diredesire
Moderator
This top post is going to cover first impressions and unboxing. I'll probably continue to update this thread as I put more time on the machine. I'm not sure I'll have a ton of updates, but I'll probably barf some thoughts after putting a couple dozen frames on the machine once I'm past the so-called honeymoon phase. Happy to answer any questions and/or take more photos.
also... please ignore all of the junk in the background. It's a long story, but I went through a major home renovation and all my shop crap is still in bins. Don't judge me! My fragile ego can't handle it.
Full imgur album here including some photos i'm not posting in this thread.
Unboxing
I actually don't really care for "unboxing" videos or typical consumer electronics packaging stuff, but since I imported this machine from Germany, I decided it made sense to include some comments about packaging and how "risky" I thought it was to import.
The machine came in three parts. One box had the mounting system and accessories, one had the machine base and tensioner module, the last had the premium floor stand. Racquets included for scale.
Everything was packaged well, and it's worth noting that two of the boxes (i think) were opened for inspection. More packaging photos available in the linked gallery. Realistically I think the build quality of all parts was very, very good, and the packaging was sufficient if handled normally. It's actually harder to throw around packages this heavy, so I think risk of shipping is reasonably low. The tensioner had an overpack and was nested in another box, so sensitive electronics felt very protected. Everything else is mechanical, and the only really, really inconvenient thing that was likely to happen was that the mounting system got bent. The biggest risk there was a direct package drop on the top of the side-mounts.
Assembly and misc thoughts
The premium base is actually quite a bit more premium than I expected. I actually didn't research (or care) much about the base, but this exceeded my non-existent expectations! It has a pneumatic cylinder similar to an office chair in the base which assists with lifting/lowering the machine. This is welcome now that I'm older, but at the same time, I don't really adjust my machine height once it's set. This would be great for those that share machines/space. It's a pleasant surprise for me, but clearly didn't have an impact on my purchasing decision. One note, though! There's a lot of slop in the machine base and stand interface. Click through to the imgur gallery to see it. I didn't notice this while stringing, but it might be something that someone out there just can't... stand (no pun intended)
This is the bottom of the base and the other side of the column for anyone that cares. This might give some folks some ideas on mounting wheels/casters to it. If anyone cares, lmk, I can figure out the thread of the feet so you can match casters. I'll get around to this eventually, but see below comments to understand why I'm not doing this now.
Welds are mediocre. Most people won't notice or care, but I tried teaching myself to weld, and I wasn't very successful, so I judge other peoples' welds to make myself feel better (this is only half a joke). The lever presses the pneumatic cylinder release (like an office chair) to raise/lower. It's kinda nice.
The included tools/hardware in case anyone cares. These instructions were in English, and were very readable.
This is something I care about as a relatively short human being (5'5"), but the base height starts at about 30". Fully extended, it goes to about 37". If this is a useless measurement to you, I also measure the stringbed height later.
This is the base unboxed. From the product photos, I thought this was going to be a pretty "cheap," but functional base. It is much better than that. I was actually pretty impressed - considering some of their lower end machines come with this base, I wasn't expecting much. Their platforms are worthy of upgrading, IMO.
Documentation that came with the machine. A lot of this was in German, but luckily, most of this isn't needed if you're buying a machine of this grade (assumptions made). One is a how to string manual, and others are from modular packaging, and apply to other SKUs of the machine. The Ennoxx manual is good. One notable thing missing from the documentation is how to assemble the brake. The pictures in all the literature show it as assembled, but the handle comes loose. I wasn't able to thread the handle because the pivot was slightly over-rotated. I tried to rotate it with an allen wrench, or something, but didn't want to damage the threads, so I loosened a bolt next to the turntable and... I wasn't supposed to do that. Don't do that. That boneheaded move is on me.
The hand tools that come with the machine would get the job done, but the grease in the shafts is sticky. It's a cheap commodity tool, and I'll probably end up throwing them away, tbh.
Hopefully you can tell from these photos that the base is very sturdy in its construction. I would imagine a giant C-channel construction to be very rigid. This would totally be a killer portable machine (in volume). I haven't really tried taking the fully assembled unit off the base, so can't really comment on weight. If someone cares, I can get a rough weight, but I have no motivation to do so "just cuz."
