I guess EHX is a let down

krafty

New Member
I have followed this forum for a long time, but have never really chimed in. I'm a little disappointed that we haven't seen any major news from ELK. I've been a proud owner of an M!G for a while now, but find myself wishing more and more that I had gone with HAI. Don't get me wrong, I love my ELK, but it is clear at this point that ELK would have to do some phenomenal catch up to be at the same level as HAI. I was hoping that EHX would have some major announcements, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Is anybody else starting to feel like you are being left behind?
 
In my honest opinion, after playing with both HAI and ELK, I believe both platforms have certain advantages over the other. They are definitely not the same anymore.

That said, I think people should start looking at the different platforms as unique and weigh the benefits of each. HAI has a lot of ready to go features that an ELK system cannot match easily, even with lots of 3rd party hardware. For some people that is important. For installers interested in simple integration of lots of technologies, HAI has a huge lead. The integrated testing of the various components has already been done. For the DIY that likes to mix and match his hardware and software, ELK can work out great.

For the future, as I've said a few times, I wish ELK the best. I am sure they have a good business plan and when the time is right perhaps we will hear about it.
 
I would wait with judging EHX/Elk until everyone gets back to the office. HAI has a great PR team, and keeps everyone updated with press releases the second there is something to announce. Elk however doesn't do this, so no news doesn't mean much here. Wait until they get back to their offices, and see what their responses are. Elk already made it clear that they were going to show off some new stuff @ EHX.
 
Is the comparison spreadsheet up to date with HAI / ELK offerings (not planned sometime in the future stuff)? That should be the place to point folks that want to know.
 
Don't get me wrong, I am not at the point of full blown regret yet. My decision to go with ELK was somewhat forced by my extensive Insteon use in my house. I have 150+ Insteon devices in my home and wasn't excited about changing all of that, and HAI refuses to support Insteon. I also do like the fact that ELK is more DIY friendly and I was turned off by HAIs lack of support for DIY installations. I guess I just feel like the ELK has a solid platform that continues to get polished, but HAI continues to offer more and more interface options and I have never been completely wowed by the RM now RMS. I do have pronto TSU9600s through out my home, it would be nice if there was and ELK prontoscript available like HAI has or some sort of wireless option. I know I could write one myself, but it would be nice to just be able to purchase it. I know this is sort of a leapfrog game between ELK and HAI, I just hope they just make a big jump soon!

lpott6 - You are right, in a technical sense there isn't a lot that HAI does that ELK doesn't, but it is like icellama21 mentioned that HAI has focused more on testing and integrating other technologies. Some times the challenge of integrating various technologies with the ELK is fun, but sometimes it would be nice to have a few more plug and play options for the ELK.

Dan - I agree, I guess I kind of expected them to come out at EHX with some new product announcements, but there is always the chance that they will announce something afterward. I will wait with fingers crossed.
 
I think that ELK and HAI are playing a game of leap frog. One month/quarter to the next things will change. The competition is good for both companies and their customers.

I think its great that both companies put out quality products and stand behind them, improve upon them, and listen to their customers. Some improvements may not be as "flashy" as others but useful. Also some improvements may be building a foundation for something bigger and better down the road.
 
I do have pronto TSU9600s through out my home, it would be nice if there was and ELK prontoscript available like HAI has or some sort of wireless option.

Krafty, I couldn't agree with you more on this one. It seems like almost every big company has some type of TSU9600 interface (hai, crestron, escient, russound, universal devices, lutron, etc.). So +1 for this.

While RMS is a step in the right direction, it still lacks real polish. Hopefully the Configurator software solves this issue and allows for complete customization of the RMS interface (one can hope).
 
I do have pronto TSU9600s through out my home, it would be nice if there was and ELK prontoscript available like HAI has or some sort of wireless option.

Krafty, I couldn't agree with you more on this one. It seems like almost every big company has some type of TSU9600 interface (hai, crestron, escient, russound, universal devices, lutron, etc.). So +1 for this.

While RMS is a step in the right direction, it still lacks real polish. Hopefully the Configurator software solves this issue and allows for complete customization of the RMS interface (one can hope).

Anyone seen the new RMS configurator yet? I was waiting to see what ELK has done before I start building my own UI. It is rumored to be on show at EHX but I have not seen a release yet.
 
Too bad you guys did not make it to EHX. I had dinner with JaysonC, WayneW, Steve, and Lott plus BP, the Dancing With The Stars audio engineer, plus others.

So you missed:
The new iPhone interfaces - basic, plus, pro, and enterprise with free samples.
The latest ELK M1 software
The new ELK-SBA Wave File Audio Announcer
The new ELK-RMS
The new ELK-RMS Configurator
The new ELKRP.net
The new ELK-TS071 Touchscreen
The new SquareD/Clipsal interface
The new Elk Russound interface
The new Nuvo interface
The new Proficient Audio interface
The three Touchscreens that were given away
All the new 3rd party interfaces
Fantastic Show Specials.

All the talk about upcoming products not yet announced that will interface to Elk:
The new RCS WiFi Thermostat
Centralite's Jetstream Zigbee Thermostat

One interesting booth was OnQ's booth where they stayed at home, but motorcycles were being show in it.
The crowds were smaller, but the quality of attendance was great.

Steve and WayneW should have other show reports because they were crusing everywhere.
 
May I suggest a few screenshots/photos to wrap up this thread :rockon:.
Well, I would have taken some if I was told about that stuff ;) I guess it was triple top secret for us. Well, I did see the TS071 and RMS configurator. I have a pic of the TS07 but I don't have anything else. I am working on info from show and a Gallery.
 
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