What is the feature or ability you would like to have?
InMusic: Unless you substantially feature-bracket these from now on regarding future additions, announce that after the initial roll-out in a few months the price will go up at least US$200-300
How will this feature help you and others?
I believe this is bad for the Prime line in general having a product this underpriced with most of the same features as the flagship standalones.
Is this feature available in an existing product? If so, what product?
Iāve never seen a company with a new line with this much potential undercut their flagship units in such a way. Yes, most other companies do massive feature bracketing by leaving features and capabilities out of the lower priced models. The 24/96khz capability on the standalones and few other difference are not sufficient, IMO, especially in light of Prime 4 having unique utilities of its own like portability, a large, unified combined screen, and buttons with updated labeling. I believe Prime 4 is underpriced to such a degree that in combination with the lack of feature bracketing this is unhealthy for the line, the Denon DJ brand, and InMusicās trust with its customers.
Does a workaround currently exist?
Raising the price and/or implementing certain substantial advanced features only on the flagship standalones.
How often would you use this feature?
N/A
Is there any additional information youād like to add?
Such an announcement would increase Prime 4 sales for these first few months after release, repair harm done to early-adopter risk aversion, and solidify Prime as a force in the industry.
I had no interest at all in the prime series sc5000 when they first came out. Yeah they were cool but price was out reach for something like that.
It wasnāt until the M came out that I started drooling. The meager price drop accelerated my purchase of it.
I understand that especially for the non-M, which was cut by almost half, that you would be a little upset.
Maybe think about this for a sec. more people are buying the primes now than before and I bet you didnāt see wifi coming when you first bought your set. Do you think you ended up with more than you thought the players would offer?
It ā ā ā ā ā being an early adopter I know this. But in order to change the scene or getting people to change their rider so to speak, what you see happening is what needs to happen.
Iām not gonna lie. I was super-shocked when they decided to make the āholidayā price cut permanent. Iām guessing it probably accelerated sales quite a bit, but I do kinda see where @Reticuli is coming from. In my gut I was thinking they would go up to $1,299.00 after the sale or at least 1,199.00. That seemed like it would keep sales going but also put them back up a bit where they totally belong. Iāve said it before and Iāll say it again though, Inmusic usually runs a tight ship. They run their business very specifically. They only build so much of each product and when theyāre out they build more. Whatever they do though it works as theyāre juggling quite a few lines. But getting back, what these systems bring to the table are totally worth more than their selling price. And as Wyley1 noted, the price drop brought me into the fold too (especially when I was 100% sure it was going back up!). Iām still kinda shocked theyāre selling for what they are.
Bluetooth and WiFi was already known several years ago, so something would eventually be announced. Just like the pc ethernet on the X1800 is still not fully used etc.
These are build to last for years.
I had a sweet deal from the get go, but like my OLED TV it is the curse of the early adopters.
Of course we can write in these forums whatever we want, but Iām surprised you apparently canāt tell the difference between a feature request (functionality youād like to have as an user) and telling the company how to run their business.
The OP is venting. He is a contributing forum memeber a critical thinker and a supporter of Denon gear.
Hopefully we can encourage him to see no matter what that he still has the best gear on the planet and that Denon strategy is paying off to reach the masses.
He should rewarded for it but he should show how he uses the Denon gear
I believe they can have a tight inventory because they own their factory in Taiwan and their warehouses, at least in the states. However, tight company I would not quite describe them throughout. InMusic used to have poor customer service and has had woeful issues with QC in the nearly 20 years Iāve been using their products faithfully, in spite of my better judgement and the opinions of my peers, and, letās face it, old Denon has had some weird friggān designs and the new Prime line unfortunately has started out with some of that pedigree from both InMusic (QC issues) and quirky design or coding choices (peruse the forums to find out more). The customer service issues dramatically improved. Long gone are the days of sending stuff back and forth 10 times for them to finally repair something correctly and the item being covered in pizza grease and in an empty cardboard box with no packing materials. So I have hope that QC issues and weird design/coding choices can also be resolved for them. Iāve stuck it out with them because in the early days I was literally able to talk to the top dog multiple times on the phone when there were shipping delays from China after 9/11 when the ports were shut down or email back and forth with the chief designer when I found an electrical problem between a MIDI port and the audio outs, and they not only eventually found ways of at least partially mitigating the issues, they listened to my other ideas and implemented some of them. Theyāve always had a healthy, progressive open door policy, in my opinion, and whatever issues they have had or continue to have, thatās potentially a catalyst for change and improvement.
