Talon-New owner-NO customer service

I see that a certain audiophile mags editor fowarded my email for their letters section to Rives! My story of "warning" was to fellow audiophiles to make their own decision. So far it has not been published by anyone. I realise I do not pay the Audiophile "rags" advertising revenue! Does anyone out there think, like me, that the editor -WARNING, the manufacturer who advertises in his mag about a complaint, reaks of collusion???

I sent the email to 6 moons, Stereophile, and TAS.
Only one gave me the courtesy of a reply, see below!!

Thank you for letting me know of the problem you are having with your Talon speaker and the lack of service you feel you are getting form the new owner. I am not sure if there is anything I can do to help, unfortunately.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

I wish to appologise I did not mean to use the word "steal". I just feel that tere are many great companies that do go above and beyond, but in this case my personal experience, with Rives and Talon was not even close. I should mention, I had to call Richard, as a friend owns Talons and suggested, I should. I was willing to pay for repair and was expecting "send us the plate amp we will have it checked". There is no name on the amp both internally or externally and seams to be made of premade boards from different sources. I ordered a $300 plate amp from DIY Express with the same specs, and had a woodworker friend modify the cabinet for $75. A far cry from $1600!

Yeesch, settle down a little!

You repaired it yourself. Good for you! You're a resourceful fella and thats a good thing and to boot, now you're a bona fide DIY'er.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Robyatt, you keep singing the same tune, but yer off key, your pitch is messed up and the timing isn't close, and it's sung to the wrong music!

Richard Bird offered to help you in such a way as to cover his costs to repair of your sub, or suggested another option on a speaker you bought used! You have spurned his offer thinking that he should do it for free.

The GE example you suggested has nothing in common with this situation. GE sold the original fridge, and is still owned by the same person!!!

You're starting to sound like a little kid on the playground who didn't get his way in a 'kickball' game. You don't care about facts or reason, you want what you want regardless of how unreasonable.

I think you should start a lobby to get a whole new speaker system including the sub, have Talon run out of business by the government, have Richard Bird arrested and sentenced to prison, and to allow you to keep all the income that Rives or Talon ever had the chance to make...

Collusion on the part of the magazine!!! As if this was worthy of a response... There would be no space for articles if every whiner who wrote a letter about not getting their own way were published. The editor handled this wisely, he passed it on to someone who could possibly do something about it, not knowing that he had tried and you wanted more!

Richard Bird did not own the company when you bought the speakers! I don't see how he is responsible for the problem. If he chose to repair them out of the kindness of his heart, wow, props to him. If not... his choice.

When my truck or motorcycle break down, I pay to have them repaired. When I had my Klyne pre-amp worked on, I paid for it, when I had work done on my CDP, I paid for it, I don't expect anyone else to foot the bill, and I bought them.

I've never bought anything from Richard Bird (although I have owned Talon speakers) but I've wasted a lot of his time, both on the phone and in person at Audio shows. I have never found him to be anything but personable, helpful, and knowledgable. BWDIK

Robyatt,

If you bought a used GE fridge, out of warrantee, then lost the compressor, I'd expect you'd get a repair estimate that would make a new fridge look attractive.

With regard to your letter finding its way to Rives, I applaud the magazine for taking an interest in trying to help you. It's doubtful your letter would have made it into publication, but at least they didn't ignore your problem. My assumption is that they were trying to help you and Rives. I see no collusion in that.

Am I surprised that a DIY project that cost $375 (likely with an inferior amp versus the improved version Rives wanted to provide) cost $1,600 when performed by a manufacturer? Not at all. Anyone who is shocked by this doesn't understand the financial realities of manufacturing.

I, too, have never bought anything from Rives, nor have I owned Talson speakers, but, like others, I am sensitive to the harsh and somewhat careless manner in which you treat this man's reputation and livelihood. Rives has been a valued member of this community for years, providing valuable insight in a thoughtful and professional manner.

High end audio is a small world. It's important to consider the impact of your words before you hit the "submit" key.