[Sinocelt]

These tests of the Tracker Pre and 0204 caught my interest, but the horror stories I've read on E-MU's "support" for their products made me wary. The fact that the first page of their website still advertises beta drivers for ... Snow Leopard ... didn't help! I filled their contact form and asked a few questions. Here we go:
 
Me:

When I click "buy" on the Tracker Pre page, it appears that "this product is currently out of stock." Is it temporary or have you stopped making it?

 
E-MU:

Dear Pierre

Thank you for contacting us at E-MU Customer Support.

Because it is such a great product and value, there is high demand for the E-MU Tracker Pre, E-MU 0202 or 0404 USB and we are in short supply. The product is not discontinued at this time. And, our overall policy is to support products through our limited warranty even if products are at the end of their lifecycle. However, we continue to work on new products that improve upon the audio performance and quality of our current products.

As we are unable to control the inventory of stocks among our retailers, distributors, we would therefore advise that
you contact them directly and request for further assistance. E-MU Systems - Where to Buy

Regards,

Arman
E-MU Systems Inc.
Advanced Technical Support Group

 
Me:

Hello,

I followed your advice and contacted, not just one, but three retailers. None of them had the Tracker Pre, but two actually checked directly with you, E-MU, and got back to me, and what they reported contradicts your email: they can't get the 0202 or the 0404 anymore, because both units are no longer in production. The 0202 has been replaced by the 0204, and the 0404 will be replaced (but when?) by the 0406. As for the Tracker Pre, it's still a mystery.

"No longer in production" means "discontinued" in my dictionary. Will the Tracker Pre have a successor, like the 0202 and (apparently) the 0404, or not?

 
E-MU:

Dear Pierre

Thank you for contacting us at E-MU Customer Support.

This is just to update you that we are not releasing new products from E-MU and we will only continue to support the current shipping products on existing OS's that were available when the product was originally released.

Regards,

Arman
E-MU Systems Inc.
Advanced Technical Support Group

 
Me:

This is just to update you that we are not releasing new products from E-MU

So the retailers who told me about the upcoming E-MU 0406 USB were both mistaken? Some online stores even list it already. If you truly don't intend to release this product, you should let them know. For instance:

EMU*0406 USB 2.0*Audio Interface
EMU - 0406 USB USB 2.0 Interface : Audio Interfaces
EMU 0406 USB -

and we will only continue to support the current shipping products on existing OS's that were available when the product was originally released.

That's frigging ridiculous. What you mean is that you won't support even your most recent product, the E-MU 0204 USB, that came out this year, on OSX Lion, that just came out? So if I buy a Mac now, I shouldn't buy any of your products, even the most recent? Are your products really supposed to have a life not exceeding a few months, or at most a couple of years (Windows 8 comes out next year and will be included, of course, on every new PC)?

 
E-MU:

Hi Pierre,

I appreciate your help and concern about the advertisement posted by some of our partners. I will submit those links to our Marketing department to look into this matter carefully before proper information is advised.

Regards,

Arman
E-MU Systems Inc.
Advanced Technical Support Group

 

 

[zotjen]

It's possible that retailers were given advanced notice of the 0406 but E-MU doesn't want to officially release any info until all the details have been finalized and a release date has been set. Think of all the products that were announced here on Head-Fi but then were delayed and delayed or never even came out.

 

[Sinocelt]

Quote:

It's possible that retailers were given advanced notice of the 0406 but E-MU doesn't want to officially release any info until all the details have been finalized and a release date has been set. Think of all the products that were announced here on Head-Fi but then were delayed and delayed or never even came out.

Possibly. But the answer I received would then be ... misleading, don't you think? Still, what really bothers me (and not just me) is more the "we will only continue to support the current shipping products on existing OS's that were available when the product was originally released."
 
That will drastically reduce the life of their hardware, if the drivers are never updated when a new OS comes out. I'd rather not have to change my interface each time I update my computer. As it stands, even their most recent product (released this year) doesn't work on 64-bit OS X. And when people complain, their answer is "boot in 32 bits." And if you bought a Mac recently (with Lion pre-installed, of course), you're even more out of luck: your shiny new 0204 is not and will not be supported. Same thing if you buy a PC next year, with Windows 8: If the old drivers don't work, you're out of luck, they won't be updated.