Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, rdamon@m... wrote:

> After re-reading this response, it is interesting that Yamaha would
> introduce DtxpressIII at a Japanese trade show and then re-
introduce it at a
> U.S. trade show.
> I thought you just "introduced" a product once, not twice or three 
times. 

I know it seems bizarre, but many Japanese audio/video companies  
launch products in Japan that don't enter this market until later, if 
ever. Yamaha certainly is at home in this crowd.

> He referred to "some" kits as oppose to "those or these" kits when 
talking
> about the introducing the kit at NAMM but changes "tense" and 
refers to them
> as "these kits" when talking about the US dealer base.
> 
> Clearly, Dave had to be aware of the press release on the Japanese 
website,
> which does give quite a bit of insights into the new DtxpressIII
(standard)
> and the new DtxpressIII(special). So, he would not be giving out any
> information that has not already been made public by the Home 
Office in Japan. Did you just asked about the DtxpressIII or did you 
also asked about the possibility of the DtxtremeIII as well? If you 
just asked about the DtxpressIII, then I don't understand his
 hesitation. His response should have been "All I can say is limited 
to what is already been made public. Those models will be available 
for the Asian > market on November 30, 2003. The release date for the 
U.S. market is still > company confidential." If you asked about both 
the DtxpressIII and a possible DtxtremeIII model, then his response 
makes better sense. Also, Dave said in the last sentence "you will be 
very excited about the new develpments". The Japanese press release 
actually describes most of the "new developments", so the "will be" 
indicates that not all of the goodies have been let out of the bag. 
> The front of the module shows no change and the description of the
> inputs/outputs on the back of the module did not change either. 
> This would leave me to believe that the DtxpressIII is not going to 
be the
> only kit that is going to be released at NAMM. 

I did some of the same head scratching that you did about Dave's 
remarks; my message to him concerned only the DTXpress III. His 
answer could have been cryptic, but maybe not; it might just have 
been corporate pep talk. I do think, however, that the new Xtreme 
module, as well as whatever kit will accompany it, must be ready to 
drop from the tree by now. Even so, notwithstanding the ambiguity in 
Dave's wording, I can envision the DTXpress kits to be the only ones 
to emerge from Winter NAMM.

> The question is will it be the DtxtremeIII or a mid-range model. 

That is, if it makes any sense at all to place a kit between the 
DTXpressSPIII and the DTXtreme that we know will eventually arrive 
(the module has already made an appearance in public). It might; 
there are lots of midlevel mesh-style kits--by Pintech, Hart, Koby, 
and Roland (overpriced as the Rolands are). Yamaha can certainly 
afford to risk a small marketing/production mistake to cover the 
terrain better and capitalize on the immense success of its entry 
level. We already have the precedent of a third Yamaha module in the 
dearly departed DTX v2.0. Again, questions and more questions. We do 
accumulate them in this avocation.

Ed