[FireGuy]

Axiom Audio
Outlaw Audio
Aperion Audio
NuForce

[brj]

As a word of caution, be aware that AC's "no dirty laundry" policy ensures that you will only ever hear about positive interactions with a manufacturer.  The policy is justified and useful for several reasons, but it's enforcement will tend to skew the aggregate feedback.

Of course, this does absolutely nothing to diminish a poster's individual positive experience, and I'm sure everyone hopes that all manufacturer interactions are positive.  Just remember that you're not going to hear anything about less successful interactions on AC.

(For what it's worth, my comment is made from experience, as I had an ultimately very negative and costly experience with a vendor mentioned very positively earlier in this thread.  And no, I won't go into it on AC, per the policy.)

[DaveC113]

3rd Bobby at Merlin, he's been building speakers for a long time and is still passionate and loves to talk audio.

Louis at Omega speakers too, he is usually the one answering the phone and will take as much time as needed answering all my questions.

Jason at Schiit Audio usually emails back immediately if he's around, and always the same day. Great DAC...

My DIY amp and preamp always get fixed asap by the builder, he's borderline incompetent but the results have exceeded my expectations. 

[jackman]

Good call on Louis at Omega.  He's one if the good guys in this business. His workmanship is great and he's a true music lover.  First class guy.

[JerryM]

Audio by Van Alstine - Frank, Larry, Mary, and Dean are all awesome. They go above and beyond the call.

Kool Cables, Inc. - John Prator exemplifies the very best of a customer satisfaction oriented manufacturer, even if one purchased his products on the used market.

[django11]

As a word of caution, be aware that AC's "no dirty laundry" policy ensures that you will only ever hear about positive interactions with a manufacturer.  The policy is justified and useful for several reasons, but it's enforcement will tend to skew the aggregate feedback.

I wasn't aware of the policy.  If true that certainly takes the shine off of the positive feedback.   If no one with negative experiences is allowed to share  it all seems more like publicity than information and threads like this should come with a disclaimer "Attention: no negative feedback allowed".

[JerryM]

I wasn't aware of the policy.  That certainly takes the shine off of the positive feedback.   If no one with negative experiences is allowed to share  it all seems more like publicity than information and threads like this should come with a disclaimer "Attention: no negative feedback allowed".

I don't agree. The title of the thread suggests one will find some good, positive, feedback regarding manufacturers. If one were to ask about a specific manufacterer in another thread, an honest answer wouldn't seem to be out of place.

[Phil A]

I wasn't aware of the policy.  If true that certainly takes the shine off of the positive feedback.   If no one with negative experiences is allowed to share  it all seems more like publicity than information and threads like this should come with a disclaimer "Attention: no negative feedback allowed".

The policy does not bother me.  I've had less than great experiences with some.  An example would be ordering and paying for a limited edition SACD, having the vendor indicating copies were available publicly almost two months after I paid for them and then when the other limited edition SACD was available a couple of weeks later, telling me he had no copies of what I paid for that he sold to someone else long after receiving payment (I did receive a refund although was a hair short changed on shipping costs).  I don't feel the need to bash the vendor by name.  I won't order again from that source.  I have no problem if someone else thinks the vendor is the best thing since sliced bread.  The problem is that some feel the need to bash someone by name over and over as a means of trying to get even.  If one feels like they have been wronged enough then it is appropriate to file complaints with the BBB or state consumer protection agencies. 

[morganc]

Modwright.  Repaired preamp free of charge and no questions asked despite having no obligation to do so.

I had the exact same experience with Modwright   

Zu Audio is always there to answer questions, give opinions on amps, Pre-amps, etc and they take care of their owners when it's time for an upgrade.   

I have found a few others to be pretty good, but those two were the best by far.   

[medium jim]

If not already stated, Magnepan...oops, already noted....then there is Bottlehead a small DIY company that has a forum to help you get it right and Doc B also is there to guide you.

Jim

[Lightning03]

I know Oppo has been mentioned already but I also wanted to mention that there customer service is great. I called and left a message on Saturday and first thing Monday morning they called me back and left a very detailed message answering my questions.

