Cortex - I'm annoyed (to put it mildly)

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Hi all,

Firstly, I hope everyone had a great weekend etc etc...I've been out Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week and am now sat here with a nice pint of ice cold Orange juice.

So...why am I annoyed?

Well...as most of you know by now, I purchased a Cortex unit about a month ago. I got it cheap as it was a display unit and all was well (ish). I must confess and I mean this 100% that I always thought I that when I did finally move over to using MP3's etc that I would get the Denon and even in the shop when I was looking at the Cortex, I still fancied it but in all honesty I couldn't afford it. I ended up with the Cortex and was (WAS) happy with it initially.

I changed my whole set up and got 2 seperate flightcases for my Pioneer CDJ's as they were originally in a coffin case with a mixer. I purchased a new carpet case and Numark mixer for the Cortex and along with the HD (and the new HD I got this week too), I've spent quite a few quid that I didn't want to (yes, probably could've got a Denon). I've spent days ripping and tagging etc etc too.

I've downloaded the latest updates and software for the unit and looked at other peoples comments on the unit on the Cortex forums and I haven't said anything because I feel a bit stupid to be honest and I don't or didn't want people to say "I told you so..." etc etc (I know you will now).

Apologies..I'll get there in a moment (deep breath)... I was always a bit 'iffy' or cautious about moving over to this new system and I must admit that I have taken back up CD Players and CD's along with me on every occasion just in case something goes wrong. It totally defeats the object when it comes to cutting down on equipment but better to be safe than sorry. I can now say that I do not have any confidence in this Cortex system whatsoever and I'm sorry if that puts anyone off that has just bought one or is intending to buy one. I know it MAY be my unit that's knackered or something but it has had every update on it that has come out and is bang up to date now with the latest stuff on it. As I said, I've DJ'd thurs, fri and sat this week and the unit has let me down at one point or another on each night.

Problems are as follows :

The unit may be fine for around 2 hours but then it suddenly freezes. You try to power it down by pushing the power button (obviously) and it won't do anything at all. When the unit does freeze the message appearing on the screen says something like "Storage device removed, files may be corrupted"... That's stupid because the HD is still connected and and hasn't been touched at all.

Tracks start to skip and jump when they were fine before... For example: I played 'Relax' by FGTH on friday night. Halfway through, it started to skip so I played a CD I already had cued up. On that occasion I powered down the unit while the CD was playing and when it was back on again, I selected 'Relax' again and this time it played fine!! I made a point of checking the HD today and played 'Relax' and again...it was fine. At tonights wedding I was playing 'Wanna be starting something' and in the middle of the tune the unit froze, the 'Storage device removed' error message came up and everyone looked at me like I was an amateur.

That's the worse thing about this whole scenario....In all the time I have DJ'd I have NEVER had problems with equipment. Over the past 2 weeks this has happened to me on every night I have DJ'd and I am sick of it. It's new technology and I thought it would be cool but it's not at the moment. People look at the system and are well impressed with the look of it and I just say that it's amazing and so much easier which it is....searching for tracks with the keyboard is awesome BUT what's the point if the unit in general isn't stable enough for me to trust it.

I know other people on here have Cortex systems so has anyone else had these problems or stuff like it? I'm taking it back to the shop on monday morning as I have had enough of it. It's under warranty and I will try a new one if I am offered one but ideally I want the Denon now. The problem I have is that I do not have the funds at the moment to get one. I don't think I can get HP as my credit rating is mad because I max'd out my credit cards starting the whole business thing up so what do I do?

Regarding the Denon...can you still use a seperate HD with it (like the Cortex) and also can you use a keyboard too?

Thanks for listening, I'm gutted at the moment because I feel like I am rubbish. I know they say a bad workman blames his tools and that may be right but I am not a bad workman. I'm good at what I do but the tools I have purchased obviously aren't up to scratch.

If anyone knows where there are good (really good) deals on the Denon then please let me know.

G

[Tom]

I'm sorry to hear you have had a bed experaince with your Cortex. This has put me off them now. :(

You can plug up to 5 devices on the denon. 1 keyboard and 4 hd's if need be.

[Creature]

sounds as if u have a faulty unit there - if ya look on here we have cortexs techies on one of my old posts about the issues i had.

I would say there is ahardware fault with it and I suggest you take it back to where u brought it from and ask for a replacement.

If you ring Cortex they will ask you to try several things heres Robs thread "http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9906"

I can deffo recommend that Rob will not treat you like crap, but follow all the instructions and he and his staff will help you get sorted as quick as they can. He has added email addresses probally better than a post as I know they are busy and dont always have the time to keep a regular check on this forum.

