Is Tom Evans Audio Design out of business?

Well, I just want to be clear that I'm not posting this to smear Tom Evans or start any rumors. I just want my Groove phono preamp back. He's had it for over 6 months and I can't get in touch with him. To be fair to the dealer, he never had possession of my preamp and I didn't purchase it from him. But he did agree to handle the transaction and arranged it with Evans, since he is/was a Tom Evans dealer. I owned the unit for about 3 years, and then the right channel went dead. I was told I could also get it upgraded to the "Anniversary" edition along with the repair, and was quoted what I thought was a very reasonable price. I shipped it directly to Tom Evans Audio Design at my own expense. Unfortunately, the unit was damaged in shipping, and I can understand this would cause a delay for additional repairs, but I think the lack of communication is unacceptable.

Thanks for the info, Tom6897. I would like to point out that I have not printed any "flames" or "false conjecture." I have no intention of this being an attack on the company and I'm sorry some responders on this thread have made unkind remarks. I have only stated the facts. I have posted only to try to get information. The DEALER I have been working with is the one who has conjectured that TE may be out of business because he can no longer get in touch with him. Others have said he might be "on holiday," but I don't think that's an excuse for holding a preamp for more than 6 months and not communicating. If you have a means to contact him and forward my concern, that would be appreciated. I will also take Drplank's advice and try to contact a UK dealer.

By the way, Drpank, I have been on his website multiple times and there is no list of UK dealers that I can find. There is a US website with a list of about 7 US dealers, I've called several of them but none of them seemed to know how to contact him. His e-mail bounces back and the phone number is busy 24/7. I'd also like to say that the Groove phono preamp is the first and only solid state amp/preamp I've had in my system long-term in 35 years.

Tom Evans is still in business! One of you was kind enough to forward my concerns to another Tom Evans dealer. This gentleman, Mehran of SORAsound, assured me that he has recently spoken to Tom Evans on his private phone and it seems that things will move forward now on my Groove repair and upgrade. One thing I did not know, because nobody really told me, was that the unit was damaged so badly in shipping that a "salvage" was necessary, requiring ordering additional parts, suppliers weren't available, etc. That's all fine, but SOMEBODY should have told me this months ago.

I did not have the factory supplied boxes. No, I did not double box (I usually do but this box and packing seemed secure), I did insure the shipment with Fed-Ex. I filed a damage complaint immediately, they would pay only $100 since it was not shipped in the factory-supplied box. I agreed to pay for any additional repairs because it was my bad. However, none of this is relevant to the issue, which is little or no communication from the manufacturer for nearly 6 months, then a promise in mid-February that the unit would be shipped "next week," then complete cut-off of communication. Again, my only reason for posting is no one seemed able to contact the company and the dealer I was working with said he thought they might be out of business, which fortunately is not the case. I was promised today that my unit would be finished and shipped shortly, we shall see. Again, I wish only the best to Tom Evans Audio Design, he makes great products as far as I can tell.

Because he still has my phono preamp.

I think it's appropriate that I update this thread, since I am the original poster. My repaired/upgraded Tom Evans Groove arrived about a month ago, it's now the Groove 20th Anniversary model. I originally sent it to Tom Evans in August of last year, anyone interested in the details of why the transaction took so long can read the thread above. The person who made this all really happen is Mehran of SORAsound in Chicago, he is an Evans dealer who interceded on my behalf, he apparently has a good working relationship with Tom Evans. Mehran is a gentleman and a businesman of the highest order and I highly recommend him. He recognized my frustration with the situation and stepped in when he saw this thread. He and Tom Evans agreed to lower the price on the repair/upgrade to compensate for the LONG delay, which I did not even hint that I expected them to do, because I thought the quoted price was already reasonable to begin with. I also recognize that I could have done a better job packaging the Groove before shipping it. Now, about the Groove Anniversary phono preamp: It looks a lot like the original Groove, but it has a separate power supply, and also dip switches to allow for 9 different resistance and 5 capacitance settings. The unit is not broken in yet so I won't say a whole lot about how it plays music except to say that I loved the original Groove and even without being broken in, it's obvious that the Annivesary edition is even better. I am generally a "tube guy" and I consider the Groove to be some of the best that solid state has to offer. At this point, it rivals the phono section of my Shindo Monbrison (also not completely broken in), but I must emphasize that at this point, it's too early to make an evaluation. Let's just say that for now, I'm enjoying LP playback more than at any time in 35 years, and I'm beginning to believe the old cliche, "there is much more in those grooves of our LPs than we ever thought possible." Again, thank you Mehran and nice work Tom, you are a gifted designer who needs some business help.