I'm torn on this issue.

I see the consumer's point of view: An AR front panel is important enough that it should have been there to begin with. I mean, I'm still using my Mk1 and its AR panel is great- and I know that things would be pretty awful if it didn't have the AR coating.

On the other hand, the Empeg folks were satisfied with the non-AR design and called it "done". If folks hadn't been making noises here on the BBS about it, and if Empeg hadn't said anything about AR panels possibly becoming available soon, there would have been no issue. If Empeg had simply said "That's the way it is, there's no AR coating on the Mark 2, sorry", then folks here wouldn't be screaming and asking for it for free.

My guess is that if Empeg shipped a free AR panel to every current MK2 owner, they'd be taking a bath to the tune of between $10,000 and $15,000 US dollars when you figure in all the associated costs. Perhaps more, if there have been more than 1000 units shipped already (have there?). They've already had some problems with having to re-ship incorrect serial cables, send extra ISO connectors, etc., so perhaps they're already stinging from the costs associated with that.

I don't know what The Right Thing To Do is in this situation. Should Empeg be asked to take that big of a bath on something that they didn't originally design into the product? Should some customers just expect to live without AR? This is a very tough call. Empeg's current offer of shipping the AR panels for more or less "shipping/handling cost" sounds like a good compromise from that standpoint. But from the consumer's point of view, it sounds like you're getting charged for a warranty item.

In the meantime, there are users out there with Empegs that have their front panels and their knobs removed because of this and other issues, waiting for a resolution...

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Tony Fabris