Etón Retains E1XM, Drops E1
In order to clear up the mixed reports surrounding the fate of the Etón E1, Walter Hess of Etón informs Passport that although the recently introduced Etón E1 has been discontinued, the original E1XM is being continued. “It is being updated,” he adds.
What is being updated remains unknown, but the E1XM’s traditionally higher price should make it less cross-competitive with the forthcoming Grundig Satellit 750 to be produced by Tecsun for Etón.
Nothing was said about the fate of the proposed Grundig G1 clone of the Etón E1.
January 12th, 2008 at 12:59 AM
Both the E1XM and E1 are discontinued… Nope, just the E1XM is discontinued… Nope, just the E1 is discontinued. Is this the final answer? I hope so! Etón really needs to improve their communication with the user community.
As far as the radio goes, hopefully they are updating the quality control and reliability, if nothing else.
With an updated version, we’ll have to pay extra attention to the serial numbers. Please let us know the serial number range of this “updated” version when you find out, and what the updates are. I don’t understand why Etón is so secretive.
Ed.: We’re puzzled, as well. After all, this is a firm headed by someone who created Etón out of nothing and is a marketing legend and first-rate communicator. For years this was obvious and worked its wonders. Indeed, before its partial meltdown even Sony of America held them in awe.
But recently this talent seems to have lost its bearings. We’re working to try to find out why and what the future holds, but for those who know the company it’s hard not to expect that things will turn around. It does none of us any good for Etón to become the radio equivalent of a People’s Express.
No one is more curious than are we about changes to the physical E1, so you can bet we’ll put up the flag as soon as these become obvious. It’s too late for anything to materialize this week, but hopefully next week will bring on a new dawn of credible information.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:46 AM
I recently took the plunge and bought an E1XM from Circuit City; it is replacing my trusty Sony ICF-2010 after all those years. I am happy with this purchase so far—no problems have arisen, and the radio is sensitive, low noise, full of features, more memories that I care for, no chugging while tuning, good selectivity. The list goes on and on. The only problem is the lack of a handle or strap to safely carry around. I am planning to keep this baby for a long time.
January 12th, 2008 at 9:01 AM
To add to the confusion, Etón’s 2008 catalog does not include either variant of the E1, and on their web site, the “Past Collections” pages DO include the E1. These two together combine to tell the public that the E1 is a thing of the past. Ah well… I’m a Grundig fan regardless, although the I think the Satellit 750 looks cheezey with a capital “cheeze” compared to the E1 in both features and aesthetics, especially as a “flagship”. I hope they get their act together (and find a way to drop the Etón name and just stay 100% Grundig)—perhaps they should more openly solicit input from their users on what we think is working and what’s not.
And wouldn’t it be nice if Drake actually built these higher-end radios, instead of just mopping up all the defects from poor QC that typically accompanies “lowest bidder” partnerships?
Ed.: No question, Lee, Etón’s various East Asian partnerships have been driven in large part by price, as Grundig’s former Portugal facility’s costs were becoming too high to be viable.
However, Etón’s Indian partnership for the E1 was formed because technosavvy Bharat Electronics of Bangalore is a major and respected player in Indian defense and civilian electronics. Ironically, Bharat stresses quality (“customer satisfaction by on-time delivery of defect free products”), which suggests that Etón was shooting for top-end engineering as well as solid quality assurance. Bharat is not the low-price spread.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:29 AM
If what you say here is correct, this news makes no sense to me. Why would Etón discontinue the newly introduced and lower-priced E1 yet continue the original and higher-priced E1XM?
I think that most SWLs would have little or no interest in having XM capability in their shortwave radios. I certainly don’t. XM radios (in stereo, to boot) can be purchased separately and relatively inexpensively for those who desire them. (Myself, I’d rather have an internet radio.) Plus XM and Sirius have been bleeding cash, may merge, and, if that occurs, who knows which of the two transmissions schemes will survive (I would bet on Sirius).
