Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Editor
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2003
- Messages
- 12,046
- Reaction score
- 5,498
- Points
- 3,077
- Age
- 43
So it lacks Android support (which automatically rules out a huge number of potential users) and you still give it a 9 for features?!?
So it lacks Android support (which automatically rules out a huge number of potential users) and you still give it a 9 for features?!?
Mobile Operating System Market Share Worldwide - January 2020 | |
---|---|
Android | 74.3% |
iOS | 24.76% |
I have a high-end system based on an Accuphase amplifier, and I was recently looking for a streaming solution. Altair might have been a good one but I am a proud Android user and would hinestly never switch to an Apple product just to use Altair. Many people say that Roon is the best thing since sliced bread but I am not that convinced that it is worth the high investment. So yes, Altair lost a very probable customer, and many hifi enthusiasts think like this. The development of a decent Android version of the application would cost them approximately 50 000 GBP (and maybe even less as it already has an iOS version). If we assume that they have a margin of at least 1 000 GBP (which is very realistic having in mind the chip they use) this means that they need only 50 new Android customers to justify the cost. It is a question of math...When dealing with the clientele for a £1,900 streamer (and, don't forget, this is the cheapest device that Auralic currently makes with this interface), the split is nothing like that. It's akin to saying that my mother is precluded from buying an Aries because she's an Android user and not because she's a seventy year old woman with zero interest in anything that doesn't have Roberts on the front of it.
As noted in the review copy, if you honestly can't bring yourself to use an iOS product, you have the option to pay for a Roon sub and use the Altair that way or take your chances elsewhere. I feel Auralic has made the right decision in focusing their attention on one platform and commercially, the decision doesn't seem to be hurting them.
My points exactly - you posted your reply while I was typing my post.I could / should be a prospective customer (£1900 for such a versatile streamer sounds reasonable to me - I'm considering Lumin at the moment), but lack of Android support means I'm not interested.
I have an iPhone for work and despise it. I could pick up an iPad but refuse to!
It is a question of math...
If we assume that they have a margin of at least 1 000 GBP (which is very realistic having in mind the chip they use) this means that they need only 50 new Android customers to justify the cost.
Can I also say, as someone with examples of iOS and Android devices floating around the house and a happy acceptance of both of them, anyone saying they are 'proud' to use an operating system makes you sound like the sort of person I'd do anything not to be stuck in a lift with.
This device is a relatively technical device and the Apple fraternity tend to go that route because they want a 'premium' product that is non-technical so I would argue this is at odds with that assertion but if Auralic make it work for them then good luck.When dealing with the clientele for a £1,900 streamer (and, don't forget, this is the cheapest device that Auralic currently makes with this interface), the split is nothing like that. It's akin to saying that my mother is precluded from buying an Aries because she's an Android user and not because she's a seventy year old woman with zero interest in anything that doesn't have Roberts on the front of it.
As noted in the review copy, if you honestly can't bring yourself to use an iOS product, you have the option to pay for a Roon sub and use the Altair that way or take your chances elsewhere. I feel Auralic has made the right decision in focusing their attention on one platform and commercially, the decision doesn't seem to be hurting them.
Totally agree Ed. I have been working in 5 star hotels in London for 25 years and 90% of the guest use iPhones, MacBooks and I pads. Even if you don’t have one, £300 on an I pad on what is likely to be a £6k or so system is not much to add as a dedicated remote. As a marantz and Spotify connect user I can attest to the instability of their system. I don’t even bother to try and make it work just use the lower sound quality lg tv app. The app located the amp just 50% of the time!When dealing with the clientele for a £1,900 streamer (and, don't forget, this is the cheapest device that Auralic currently makes with this interface), the split is nothing like that. It's akin to saying that my mother is precluded from buying an Aries because she's an Android user and not because she's a seventy year old woman with zero interest in anything that doesn't have Roberts on the front of it.
As noted in the review copy, if you honestly can't bring yourself to use an iOS product, you have the option to pay for a Roon sub and use the Altair that way or take your chances elsewhere. I feel Auralic has made the right decision in focusing their attention on one platform and commercially, the decision doesn't seem to be hurting them.
AVFORUMS was always in the Top 10 of my preferred sites but comments like this from a reviewer on the site will make me rethink my choices. If I were an editor on the site I would definitely take notice of how its audience is treated. Also, it is just common courtesy to be civil with each other. Nothing of what I said was offensive to anybody. Who you are happy to be with in one elevator is your personal opinion and the website should not be a platform for its expression.Almost everything in life is.
However this is not. It's absurdly wide of the mark.
Can I also say, as someone with examples of iOS and Android devices floating around the house and a happy acceptance of both of them, anyone saying they are 'proud' to use an operating system makes you sound like the sort of person I'd do anything not to be stuck in a lift with.
AVFORUMS was always in the Top 10 of my preferred sites but comments like this from a reviewer on the site will make me rethink my choices. If I were an editor on the site I would definitely take notice of how its audience is treated. Also, it is just common courtesy to be civil with each other. Nothing of what I said was offensive to anybody. Who you are happy to be with in one elevator is your personal opinion and the website should not be a platform for its expression.
I am a proud Android user
We all have our preferences. I like Android as I do not want to be a captive of the Apple ecosystem, you might like Apple. This does not make you or me better persons.
I do think that margins like this are very normal. Otherwise you would not observe the huge discounts in the hifi industry. But what do I know - I only teach Marketing in three universities. And yes, math makes the difference.
If we assume that they have a margin of at least 1 000 GBP (which is very realistic having in mind the chip they use) this means that they need only 50 new Android customers to justify the cost. It is a question of math...
Finally, if you do not account for these "small" details like the lack of support of 75 % of devices and give a score of 9 for features, people will think that your review is biased and this will hurt the overall credibility of the site whose popularity is based exactly on this - perceived objectivity.
Do you think that your language is appropriate for the website? If you cannot tolerate somebody having different opinions than yours, find another job. Otherwise just apologize and let's move on.It's an operating system- lines of code and icons on a screen. To have sufficiently strong feelings about it that you are prepared to type- apparently seriously;
Is weird. Really weird. Sorry but it is. I am both an Android and an iOS (and a Windows) user. The 'pride' I feel using any of them is zero. They're devices. I pick the one that works best at the time.
It certainly doesn't. I'm not the person proud of one though.
Let's break your original comment down;
Firstly, who makes the £1,000? Auralic doesn't sell direct so if they make a grand, what's the dealer on? 75p and a packet of crisps with every third one sold? Even if your margin call was correct (and it isn't), it's split over two points not one so your calculation is wrong to start with. It also ignores the Android customers who'll go Roon (I personally know of two) so it's not an intractable and irreducible group. Your app development costing for an effective, routinely updated Android app is also wrong. If you wish to throw qualifications around, I don't teach marketing. I work as a consultant in this industry and have done for twenty years. I'm not 'assuming' anything in what I've typed here, I know it.
To put it another way. Why don't you find me an Altair G1 with an epic discount?
I don't pull the numbers out of my arse. The product has a class leading specification, superb sonic performance and it's beautifully built. It doesn't lack support for 75% of the population either (even if we ignore that number being willfully specious). If you absolutely cannot face using a slightly different OS, it has Roon compatibility and can be run on third party apps.
Do you think that your language is appropriate for the website? If you cannot tolerate somebody having different opinions than yours, find another job. Otherwise just apologize and let's move on.
A matter of class indeed (see the conversation that followed)...Classy...