Some comments in the forums seem to imply that Antec is working on an upgrade to the Antec Solo.
Does anyone know any timeframe for the new model to be released and if would it be worth to wait it?

Hi Adobni,

As far as I know, we are not working on any upgrades to the Antec Solo. We did however recently upgraded the P183. In addition, we are scheduled to release both Lanboy Air and Dark Fleet cases next month. If we do upgrade the Antec Solo in the future, I will definitely let you know about it.

Regards,
Antec

Thanks for your answer, I didn't knew Antec answered in SPCR Forums.
So there was an upgrade to the P183. Is there a way to know if a P183 is the new or the old model, like a code in the box?

Thanks again

You should. Solo is by far the best case Antec has. It just hasn't been updated for 5 years and so fallen off the radar somewhat.

Even a fairly high end gaming system today doesn't need 15 fans and multiple randomly placed ventilation holes channeling dust in and noise out.

You should definitely start making/upgrading mid-tower, non "gaming" (ugh) cases to fit larger video cards.

If not, well, bye bye Antec and hello Lian Li.
Cases are supposed to be deep, not tall.

Yes, I agree that it's time for an update to the Solo. It's a great case (I bought one recently), but with a few simple changes it could be greatly improved and reinvigorate its sales.

1. A single 120mm fan mount at the front, instead of the dual 92mm fan mounts

2. Redesign the door so you don't have to remove the side panel to open it so you have better access to the front filters

3. Add a cut out to the MB tray for heatsink mounting (like on the revised P183)

4. Add cable management behind the MB tray (again like the P183) along with the appropriate cable ports.

5. Relocate the PSU to the bottom of the case, preferably in a separate chamber like the P183

6. Make the case deeper so you can fit large video cards

There are probably other changes that could be made as well, but that'll do for now. The case would end up being slightly larger than it is now, but that's fine with me.

Whatever happens, DO NOT get rid of the HD suspension system - it's the Solo's best feature, and one which ought to be standard in all the Antec Performance series cases as well.

Cheers!

How about a removable MB tray?

Hey fellow Spcr members,

There has been a lot of request in upgrading our non gaming cases. So far many of the members has request an upgrade on the NSK3480 and the Antec Solo. I have been mentioning this to product development so hopefully we will have an upgrade to the two cases soon.

Antec P180 mini is a nice alternative to some of these non gaming cases.

Regards,
Antec

Hmm my list is much shorter

[list]1. A single 120mm fan mount at the front, instead of the dual 92mm fan mounts

2. Add a cut out to the MB tray for heatsink mounting (like on the revised P183)

3. Change the power and reset switches to something that doesn't wear out so quick. Something that would last the life of the case even if someone is turning it on off 5 times a day. I don't use my PC like that but people I build PCs for do. I can't use that case for my builds because the end users tear up the power button too fast and I have too many support issues if I use the case.

Offering a upgrade kit or exchange for us original solo owners with power button/reset button issues would be nice. I have a Solo that even after the power button was replaced still is missing a reset button because the switch/wiring behind that button became disconnected and I don't expect the Power button to last too much longer.

Keeping the suspension system is good. For the near future people will still need 3.5" data drives. You might consider changing the drive bay configuration to take advantage of 2.5" SSDs somehow. I only need 2 5.25" bays for optical drives.

I personally don't care about longer video cards. As long as a 5750 fits in the Solo it's long enough for me. It should have enough clearance for a 5770 + Accellero S1 (8.75" or so) but I see no reason to make the case longer if those configurations work in the existing Solo.

Make it possible to replace the power supply without pulling the motherboard . . .

took the words out of my mouth, but please no "stars" or "siik" graphics on the front, the solo has a classy look, perhaps an esata and/or usb3 ports and maybe an all black version ala NSK6580B, with small changes the solo will stay relevant for another 5 years! WIN!1

AntecRep, what about a case for a NAS? A mini-itx case with room for 4-6 disks would be really sweet.

See the Lian Li q08. It would be hard to design a better case for that than the Lian Li q08. It even looks like someone has taken that case and private labeled it specifically as a NAS. Same case but without the optical dirve slot (I forgot who - maybe it was Fractal).

Yes, I'm aware about those two cases. But for a NAS I would hide somewhere I don't need an expensive aluminium case. On top of that, Antec has a good reputation for creating well cooled cases, and I'm not sure about the cooling performance on the Fractal case with the very small front air intake.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendations (I should create a separate thread, though).

My experience with Lian Li support has been exemplary. They even sent me a free part once when they really had no obligation to do so. (I wanted an extra part to do a mod, I couldn't find any place that sold that part and they just shipped it to me for free)

Antec on the other hand refused to replace a defective product that they admitted was defective. They would not even respond to my faxed request to replace it to Frank Lee the product manager how admitted the defect.

See:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... =(keywords)

Look for the message titled "Design Defect / Antec Failure to Stand Behind their Product"

Antec_Rep, are you able to give us approximate dates? Have they actually made the decision to upgrade these cases or is it just an idea they're pondering.

Hi ces,

I apologize for all the trouble. One of the reasons why we ask for the proof of purchase/receipt is because we offer a one year warranty on the notebook cooler. If you have the notebook cooler for more than one year then it is basically out of warranty and we simply can't replace the cooler for free.

I really hope we could somehow discuss about this problem, if you'd like to talk about this, feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Regards,
Antec

Hi Kreed,

Upgrading the old cases is just an idea for now. I will hopefully talk to product development later in the week and give them suggestions in regards to upgrading our old cases (Antec solo & NSK3480). They have been pretty busy working on our upcoming gaming cases (LanBoy Air & Dark Fleet Series).

Regards,
Antec

If you want to take it off line, you need to leave an email. I think your private messaging is turned off.

Why don't you sponsor a case design area here where you could do an online focus group. Or better yet a case design contest. The winner - well you could build him or her a prototype of the winning case. I think you would be shocked at the initiative and talent that might unleash here.

PM sent...

That sounds like a wonderful idea. I will pass it along to upper management to see if they would be interested in something like this.

It looks like the private messaging isn't working. Don't you have a public email or phone number you can leave here? There may be others here who would like to talk to you.

PS: Sponsoring a focus group forum to get feedback from the market shouldn't cost all that much. And it would generate a lot of good will. It would make people feel like you are listening to them. That is always important. And I suspect that many of the more active people here are lead customers whose purchasing decisions affect purchasing decisions made by others.

Maybe he's trying to tell you something.

Hi ces,

I've sent another pm again. Let me know if you get it, if not we can work something out.

Regards,
Antec

In addition to the above ideas (I partly disagree with some of them), I would like to suggest:

1. Bundling the case with a higher quality fan - the TriCools have been obsoleted by modern quality fans. Maybe outsourcing fans from YateLoon is a good idea?
2. Making a round hole in the back instead of the punched mesh - modders cut the grill anyway, so why not use a removable wire grill instead? This probably increases the costs, but is worth it IMO.

That, I think, might be asking a lot of Antec.

Maybe... but they shouldn't rest on laurels. If we don't ask for better fans, no improvement shall come. I think that we all agree that TriCools are suboptimal choice when it comes to case fans. Since their representative is present on the forum, maybe he'll pass the opinion to the decisive people.

Yes, but I think they manufacture their own fans. That division of their organization is probably defended by a VP. Not likely an online rep is going to change that. Or heck, even customer feedback is going to change that. Presumably they are already building the best fan that that VP's organization can make - and it's not like they aren't selling them.

Hmm... that I didn't know :/ I thought they were re-branded, outsourced fans. Well then, we can only hope the R&D division is working on an improvement