All the best

[Shakermaker Promotions]

KMA - Thanks for the PM advice.
Creature - Thanks too, I will check it out tomorrow mate.

I've emailed the shop I got it from. The guy there is a top bloke and will help me as much as he can. I have stated that I want a refund and will go for a Denon but I MAY give the Cortex another chance if it happens to be that my unit is a bad one / faulty one. The thing is, I may well get a refund but I will still need to get the rest of the wonga in order to get the Denon which at the moment is a bit of a mission.

[Creature]

persivere m8 because when its sorted its a great bit of kit. If ya look at my old posts i had great problems with mine when i brought it - but then I got Robs number. I explained what was wrong - what we had tried - he agrreed that unit must be faulty. he arranged for my old one to be collected at the point of purchase and he even sent a new unit there as its a 60 mile plus round trip. so i exchange dthere and then. problems resolved. Rob even phoned me up after I'd done a few gigs to make sure everything was ok.

Altho u dont expect new units to be faulty it does happen. but its bloody infuriating when it does. I still take cds with me but are being relegated more and more to the back of teh van as the cortex takes over.

I must admit i did borrow a denon but i didnt like the screen and found it confusing when i get tired. Im now that impressed with teh cortex that I shall be buying another one shortly to work alongside my current one.

Just like the denon u can run upto 5 items (with a usb hub) .

let us know how you get on

ADMIN NOTE:
TEXT TALK IS NOT PERMITTED ON THE FORUM!!

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Thanks again. I agree in that I prefer the screen on the Cortex but I think it's left a bad impression on me already. It's hard to trust it and the past couple of days has really put me off.

I'm not a tech head or anything and am worried that half the stuff they ask me to do, I won't know how to. I've looked on the Cortex site and forums for tips etc and I go by most of them. I haven't defragged as yet. Everytime I add new tracks to the database, I delete the .db file as it says. I also delete it from the recycle bin too. Like I said, I'm sure it's the unit because if a track plays fine one time and then on another occasion it skips...then what's going on there? Also the fact that it freezes altogeather and tells me that the storage device has been removed when it clearly hasn't.

[Creature]

the freezing issue sounds similar to the problem i had and that turned out to be a faulty board. tahts why they replaced my unit with another new one . I could of sent it off and tehy were happy to repair mine but with gigs just not possible, each time i use teh cortex now i am getting more n more confident init - when i borrowed the denon i didnt have any confidence in that either, Dont worry about what they will ask you to do - they ran thru mine whilst i was on teh phone there instructions were clear and easy to understand.

[Shaun]

Sounds like you've been unlucky Gary, definitely sounds like an internal fault somewhere. I bought a cortex earlier in the week and used it for about 40 minutes tonight. No problems with it other than it's nowhere in the same league as the Denon.




Regarding the Denon...can you still use a seperate HD with it (like the Cortex) and also can you use a keyboard too?



Yes. You can connect a separate hard drive and keyboard. I've also got the cd draws from my DN-D4500 connected so I can play CD's with the HD2500 (if need be).

I hope you get your Cortex problem sorted. Best of luck.

[Corabar Steve]

Gary, if you need any help or advice on the Denon phone or PM me.

[One Vision]

Really sorry to hear you've had so many problems Gary, I think its more a case of we can all sympathise with you rather than I told you so.
Hope you get it sorted soon.

[CRAZY K]

Hi Gary, sorry to hear this news, as an owner of a Cortex for over a year
and using fairly regularly--not every week-- I have not had any problems.

I usually use it for long periods say 5 to 6 hours for Weddings and Parties.

I know Dave (Dragonfly) was using his regularly last year without problems whilst he owned it.

Just a few thoughts that might or might not help--

Steve (Corabar) has mentioned he had a slight problem on his Denon but a defrag solved it--I havent personally bothered or needed to for my Cortex.

It could be software problems on the Cortex--sounds like Creatures problem a few months ago -- but I would ALWAYS consider the MP3 as the first possible place to look for a fault as that seems to me the area where a lot of problems occur, speaking personally from using mine and reading posts.

It may well be a new unit is the answer--dont allow a unit repair whatever you do, get another one.

Im not sure about updates--I did in fact ask them to backdate the software on my second unit which I now have because the latest version software seemed to slow down my keyboard facility.

