Page 1 of Encore 450 Vs. Lecson Vs. Yelo 800 Vs. Xwave, Which 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I`ve been readin` loads on reviews on all these players but every review either says their 5* or full of problems.

Anybody Know of any major flaws in any of these machines, or bout CS for these players.

What r the best prices 4 these players u can get(URL`s would be handy aswell)? Or does anyone know of any better player round the 200 quid mark?

Which 1 should I buy??????????????

Of the four machines you mention I would have no hesitation in going for the lecson.These machines are only available from Debenhams,but come from the same brains behind the Wharfedale.Also if you did happen to get a rouge machine you should get decent aftersales service.

Definitely kiss goodbye to the Yelo as production is halted due to a hardware problem.

The X-Wave/Webtronic is multi-region out of the box to save you the hassle of sussing a remote hack, whilst the Encore and the Lecson both need one.

The Encore is a good buy and is supported by a company who know the product inside out and will talk to you over the `phone and deal with you as a human being (i.e. you don`t have to visit forums such as this just to get technical information - Scan, hang your head !).

If, heaven forbid, anything goes wrong they will pick the player up and fix it for no additional charge. And as a DVD software retailer they will throw in free discs too if this happens. They have also been selected by Sega to promote their Dreamcast + DVD player deal which is the same price as the PS2...

The Lecson, sold by Debenhams, is sold by a High Street retailer more concerned with profit margins than customer care. Having said that, there have been no complaints as far as I know about the product.

The Encore 450 is currently only available in silver....it might look crap but it`s the only budget player to bang out component video as well as do the usual CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, VCD, SVCD, CD and, er DVD. Try http://www.encoredirect.co.uk - £199

I love it...

This item was edited on Friday, 17th November 2000, 22:39

Ok, I can`t really recommend the Encore just yet since I haven`t got mines yet but I can recommend you check out QXL if you fancy getting one. I got mines for 150squid which is stunningly good value, check it out here: http://www.qxl.com/isroot/html/uk/encore.shtml

Stav

Clayts,

"The Lecson, sold by Debenhams, is sold by a High Street retailer more concerned with profit margins than customer care."

No offence, but I have to take issue with this.

If it had been Dixons, Currys, Comet, HMV, W.H. Smith or Virgin we were talking about, I might agree. Also, if you had said "sold by a retailer with no specific Hi-Fi or Video knowledge" I would agree, though that would include Dixons, Currys and Comet, wouldn`t it :))).

What trader isn`t concerned about makng profits? You make it sound like mail order and internet traders are in the business out of altruism. They may sell cheaper than the high street, but since they have far less overheads than a high street trader they probably make more profit from a sale.

As to customer care, from what I`ve read on this forum, mail order and internet dealers are no more likely to give decent customer care than a high street retailer and, unlike a high street retailer, its more difficult to take the item back if its faulty and get it replaced. At least you can go and thump the counter and create a scene in a shop. Try doing that by e-mail.

As it is, Debenhams give a two year warranty on the Lecson, including accident coverage, which is pretty good by any standards. I have found over the years, that Debenhams are still one of the old fashioned high street retailers who do give good customer service, so perhaps we should be thankful that they are moving in to the electrical side of things. And, no, I don`t have shares in them :)

This item was edited on Sunday, 19th November 2000, 08:55

Take you point, it was a bit of a throwaway comment, wasn`t it.

However, couldn`t you see that I was trying to bump up the Encore, as a proud owner of one myself.

I have never had a problem with Encore Direct. Their customer service really is the best I`ve come across in terms of DVD purchase - they do go out of their way to help, and if things do go pear-shaped they keep in touch, not ignore your e-mails or phone calls.

My point was that Debenhams staff won`t have the expertise to deal with problems and, like other High St shops, will use the old adage "can you bring the player in and we`ll send it off to our Technical Department, New York, Mars, whereever". That isn`t a criticism, just the way that non-specialised shops have to work. And Dixons are the worst offenders - who hasn`t got a Dixons tale to tell - if you haven`t then you`ve never bought anything from them.

On the subject of warranties get yourself a Barclaycard Platinum card - you get two years extended free warranty on most electrical purchases. Thus my Encore is covered for three years (rest assured it`ll bite the dust on 3 years and 1 day)

It`s not on your list, but I would definitely suggest you check out the Aiwa DV370 (available from Comets for 199.99 or http://www.hed.co.uk for 169.99)

There is a simple multi-region hack (see elsewhere on this forum or I can post it again if required). It handles DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD (unlike the LG 3350), and MP3 (v nice ,same as LG 3350 - MP3 sound is also output via the Coax output which is handy). Picture and sound quality are excellent, and Aiwa is a long established brand. It has DTS support.
About the only thing missing is a built-in DD decoder but I have a Sony DD amp so that`s not an issue for me.

In short, AIWA 370 ROCKS!!!

Cheers
Jezebabes

Clayts,

hundred percent agree with you, especially about Dixons. I assume the "It broke the day after the warranty ran out" syndrome still applies.

Debenhams are more likely, I think, to take the line of replacement rather than repair as I doubt they even have a repair facility. I hope I don`t have to find out :-)

On a totally different subject, as an ex TSO, how do Dixons get away with their "five year" warranty which just happens to include the manufacturer`s one year as the first year? Surely misrepresentation at the very least.

I would always avoid extended warranties of any shape or form, aside from the manufacturer`s guarantee of 12 months (or 2 years if you buy Yamaha), and if you have a Barclaycard a further 12 months, or 24 months if you have the snazzy platinum card.

Which? magazine recently established that extended warranties rarely offer value for money.

Eg if your VCR breaks down 3 times in 5 years (out of their survey only 4% did so) it would still be cheaper to pay for each repair, rather than take out extended warranties !

As for the Dixons deal, are you sure the manufacturer`s warranty is included, or are they offering 5 years after that expires. If it is the former they would probably argue that they are only charging you for four years. May be worth pursuing it with the High Street limbo dancers (WHAT A CRAP ADVERT) because it could be misleading, but probably is legal (as in "we`ve had our legal people check it out...").

And as a final word of comfort, electrical products are getting better. (I still have a perfectly working 1973 14" black and white Bush TV, and a 1987 Sony Hi-Fi)

Just out of interest : Panasonic get the prize for most reliable hi-fi, Grundig (yes really) get the prize for most reliable VCR, whilst not surprisingly Toshiba win the Oscar for TVs.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st November 2000, 20:11