Which companies also offer good service??


I just thought it would be interesting for Audiogoners to share their experiences both good and bad when is comes to service. I think when spending the kind of money we do on audio equipment, service should be a big factor.

Thiel - Good. Just recently I sent in a speaker for repair and the folks there just couldn't have been better. All the way from the customer service to the actual repair work I had done to the cabinet, which came back looking like new.

Mark Levinson / Madrigal - Bad. Tried to get an updated EPROM chip for my preamp and was told we don't have anymore. My preamp is only 6 years old and the manual says you can get this for free. I also asked about upgrading my DAC from a 36S to a 360S and was told, we don't upgrade "legacy" products anymore. The 36s is only one generation old. Not a company I want to have thousands of dollars tied up in equipment with.
dewinkle
I've found that Audio Research offers excellent service over the years that many friends and I have owned their equipment.
Rogue Audio is excellent to deal with.
So is Von Schweikert - very responsive!
VAC and Rowland -- excellent.

Levinson/Revel -- I needed to get some information about my Salons and was directed to Harmon headquarters in Massachussets. The supposed "Revel guy" I spoke with was an untrained monkey who knew nothing about my Salons. That company is evidently quite poorly run, as witnessed by, among other things, the incredibly hamfisted way in which they closed the Levinson / Proceed facility in Orange, Connecticut, suspending all Levinson / Proceed customer service for months while they tried to train replacement workers. Terrible company. F-ck 'em.
Resolution Audio (Opus 21 CDP) is very, very helpful. (Jeff Kalt is one of the Best! He did not even charge me for the minor repair I brought to him, nor for the toy he gave to my little girl. Top notch service in my book!!)

Basis Audio (2001 turntable) has been very good with help and advice as well. (A.J. Conti will answer any question and offer any help he can. His products are not cheap, but you have a good guy by your side when things need to be done.)

Ayre has also been very helpful. (Hopefully this will continue as I will be sending in for the evolution upgrade soon.)

Also, Mark Levinson and Revel, at least in the past, treated me very well and professionally. (Most of this was before the big move, but some of it after.)

As far as dealers go, Brian Hartsell, with The Analog Room, in San Jose, CA, has bent over backwards to help me, even when he wan't making a dime, as there was not a sale involved. Great Guy.
Without doubt Victor and the boys at BAT will exceed your expectations. They've always gone above and beyond the call of duty where I've been concerned and I'd bet I'm not alone. Truly first rate people.
Rogue and Von Schweikert.

It is reassuring to deal with owners that return all your calls and emails, and that take care of any issues promptly and courteously.

KP
Good
Krell gave me great service on a cd player I bought used, they even overnighted me a replacement disc stabilizing puck at no charge.
Cary was great, Kirk always had time to chat.

Not so good
Alon/Nola never answered emails I sent inquiring about possible driver upgrades for my former speakers.
HSU Research is always good to me! and although I do not own them, Bruce Thigpen at Eminent Technology is about as nice as the come!
I think if you search the archives you'll find more input on this subject.

I'll echo my previous posts to this effect: Mike Sanders of Quicksilver offers customer service as rock solid as his products. I doubt you'll ever have to use it, but if you do, he'll be there. I'd further second Modwright as a company that stands firmly behind their services and products.

Marco
I think the job that Ralph Karsten has done at AtmaSphere is about as good as one will find in any line of business. It seems as if after you have had contact with Ralph, you are a close friend.

Also, want to mention Kevin Hayes of VAC, Bobby Palkovic of Merlin, and Mark O'Brien and the folks at Rogue.
Conrad Johnson, Bob Pletka on behalf of JJ Electronic, and Ridge Street Audio have all treated me well!
I have received great help from Outlaw and the Cable Company. Highly recommend both.
Another nod to Thiel. I had purchased a used pair of CS-1.5s and needed the manual. I was in Lexington so I stopped in at Thiel. They immediately produced a packet with manual and spikes. No Charge! Hard to beat that kind of service.
Another McIntosh vote: A few years ago I bought an MC275 from a Mac dealer in CA. It was nos in the box, the stainless steel version. Well, he ordered the tubes from Mac in NY to be shipped to me from there. They arrive and there was an extra 12AX7 instead of a 12AZ7. So, I call Mac and they say the guy ordered the wrong input tube quantity. They apologized for not catching his error. They said keep the extra tube for my trouble and they would send me another of the correct one. Cool !! Get this: They overnighted it for a Saturday delivery!! It wasn't even their mistake.

