TAG McLaren Is No More... (1 Viewer)

[Mark Duffield]

Folks,

Looks like anyone with TAG gear (like me) is going to be lumbered with a dead-end product.

No more upgrades - no new products. And it's a official. I'm absolutely furious.

I can't post a link, I haven't been here long enough, but go to the High Fidelity Review site for the full text.


Mark.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Here's the link:

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/ne...umber=18448214

M.

 

[Jack Briggs]

So, does this mean I will have trouble getting parts for the McLaren F-1 in my driveway?

 

[Dan Brecher]

As a Tag supporter for a few years now, and an owner of the wonderful AV32R-192bp pre amp and CDT20R CD Transport, this is an extremely sad day.

It's sad, not only for Mclaren's many loyal customers across the globe, but for the many talented and dedicated employees that helped make the company what it was in delivering truly astounding products to the home theatre market. It also goes without saying that this is also proves to be an absolutely devastating blow to the British high-end hi-fi industry.

Tag's CEO, Dr Udo Zucker, has in recent weeks been curiously cryptic (more so than usual ) in addressing logical questions and concerns posed by the customers on the owners forum. These were not concerns for the companies grasp of the audio markets you understand, because as far as most of us were concerned this is where their strength is/was, and both the AV32R and AV192R are absolutely outstanding pre-amps.

All of their products were remarkable; The pre amps, the power amps, the CD transports and so on. However, the recent concerns have really been with their DVD32R DVD player, or more to the point, the company’s general stance on SACD and DVDA.

In light of some of the odd things Dr Zucker had been posting in the last week ("Proceed is dead, we're still going"), my friend and I were talking on Friday and I remarked that if they fail to re-evaluate their perception of where the consumer demands for DVD players is now heading then there may be trouble ahead. Of course, we never thought last week such trouble would be as serious as Tag dropping out of the market all together, especially so soon after the launch of the AV192R and the announcement of various new hardware and software upgrades.

"What is this boy to do?" I now ask myself... I think ultimately I will be turning to Meridian at some point next year. There's Lexicon, but even the MC12 has failed to please me in some musical areas where Tag and Meridian shine oh so brightly. That said, of course I will demo the MC12 again, and even the MC8 (however I am unsure whether the latter would satisfy the demands Mclaren has forced me to make in looking for future proof and fully upgradeable products). I do honestly see myself coughing up for a Meridian 861 sooner or later.

So then, with my current demands of my home theatre being what they are now, I feel that I can hold on to my AV32R and CD Transport for some time yet. I will even keep an eye open for low prices on their power amps and possibly even the DVD32R itself (it remains one of the best DVD players on the planet). One possibility is that I do indeed seek out some Tag bargains and keep everything as a high-end second home theatre in the living room whilst turning elsewhere for products to fuel my main theatre.

Strange times.

Daniel (UK)

 

[Arthur S]

It is always risky buying an exotic brand that is competing against more established brands. Exotics are virtually had made. No economy of scale. Many people will not stick their necks out on a $3,000 - $5,000 purchase. You have to be careful buying exotics that most people have never even heard of.

This doesn't help those who own TAG-McLaren but it may help others when making a major purchase from a small company. It is always a good sign if there is a well established parent company that can meet the needs of owners if the line is discontinued. Harmon International is a good example. They have numerous lines and can cover owners if an exotic ceases to be profitable enough.

Hopefully support will be available for TAG for at least a while.

Artie

 

[Dan Brecher]

It is always risky buying an exotic brand that is competing against more established brands. Exotics are virtually had made. No economy of scale. Many people will not stick their necks out on a $3,000 - $5,000 purchase. You have to be careful buying exotics that most people have never even heard of.

I agree completely, Artie.

My feeling is that what has ultimately become their downfall is that they just tried too many things. Whilst their quality was of such a level to easily compete with the likes of Meridian and Lexicon...etc, their brand name wasn't. For a "lesser" company then, it always did amaze me and frankly, worry me, to see Tag branching out into so many different areas of home theatre instead of perhaps just sticking to the audio side of things which is where their sales were strongest. Their plans for a scaler for instance, whilst admirable, ultimately seemed quite unjustified.

It's almost like they've died because they simply tried too hard, and this is what makes their demise so upsetting because this was true… they tried so damn hard to make outstanding products, they succeeded but suffered due to their inability to make good profit back in light of extravagant manufacturing costs. They were forever pushing for the next great achievement, often ahead of the game in offering new formats first and the overall customer service was absolutely remarkable... Had they just focused on the AV32R and A192R pre-amps and the power amps I don't think this thread would exist announcing such sad news.

Daniel (UK)

 

[StephanG]

Let me say that I am also very disappointed by this. When Dan dropped me the news last night, I was also very furious.

I was originally planning to add a rs232-port to a av32r by the end of the year and upgrade to balanced outputs with the av192r later. All this will not happen now.

The worst thing is, that Tag claimed they would have a future proof product, they even did that on the past weekend. I'm very disappointed by this.

It was last week when I said to Dan, that all this what Udo Zucker says doesn't make much sense and that it sound's like Tag is going out of business. Of course I was not serious about it, I guess at that time, only a few people knew how right I was...

It's a very sad story, especially that Tag equipment will lose so much re-sale value in such a short time. For people who only want top-quality, but no upgrades the time has come to buy some new gear.

For me, I'll wait till november or december and then switch completely over to Meridian with their 861 with rs232 and balanced outputs.

I hope to have a demo of the latest version in august, while I'm in London. And I really hope that this will be the last pre-pro I'll ever have to buy.

- Stephan

 

[Eric_Strickl]

So, does this mean I will have trouble getting parts for the McLaren F-1 in my driveway?

So when was I coming over again??? I seem to have lost the directions also.

 

[Dan Brecher]

The madness has begun. Home theatre retailer Audio-T here in the UK is already offering 40% off of ALL Tag McLaren Audio products. At this rate, it's going to be cheaper for me to sell my current spec AV32R and buy up a dual processor version new (or even the AV192R) than it would to have my current model upgraded into either of those models. Good grief...

Daniel