MP3 meets Car Audio: Empeg Mark II in-dash Car MP3 Player

The empeg car Mark II is undoubtedly the most powerful in-dash car MP3 player available on the market, but it definitely comes at a very high cost.  With the entry level player at $1200, you’re going to have to go on a period of ‘hardware upgrade fasting’ if you break down and pick up an empeg.

This isn’t to say that the features aren’t worth it, because they most definitely are.  The virtually unlimited storage, high quality output and very powerful search engine are all features that will probably go unrivaled by even the best mass market players for quite some time to come. 

Our biggest complaints that existed with the empeg are the barriers that will prevent it from becoming a mainstream product, which it definitely could be in a slightly altered form.  Let’s take a look at the major problems we had with the empeg first:

• The empeg’s faceplates scratch entirely too easily and in their current form lack any sort of anti-reflective coat.  Empeg is aware of the latter, it’s just a matter of time before they address the issue.

• emplode as a software utility needs some serious improvement, the ability to handle larger uploads of music at once and a more Explorer-like interface are its two major downfalls. 

• The construction of the DIN-E sized cage that is installed in your car could use some improvement.  Compared to any brand-name aftermarket stereo, the empeg’s cage still offers reminders of its home-project heritage.  The wires coming off of the cage itself could use some lengthening as well. 

• The empeg’s remote, being a generic Kenwood remote, could use a different faceplate which could list the actual functions of the various buttons.  Currently, you are supposed to know that the ‘*’ button on the remote opens/closes a menu.  For first time users things like this can be a big turn off, if the empeg is going to eventually turn into a more commercial product this is something the company should take into consideration. 

• While the looks of the Mark II are improved over the original empeg, there is still a bit of tweaking necessary before the unit will be able to stand up against the cheaper commercial alternatives.

There’s a very fine line between a truly commercially viable product and a dressed up home project, and the empeg is coming very close to crossing that line into the commercial world.  Right now very few commercial manufacturers are catching onto the MP3 craze, however they are taking notice of the market that Hugo at Empeg discovered two years ago.

Empeg could very easily become a household name if the company plays their cards right.  The Mark II needs a cost effective counterpart to address a segment of the market that is going to be dominated very soon by MP3-CD players.  Get rid of some of the features and aim to produce a sub $600 unit while continuing to improve their high-end model, currently the Mark II. 

They should take a page from the book of success of other companies in the computer industry, you implement all the features you want in a high-end model while providing a crippled low-end version for the mainstream market segments.  Then, later on, as the technology improves, the features that were once reserved for the “high-end” model will easily and affordably be implemented into the more mainstream and value products. 

For now, if you have the money, there’s nothing that currently does all that the empeg can do and nothing that even comes close to doing it as well. 

It will be very interesting to see how Empeg as a company grows over the next year, they definitely have the potential to bring this type of technology down to the mainstream market since it’s obvious that the larger manufacturers haven’t made the connection just yet. 

It’s up to them if they’ll make “Empeg Inside” a slogan of the future.