Joe Bloggs
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Notice regarding the 3rd batch of X1’s
By James Chung
1. When is the 3rd batch of X1’s coming out?
The 3rd batch of X1’s are under production, but as you may know, we are already testing new firmware to prevent the issue where the in-line remotes on certain earphones cause accidental operation of the X1. To maximise the number of samples on which the new firmware is tested to increase reliability, the 3rd batch of X1’s are being held on the production line to participate in firmware testing.
We have 6 professional firmware engineers and testers working full-time on testing firmware. 200-400 X1’s will be taken for batch tests on the production line, thus eliminating problems that occur even in less than 1% of units. Therefore, we forsee the 3rd batch of X1’s being sent to agents worldwide starting on the 24th October.
2. Any improvements over the previous batch?
Apart from preproduction units, the first batch of 200 X1 production units were also limited in use to factory testing, media exposure and use as review units and participating in the preview world tour. This was done to guarantee the quality of actual retail units, by ironing out issues and bugs in the first batch and incorporating such improvements in the second batch.
Therefore, the second batch of X1’s did not possess any systematic manufacturing defects. Other than a lowering of the defect rate (of defective units which would anyhow be caught at the factory in our rigorous pre-delivery tests or honored for warranty returns), no modification of any note to the end user was made to the third batch of X1’s.
3. Regarding supply of champagne-gold X1’s
The order quantities of X1’s are rather large, and tilted towards silver. To satisfy orders, we are still working on silver units, with gold units slated for production starting 10 November. Those who like gold may wait a little longer.
4. Regarding the stacking kit for the X1
The stacking kit for the X1 has been finalized and should start being shipped out in mid November. The stacking frame will be of clear plastic, and bundled with black and clear elastic bands. It will not come with line signal interconnects; you may buy your choice of the straight-plugged L16 or the L-shaped L17 to go with the stacking kit according to your needs.
5. Regarding the scroll wheel and the center button.
Some users have found the scroll wheel on the X1 a little loose, a little tight, or the center button a little loose.
Firstly, please rest assured in the knowledge that the X1’s scroll wheel and center button are designed around largely the same parts as that on the X5, for which, in the months since it has started selling, there has not been a single complaint or return caused by loss of function of the scroll wheel or center button, or the wheel “falling off”.
Secondly, our scroll wheel is based around a quality part, an Alps rotary encoder. Unfortunately, said rotary encoder itself comes with a bit of loose play in its shaft, so the button and scroll wheel fixed upon it unavoidably also have a bit of loose play.
We have also tried various fixes for this, including adding padding to remove the loose play in the shaft. However, such padding may interfere with the rotation of the wheel too easily. We are very cautious and do not want to introduce a cure that’s worse than the problem at hand.
Also, the large size of our scroll wheel leads to high rotation torque by the finger, thus contributing to the perception of looseness. We have dissembled units with what are considered “quality” scroll wheels, such as the Tascam DR100, and found them similar in construction to the X1 / X5 scroll wheel except in size.
By James Chung
1. When is the 3rd batch of X1’s coming out?
The 3rd batch of X1’s are under production, but as you may know, we are already testing new firmware to prevent the issue where the in-line remotes on certain earphones cause accidental operation of the X1. To maximise the number of samples on which the new firmware is tested to increase reliability, the 3rd batch of X1’s are being held on the production line to participate in firmware testing.
We have 6 professional firmware engineers and testers working full-time on testing firmware. 200-400 X1’s will be taken for batch tests on the production line, thus eliminating problems that occur even in less than 1% of units. Therefore, we forsee the 3rd batch of X1’s being sent to agents worldwide starting on the 24th October.
2. Any improvements over the previous batch?
Apart from preproduction units, the first batch of 200 X1 production units were also limited in use to factory testing, media exposure and use as review units and participating in the preview world tour. This was done to guarantee the quality of actual retail units, by ironing out issues and bugs in the first batch and incorporating such improvements in the second batch.
Therefore, the second batch of X1’s did not possess any systematic manufacturing defects. Other than a lowering of the defect rate (of defective units which would anyhow be caught at the factory in our rigorous pre-delivery tests or honored for warranty returns), no modification of any note to the end user was made to the third batch of X1’s.
3. Regarding supply of champagne-gold X1’s
The order quantities of X1’s are rather large, and tilted towards silver. To satisfy orders, we are still working on silver units, with gold units slated for production starting 10 November. Those who like gold may wait a little longer.
4. Regarding the stacking kit for the X1
The stacking kit for the X1 has been finalized and should start being shipped out in mid November. The stacking frame will be of clear plastic, and bundled with black and clear elastic bands. It will not come with line signal interconnects; you may buy your choice of the straight-plugged L16 or the L-shaped L17 to go with the stacking kit according to your needs.
5. Regarding the scroll wheel and the center button.
Some users have found the scroll wheel on the X1 a little loose, a little tight, or the center button a little loose.
Firstly, please rest assured in the knowledge that the X1’s scroll wheel and center button are designed around largely the same parts as that on the X5, for which, in the months since it has started selling, there has not been a single complaint or return caused by loss of function of the scroll wheel or center button, or the wheel “falling off”.
Secondly, our scroll wheel is based around a quality part, an Alps rotary encoder. Unfortunately, said rotary encoder itself comes with a bit of loose play in its shaft, so the button and scroll wheel fixed upon it unavoidably also have a bit of loose play.
We have also tried various fixes for this, including adding padding to remove the loose play in the shaft. However, such padding may interfere with the rotation of the wheel too easily. We are very cautious and do not want to introduce a cure that’s worse than the problem at hand.
Also, the large size of our scroll wheel leads to high rotation torque by the finger, thus contributing to the perception of looseness. We have dissembled units with what are considered “quality” scroll wheels, such as the Tascam DR100, and found them similar in construction to the X1 / X5 scroll wheel except in size.