Unboxed tensioner, pre-mounting. Racquet for scale. It's a cute lil' guy. It also feels high quality, but the tension activating switch feels a little... lacking substance? It feels like a potential weak point of the machine, but I have no basis for this claim. It also activates a little too easily for my blood. I like to/want to be able to rest my hand without accidentally activating the tensioner (note - there's also glide to activate, which just means you pull the string towards you after it sits in the jaws, and the shutting action will hit another toggle switch). This is/was especially annoying when trying to hit the "knot" button on the last pulls of mains/crosses.
These are the accessories/hw that comes with the turntable. I didn't look too closely at what it's all for, but there were some interesting adapters for weird shaped frames. Clamps felt very nice, and very... "considered" for a lack of a better term. They are very slim, and can sit up against each other when starting the mains.
String bed height ~40"-47." I just mounted a strung frame to mock a couple of things up, here.
These two photos demonstrate something I've commented on several times in the past. I personally like to rotate my clamp bases up and out of the way when I am going down my crosses. Curved clamp rails in my experience have made this kind of annoying. On my Sensor, the assembly that sat below the turn table was way bigger than the top, so the clamp base assemblies would play "bumper cars" with one another if I oriented both bases towards the top of the frame. Thus, I had to "wait" until I was way further down the string bed than I prefer to. This machine is probably worse in that regard. The curved rails are actually very short overall, and on this frame, I had to go down to the ninth cross before I could swing that base out of the way. I can probably optimize for this a bit by shifting the mounting around, but I don't think that situation is going to get much better. It's an idiosyncratic gripe, but it's worth mentioning if you're neurotic in that way, like me.
The tool tray is a weak point, like so many other machines. I really don't get why manufacturers don't just make tool trays that are usable??? It's simply too narrow. Even the tools that come with the machine don't fit without a little coaxing! With that said, over time, I ended up going pretty minimal with my tools. I often don't even bother with needle nose pliers! Good cutters can be used to poke strings through blocked holes with a gentle grip, and I use my cam action pliers to tighten when I do use hand tools. You could also get away with a starting clamp when it's available. Otherwise, and often, I do just hand cinch knots, too.
In response to @mad dog1 in this post, I took a photo of the clamp bases. I also tried looping string under the push-down mechanism, and indeed, you can catch string on the base, but it's somewhat difficult to do so unintentionally. It doesn't take too much force to pop the clamp if you do, however. The lever doesn't sit too far over the base, so you'd have to get unlucky, but I could see an errant loop of string from weaving get under there. And if you've been stringing long enough, you've had that happen to you, so... there it is.
also... please ignore all of the junk in the background. It's a long story, but I went through a major home renovation and all my shop crap is still in bins. Don't judge me! My fragile ego can't handle it.
Full imgur album here including some photos i'm not posting in this thread.
Unboxing
I actually don't really care for "unboxing" videos or typical consumer electronics packaging stuff, but since I imported this machine from Germany, I decided it made sense to include some comments about packaging and how "risky" I thought it was to import.
The machine came in three parts. One box had the mounting system and accessories, one had the machine base and tensioner module, the last had the premium floor stand. Racquets included for scale.
Everything was packaged well, and it's worth noting that two of the boxes (i think) were opened for inspection. More packaging photos available in the linked gallery. Realistically I think the build quality of all parts was very, very good, and the packaging was sufficient if handled normally. It's actually harder to throw around packages this heavy, so I think risk of shipping is reasonably low. The tensioner had an overpack and was nested in another box, so sensitive electronics felt very protected. Everything else is mechanical, and the only really, really inconvenient thing that was likely to happen was that the mounting system got bent. The biggest risk there was a direct package drop on the top of the side-mounts.
Assembly and misc thoughts
The premium base is actually quite a bit more premium than I expected. I actually didn't research (or care) much about the base, but this exceeded my non-existent expectations! It has a pneumatic cylinder similar to an office chair in the base which assists with lifting/lowering the machine. This is welcome now that I'm older, but at the same time, I don't really adjust my machine height once it's set. This would be great for those that share machines/space. It's a pleasant surprise for me, but clearly didn't have an impact on my purchasing decision. One note, though! There's a lot of slop in the machine base and stand interface. Click through to the imgur gallery to see it. I didn't notice this while stringing, but it might be something that someone out there just can't... stand (no pun intended)
This is the bottom of the base and the other side of the column for anyone that cares. This might give some folks some ideas on mounting wheels/casters to it. If anyone cares, lmk, I can figure out the thread of the feet so you can match casters. I'll get around to this eventually, but see below comments to understand why I'm not doing this now.
