A newbie's intitial review of the neptune apex

[kpiotrowski]

I just got finished hooking up my new apex with pm2, so I'm runnin temp, ph,orp, and conductivity. This is my first controller. Ive used other monitors, just not a controller. so although I am insanely happy for this early christmas and having lots of fun with it. I have a few observation. for the money I paid I'm a little upset with overall quality of this product. They seemed to have used bargain basement hardware for all the connection, usb etc. In general its very cheaply made with very thin plastic. ( I have an affinity for electronics if you ever want to talk hi-fi I got around 30-35 thousand in my home theater system) so with that said, I know a little about the qualtity of electronics. hopefully the internal guts is where they spent the money on quality! the dc8 is sufficent in quality, but I expected a little more weight to it. the display is pretty cool but the cord that supplies the connection to sytem is very thin ( like 32-36ga wire) and soft. careful you don't snag it while doing maintainance or its getting ripped in two before you know it!

A word of warning!!! I read in the manual that the switced outlets may not be able to shut of componets with a very small draw on current LIKE AN AQUALIFTER PUMP. neptunes suggestion is to add a small fan or light bulb to the circuit. pretty cheesy huh!

 

[kpiotrowski]

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Here is what I mean about the tiny cord. I have since enclosed it in a protective channel....I got cats!

pay no attention to the display numbers, the probes were not calibrated yet as I was just setting it up.

 

[spllbnd2]

I can tell you that Digital Aquatics is the same as far as plastic use for their controllers. Welcome to the 21st century. As for 30-35K in HD system, I can drop that on a set of very high quality high end speakers in a second. *lol* I hear ya with the quality of HD stuff, I still run my M&K THx dual subwoofer and that thing still hits like it's new.

IMO most of the controllers for the hobbyist are plastic to eliminate the possibility of rust and corrosion on the unit. Also it is cheaper to make things out of plastic these days versus the cost of stamped steel and powdercoating.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[kpiotrowski]

I can tell you that Digital Aquatics is the same as far as plastic use for their controllers. Welcome to the 21st century. As for 30-35K in HD system, I can drop that on a set of very high quality high end speakers in a second. *lol* I hear ya with the quality of HD stuff, I still run my M&K THx dual subwoofer and that thing still hits like it's new.

IMO most of the controllers for the hobbyist are plastic to eliminate the possibility of rust and corrosion on the unit. Also it is cheaper to make things out of plastic these days versus the cost of stamped steel and powdercoating.

Cheers,
Alex

was talking more about the cheap din and usb ports...and the plastic is on the thin side. but overall am very happy with the potential of the product. ( my main sub is a custom build. dual 45lbs 12inch dvc in a 2 inch thick mdf sealed box, 2500 watt amp. weighs 165lbs total...amp not included hits HARD and tight!)

 

[akunochi]

I think your review is pretty accurate. I would like to add a couple things here as well. First I did drop my display module and the screen cracked. However it is only the external protective screen and not the actual LCD. Neptune systems initially told me that there were no replacement screens and I wrote it off as a loss and just removed the clear otter screen. A month later I got an email from neptune systems saying they sourced the part for me and were sending it my way. I just got it yesterday. So -1 for being fragile +1 for amazing customer service getting a 1 of replacement part they normally don't stock.

After seeing the internals all the solder points were very very clean and precise I assume computer made. The controller is very robust and capable of anything all but the most extreme hobbyist will need. If the feel is a huge issue to someone I would recommend the Profilux controller far more expensive but rack mounted and even more robust than the neptune by far. I don't think it is needed except in commercial sized applications though.