Waiting for the return of my Tempest!!

gromonster · « **on:** 11 Apr 2006, 02:38 am »

I need a little reassurance!

I recently purchased a Tempest and, after what was the better part of a month, it showed up on my doorstep and I was none too pleased to take it from the box and admire it in all of its glory.

Unfortunately there was a ground issue causing a hum in the speakers, not to mention a phono ground that was even worse and got louder with volume. So, after only a couple of weeks of use, Klaus asked me to send it in for repairs and I thought I would just go ahead and have him upgrade the phono stage to the Extreme version while it was in. Well, that was right at 3 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything back from anyone at Odyssey.

I do understand that the Montreal show occurred in the last couple of weeks, but I had hoped to at least get a response to my emails letting me know when I can roughly expect the return of my unit. I have read about the delays in shipping of equipment, but does this typically apply to repairs too?

As pleased as I am with the look and build of the equipment, I am a little worried about the responsiveness for repairs. Hopefully this will be the only time I need to send anything in, but it does make me hesitant when considering a Stratos or 2.

I hope I'm just being paranoid!!

Brad · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Apr 2006, 03:06 am »

Best way to contact Odyssey is by phone....

Klaus will take care of things.

Did you buy this new from Odyssey?

mtodde · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Apr 2006, 03:12 am »

I'm waiting for my Tempest Extreme to come back this week too. UPS damaged it in shipping apparently and the power switch was broken.

Klaus was nice enough to send a loaner Tempest Extreme for me to use in the interim. I highly recommend calling him as he is very responsive.

The loaner unit I have has a pretty bad hum that seems to originate from the unit; does this sound like your issue? Once any music at any volume is going you don't notice it and overall the unit seems very transparent sounding...the soundstage & imaging is a bit off as it is a new unit paired with a new Stratos, but I think I could be happy with it...until the next upgrade bug hits at least.

gromonster · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Apr 2006, 03:23 am »

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, I bought the unit new from Odyssey and spoke to Klaus a couple of times before. I am very pleased with everything else so far.

The Tempest had a very slight hum/buzz that could be heard with no music, but was not affected by the volume. When playing music, you couldn't even tell it was there.

The phono hum on the other hand, was very obvious and got louder with volume, making it difficult to listen to vinyl.

Klaus was very understanding of my concerns and initially offered a loaner so I wouldn't have to be without, but then he asked me to send it in and I was fine with that since my current amp has a direct in with rt & lt volumes, so the CD sounds fine (especially on my 'new' used 3.5 Magnepans!)

klaus@odyssey · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Apr 2006, 07:52 am »

Guys,

Apologies to everybody who is waiting for one service or another product.
In the last couple of months, I am burning the candle on both ends, putting in 13 + hours easily every single day to get to the show, finish prototypes, do regular production, travel, the avalanche of mail, and yes, actually work on the new site as well as being on the phone for an average of 4-5 hours a day. I have been late for quite a few customers, and really apologize for this, and I promise that I'll get everything done asap. However, I am not going to rush and do a half-ass job either, but it'll be done for sure.

Now, as for the Tempest units, that's why I really try to advocate the Extreme Tempest, because with the my-metal transformers, the phono is quiet. Just better, and unfortunately, the regular Tempest and it's power supply has a history of picking up environmental problems, and many of them we simply can't reproduce here in the shop.

Also, we'll have new batches of transformers made soon by Plitron, and we'll work on a my-metal shield of some sort that can be retrofitted if so desired. The actual problems are rare, figure that with both S/N runs, we have over 700 units out there, but when it occurs, it can drive me nuts as well.

Anyway, main thing is that if a problem occurs, (which happens also with amps from time to time, as well as speakers, or even cables, or... if there are parts involved, something will go wrong inevitably. Anyone telling you different is full of bullshit) it will be taken care of. And that's what I did in every single case so far, in all of my 19 years in this industry with Odyssey, and Symphonic Line as well.

Late,

Klaus

gromonster · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Apr 2006, 02:24 pm »

Thanks for the feedback Klaus! It's very refreshing to know that you review the posts here and respond accordingly. That's just another notch in the personal customer service of Odyssey that seems to be so evasive with other companies.

I look forward to receiving my Tempest and bringing the system back up to multi-source level!

mtodde · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Apr 2006, 03:50 am »

Just to follow up...I called Klaus today to check on the shipment of my original Tempest and it shipped on Monday...which means it should be here tomorrow!

mtodde · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Apr 2006, 02:33 am »

Klaus repaired the damage UPS inflicted upon my original Tempest and it arrived today.

The hum the loaner unit had is non-existent in my unit and the soundstaging and imaging are already pretty good...in a month or so that part should all come together as my Stratos has 2 1/2 weeks on it...so why did I order new speakers??????? Oh yeah, they sound really good!

gromonster · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 Apr 2006, 04:10 am »

Congrats on getting your Tempest back. Klaus sent me an email after posting here saying that it should be fixed (and upgraded to Extreme) today and shipped tomorrow. I'm looking forward to listening to the lack of a hum and just clean music.

I'm enjoying the speakers I got recently, now it would be nice to have the complete package so the real break-in can get underway! Eventually I'll work my way into a couple of Stratos, but that will be a bit down the road for now.

gromonster · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Apr 2006, 11:57 pm »

Well, my Tempest finally arrived yesterday!! The Extreme upgrade has been added and the transformer replaced, as well as the H/T bypass removed. I connected everything when I got home from work this afternoon and was completely elated at the total lack of any noise coming out of the speakers aside from the beautiful sound of music!!

I popped on some vinyl and it sounds amazing! Not a hum or buzz to be heard. Guess it pays to go the extra mile for the Extreme phono stage.

Patience is indeed a virtue and when the payoff is this pleasant, it is certainly worth the wait.

The Odyssey name will most definitely be among my system for a good long while. Now if I could only afford a couple of Monos. I guess this is where the patience thing comes into play again...