Spartan2
Build to order is entirely different from “off the shelf”. With off the shelf the product will either be in stock and easy to ship quickly or out of stock. Build to order has a much longer process for completion. Aside from the physical build there is the admin that has to go with it, the general business admin and the large amount of time spent in e-mail discussion with many orders. My business is essentially a one-man, plus part time office help, business at present (although this is going to change next year). Currently I make everything myself, by hand, one item at a time. This is the busiest time of the year in audio with many orders placed every week this can rapidly expand the time scale of the build schedule as each product takes a finite amount of time to make. Essentially there is a queue and this is dynamic depending on the level of orders at any given time.
Then there are the logistics of acquiring all the materials for each order. Component distributors are not holding the stock levels they used to, in these times of Global Recession, and it is quite possible for components to be out of stock with all the distributors at once as the manufacturers are not manufacturing at the levels they were before the recession.
My world is not on a precise timescale. Many things can delay production and I do not currently have the manpower resources to plug the gaps that can develop due to outside forces. I used to just quote a fixed time scale but when this was inaccurate people used to get annoyed with me for shipping late. This is why I now give customers the full picture so they understand the logistics of build to order before they order. If you are the type of person that wants everything by return, I would prefer to politely tell you to go somewhere else to spend your money, as build to order may not be for you. Whether you will get the same level of sound quality improvement elsewhere off the shelf is a good question, but it’s your choice and you are the one who has to live with the results of your decision.
If you are given realistic expectations from the start of any build to order business relationship the path is less stressful for all concerned.
There is currently no possibility of an express fee service as orders are booked into the work schedule in chronological order and I do not have any free time outside my work schedule for additional work.
The regulator designs are silicon based discrete designs (no performance limited three terminal regulators) as I can approach the ideal voltage source, much closer than I can with valves, by using silicon. I am not against valves and I use them myself for signal processing. They just have their limitations for certain applications.
Transformers used are :- SR1-24VA, SR3-50VA and 60VA, SR5-100 or160VA depending on application, SR7-250VA and higher depending on application.
The SR3, SR5 and SR7 use the same regulator circuit topology with enhancements as you move up the range. The SR1 is a different circuit topology as it is a shunt regulator. I fit high ripple current low ESR electrolytic capacitors in the power supplies. These are essential to achieve a decent level of energy storage. I have some internal pictures of some of my custom versions of these supplies. Contact via e-mail and I will send them to you.
From 30th November the SR5 with the 100VA transformer will be £450 and with the 160VA transformer will be £525. The SR7 is £650. DC leads are extra.
Incidentally for the current SR5 group Buy I decided to fit the 160VA mains transformer to ensure that the power supply would be more or less universal for the Mac Mini. This was made possible by the quantities I have been able to order. The group buy price is currently £350. When the SR5 group buy offer runs out on 30th November, the same version after 30th November will cost £525, so it is an exceptional buy at the moment.
I cannot quote accurate shipping times as the carrier transit time often varies considerably from their advertised time also it often takes an additional period of time through forwarding agents from the Western Isles to the mainland carrier network. This can add up to 5 days.
I would say that normally 75% of orders are shipped out in the expected lead time, but that does leave quite a few that are delayed for various reasons past the expected lead time. You have a 1 in 4 chance of a delayed order so I am not going to give you any absolute guarantee with this. I am a “tell it how it is” guy. I know a man who makes very fine acoustic guitars to order. If you want one of his guitars you will have to wait for around two years. He cannot make them any faster but people wait because the guitars are so good. As I said before if you do not want to wait, go somewhere else. If this is the case there is no need for further comment.
Regards
Paul