I truly wonder if Etón’s right hand knows what its left hand is doing. These on-again off-again announcements do not give confidence. As you say, Etón has been a good marketing company. This has advantages but it also has disadvantages—which may be looming large. Etón is at the mercy of its OEM suppliers and these seem to be producing radios of less than stellar construction quality. After all, these OEMs do not have THEIR name on the radio so what do they care about quality? All of Etón’s great marketing schemes will not soothe a buyer whose radio has given him problems (and I ought to know!). Do you think such a person will buy another of their products UNLESS some major tangible changes were made (and promises kept)?
Etón really needs to get its act together. Not that they care what I think, but my suggestion would be to drop the Etón name on their more expensive products, that name having garnered a very bad reputation, and replace it with Grundig. (They could keep the Etón name on those low-priced “throwaway” wind-up radios sold in Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) With their better models, they should concentrate on their core buyer, the shortwave listener. Surely, too, they could negotiate a deal which would allow them to use the Grundig name worldwide.
Etón should insist on contracts with their OEMs that hold the OEMs responsible for all warranty costs. While that would raise Etón’s costs for the radios and would look as though it were lowering their profits, in actual fact it would raise their profits as they would have no warranty costs associated with their products, the OEMs would have great incentive to produce better quality products, and thus, Etón’s reputation being greatly improved, the sales (and profits) would increase.
And, as you stated elsewhere, to reestablish credibility they should offer a three-year full warranty on all of their Grundig-branded radios.
Ed.: Actually, it was Gary Kinsman who thoughtfully specified “2-3 years” for the proposed lengthened warranty.
There are several obvious possibilities, but only Etón can answer why the established $500 E1XM is being retained while the recently introduced $400 E1 is being discontinued.
January 12th, 2008 at 12:36 PM
We had a seamstress create a carry case for the E1 similar to the CC Radio Plus carry case. FWIW
As an AM & FM listener, I find the E1 to be way down the list without a ferrite antenna and RDS on FM. A switch should be installed to shut the display down so a ferrite antenna could be useful without static.
January 12th, 2008 at 3:57 PM
I spoke to Etón yesterday. They told me XM was dead. Now this??? I wish someone would WAKE UP ETÓN!! They are going to lose so much more than they ever gained out of this stupidity. Someone needs to be Etón’s spokesperson and set the record straight. At this point I would not buy another Etón radio. They are adrift and it seems they will be for sometime to come. At least the folks at Passport got some serious bucks in advertising for a radio that’s never gonna see the light of day. Maybe we should hold Passport to a higher standard to get it right the first time before posting it online or printing it in the PTWBR.
Just a thought, even the buck rules here too. Which actually is a shame…….
Ed.: We all want to produce and read stories that are spot-on from the get-go. However, in this case it was either going with what we could unearth or going with nothing at all, and BTW our editorial activities have nothing to do with advertising.
We checked with the appropriate individual at Etón about the E1 controversy, which was already appearing online elsewhere, and published their official response in full. You may not feel this is getting it right, but that was the best information available outside Etón’s walls and, after all, came from them. Not incidentally, the later corrected information came from Etón in response to what we published. Had we laid low, we’d all still be having it wrong.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:59 PM
At this point it most likely costs more money to produce and distribute two radios than one model. The XM version may only be a few cents to a dollar or two more on the production side and perhaps even less if they are receiving any subsidies form XM. So while the vast majority of users would not care about XM ready, it still may be the better choice to produce the XM version only than two versions or just the E1.
Ideally that XM interface could be accessed for other purposes (perhaps a WF-Fi internet radio appliance). My recollection is that the interface is not an actual XM decoder, just a power/data/audio port, that the XM stuff receiver/antenna/D to A converter are in the XM accessory antenna. So XM could perhaps let manufacturers access the protocol making its inclusion more attractive in future devices. This is a side point.
It’s anyone’s guess which radio type will show up (if either) at Etón in the future. My information was based on a calls to Etón service. I was told in late December and again in early January that E1XM was not going to be in production that E1 would be back in late January or Feb. Now we have the conflicting news from CES, the 2008 Catalog, calls to Etón, and the “clarification” from Walter Hess.
So lets just sum it up by saying this.