[whell]

Audio by Van Alstine - Frank, Larry, Mary, and Dean are all awesome. They go above and beyond the call.

+1. They're awesome.

[djbnh]

Odyssey Audio
Triode Wire Labs

[kingdeezie]

Definitely Manley Labs.

Totally agree with Manley Labs.

A year and a half ago, I purchased a used set of Manley Neo Classic 250s.  Due to the tubes being jostled during shipment, upon start up, one of the tubes blew and took out a resistor.

I was freaking out since I did not know how to solder, and didn't know of anyone locally who could help me out.

I called Manley and they overnighted me clip on resistors so I could easily replace the blown resistor myself.

They also transferred the amps to my name.

Even though they are eight years olds, and I worry about something else going wrong due to age, I still love the amps and I am very happy with the customer service I received.

[navin]

As a word of caution, be aware that AC's "no dirty laundry" policy ensures that you will only ever hear about positive interactions with a manufacturer.

Well the title of this thread only asks members to list the manufacturers they feel go 'above the call'. Maybe we could have a thread where members can list those that have 'dropped the ball'. With a bit of moderation (to weed out colourful language, bashing and flaming) it might serve to inform manufacturers that they needs to pick up their socks.

I don't know how the larger manufacturers distribute their goods in Europe or the US but here (in India) many manufacturers (I am referring to the more mainstream ones) tend to rely on dealers ability to pay upfront and sometimes dump goods on a dealer. This works both ways. Sometime back I was able to pick up a pair of Yamaha A S-2000 integrated amplifiers for $3000 (if normal rates would have applied the cost should have been at least twice that including shipping, duties, and taxes). On the other hand another dealer promised me delivery 2 days after I paid (about $1750 for an Arcam 400 AVR) and then informs me that delivery will take at least 2 weeks. With larger mainstream manufacturers we don't normally have access to anyone in management who can really help.

On the flip side I recently exchanged over 100 emails with Rick Craig of Selah. He patiently answered all my questions (including some stupid ones). He shared as much of his design knowledge as he could to help be build a better speaker.

I would assume smaller manufacturers like Selah, Salk, AVA, Modwright, Schiit Audio, etc where we do get direct access to people who care will perform better in this analysis.

[Diamond Dog]

Over the last couple of years or so, I've had the experience of dealing with pretty much every manufacturer who's gear graces my rack except XLO and I would say the best, go-above-and-beyond customer service was Manley, no question. The others have ranged from OK to "Well, that was interesting..." but Manley was straight-up excellent. Can't say enough good things about them.

D.D.

[saisunil]

I have had crazy good experience with all of them (over the top)
DB Audio Labs
GIK Acoustics
GR Research
PI Audio Group
Tube Research Labs
Virtue Audio
Vista Audio

[Gopher]

Pi Audio
Triode Wire Lab
Zu Audio
Wywires
Ray Sammuels
Bill O'C of Eastern Electric

[satfrat]

While I've done business with many companies that gave me good service, the thread title specifically states "above and beyond" which really narrows the playing field to actual circumstances which happen to all of us that actually required extra effort from a business and how they provided it. Anything other than that, you might as well retitled this thread "Fanboy's: where does your allegiance lie.  

So with that in mind, here's my list of merit:

Odyssey Audio- Klaus went way way above & beyond in the delivery of my 4 Lorelei's. Trust me on this one!!!

PI Audio- Dave has stepped up when he really didn't have to and I wasn't asking for it.

VMPS- Brian did some repair work for me,,, no charge

Bolder Cables- Wayne has also done repair work for me,, no charge. He will be missed by here by many.

CryoParts- Lee IS missed,,,, simply one of the nicest guys I've ever known but never got to meet who simply gave of himself. He will always have a warm spot in my heart.

While I'm a fanboy of many more businesses with wonderful transaction experiences, the call for above & beyond service hasn't been needed. But I personally feel many many audio businesses step up their customer service as it's what stands out in a niche market. 

Cheers,
Robin