Audia Flight
On July 21, 2011 I purchased an Audia Flight FL3 integrated amp from their then US distributor Musical Sounds of Milford, Connecticut US. It was a demo unit with full manufacturer's warranty. After a week the unit began to make static-like noise upon powering up and when switching between sources. On August 3, 2011 I e-mailed Musical Sounds about this. I was informed that Audia had no technicians or repair facilities in North America as they "never break". Furthermore I would have to find a repair facility on my own and that Audia would supply parts and reimburse me for the labor costs. I was also infomed that since it was August, Italy was more or less on vacation and we would have to wait until September for anything to be done. Lastly I was informed that Musical Sounds would shortly be ending its relationship with Audia and that I would be dealing with them directly to repair the unit.
I made contact with the Audia factory directly on September 13, 2011 suggesting that I return the unit to Italy (at my expense) for repair. Response from the factory was slow and erratic. After receiving no response from the factory for almost two months, on December 3, 2011 I wrote a letter and had it delivered via FedEx ($50,-) to Audia in Italy hoping for a response. Parts finally arrived from Audia February, 2012. Luckily I know a reliable techincian who was willing to attempt the repair. This would be replacing the 9 electronic switches and 2 electronic modules Audia sent hoping this would solve the problem. The repair was successful.
On May 13, 2012, I sent a copy of the repair bill to Audia seeking reimbursement of the repair costs. I never received a reply. As a life-long audio enthusiast I understand that any component may fail no matter what its cost or pedigree. Sadly by apathy to its customers, Audia has chosen to let its reputation go over a few cheap electronic switches.
Mark Benus
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Electronluv
Dear Srajan,
I am not one to write about a complaint but I want to relate my story
in dealing with this company and its owner, Josh Stippich.
About 3.5 years ago, after doing some research on his products (owned by
Terry Cain and others), I contacted Electronluv to inquire about
purchasing one of his amplifiers. After talking with Mr. Stippich, I
settled on a pair of 300B/20 monoblocks for $5800. Josh kept me informed
for a few months as to progress. I had paid in full by this time. A
couple of months later, he asked me to procure and send to him a set of
300Bs as well as the 20s. I purchased these from Tube Depot and had
them drop-shipped to Josh. So, we're at approximately $6500 total
investment.
After another 6 months I asked Josh how the amps were coming along. I
got a song and dance about the plating needed. Another 6 months or so,
another excuse, then nothing for about a year. I eventually asked for a
refund receiving no answer. After several more attempts at
communication, I received an email response that Josh did not have any
spare cash but would send me whatever ho could eventually. Well, I have
received all but $3800 thus far and he is still dragging his feet. He
still has a website but has disabled email. He has repeatedly told me
that he would send "some" money but has not to date.
I am writing this to warn anyone to avoid this character insofar as
possible. While he may produce fine equipment, it's obvious that his
business model is incompatible with honesty and integrity.
I still enjoy your website and especially your reviewing style. My
current system consists of three Yamamoto amplifiers (A-06-3, A-08s,
A-07), Speakers: Yamamoto YS-605P, Leben RS28CX, among others...
Kindest regards,
(Rev.) Joel O'Rourke
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Melody Valve Hifi.
Dear Srajan,
I thought my experience with Melody high-end products may be of concern to other audiophiles. In November 2011 I bought a highly acclaimed Melody preamplifier from a UK dealer who advertised it as an ex demo unit. I paid the dealer and they shipped the unit the following day. Initially I partnered up with a BAT VK60 amp, Cadence Amaya speakers and a Cambridge CD1 or Marantz CD94/CDA 94 combo in both balanced and single-ended modes. The Melody 1688 Signature was so noisy that it was unbearable to listen to. I eventually invested £400 for FullMusic 6SN7, 101D and Mullard 5AR4 valves as I thought new valves would cure the noise problems but didn't.
Melody's website has been inaccessible so I eventually sought help from the USA distributor Angel City, a lovely and very helpful gentleman who put me in touch with the European Melody distributor Ruby Tone Audio. After exchanging a few mails and telephone conversations and despite their promise to help, I never heard from Ruby Tone Audio ever again but on the other side of the Atlantic Angel City Audio really did his best to put me through Melody directly. Initially they came up with a few excuses such as how they had withdrawn their UK distributorship but eventually they did offer me to buy a Melody preamplifier directly from them at the reduced price of £800 plus shipping to the UK. They told me that I could keep the faulty 1688. I was really amazed by how unprofessionally Melody dealt with my problem. However I did accept their offer to test how sincere and caring they are. To my surprise until today I still have heard nothing from them and their website remains inaccessible.
In the past I had a few challenges with USA and European-made products but their distributors or manufacturers replaced or fully repaired the products when they developed faults. I invested £2550 in this Melody preamplifier and thought that with so many reputable reviewers they can't be wrong to say how wonderful and musical it is. Most importantly Melody's over-claiming under-delivering attitude is disturbing. I now own a malfunctioning highly rated Melody preamp and am really amazed that despite Melody's claims to be an Australian company nobody there speaks English except for Mr. Wang's secretary, a lady called Beryl. Here is her e-mail regarding their offer:
Hi Sabih,
Mr. Wang, Melody's boss, suggested you buy a new one directly from us at 800GBP. He is really sorry for what happened to you. But as you know, the seller had no business with Melody for a very long time and it's really difficult for Melody to supply you a new one. Please understand.
Best,
Beryl.
Kindest regards
Sabih Tasoz
Thanks for alerting us. Your unfortunate experience implicates not only the maker but also his dealer who sold you a defective unit, then failed to either have it repaired or to refund your money.
Srajan
I had to wait 3 weeks for the valves to arrive from China. By that time the dealer's 21-day return policy had expired. The dealer did request spare parts from Melody but they ignored his request. Their response was that due to no active UK distribution being in place they could not provide any parts. I also kept in touch with Melody's ex UK distributor Select Audio. His comment was that because of lack of support and the unreliability of Melody products, they had stopped dealing with them.
Sabih Tasoz
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Raysonic Audio
Dear Sirs,
My name is Joseph Dang. I’m writing to you on behalf of my brother Vipol Pholtrakoolwong, about a case of fraud involving Mr. Steven Leung of Raysonicaudio.com. Mr. Vipol is the owner of VPMEDIA Group Co.in Bangkok, Thailand (www.silver-audio.com) and has been a distributor for Raysonic for several years. Over a year ago he placed an order for $30.000 with Mr. Leung. He paid up front because he had done previous business with him and trusted him. As of today my brother has not received the merchandise. During my investigations I learnt that Mr. Leung has stiffed four other distributors around the world. He knows he can get away with it because the distributors live in another part of the world and can’t do anything about it. The distributors are copied in the CC line of this email. You probably wonder what this has to do with you. I believe you have influences in the audio/hifi community and your words have weight. So I am asking you to spread the word about Raysonic's business practice. Please help us. You are the last resource because we have done everything but Mr. Leung just ignores our request and won't send the merchandise. I have filed a complaint with the United States and Canadian Better Business Bureaus and hopefully they will investigate this matter.
Thank you for your help!
Joseph Dang
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