and overall sluggishness. I haven't seen VaultFlex, but I'm dying to LOL.
I can't say I miss Windows XP either - 7 spoils me rotten...only machines I have running XP are the ones with NexGen101.
Turnpike Tuner said:
I am optimistic that I will have XP phased out by the Win 8 release... LOL.
You want an analog console on a budget, get thee a Dynamax. Dave Strode at Sandies USA is superb to deal with. I bought a Dynamax which never got installed at that station and had an issue, Dave sent me what I needed free of charge (and that's me being technically second owner) and he told me to register it and he'd honor the warranty. And the board is reliable in the old LPB tradition and sounds superb and has been very reliable thus far. That is service. Reward companies who take care of their customers.
I second Kent on Sandies and Dave Strode. I picked up a second-hand MX-Series Dynamax to replace the ARC-10 I couldn't stand owning anymore. Dave is what customer service use to be in this country. He is one I would go to in the future if I have the funds to purchase a new console.
With good companies like Dynamax and Audio Arts around, why take the abuse and the chance the Arrakis board is going to fail on ya just like some of their other boards have on others? Maybe some people have had decent luck with their Arrakis stuff, but why risk it, especially IF you cannot afford to throw money at stuff if you goof the first time? To the podcaster: I'm glad your board works right. I have a preacher that has a really old Arrakis rotory knob unit that has worked fairly well for him. I've had to mess with some interconnecting jumpers in the unit (cleaning and messing with the contacts)but otherwise he's been OK with his. That's sort of what you're doing. It's not 24/7 radio. I have some friends here in town that have had nothing but HELL with their Arrakis slider-pot board that's about 2000 vintage. It's a huge steaming P.O.S. The nice old R-60s in the rooms next to the one with the Arrakis works without fail. Here's the fun part of all of this. The flagship FM of their group is the one with the steaming P.O.S. Arrakis. Needless to say they won't be buying any more of their stuff. Also, back over a decade ago, there was a station in this market that ate output chips, and other chips for that matter, in their Arrakis board like candy. That station group, I'm happy to say, got smart and bought some PR&E RadioMixer consoles in '98 and have been VERY happy with their purchase. Again, with all the great options out there, why take a several thousand dollar chance on a company with questionable quality issues based on their previous sour reputation and a history of mistreating their second-hand customers?
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