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Viva, no longer a fan

Viva as a company has decided to abandon the audiophiles who engage in the used market.  I heard that the had implemented new transformers in there amps.  I emailed them directly 3 times over a 2 week period with no reply.  Finally I called and the knew who I was by name, surprised I was then told that the US importer would be contacting me.  Here is the mail exchange:

From: John Krupa
Date: September 21, 2016 at 7:04:52 PM EDT
To: support@vivaaudio
Subject: Fwd: Viva Audio

Totally what I did not expect!!! I was primarily looking to upgrade them to the new Quattro status as I understand there was an big transformer upgrade that I was willing do in addition to the voltage change. After the Bob Clarke email I was taken back and responded how I felt. I really am no longer interested in Viva as a company to do business with if that is the case and will blog the copy of this email to the various sites.


From: John Krupa 
Date: September 21, 2016 at 2:08:37 AM EDT
To: Bob Clarke
Subject: Re: Viva Audio

The Verona's are at my Girlfriends house in Manchester. I heard there was a new Transformer upgrade in the Quattro series, hence my interest. I have over $300k invested in my system and I have Sola CVS transformers providing both voltages hence it was only for convenience sake. Upgrades are and have been part of this industry that I have been a part of for over 40 years since I started in this hobby. Name the manufacturer and it hasn't been a problem. Upgrading from. Mk1 to a Mk2 or an SE upgrade. Weather it be BAT, YG, Plinius, Ayre, the list goes on and on, It's a shame that a manufacturer acts in such a petty way. I will make sure that I share this email on all the sites that I am a part of! It's funny but this I believe reduces the brands appeal and will drive down its resale valve hence the initial desire to purchase in the first place. This is an email I would have expected from a "name deleted" type. Now I guess Viva! No longer a fan!


On Sep 20, 2016, at 12:02 PM, Bob Clarke wrote:

Dear Mr. Krupa,

Viva Audio has asked me to respond to your request regarding voltage changes and upgrades for Viva Verona amplifiers and Linea linestage. Viva no longer services equipment purchased on the used market from anyone that is not an authorized Viva dealer. They do not make voltage changes, in order to discourage grey-market international sales. I would recommend using a high-quality, high-current step-down transformer, which, besides allowing the use of a European voltage product, will also have the beneficial effects that isolation transformers provide.

Best regards,
Bob Clarke
Profundo


Ag insider logo xs@2xvip428
inna
7,132 posts
 
Roxy54, I don't know what to suggest, I am not a pro in this field.
How is grey market formed in the first place? Usually, whatever it is, you try to affect the causality. If it is not possible or extremely complicated you move a little further down the chain.
This kind of company policy creates, among other things, the situation of people belonging to different hierarchical classes, with one having certain priviledges and the other not. European at its worst. We have it here in America too, but it is also European in origin. Or has it always been that way since our ancestors left African continent or even before that? In any case, I believe, that's not how it should be in a modern civilized society. One can perhaps argue about transferrable and non-transferrable warranty, but that's different.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,235 posts
 
I’m with Jond and Roxy54 on this issue, what more effective steps can Viva employ? This is a major concern for a small cottage company such as Viva dealing with undermining grey market competition. If there is a better approach would someone here kindly suggest what that might be?

They make superb amplifiers (I love their sound) based on their own hard work and talent. I can’t fault them in their attempt to discourage grey market competition. It seems reasonable to me that the "initial " sale be via an authorized dealer.
Charles,
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,703 posts
 
Inna,
It happens in different ways. Sometimes an authorized dealer is selling them out the back door in quantity, and sometimes there are small quantities that hit the market from businesses that close.
There is another way of course, and I really doubt that it applies here. Some watch companies, I am thinking of Tag Heuer in particular, say that they protect their retailers, yet there are large numbers of their watches online from unauthorized sources. Same with Bell & Ross. I, and other people I know in the industry believe that because business is not good at this time, they are deliberately dumping inventory to these vendors to make at least some money during a difficult time.  
hew's avatar
hew
159 posts
 
How did the amp get into the grey marketplace in the first place, if not through their own dealer network? Why punish the customer for a problem in the dealer network? Seems to me they need to tighten up their distribution/retail channels and not punish potential customers and kill  the use market. I would think all high-end manufacturers would maintain a database to track serial numbers from manufacturing through retail to possibly even re-sales. Maybe, I am just being naive.
soundsrealaudio's avatar
soundsrealaudio
756 posts
 
What is the big deal.......( Jerry ) find someone who works on tube amps and order the upgrades to be installed by them....I don't get it. You buy a piece of gear used and expect royal treatment from an over seas manufacture. Try taking a used iPhone in to have it upgraded.  Bob Clark at Profound is a good guy. Though he is not in the service business.


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