My only suggestion would be when you get a replacement do a comprehensive back test up to 5 hours just constantly selecting typical tracks for a booking.

That should give a pretty good idea if its likely to be ok.

Did you try that when you bought the new unit--I backtested mine for a very long time before using on gigs.

The Denon ceratainly is a nice piece of kit--I saw Steve (Corabar) using his two last night--its very sophisticated and has loads more functions then the Cortex-I just dont need them personally for the work I do.

Ring me if I can help,

CRAZY K

[spin mobile disco]

To be honest it sounds more liek a hard drive problem than the cortex itself. When the cortex freezes it is normally due to lack of speed from the drive. This can be caused by either a slow or faulty drive (does happen dont dismiss it) or a badly fragmented drive. If the unit says there is no usb device connected it should point you in the direction of either the usb device connected having a problem.O r the cortex usb system having a fault.
I had a similar problem when I first got my cortex and it turned out to be hard drive that couldnt keep up with the cortex's requirments.
The symptoms for me were, when I was playing on a deck and tried to find a song for other deck it would stutter or freeze the now playing deck. Also the jog wheels have a habit of being knocked it makes it skip as well. Also if there are any bad files in your folder it can make the same problem on any controller be it numark , cortex or dennon. They all can reject to certain degrees bad files. But all suffer from the problem in one way or another.

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Thanks again guys for the advice.
Crazy K - I understand what you are saying when you say that it could be the mp3 itself BUT, as I explained....how can it skip and jump one minute and then on another occasion, be totally fine? That tells me that it ISN'T the mp3.

Also, how would you find (for example), the dodgy file on your database if there are 8000 plus tracks? I have done everything that Cortex recommend to keep the unit up to date etc and working as it should (but it isn't working as it should be). All my folders are labelled as follows:
00, A, B, C, Christmas Tracks, D, DJ Jingles & Tools, E, F, G, H, I, Irish Songs, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, The, The1, TV Themes, U, V, W, X, Y, Z so there shouldn't be any problems. I have also kept the number of files in each folder down below 999. I actually have 972 in the largest file.

Like I said, the guy at the shop said that there is a 1 year warranty on it but I don't want a repair job. I don't know where I stand at the moment until I see him on Monday as the unit was a shop display unit so I got it cheaper. I'll either get my money back and get a brand new unit OR Denon when the funds become available OR he may be cool and swap my unit for a brand new one? It really is frustrating because it's not just the Cortex mucking up that is doing my head in. It's the extra money and time I have spent on HD's etc and also more importantly, the way it is has made me feel over the past few weeks. That may sound silly but I feel like a novice or someone that really doesn't have a scooby. I've stood there when punters have praised the unit and then just laughed and commented that "it was my fault" when it mucked up to cover for it when secretly all I wanted to do was scream my head off and attack it with a hammer!!!

EDIT: To answer Spin - The HD's I use (well I haven't used the back up one I spent all day on friday copying) are Western Digital passport drives. They are 160g and I am only using about 80g at the moment. I disconnect them as I should do and I leave the usb lead connected to the HD itself to save unplugging and plugging all the time. I power the Cortex up as I should and then insert the HD like it says and everything is cool. I will defrag the HD later today to see if it comes up with anything.

[wensleydale]

i agree with spin- it could be the hd- not sure exactly how they work but i think the cache has something to do with it which may lead it to be ok one minute and then not working the next.

why not a d2- i used mine for the first time last night and cannot fault it- just need to digitise the rest of my cds.
i picked mine up for under £300 meaning you could run 2 for the same price as a denon.

[CRAZY K]

Thanks again guys for the advice.
Crazy K - I understand what you are saying when you say that it could be the mp3 itself BUT, as I explained....how can it skip and jump one minute and then on another occasion, be totally fine? That tells me that it ISN'T the mp3.

Also, how would you find (for example), the dodgy file on your database if there are 8000 plus tracks? I have done everything that Cortex recommend to keep the unit up to date etc and working as it should (but it isn't working as it should be). All my folders are labelled as follows:
00, A, B, C, Christmas Tracks, D, DJ Jingles & Tools, E, F, G, H, I, Irish Songs, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, The, The1, TV Themes, U, V, W, X, Y, Z so there shouldn't be any problems. I have also kept the number of files in each folder down below 999. I actually have 972 in the largest file.