are you saying that the prime 4 is too cheap and will damage sc5000ās sales?
if so, then i disagree. these are 2 products aimed at toally different markets. Sadly i fear you were stone cold sober when you had written this postā¦
I think the Pioneer RX hasnāt ruined the sales of the CDJ2000 Nexus to doubt the Prime 4 will hurt the SC5000 in any way.
Itās a product that fits perfectly with their lineup and is a like-for-like what the competition is offering.
I almost dropped Ā£3k on the full Prime setup but I travel around the world and have limited space. The P4 came at a time when I needed it the most and whilst giving me a smaller, lighter setup but remaining powerful.
Thank you Denon. The SC5000 + X1800 would be too big to ship on planes and get into a booth where I work. The P4 is literally perfect.
I agree the RX doesnāt cut into NXS2 sales much, but because I think the RX is a clunky design with a lot of stuff appropriately missing on it and the NXS2 system has way better sound quality than it. The NXS2 system is also the current club standard. So the RX basically captures those who canāt afford the outrageously-expensive NXS2 anyway and would otherwise go to other brands.
In contrast, thereās very little currently left off of the Prime 4 compared to the standalone flagship Primes, the SPDIFs donāt even sound as good as they should on the SC Prime players, and the 4ās price, IMO, is a couple hundred bucks too low for what youāre getting, such that plenty of people who could afford the Prime standalones simply will get the 4 instead and save the money.
I personally donāt even think the portability of the Prime 4 is quite that high. If you stick the standalones in three individual plastic cases, itās only slightly lower weight than the Prime 4 is in one plastic case, and the 4 is BIG. You canāt break it up into three pieces. Itās not like you can stick it on your back. Itās a little a little lower weight, but it also takes up less table space and is easier to set up, so those are some unique advantages that would also justify a higher price.
With the P4 Iāll be taking the place of the MCX8000 and while its bigger, itās still manageable.
I went into Guitar Centre when I was in NYC and almost walked away with a set but to have three flightcases instead of the one it put me off. I measured them up at the time and was likeā¦ nopeā¦ it just canāt happen.
Itās a shame as I really wanted it too. Luckily the P4 has arrived and Iām buzzing for it.
Youāre basically admitting that this P4 sale cannibalized on Prime standalone sales in your case. And I donāt think your situation or decision-making process is unique. The 4ās purchase replaced the standalones that you almost did, yet the standalones are supposed to be the preferred purchase choice if you can afford it. Right now thereās a sudden reduced incentive to make that choiceā¦ too much, IMO. Thatās the definition of what Iām talking about. You correct that by raising the price on the Prime 4 and/or doing more feature bracketing (i.e. depriving some future features from the Prime 4 that show up on the standalones). In combination, there are too many unique advantages on the Prime 4, too many shared features between it and the standalones, and too low a price.
It cannibalized a sale in the same way in how a potential Nexus user would feel after playing on an RX and knowing itās not what he wants but itās more practical.
Size/space was my main concern. Iād have much preferred the bigger layout and modular but the missus stepped in and gave me the ādo you REALLY need these?ā. I said Iād hang on until NAMM as I had a gut feeling it was time for an MCX8000 update and Denon didnāt disappoint.
Iām glad I waited as this was literally the best product for the space I haveā¦ but Iād take the full SC5000 setup any day! Itās just not right for me.
When the club gets a refit next year the SC5000 setup is on my wishlist for the company to add.
