I do not recall a bad retailer or manufacturer experience. Often the experience is related to unreasonable consumer behavior which is a real problem these days. I have good experiences with TMR, Lamm, Acoustic Frontiers (San Francisco), Purist Audio, Audio Concepts (Dallas).
I've had great experiences dealing with the following amp makers: Justin Weber - Ampsandsound Keith Herron - Herron Audio Craig Ulthus - Eddie Current Donald North - DNA All of them are very responsive and great to talk to as well...
We dropped in unannounced, and unexpected, to Dan D'Agostino's manufacturing facility in Cave Creek, Arizona. Although he doesn't know me, he gave me a complete tour of the plant. His products are beautiful, well-made and expensive. When I can afford them, they'll be my first choice.
This is of course limited to purchase history; John Devore-ask this true gentleman a tedious question like whether vibration control devices are a good idea under his loudspeakers and he gives you an immediate considered response. One example among several. EveAnna Manley-I can't say that I have received personal responses from her but she has a great team of support staff who give immediate informative responses. Peter Bizlewicz-if this name does not ring a bell, he is Symposium Acoustics. I really ought to put him at the top of my list because this gem of a guy will share his wealth of knowledge on any audio-related topic regardless of whether it involves his excellent equipment racks. I once mentioned upgrading coupling caps on my ARC amp and he sent me 2000 word explanation of the engineering principles applicable to coupling caps! I own three of his racks and love them. Ruta Triukiene-I bet few of you know who she is either. I believe she is the wife of Reed designer and to my mind engineering-genius Vidmantas Triukas. She serves as Sales Manager. She is incredibly responsive to questions and if you have ever tried to mount a Reed arm, there will be questions. I see Justin Weber got mentioned above. I recently bought a customized Nautilus. Not much of a customization but it is powder coated white which I think makes it bitchin'. I would love to serve as editor of his website as an English major/lawyer for his typos drive me nuts but that is besides the point. He is as personable and as down to earth as they come. I could list some downright snotty people who make damned good stuff too. I have a bespoke tube based DAC from England that cost a fortune and I absolutely love it but the owner and brains behind the operation is a complete arrogant arse.
@facten
Not sure how Upscale Audio fits in the Boutique Amp Speaker Builder category
They do not but they helped me with an issue with my Pathos In Pol Heritage ($15K) that I did not even buy from them and they had just assumed the duties as the US Importer. They had my In Pol picked up sent to Italy for repair, sent me a loaner Classic In Pol and did not charge me a dime. No they are not a Boutique Builder but they are stand up folks.
Was just setting the stage as it is the only time I have had an issue with any equipment( Knock On Wood).
+1 for Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere. He has been my Audio Guru. Has always been there for me to evolve my system to perfection. I have known some great people in this business but Ralph is the first who sincerely there to help.
I don't know if they qualify as "boutique builders" these days, but I was very impressed with Oppo recently. I was wanting to sell an Oppo BDP83 player, but the disk tray was a little quirky. I contacted Oppo about getting it fixed and although I was the second owner, they replaced the tray, updated the firmware, cleaned it up and delivered it back in all new packaging. I paid only $99 and one way shipping.
Klaus Bunge at Odyssey Audio. I am his NY PITA, but he always treats me with respect and takes whatever time he needs to explain to me his products, and match them to my needs. Whether it’s a new purchase, an upgrade of a previous purchase, or just BSing about music, Klaus is a class act. Under promise and over delivers every time.
Michael Kelly at Aerial Acoustics - he answered the call or replied by phone on a few occasions when I had questions on speaker placement and amplifier matches for my Model 8b’s.
The folks at Ayre Acoustics have offered reasonably priced, material product upgrades and have promptly answered questions about the three pieces of their gear I own. Both of the above manufacturers make durable, very high quality products that have been a pleasure to own.
My audio guy out of Edmonton Alberta. Mike Harlow at S&M High Fidelity. I’ve been dealing with Mike for 15 years. He definitely knows his stuff. Cheers Derrick
I have had very few issues with audio gear and have experienced good service mostly for the exception of some tube issues. I can say for outstanding service that Mark Schneider of Linear Tube Audio has gone the extra mile and is as down to earth as it gets. He is a highly motivated audiophile like me and an asset to our community. Also, Dan Wright is right there withMark with his outstanding service. I can’t say enough good things about these guys and their well thought out products.
Richard Vandersteen, Mike at HRS, Glenn at Aesthetix, Jonathan Carr at Lyra, Keith at Herron, Donna at SOTA, Tri at Triplaner, list is long…some really fine people…
Hello, Sutherland- Ron Sutherland Ayre- Brent, Russ, and Ariel Rogue-Mark and Nick It it amazing how busy all these people are even when a world wide crisis hits but still make time for the PITA audiophiles like me. Just amazing!
David Belles Belles Amps.......Randy Rusk @ Caintuck audio ( baffle less speakers....Steve Deckert...and Eric Alexander @ Tekton. Also Brian at Sweet Home Audio. (a retailer)
@tonykay, I would not do that if I were you. I can give you a Dan D'Agostino story that will put your hair on end. He could not care less about his customers.
@arafiq + 1 on Fritz Heiler!! Hung out with Fritz at my place for about 3 hours when he brought by a pair of Carrera speakers for me a couple of months ago - great dude - Fritz rocks!
Thanks for the heads up. While I don’t really know Dan, my comment was about someone who would introduce me to his wife, and even his dog, and then give me a guided tour of his facility on a weekend when they weren’t even open for business. I have not seen anything nefarious about him but I admire the appearance and perceived quality of his products. If you have a story to share, there’s no need for a new thread but feel free to send me a message.
Just to name a few really terrific guys that are always helpful: Joe at JPS/Abyss Brian at Cardas Mark and Nick at Rogue Peter Lederman at Soundsmith Kevin Hayes at VAC Joe Parvey at Wolf Audio Peter at Symposium Donna at STOA Bob at Backert Labs
Oh yeah. When I got back into audio in about 1995 after a hiatus I bought a pair of B&W 805 Matrixes. Joe made a product called "Golden Flutes" that were powered equalizers to boost the bass response specifically made for just this loudspeaker. I called JPS and to ask some questions and got Joe. Joe mentioned the one downside to his Golden Flutes would be needing an additional set of IC's. I whined about already being beyond budget buying the Golden Flutes. Joe responded, "I see. I will throw in a set of my IC's". They were a set of his better IC's where the signal cable was inside a flexible goosenecked copper tube making them a bit unwieldy but damn they were miles better than any IC's I had at the time. I still have the 805M's and the Golden Flutes waiting for a second system set-up or to go to one of my sons. I will always remember (well maybe not since I did not mention him above) his kindness.
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