Like I said, the guy at the shop said that there is a 1 year warranty on it but I don't want a repair job. I don't know where I stand at the moment until I see him on Monday as the unit was a shop display unit so I got it cheaper. I'll either get my money back and get a brand new unit OR Denon when the funds become available OR he may be cool and swap my unit for a brand new one? It really is frustrating because it's not just the Cortex mucking up that is doing my head in. It's the extra money and time I have spent on HD's etc and also more importantly, the way it is has made me feel over the past few weeks. That may sound silly but I feel like a novice or someone that really doesn't have a scooby. I've stood there when punters have praised the unit and then just laughed and commented that "it was my fault" when it mucked up to cover for it when secretly all I wanted to do was scream my head off and attack it with a hammer!!!

EDIT: To answer Spin - The HD's I use (well I haven't used the back up one I spent all day on friday copying) are Western Digital passport drives. They are 160g and I am only using about 80g at the moment. I disconnect them as I should do and I leave the usb lead connected to the HD itself to save unplugging and plugging all the time. I power the Cortex up as I should and then insert the HD like it says and everything is cool. I will defrag the HD later today to see if it comes up with anything.

OK Gary--I wont labour the MP3 thing too much, but it did occur to me--- do you like me have more than one copy of songs?

Could you have played two different copies of Relax---

One good --one bad?

Im not looking for excuses here--just being thorough in the fault finding process.

I have lots of duplications which I cant be bothered to delete.

IF you find a track that needs removing you should be able to track it down using your PC or laptop ?

I dont think capacity of the HD matters that much--if theres a fault it will happen anyway--:eek:

Hard Drive--please dont take this as a specific criticism--anymore than people knocking Cortex or Peavey--but I think Western Digital was the model that Corabar Steve lost in the early days on Digital--Steve can confirm later when hes back from Brum. Can you try another HD maybe?

So--get a replacement Cortex not under Warrany BUT under Sale of Goods Act---not fit for intended purpose liability--- which puts the onus on the retailer NOT the manufacturer.

Dont take any rubbish about its got to be sent to Cortex--you must have an immediate replacement--when I had a teething problem with my second Cortex ( mentioned before ) the dealer offered to swop it immediately--but I persevered and got an email patch from Cortex to sort out the software.

I dont think Software patches will solve this problem though.

It should work perfectly without any software updates( far as I know)
although I suppose if its a showroom model could be one of the originals like mine from December 2006?

Final thought-are you using a hub at all to run the 2 HDDs together?

I only run a single HDD at a time.

Certainly try defrag --my MP3 files are all over the place as regards folders etc but doesnt make slightest difference so I havent bothered ( yet )

The bad news is you will need to backtest for several hours before you know if you have solved the problem, whatever happens.

Shame your not closer --you could borrow one of mine,

HTH

CRAZY K

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Thanks for the advice Crazy...to answer some of your questions...

I don't use a HUB at all. I only use the HD in the front usb and the keyboard in the back usb. The other HD is by the side of me in case I need it. Last night I got so peeved with the unit that I went back to using CD's and dare not try the Cortex again in case it happened again and then I would've (a) Made myself look even more stupid, and (b) Probably would've lost the plot altogeather.

I do have duplicates of MP3s but I have played both (for example) versions of 'Relax' on my laptop at home and they both play fine. As I asked earlier - How do you find a dodgy MP3 file on your HD IF that is what is causing the problem?

By the way, I went to defrag just a second ago and clicked 'analyse' first. A message came up saying that the volume (HD) didn't need to be defragged.

I'll update everyone once I have been to the shop but I can tell you that I will not leave that shop until I have either a refund or a replacement brand spanking new machine. I am not sure if he stocks the HD1000 now because I checked the website and it only lists the HD3000 now. Is this the next model up? Does anyone have the HD3000 and would recommend that?

[Twinspin]

I would get yourself the Denon when you get a refund Gary. Cost more moneywise but they are brilliant.

[spin mobile disco]

Ah now know where the problem is . I bought a couple of western digital passport drives (the black sleek looking ones) they were the ones Ihad problems with. Turns out they are only 4200rpm or something like that. Switch to a desktop type external drive and it should solve problem.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Are you sure?
It says that they are 5400rpm.

[Megamix]

I bought a Cortex and a case for it but never had it playing for very long without it freezing. I tried all sorts of things usb drives, hard disks, updates, retagging etc etc but in the end I admitted defeat and took it back. I simply lost faith in it - who can afford to have it freeze at any point during a disco? I felt I would just be waiting for it to happen.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

That's how I feel.
I've had another thought and one that I will try maybe before I take it back or maybe I will just say stuff it and take it back anyway.