1. The Etón E1 will definitely be in production next year (perhaps improved even).
(Unless you believe the 2008 catalog, the statements at CES, or Walter’s revised statement, or parts of the Eton website)
2. The Etón E1XM will definitely be in production next year (perhaps improved even).
(Unless you believe the 2008 catalog, the statements at CES, or parts of the Etón website)
3. Both Variants of the E1 will no longer be offered.
(Unless you believe Walter’s revised statement, or the conflicting statements of some service people at Etón or some parts of the web pages at Etón).
I think that this is clear enough.
Ed.: Your second option’s first part should be a safe bet. It’s obvious that over the past couple of months Etón has been having communications problems internally and externally, and this hasn’t done good things for perception of the company or the E1 series.
Still, it helps to put this into perspective—as users, we’re purchasing radios, not corporate communications. Their products, including the post-5462 E1XM, have overall been doing nicely, and from our perspective that’s what really counts.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:29 PM
From the 2008 Passport review I had a different take on what Etón/Grundig might be “up to”. I was under the impression that because XM satellite radio was not exactly setting the world on fire, they were offering a non-XM model at a lower price point under the Grundig, rather than Etón, name.
From the Passport portables presentation one might observe that there’s a rather big empty gap in sw radio offerings between the oft-lauded ~$150 Sony ICF-7600GR and the ~$500 Etón E1.
Their products, including the post-5462 E1XM, have overall been doing nicely.
Ed.: So far there’s been basically the same receiver officially announced as the Grundig Satellit 900 (concept receiver), Etón E1XM (apparently for the long haul and successful once the kinks were ironed out), Etón E1 (apparently came and went and successful while it lasted), Grundig Satellit 1000 (didn’t materialize) and Grundig G1 (fate unknown for now). They have an exceptional receiver and seemingly have had varying thoughts about how to make the best of it. Time will tell.
January 14th, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Regarding the editor’s reference to the various designations applied to the E1, it should be noted the the Satellit 900 was very much a distinct radio from the E1XM, E1, Satellit 1000 and G1.
On his Satellit 700 website, Thomas Baier once had some fascinating content on the Satellit 900 story. The following link provides some interesting images of the Satellit 900: http://www.leowood.net/web/leowood/radio/bwg80.htm
Ed.: Yes, Junius, as with many concept cars there were numerous internal changes before the concept ‘900 saw production as the E1XM. The ‘900 was created by Grundig of Germany, in league with Lextronix (Etón), and intended for production at Grundig’s Portugal plant. The E1XM was at least as much the product of Drake of Ohio and Bharat of Bangalore as of Germany’s Grundig, and of course is manufactured in India.
January 14th, 2008 at 7:45 PM
Update—at last look, the Etón web site shows the E1XM in its current lineup, and the E1 (non-XM) in its “Past Collection”… so, it appears that perhaps the web site lagged the spoken communication.
Ed.: Thanks, Lee. This certainly helps solidify Walter Hess’ clarification and remove any remaining fog surrounding this issue.
January 26th, 2008 at 12:36 AM
Today, I noted that SEVERAL of the authorized dealers, listed at the bottom of the Etón E1XM page, list the E1XM as “out of stock”!!! The Amazon alternate vendor, Emotronics, lists “only 2 left in stock”. The December 2007 Circuit City blowout at $225 appears to have ended.
Hmmm … ?
… clearing inventory for a new offering?
… the Grundig Satellit 1000, splashed across the inside cover of 2008 Passport to World Band Radio? Why expend that advertising money only to say that they’re not going to release it in 2007 or 2008?
Ed.: Word nominally is that before long they will be doing a fresh production run of the exact same receiver. If so, presumably E1 and/or E1XM stock will be in dealers’ hands within the coming several weeks. As to the rest, if you can figure it out you can likely solve Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.
January 26th, 2008 at 3:11 PM
ok, here’s my s.w.a.g. at it … with the old MBA hat on …
If you were scheduling another large production run, clearing out the pipeline would NOT be a big issue—unless new production improvements would demolish demand for the existing inventory.
If on the other hand, you planned to fill a gaping hole in the $150-$500 range i.e. BELOW your current (E1XM) offering, you might want to clear out the inventory beforehand; otherwise, you’d be stuck holding it, especially if the new model at lower price point offered a touch better performance (e.g. from more digital signal processing). Ask Steve Jobs about the flak that he took for dropping the iPod (or whatever it was) price by $200 from the initial offering. That’s, also, why the automakers will drop a model and rename it, rather than lower its price.
