Sonic Frontiers P-3: No Upgrade


Owners of the Sonic Frontiers Processor-3 may be interested in the following e-mail exchange I had with the company:

On 3/24/02 6:12 PM, "Val Schaffner" wrote:

How are you guys coming along with the Processor-3 upgrade to 24/96? Or 24/192? It's been years since you promised one, and for most of us who bought the P-3, the assurance of no obsolescense was a major reason. Last I heard, you were waiting for the Firewire specs. Are these in sight? If not, why not just offer a straight 24/96 upgrade now with the option of upgrading further later? I think the P-3 is a terrific piece of gear, but if the upgrade is not on the horizon I may end up reluctantly trading it in for a dCS.

Thanks.

Val Schaffner

Hi Val

Bad news... Sorry

Due the low response to this upgrade, we have decided not to offer the 24/96K upgrade for the Pro3. We are as surprised that the demand was so low that we couldn’t spend the money to purchase the requested parts for the upgrade.

We thank you for your support of the SFI line, and we hope in the future to be able to offer the upgrade once again

Best Regards,

Frank Pugliano, Customer Service/Tech Support
Sonic Frontiers International (Anthem)
3535 Laird Rd
Unit 16
Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA L5L 5Y7

Tel: (905) 828-4575 ext 243
Fax: (905) 828-4585

E-Mail: fpugliano@sonicfrontiers.com
Web: www.sonicfrontiers.com

Breaking The Sound Barrier !
____________________________________________________________

They're not breaking it any more, I guess. A pity. I am wondering, though, whether any of the firms out there that do after-market work on high-end gear would be able to rig a 24/94 mod on the P-3 at reasonable cost.

Or, conceivably, if other P-3 owners in Audiogon contacted SFI to protest this decision, they might change their minds. (Though in view of the company's recent financial reverses and the ensuing scaleback of its product line, I doubt they would.)
Ag insider logo xs@2xvalschaf
Thats really too bad. I had the 24/96 update done to my SFD 2 about a year ago and am very happy with the results. I suspect that there simply wasn't enough P3 owners out there to begin with let alone very many rattling the doors to have their processors upgraded.

Happy Trails!
Vince@Freewheel
Not yet. I have a TacT RCS 2.0 between transport and dac, and TacT will have an upsampler board this summer. Meanwhile the RCS analog-digital converter can output 24/96 and I also have a DVD player in the system.
Hi Val,

I woudn't worry too much about this. Sonic Frontiers has 24-bit upgrades for its SFD-II processor. So, I am confident that, with time, they will eventually have upgrades for the P3. If enough people ask for it, then it's likely that the company will respond to the demand.