Carillon

neilsby · 19th July 2003

I recently purchased a Carillon PC and since that time i have regreted the decision.

First off, the computer arrived around 3 weeks late. Not too much of a problem in itself, however i was reassured on numerous occassions when i rung up that the computer would be delivered a lot sooner. I received a 40gb upgrade on one of the hard drives as compensation.

Once the computer arrived, i checked the spec and noticed that there was only half the ram installed that there should be and that i was lacking a wireless keyboard and mouse. This point particularly infuriated me because after receiving the invoice and noticing that only 512mb RAM was listed i phoned Carillon to warn them of the mistake. Obviously, no attention was paid.

The RAM was sent to me to be installed and once i had done so the computer decided to reset itself randomly and without warning. I sent the computer back.

The computer was returned to me in working condition, roughly 5 weeks after it should have been sat on my desk doing its job. I received some money back and was also given the option to buy an audio interface at cost price as part of the compensation.

This was quite a fair settlement and the new MOTU 828 mkII took my fancy so i pre-ordered one. I was told that i would be contacted to arrange delivery when the MOTUs were received. I was slightly skeptical as Carillon have never managed to contact me but i agreed as i thought that nothing else could go wrong.

Today after three weeks of waiting for Carillon to contact me i rang them myself. It seems that they have already sold the 70 that had been allocated to them and they have no knowledge of my back-order. I have to wait until Monday to speak to the manager as only one person is allocated to the phones on Saturday.

I have spoken to one other person who has had bad experiences with Carillon, but i was assured by Carillon that my order was a 'freak occurence', i would be interested to hear if anyone else has had any problems with Carillon. My reason for posting this message is to inform anyone thinking of buying a Carillon of what may go wrong but i must add that i have been fairly compensated to this point for the things which have gone wrong.

If you're looking for a speedy hassle free studio upgrade, maybe this option isn't ideal!

Thanks for your time,

Neil.

Pricey · 20th July 2003

I had a nightmarish experience with Carillon, back in 1999/2000 when they were called "Wave Digital." They were absolutely incompetent. I bought a Cubase system from them, and later I bought a Nuendo system. Both of them were heavily customized, but I was led to believe that this would not be a problem. The Nuendo system arrived 3 months late. Both systems crashed constantly and were unusable. I finally got the Nuendo system working after upgrading to WinXP. I had to figure out everything myself. At the time, the company didn't even have a Win2000/XP expert. Their "tech support" was worthless.

I have heard similar stories from other users. They're willing to give you discounts, etc., but that doesn't make up for months of lost business.

My Nuendo system runs flawlessly now, but it's no thanks to Carillon.

They *claim* to have gotten their act together, and Steinberg uses the Carrilon AC-3 to demo their software at trade shows. Some people report a positive experience with them. Apparently, if you order one of their STANDARD models you'll be okay, but if you ask for a heavily customized computer, it's hit-or-miss.

jazzius · 20th July 2003

You can get all/any info you need to build your own PC from the internet.........'puters are here to stay so you might as well learn how to do it......otherwise you'll always be at the mercy of these companies..........even the strangest, obscurest problems can be solved within minutes with a google search.

neilsby · 20th July 2003

I ordered a 'Core' system from them, apparently their most popular core with no customisation. A friend of mine ordered a core also and they forgot to add the disk drive.

Unfortunately Carillon offer the lowest prices for computers with sound mods. What other options are there available? I don't have the time to build a computer from scratch and deal with problems as they arise.

Thanks,

Neil.

fifthcircle · 20th July 2003

There are other turnkey manufacturers out there... Just depends on what you want with this machine.

They include Truespec, Sequoiadigital (for Sequoia only), Studiocat... There are others, but I'm blanking on names right now...

Carillon may have the fanciest ads and the coolest "look" but there are lots of good computer manufacturers out there.

--Ben

19th July 2003	#1
neilsby Gear nut Join Date: May 2003 Location: London Posts: 94 Thread Starter	Carillon I recently purchased a Carillon PC and since that time i have regreted the decision. First off, the computer arrived around 3 weeks late. Not too much of a problem in itself, however i was reassured on numerous occassions when i rung up that the computer would be delivered a lot sooner. I received a 40gb upgrade on one of the hard drives as compensation. Once the computer arrived, i checked the spec and noticed that there was only half the ram installed that there should be and that i was lacking a wireless keyboard and mouse. This point particularly infuriated me because after receiving the invoice and noticing that only 512mb RAM was listed i phoned Carillon to warn them of the mistake. Obviously, no attention was paid. The RAM was sent to me to be installed and once i had done so the computer decided to reset itself randomly and without warning. I sent the computer back. The computer was returned to me in working condition, roughly 5 weeks after it should have been sat on my desk doing its job. I received some money back and was also given the option to buy an audio interface at cost price as part of the compensation. This was quite a fair settlement and the new MOTU 828 mkII took my fancy so i pre-ordered one. I was told that i would be contacted to arrange delivery when the MOTUs were received. I was slightly skeptical as Carillon have never managed to contact me but i agreed as i thought that nothing else could go wrong. Today after three weeks of waiting for Carillon to contact me i rang them myself. It seems that they have already sold the 70 that had been allocated to them and they have no knowledge of my back-order. I have to wait until Monday to speak to the manager as only one person is allocated to the phones on Saturday. I have spoken to one other person who has had bad experiences with Carillon, but i was assured by Carillon that my order was a 'freak occurence', i would be interested to hear if anyone else has had any problems with Carillon. My reason for posting this message is to inform anyone thinking of buying a Carillon of what may go wrong but i must add that i have been fairly compensated to this point for the things which have gone wrong. If you're looking for a speedy hassle free studio upgrade, maybe this option isn't ideal! Thanks for your time, Neil.

20th July 2003	#3
jazzius Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Amsterdam.....The Netherlands Posts: 593	You can get all/any info you need to build your own PC from the internet.........'puters are here to stay so you might as well learn how to do it......otherwise you'll always be at the mercy of these companies..........even the strangest, obscurest problems can be solved within minutes with a google search. __________________ Wisseloord Mastering

20th July 2003	#5
fifthcircle Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,300	There are other turnkey manufacturers out there... Just depends on what you want with this machine. They include Truespec, Sequoiadigital (for Sequoia only), Studiocat... There are others, but I'm blanking on names right now... Carillon may have the fanciest ads and the coolest "look" but there are lots of good computer manufacturers out there. --Ben __________________ Benjamin Maas Fifth Circle Audio Long Beach, CA http://www.fifthcircle.com

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20th July 2003	#2
Pricey Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 109	I had a nightmarish experience with Carillon, back in 1999/2000 when they were called "Wave Digital." They were absolutely incompetent. I bought a Cubase system from them, and later I bought a Nuendo system. Both of them were heavily customized, but I was led to believe that this would not be a problem. The Nuendo system arrived 3 months late. Both systems crashed constantly and were unusable. I finally got the Nuendo system working after upgrading to WinXP. I had to figure out everything myself. At the time, the company didn't even have a Win2000/XP expert. Their "tech support" was worthless. I have heard similar stories from other users. They're willing to give you discounts, etc., but that doesn't make up for months of lost business. My Nuendo system runs flawlessly now, but it's no thanks to Carillon. They claim to have gotten their act together, and Steinberg uses the Carrilon AC-3 to demo their software at trade shows. Some people report a positive experience with them. Apparently, if you order one of their STANDARD models you'll be okay, but if you ask for a heavily customized computer, it's hit-or-miss.