I bought the Western Digital passport HD's because I thought that they would be fine. Now I have my doubts because of what has been said above. Anyway, at the moment I use a seperate HD connected to my laptop via usb for my photos and accounts etc etc so that I do not have too much on the laptop HD because I record my own electronic music. The HD is a samsung HD and is housed in a aluminium 'speeze' case. It is 3.5". I don't know what rpm it is though (how do I find out, I clicked properties but couldn't see anything). Obviously it is more robust and it has a power cable too rather than just a plug in and it works via usb like the Western Digital.

My thinking is that maybe (if the WD isn't up to speed), if I got another external HD like the samsung and housed it in one of the cases (I have a spare from ages ago), then do you think that would be ok? To be honest I am trying my hardest here but the main thing on my mind is do I go to all this trouble again when I don't trust the unit.

Lastly, what rpm speed is recommended for an HD for the Cortex? If 5400rpm isn't quick enough then where should I be looking? Also, who's to say that there isn't a problem with anything I have used so far and it is infact the unit itself that is faulty. Sorry guys, I didn't expect this thread to get so complicated and boring for everybody.

[CRAZY K]

Thanks for the advice Crazy...to answer some of your questions...

I don't use a HUB at all. I only use the HD in the front usb and the keyboard in the back usb. The other HD is by the side of me in case I need it. Last night I got so peeved with the unit that I went back to using CD's and dare not try the Cortex again in case it happened again and then I would've (a) Made myself look even more stupid, and (b) Probably would've lost the plot altogeather.

I do have duplicates of MP3s but I have played both (for example) versions of 'Relax' on my laptop at home and they both play fine. As I asked earlier - How do you find a dodgy MP3 file on your HD IF that is what is causing the problem?

By the way, I went to defrag just a second ago and clicked 'analyse' first. A message came up saying that the volume (HD) didn't need to be defragged.

I'll update everyone once I have been to the shop but I can tell you that I will not leave that shop until I have either a refund or a replacement brand spanking new machine. I am not sure if he stocks the HD1000 now because I checked the website and it only lists the HD3000 now. Is this the next model up? Does anyone have the HD3000 and would recommend that?

Final thoughts--did this fault happen on the same HD? or both?

Thats to exclude the possibility of a Hard Drive being faulty as suggested by Matt ( Spin)

Otherwise sounds like it could be the unit itself.

Maybe phone in advance to avoid a wasted journey to check if they have one--if they are still Cortex dealers then they should be able to order one pretty quickly I assume?

Maybe best to do that to avoid any further annoyance-if theres any resisitance from the dealer start talking Sale of Goods Act--local Trading Standards Office etc--that should do the trick!

I dont personally know of anyone that has the new model 3000.

CRAZY K

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Hi Crazy, It's only happened on the first HD I used. The back up HD is an exact copy of the first one and I haven't used it as yet. I'd say that if there is a problem on the HD then because it is an exact copy then if there is a dodgy file (which I don't think there is), then the back up will have the same problem?

I've just looked on google and found the following information:
Western Digital 160gb Passport drive. 2.5", usb 2.0, 2mb Cache, 5400rpm

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm not sure whether to go down another route and get an internal HD and house it in another case which would then be powered.
I have seen this - Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 - 250gb, 3.5", 8mb Cache, 7200rpm.

Now, that looks better to me but to be honest....I'm lost!

[wensleydale]

it might be the cache- 16mb is ideal, 8mb minimum.
or so i hear.
7200rpm good.

[spin mobile disco]

yeah 7200 or 10.000rpm are the best and a 16mb or 32mb cache is best as well.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Ok thanks, I'll bear that in mind. Cheers guys. I will keep you all updated.

[CRAZY K]

Ok thanks, I'll bear that in mind. Cheers guys. I will keep you all updated.

Maybe Steve ( Corabar ) can help when he gets back from Brum as im sure he had a problem with Western Digital Notebook---

My Seagate is 3.5 inches 7200 revs but I dont know the cache. Works very well with the Cortex.

CRAZY K

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I've seen this - 400gb, 3.5" 16mb cache and 7200rpm which could be ok.

[CRAZY K]

I've seen this - 400gb, 3.5" 16mb cache and 7200rpm which could be ok.

link?

CRAZY K

[Excalibur]

Sorry to hear your problems mate, hope you get it sorted, cos I'm expecting to order one this week! ( unless there are too many probs shown on here)

[Corabar Steve]

Maybe Steve ( Corabar ) can help when he gets back from Brum as im sure he had a problem with Western Digital Notebook---

My Seagate is 3.5 inches 7200 revs but I dont know the cache. Works very well with the Cortex.