I thought that this was great customer service!
Merlin has been great to me. My speakers were purchased used through Audiogon and Bobby has been extremely helpful.
SMC Audio (Steve even posts on the 'gon)

VPI has always been very responsive also
Transparent - yes you pay a lot for the cables, but they'll do whatever they can to help. I had one cable where the cable came out of the network box - they said send 'em back - warranty - I said - I didn't buy them new, and they're about 3-4 years old - they said - don't care, we'll fix them with new generation network boxes, and pay the return shipping. Spectacular service.
Bryston - first class outfit.
Audio Research all positive. Sent a LS15 preamp in for a once over they did not charge me a arm and a leg. The turn around time was exceptional.
The guys at BAT are absolutely first-class. Verity has also always been responsive and spot-on with answers to my questions; and Grant Samuelson of Shunyata is a straight shooter.
ric @ tweakaudio.com
luminousaudio.com
musictechnology.com
My tech whose name cannot be revealed here but he is the king of audio and charges so little I'd happily overpay him.
madisound.com
latinternational.com
bettercables.com

Most of these are cable companies for some reason. No matter, all of these guye put the music, and their customers, first!
Peter at Audio Note UK. is first rate. Magnepan is second to none, I was rebuilding my ribbon with the kit and had a few questions, they put me on the ph. with the tec. in the back (girl) She did all the ribbons on the big Maggies, really made things easier. They support all their older products
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Since I do not live in the US, I only have had an e-mail contact with severeal manufacturers.

The very best (most informative and quickest in reply) were Mondial and Muse.

The absolute worst contact I had was Theta. No contest there.
How could I have forgotten Grado Labs? They replaced a cable on my SR225s over the holidays quickly at no charge, even though I wasn't even the original owner. Very good!
Green Mountain Audio, Discovery Cable, Tyler Acoustics. First class owners and companies. All go into extraordinary realms of personal attention and customer service. And they obviously love doing it.
I've had good luck with conrad-johnson, but, Thiel is in a class all by themsleves. When it comes to customer service Thiel is simply the best company of any kind that I have ever dealt with! Thiel's Shari should be awarded an honorary Ph.D. and offer a course on how to provide customer service.
B&K. You call them, and a real person who behaves professionally answers, and transfers your call to an expert. They anwer questions, send you info. Their web site is complete with info and downloadable docs. I sent my AV5125 5 channel amp in for service - it had an intermittent clipping in one channel. They fixed it and tuned up all of the other channels - no charge, not even for the shipping or the new B&K shipping carton they sent it back in.

Other companies I've dealt with are amaturish or slow to respond by comparison (Rega, Parasound, NAD, Exposure, others)
Although there has been similar threads in the past, I cannot pass up the opportunity to again mention Merlin Music Systems. One can talk directly to the person who made your speakers - Bobby Palkovic. In my many conversations/visitations with him over the years, he has always given the impression that getting his speakers to sound their best in your setup is more important to him than making a buck.
Refreshing.

David
Audio Valve in Germany offer excellent customer support. When movers dropped my older Eklipse preamp there was severe damage, I could not believe it when I got an upgraded unit back from Germany for only the cost of shipping to and fro.
Good work Heike and Helmut.
Green Mountain Audio offers excellent service and know- how. Roy Johnson takes great pride in his products and wants customers to be happy with their purchase. I own the third pair of Diamantes he made and he is still concerned about my satisfaction. I have gone through three minor upgrades. The results are terrific! Although unfortunate for GMA, I am so satisfied with my upgraded Diamantes that I will probably not buy another pair of speakers in the foreseeable future. I wonder how many owners of other speaker brands would assert that after 13 years of ownership.