Spectron Musician III SE Mk.2? What Changed?

As I stated in an earlier post, this one time flippant response appears to have been an aberration. We all occasionally respond to online questions or issues somewhat impulsively. Upon reflection we wish we had said things a little differently. Fairly or unfairly, I think the impact of these mini errors in judgment are magnified when they are made by persons representing a manufacturer.

It's clear from Spectron's most recent post that THEY want to control when and how this information is released. That's fine, nothing wrong with that except if your company has an online presence you have to expect the inevitable questions and respond to these questions in a manner that makes people MORE interested in your product rather than alienating them. Absent that, a briefly worded mea culpa goes a long way to make things right. However, to the bitter end Spectron has been intransigent in their seeming need to control the information and equally in denial that their original response was in any way off base. They stubbornly remain aloof and above the fray. As helpful and communicative as they are in one to one contacts, they seem somewhat staid and uncomfortable in this sometimes wild, unstructured and less controllable, off the cuff Internet environment.

A simple "I'm sorry" statement would have eliminated about 75% of this thread.

Very well stated Randyhat, could not agree more.

Best,Bob

Excellent post, Randyhat. I sure hope Spectron's musical aim hits the target better than his (their) public relations endeavors. I'm not sure why defensive, terse, petulant could not be replaced by humor, lightness, maybe even a little mea culpa? Doesn't really matter to me, as I will not be a Spectron owner now, but it seems a pity, since some rave about the sound. But to those who haven't heard it and who worry about service/attitude issues, perception is, sadly, reality. I'll stick with the Ralph Karstens, Paul Grzybeks, George Kayes and their ilk for my dealings.

Very odd indeed gents. . . I for one did not deem Spectron's post offensive, condescending, defensive, or otherwise inimical. . . I do agree that it was remarkably light on content, to the extent of being almost tautological. . . yet I found it to be extremely funny. Spectron was experiencing a minor markcom resources challange at the time of the mishap. . . interesting thing is that any even temporary markcom challanges have the tendency to affect corporate communications and public perception. As Spectron is a no nonsense engineering-based manufacturer, rather than a company heavy on lofty marketing suavities, such occasional communications glitches may happen and will eventually recur. From our part we can either chill out. . .or deem ourselves amongst those who can not be happy unless they are unhappy. . . as for myself, I'd rather smile, chill out and enjoy my friends and my music.

Guido D. Corona

Spectron's first post wasn't funny to me the first time I read it, and upon re-reading it, it's still not funny.

No other changes - the weight is the same, the color is unchanged, the frontpale the same, even screws are the same.

I hope it helps,
Simon
Spectron (Answers)

We now know that statement was false. And no, it did not help.

Spinning the story doesn't make the reality of the misguided reply go away.

Why Spectron chose to post the official changes in an AudioCircle thread rather than through a press release to the major print and web-based stereo publications, is another mystery. Since the announcement was posted a day ago on AudioCircle, only two members have responded to the thread. The target demographic for a $7000+ amplifier would seem to be concentrated in the Audiogon readership, as has been illustrated by nineteen different Audiogon members submitting posts to this thread.

This is a case study of why marketing ought to be put in the hands of a marketing specialist, and design ought to be left to the designers. That's the positive take-away for Spectron in this thread.