CRAZY K
I did have a WD. Packed up all together, but I did have a few problems with it initally. Also had problems with a Freecom HD. In both instances there were freezes & stutters. Both caches were 8mb.

I now use 2 of these (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1117650516.120936734 3@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccckadedmddfhdjcflgceggdhhmdgml.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=120076&category_oid=), & apart from a stutter that was cured by the defrag that Crazy mentioned, there have been no problems.

Can you remember what you were doing when the cortex froze? The Freecom HD caused the Denon to freeze when I was saving memo points. As in there was information going both up & down stream & it's smaller cache couldn't cope with the strain, & something had to give it just happened to be the info going towards the HD2500 that stopped.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

As a unit mate it's easy to use. As an idea, it's awesome for the money I'll give you that BUT it might be that mine is just a faulty model. Will find out in the next few hours.

Steve, I wasn't doing anything other than playing a track, simple as that really. I was about 2 and a bit hours into the night and it had been playing fine then all of a sudden it started skipping etc and I changed to backup CD. I selected another track on the Cortex while the CD was playing and then it shut down altogeather. What was really wierd was that even pressing the power button did nothing. The unit wouldn't even shut off.

It happened the night before too right at the last song I was playing. On that occasion it was at my local pub and it was just a small set up so I turned the power off at the mains to shut the unit down, disconnected the HD, turned the power back on and it all powered up fine.

Very wierd and lost my confidence straight away!

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Right folks, here's an update for you.

The guy at the shop was very very co-operative and understood my frustration. He said he had never had any units come back but was willing to refund me. I 'umm'd & ahhh'd' for a while as I wasn't sure what to do. I had a look at the Cortex HD3000 and was going to pay the extra for it but then realised that it was too big for the carpet case that I had. It turns out that it's the same size as the Denon HD2500. The guy at the shop said "It's totally up to you what you want to do and I don't want to push you into anything".. He said I could take the Cortex HD3000 away with me and have a go with it and if I didn't like it I could simply take it back but in the end I decided not to.

Outcome?? Well firstly I decided to get the Denon HD2500...I made my mind up and that was it...job done. Then I got a new case for it too, not carpet but same kind of thing but road ready and discounted too, well a straight swap really. I also got a discount on the Denon by the way and ended up getting it for £570.00. It will all be with me tomorrow.

While I was in the shop I spent a little bit extra on another LED light (D'oh!!) - It's a Kam LED Swingfire and looked the business when he showed me it working (I got a discount on that too). I can't fault the customer service at all.

Lastly, what I am doing now is clearing the backup Western Digital HD I got last week. I am going to take it back to the shop and tell them some kind of story so I can get a refund or replacement HD with better cache and rpm and then hopefully....fingers crossed..everything should be pucka!

Thanks again for all of the help, advice and comments and I will keep you updated as to how I get on.

[CRAZY K]

Right folks, here's an update for you.

The guy at the shop was very very co-operative and understood my frustration. He said he had never had any units come back but was willing to refund me. I 'umm'd & ahhh'd' for a while as I wasn't sure what to do. I had a look at the Cortex HD3000 and was going to pay the extra for it but then realised that it was too big for the carpet case that I had. It turns out that it's the same size as the Denon HD2500. The guy at the shop said "It's totally up to you what you want to do and I don't want to push you into anything".. He said I could take the Cortex HD3000 away with me and have a go with it and if I didn't like it I could simply take it back but in the end I decided not to.

Outcome?? Well firstly I decided to get the Denon HD2500...I made my mind up and that was it...job done. Then I got a new case for it too, not carpet but same kind of thing but road ready and discounted too, well a straight swap really. I also got a discount on the Denon by the way and ended up getting it for £570.00. It will all be with me tomorrow.

While I was in the shop I spent a little bit extra on another LED light (D'oh!!) - It's a Kam LED Swingfire and looked the business when he showed me it working (I got a discount on that too). I can't fault the customer service at all.

Lastly, what I am doing now is clearing the backup Western Digital HD I got last week. I am going to take it back to the shop and tell them some kind of story so I can get a refund or replacement HD with better cache and rpm and then hopefully....fingers crossed..everything should be pucka!

Thanks again for all of the help, advice and comments and I will keep you updated as to how I get on.

I fully understand why your doing this--unfortunately you will not know if it was the Hard Drive that was the problem or the Cortex.

CRAZY K