If it’s true that the shortwave radio market is dwindling (I’m thinking of tales of Redsun not even being able to expand their domestic market), price/volume modeling might suggest greater revenue at a lower price point.
Now, if the Grundig Satellit 1000 (for which they’ve already sprung for the most expensive 2008 ad space in Passport to World Band Radio) omits XM and adds some digital processing benefits … and they jump right into the middle of that $150-$500 gap, say $300, would their increased volume not offset revenue lost from not charging $500?
Wouldn’t THAT make for a “hit”? If so, they probably feel that they’ve got to empty the inventory, FIRST. Anyhow, that’s my guess at the tea leaves …
Ed.: For the record, Etón states that their world band receiver sales have been consistently up from year-to-year, with no sign of plateauing in sight.
But further to your points about marketing with emphasis on pricing, when Etón dropped the E1XM price by offering it as the E1 sans XM capability, their CEO claims that the lowered price didn’t increase demand. Therefore, in what they say is a proven price-inelastic environment, they brought the price back up.
Of course, this also increases the price gap between the E1 and the forthcoming Satellit 750.
All of which could suggest that recent fluidity concerning the E1XM/E1/Satellit 1000/G1, including “mistaken” advertising and deep dealer discounting, reflects a single rational activity: Etón’s gaming of marketing strategy within the $250-500 range. They have plenty of empirical evidence lower down, but heretofore have had much less above that.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:17 AM
Remember the Coca Cola fiasco, when ding-a-lings were screaming for the OLD COKE? Talk about CONTRIVED free advertising!!!! I am a Psychiatrist, not too easily fooled. Belloc said, “When people lose their faith, they will believe ANYTHING!!!” In spite of what you said about Sony ICF-2010, pedestrian sound etc., you rightly called it the “BIG ENCHILLADA”!!! Memories (36), instantly accessible! SIMPLE(KISS)!!! Carry strap included. Did you ever stick a poorly sounding radio into a wooden box? Bose knows how. Speaker in right enclosure=beautiful sound! I still have my ‘2010 in a Gilfer (R.I.P.) bag. Can you guess why Sony has practically given up on S.W.? How many PLASMAS would they sell to ONE 2010? I also have a GREAT SOUNDING Rx, Grundig 210. Do you think Sony picked a GREAT name? By the way Larry why do you include the Wellbrook ALA 100 under “compact”? Out of the box, perhaps, but erected? Why under “con”, “batteries not incl”? The classic MORGAN needed double de-clutching, so does my Barlow Wadley XCR-30. Was never intended for M.W. but THRIVES on S.W. ( U.S.B , L.S.B., & AM.) Passport IS “The Big Enchillada”!! (In the B.W. site, my name & # of BW is registered.) PS. At 76 one can spot phonies better than @ 26 when I believed everyone!
Ed.: The unfortunate Sony story had little to do with shortwave sales. These were doing nicely even though Sony of America’s sales force was never set up properly to get world band receivers widely distributed. But as Sony’s corporate fortunes and quality of management sank after the passing of Akio Morita, they cut back and cut back—and not only world band suffered.
Product managers were especially impacted, because to cut costs the company would combine two product lines from separate managers into the duties of a single manager. Then would then add further to the load so one manager would wind up doing even more work, and so on until basically the only way marketing could be even marginally executed was to significantly reduce the number of products being offered.
It was sad to witness because great products were being being tossed overboard like deck chairs from their listing corporate ship. But, in addition, Sony’s most outstanding employee talent wound up being penalized for the incompetence of higher-ups. The legendary Mr. Morita—who by the way was a strong believer in world band radio and a longtime reader of our reviews—must have wept in his grave.
As to Wellbrook’s offerings, these and other antennas in that chapter are smaller than the passive wire antennas covered in another chapter of Passport. But so no one would be misled, in the individual reviews we’ve stressed their sizes both in relative and absolute terms. But you’re right that they are not really “compact.”
And, yes, we also know firsthand the benefits—and, alas, the woes—of the biological odometer!