Welds are mediocre. Most people won't notice or care, but I tried teaching myself to weld, and I wasn't very successful, so I judge other peoples' welds to make myself feel better (this is only half a joke). The lever presses the pneumatic cylinder release (like an office chair) to raise/lower. It's kinda nice.
The included tools/hardware in case anyone cares. These instructions were in English, and were very readable.
This is something I care about as a relatively short human being (5'5"), but the base height starts at about 30". Fully extended, it goes to about 37". If this is a useless measurement to you, I also measure the stringbed height later.
This is the base unboxed. From the product photos, I thought this was going to be a pretty "cheap," but functional base. It is much better than that. I was actually pretty impressed - considering some of their lower end machines come with this base, I wasn't expecting much. Their platforms are worthy of upgrading, IMO.
Documentation that came with the machine. A lot of this was in German, but luckily, most of this isn't needed if you're buying a machine of this grade (assumptions made). One is a how to string manual, and others are from modular packaging, and apply to other SKUs of the machine. The Ennoxx manual is good. One notable thing missing from the documentation is how to assemble the brake. The pictures in all the literature show it as assembled, but the handle comes loose. I wasn't able to thread the handle because the pivot was slightly over-rotated. I tried to rotate it with an allen wrench, or something, but didn't want to damage the threads, so I loosened a bolt next to the turntable and... I wasn't supposed to do that. Don't do that. That boneheaded move is on me.
The hand tools that come with the machine would get the job done, but the grease in the shafts is sticky. It's a cheap commodity tool, and I'll probably end up throwing them away, tbh.
Hopefully you can tell from these photos that the base is very sturdy in its construction. I would imagine a giant C-channel construction to be very rigid. This would totally be a killer portable machine (in volume). I haven't really tried taking the fully assembled unit off the base, so can't really comment on weight. If someone cares, I can get a rough weight, but I have no motivation to do so "just cuz."
Unboxed tensioner, pre-mounting. Racquet for scale. It's a cute lil' guy. It also feels high quality, but the tension activating switch feels a little... lacking substance? It feels like a potential weak point of the machine, but I have no basis for this claim. It also activates a little too easily for my blood. I like to/want to be able to rest my hand without accidentally activating the tensioner (note - there's also glide to activate, which just means you pull the string towards you after it sits in the jaws, and the shutting action will hit another toggle switch). This is/was especially annoying when trying to hit the "knot" button on the last pulls of mains/crosses.
These are the accessories/hw that comes with the turntable. I didn't look too closely at what it's all for, but there were some interesting adapters for weird shaped frames. Clamps felt very nice, and very... "considered" for a lack of a better term. They are very slim, and can sit up against each other when starting the mains.
String bed height ~40"-47." I just mounted a strung frame to mock a couple of things up, here.
These two photos demonstrate something I've commented on several times in the past. I personally like to rotate my clamp bases up and out of the way when I am going down my crosses. Curved clamp rails in my experience have made this kind of annoying. On my Sensor, the assembly that sat below the turn table was way bigger than the top, so the clamp base assemblies would play "bumper cars" with one another if I oriented both bases towards the top of the frame. Thus, I had to "wait" until I was way further down the string bed than I prefer to. This machine is probably worse in that regard. The curved rails are actually very short overall, and on this frame, I had to go down to the ninth cross before I could swing that base out of the way. I can probably optimize for this a bit by shifting the mounting around, but I don't think that situation is going to get much better. It's an idiosyncratic gripe, but it's worth mentioning if you're neurotic in that way, like me.
The tool tray is a weak point, like so many other machines. I really don't get why manufacturers don't just make tool trays that are usable??? It's simply too narrow. Even the tools that come with the machine don't fit without a little coaxing! With that said, over time, I ended up going pretty minimal with my tools. I often don't even bother with needle nose pliers! Good cutters can be used to poke strings through blocked holes with a gentle grip, and I use my cam action pliers to tighten when I do use hand tools. You could also get away with a starting clamp when it's available. Otherwise, and often, I do just hand cinch knots, too.
In response to @mad dog1 in this post, I took a photo of the clamp bases. I also tried looping string under the push-down mechanism, and indeed, you can catch string on the base, but it's somewhat difficult to do so unintentionally. It doesn't take too much force to pop the clamp if you do, however. The lever doesn't sit too far over the base, so you'd have to get unlucky, but I could see an errant loop of string from weaving get under there. And if you've been stringing long enough, you've had that happen to you, so... there it is.