Scubapro A700 - the King of Bling
- Thread starter MarkUK
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Ha ha...
The performance of the X650 might have been the mutt's nuts, but they didn't have to make it look like some too!
In the UK, recalls, etc, on the X650 kind of crippled its sales, so over here the MK25/S600 is (was) the current top-of-the-line reg.
Frankpro1, wasn't knocking the Legend LX, just getting across how truly shiny this new reg is when you see it firsthand, like nothing else out there. Thankfully, it performed very well, wasn't all just 'show and no go', but how they've got such a shiny chrome finish is amazing. That's why I was pushing the bling, bling thing - even if people have no clue about how well metal seconds perform, especially in cold water, and that the metal is there for a reason, not just looks, they'll love the gleam!
Mark
The performance of the X650 might have been the mutt's nuts, but they didn't have to make it look like some too!
In the UK, recalls, etc, on the X650 kind of crippled its sales, so over here the MK25/S600 is (was) the current top-of-the-line reg.
Frankpro1, wasn't knocking the Legend LX, just getting across how truly shiny this new reg is when you see it firsthand, like nothing else out there. Thankfully, it performed very well, wasn't all just 'show and no go', but how they've got such a shiny chrome finish is amazing. That's why I was pushing the bling, bling thing - even if people have no clue about how well metal seconds perform, especially in cold water, and that the metal is there for a reason, not just looks, they'll love the gleam!
Mark
Still no news about it here: Home - SCUBAPRO-UWATEC
any idea when will it show up?
any idea when will it show up?
VooDooGasMan
Contributor
Yes mark many do not know the characteristics of a metal 2nd stage, I like how a long dive they do not dry my mouth as much.
Anyways what dives did you dive in potofino, is piero still around.
Thanks for the news flash, Ill order one as soon as possible.
Happy Diving
Anyways what dives did you dive in potofino, is piero still around.
Thanks for the news flash, Ill order one as soon as possible.
Happy Diving
In additition to the 4 allen screws securing the case (for the long suffering reg tech it means about twice the effort compared to an R109 to get 4 stuck allen screws loose rather than 2 after a missed service and a couple year's worth of salt water corrosion) resulting the squarish shape, it is I think also the overly shiny chrome that turns me off.
A 30-40 year old R109 still looks pretty good as even with normal scuffing and wear it still looks good. The late production 109's with bead blasted satin chrome finish were even more timeless and I have several double hose regs from the mid 50's to mid 60's with satin chrome finshes that still look very good after 50 years of hard use and abuse. In contrast, I had a double hose redone in a very nice shiny chrome finish two years ago and even with lots fo care and pampering it has picked up some very obvious scratches.
Similarly, I fear that really cool super shiny finish is going to look like the chrome equivalent of a plastic cased reg after a year or two of normal use - the scuffs and scratches are going to really stand out.
I think SP may have screwed up in that regard and a more muted and durable regular or satin chrome finish may have been the way to go. If they want serious bling and are not concerned about durability, why not gold plate it?
-----
The X650 was a prime example of SP almost getting something right. It "replaced" the D400 and it had similar looks and an angled diaphragm that in theory would have resulted in a regulator using the familiar poppet design found in the S600 etc, combined with the angled diaphragm and excelelnt case geometry fault characteristics of the D400. That would have been a truly exceptional reg.
It was a good theory. In practice the engineers involved either did not understand CGF or they could not figure out how to incorporate a coaxial exhaust valve with the X650's lever. The end result was the X650 had a separate conventionally placed exhaust valve that in combination with the angled diaphragm actually aggravates CGF issues. It "looked" like a D400 but in no way operated like one and offerred no real advantage over the S600 - except maybe for slightly smoother airflow.
The recall issues were just an artifact of 1. discontinuing the D400 before the X650 was ready and pushing the X650 out the door too quickly, and 2. relying too much on their sales reps to do dive testing in nice tropical locations rather than using real world divers in real world locations.
A 30-40 year old R109 still looks pretty good as even with normal scuffing and wear it still looks good. The late production 109's with bead blasted satin chrome finish were even more timeless and I have several double hose regs from the mid 50's to mid 60's with satin chrome finshes that still look very good after 50 years of hard use and abuse. In contrast, I had a double hose redone in a very nice shiny chrome finish two years ago and even with lots fo care and pampering it has picked up some very obvious scratches.
Similarly, I fear that really cool super shiny finish is going to look like the chrome equivalent of a plastic cased reg after a year or two of normal use - the scuffs and scratches are going to really stand out.
I think SP may have screwed up in that regard and a more muted and durable regular or satin chrome finish may have been the way to go. If they want serious bling and are not concerned about durability, why not gold plate it?
-----
The X650 was a prime example of SP almost getting something right. It "replaced" the D400 and it had similar looks and an angled diaphragm that in theory would have resulted in a regulator using the familiar poppet design found in the S600 etc, combined with the angled diaphragm and excelelnt case geometry fault characteristics of the D400. That would have been a truly exceptional reg.
It was a good theory. In practice the engineers involved either did not understand CGF or they could not figure out how to incorporate a coaxial exhaust valve with the X650's lever. The end result was the X650 had a separate conventionally placed exhaust valve that in combination with the angled diaphragm actually aggravates CGF issues. It "looked" like a D400 but in no way operated like one and offerred no real advantage over the S600 - except maybe for slightly smoother airflow.
The recall issues were just an artifact of 1. discontinuing the D400 before the X650 was ready and pushing the X650 out the door too quickly, and 2. relying too much on their sales reps to do dive testing in nice tropical locations rather than using real world divers in real world locations.
R
redacted
Guest
Looking at the pics with a magnifying glass (handy at my age) the screws look to be torx bits which should be a little less vulnerable to damage by the screw driver. But, with the older metals, the very substantial clamps not only provided a uniform controlled tension sandwiching the diaphragm and rubber cover between the case and cover ring, but they also worked as effective bumpers protecting the regulator from damage. I guess we will just have to wait and see how substantial the metal is along the seam between the case and the cover.
Last edited by a moderator:
halocline
Contributor
What's really strange about the design to me is that they already have one of the most elegant and 'classic' designs ever in a 2nd stage to use as a model. It's almost like they deliberately stayed away from creating a 'vintage' type design a la the G250V. Given the success of that reg, why they did not continue in the same direction is kind of a mystery.
Similar threads
