Chromagnon Update: Prototype Boards Ordered
Hello video friends — and sorry this July update is late. I aim for the first week of the month; the milestones I wanted to hit landed later than that.
Chromagnon's prototype boards are on order. Two pieces, placed July 21, fully assembled boards due around August 4-9. I've got the firmware built and ready to flash for testing, a detailed validation plan written, and I'm ready to dig in as soon as they get here. Ship Unit #1 stays October 2026, pending that validation — same plan as the June update.
Chromagnon
The core board has been design-complete since June (layout, DRC, fab outputs). Every new circuit change already shipped inside Videomancer; RevI is the Chromagnon layout of that platform.
Next: boards in → assemble → power-on, video I/O, firmware on real RevI silicon. Shared Videomancer/Chromagnon firmware and LZX Connect kept moving all summer, so bring-up is not starting from zero.
Unchanged and ready for production when we get there: 700 pre-built control boards, front panel, sheet metal enclosure, mechanicals.
| Milestone | Status |
|---|---|
| RevI design | Done (June) |
| Prototype boards (2 pcs) | Ordered July 21 — ETA ~Aug 4-9 |
| Validation | Starts after assembly |
| First demo clips | Late August if RevI looks good — may slip |
| Production-ready | August target (June plan) |
| Production order | Still revenue-dependent |
| Ship Unit #1 | October 2026, pending validation |
| Fulfillment at scale | November target |
If RevI looks solid, I'll share demo clips in the second half of August. If bring-up runs long, demos move with it — real hardware beats a rushed capture.
Still true: pre-order prices honored; queue is first in, first out; feature set unchanged.
Videomancer
Videomancer on the studio bench. Photo: Michael Dewberry.
Videomancer funds Chromagnon production purchases.
Sales momentum for June was 6 units in the prior-30-day window we reported then — 20% of the 30-unit/month floor (~1/day). Sales momentum to date for July (through July 22) is 7 units — about 23% of that same monthly floor. Slightly better than June, still well short of what full production spend needs. Demos, promotion, and firmware polish stay the priority.
More Videomancer firmware is coming, along with new demo content — that should help put the instrument back in front of people and, hopefully, move the sales line. Until then, keep flashing current pre-releases and sending feedback.
Firmware this summer: continued 1.0.0-rc field beta (including sync/boot fixes in SDK 0.5.1). rc.33 / rc.34 (July 21–22) improve Sync Out vs processed video. If you are on rc.33 and the library looks empty (or you see "No Passthru" / "All Unsigned"), flash rc.34. Downloads: Videomancer downloads or LZX Connect with Show pre-release firmware on.
Also out: Diver / TBC2 beta program (June 24).
Summer Sci Fi Sights and Sounds
July 15 at the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, WA — La Jetée with a live score. I went to see Briz (Briz Loan & Guitar), an early LZX customer, running his Visionary Series system. Good to see that gear in a theater!
Briz's Visionary Series rig, patched for the night.
Store — Gen 3 & Cables Sale
10% off select Gen 3 Eurorack modules and 30% off cables (RGB patch, RCA sync, DC power, and related accessories), through July 31, 2026.
| Offer | How to get it | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| 10% off Gen 3 modules | Gen 3 sale collection — discount applies automatically at checkout | July 31, 2026, 11:59 PM Pacific |
| 30% off cables | Cables sale collection — discount applies automatically at checkout | July 31, 2026, 11:59 PM Pacific |
No coupon code required — add eligible items and the sale price shows at checkout.
Visionary & Expedition Special Restocks
Color Chords boards for the special build.
To raise extra revenue the past couple months, I committed to building a few short runs of older modules. The intention was to fill some longstanding requests from folks trying to complete older system builds. I still have a few modules available to claim. The builds are in progress and will ship in August. The pricing is set to the same numbers as the original retail pricing, adjusted for inflation.
Want one? Reply to this email, or email sales@lzxindustries.net, with the modules you want and your shipping address. We'll send an invoice.
| Module | Qty available | MSRP |
|---|---|---|
| Video Blending Matrix | 2 | $899 |
| War of the Ants | 3 | $579 |
| Curtain | 3 | $369 |
| Pendulum | 3 | $309 |
| Shapechanger | 3 | $899 |
| Video Waveform Generator | 3 | $579 |
| Triple Video Multimode Filter | 1 | $729 |
| Marble Index | 2 | $899 |
| Color Chords | 4 | $439 |
Again: reply to this email or email sales@lzxindustries.net if you want any of these.
Building Our Own Tools
We've moved most day-to-day ops onto some free, open source tools we host ourselves (Forgejo, Listmonk, InvenTree, FreeScout). That lowers recurring cost and puts orders, stock, and support under one roof — the foundation for the Chromagnon fulfillment portal (queue position, address updates, shipping notifications). If you've noticed some double e-mails or other issues in comms with us, I apologize for the annoyance.
Next Update
Mid August — prototype boards on the bench with validation underway.
Thanks for reading,
Lars