[John Chapman]

Hello!

Many of you know I was away the past week in Japan. Great trip as always but tired when I returned. After a full day of typing e-mail replies on Sunday I checked an alternate mail box I use a bit and there was a message from S&B stating that they will no longer be shipping any products to me - not even the order I had placed and paid for already (although he would not have held funds I am sure). Needless to say this was more than a bit of a shock.

There has been no bigger supporter on the planet of S&B stuff than I have been! I have always considered Jonathan at S&B a friend - he really is a very nice guy. Anyway yesterday (Monday) was a bit of a write off since I did not sleep that sunday night at all - on top of a few other days of travelling home..... I am sorry for the vagueness and delays of my e-mails this past day.

Turns out it was over some confusion about a UK review of the TAP-X that to me is about the smallest issue I could imagine and could be easily sorted out. I wish I had problems like that every day! Apparently not so for S&B since the measure they took was rather extreme. I keep asking if there is something else I am missing but have yet to spot anything.

Since most of my business uses S&B products and since I have invested hugely in inventory recently this is quite an issue to say the least. For some folks it would be devastating. As many of you know I have been closely working with S&B since he began making the hifi transformers and I had always done my best to support him and to work with him developing and testing the products. We have always got along great I thought. Again I am in utter dis-belief that some small confusion could result is such a sudden and drastic action.

Although I was quite sure when he first mailed that it could be easily worked out it seems not.

My first concern was for all the folks that I have had waiting for parts from this latest shipment - I REALLY could not imagine e-mailing folks to say they could not have the stuff they had planned on...... Begging in e-mails (not my nature to beg but I'll do what needs doing) and a phone call from S&B  early today at least confirmed this latest order will be completed and shipped. That will take care of most orders we have standing now. I will be e-mailing some folks soon to confirm but it has been such a blur please don't hesitate to check in via phone or e-mail.

I also confirmed that he'd be fine to send TX103's for the MU step-ups in the future. The main change then is that I will no longer be selling TX102's - they will now only (I presume) be available from S&B in their finished pre-amp. I guess this should not be a shock since this past while S&B has not been crazy about DIY parts sales - they have tended to see the diy parts sales as lost finished pre-amp sales. Personally I have felt that it was the diy sales that got both of us to where we are now and have been pushing - too hard maybe - to continue those sales.

Over time I have had customers and friends ask why I did not just go ahead and make my own TVC - my answer was always the same - I would just NOT do that since I work with S&B. Jonathan at S&B understands that I will have to make a TVC and seems fine with that. He has even offered to help by giving me the TX102 components supplier info, etc....

The big choice then was to let the TVC version of the TAP and the TVC FLEX kit die or to go out and make my own TVC. The TAP is just too good to just let it die. I am very proud of it - the design ended up exactly as I had wanted when I started it.  It will however take some time to do it up right. I am guessing it will be into summertime or so before I will resume TAP pre-amp sales. I will not resume TAP sales until I am 100% happy with the result.

This last few days have been rather stressfull sorting things out - again I am sorry for delays or somewhat confusing e-mails! There are a few bright spots out of this. One is that I will once again be able to sell the TAP direct and set pricing worldwide. After I offered the TAP design to S&B to market they opted for a dealer model. Now I have nothing against dealers but the side affect of that was that TAP pricing was wildly different around the globe. The price in the UK was going to be a whopping $5500 or so. This to me was so high it eliminated it as an option for most folks. Now we'll be able to price the way I have always priced stuff - with as low a margin as I can.

In summary:


1- We be able to take care of almost all order currently here. For those few we may not be able to I will do my best to find solutions for you. I feel just awful in any case where we can't but I am just plain stuck. I have to state again that this is NOT in any way my decision and since S&B has control over their products I can only get what they will send me.

2- I will be able to continue with TX103 and MU step-up sales.

3- I will not have any TX102's in silver or copper. Also I will not be selling RIAA's or any other parts like grid chokes. Once I get all sorted out and have some clear head time I will post a list of what I have left in stock. I am not certain if S&B will sell parts directly or not.

4- This in NO WAY affects any ability to service existing products. As I always have been I will still be here to look after any issues and provide any help or service. I have a large stock of all parts needed to service products.

5- TAP sales will resume - likely in the summer. If you have any interest please just pop an e-mail through and I'll put you down on the 'keep me posted list'.

I am sure there is more I should add and will do as I think of things. Sorry for all the detail above but I felt I needed to explain just what had occurred. I still feel I must be missing something - that there must be another side to the story - if anyone knows what it might be please let me know privately. I have been so determined that I would never 'bypass' S&B and make my own TVC that I wanted to make it clear I am NOT just trying to cut them out of the loop. The decision came from S&B entirely.

Many Thanks!

John

[denjo]

Hi John

Really sorry to hear this! If its not too indelicate to ask, what did the UK review of the TAP-X say?

Best Regards
Dennis

[JoshK]

 

this seems very strange.  i cannot imagine what the review must have said to make the company act like that. 

i am sure you can have another oem make you tx's to your specification.  likely quite a bit cheaper too, in spite of you trying to keep right with s'n'b, it will likely be to the best interest of your customers in the long run. 

i will hold judgement till i know more, but this really makes me not want to do futher dealings with s'n'b. cut out the diy'ers so they could make more money off folks.  i don't quite get that logic, as most diy'ers wouldn't opt for a complete unit, be it for the lack of funds or a fun project.

i hope you are able to settles things quickly and this doesn't disrupt your business too much. 

[John Chapman]

Hello!

About the review. This is the mind boggling thing. The reviewer did not even have the TAP-X yet and not a word was written. I had promised the fellow a TAP-X review way back before I had offered the TAP to S&B to market. Then S&B REALLY did not want the TAP-X to exist and for a few days I had gone along with that - trying to keep peace. For those days we had discussed cancelling the review.  A couple days later we had decided  that if we priced the TAP-X the same as the TAP and sold it via dealers - ie so a TAP-X  would be exactly like a TAP for everyone involved - then it would be fine to keep it around. I took this to mean that we'd just let the review go ahead and highlight the diy aspect of the TAP-X. Jonathan was under the impression it was still going to be cancelled. Just a simple miss-understanding that could easily be corrected - the reviewer himself was quick to say it is no big deal if we want to cancel it now. This is what has me stumped.  That a problem so easily fixed would result in this drastic action after all these years.......

On the DIY vs finished products - I have seen them as 2 completely different customer sets. Overlap was rare and if it did occurr so what - as long as the customer got a good product to use in the end that is all that mattered.

Yes - my plan is to partner with someone to create the new TVC. I have always found that things tend to work themselves out so in the long run I am sure it will be fine. 


Thanks!

John

[JoshK]

Well, I applaud your willingness to stick up for us DIY'ers and not give in to corporate pressure.   

I wonder if you should talk with Dave Slagle? He has created AVCs, not TVCs, but you never know what might happen. 

[John Chapman]

Hello!

Yes Dave is one I have in mind to talk to. Nice fellow. We actually did talk to him years back about winding his Autoformers for him but then we kinda dropped the ball on that one....

I wanted to ask that folks not post any negative comments about S&B. Although I don't understand his decision I must accept it and move on. I don't want any bad feeling out of this. As mentioned I have considdered him a friend and intend on trying to keep that into the future.

Thanks!

John

[Srajan Ebaen]

Sad to hear it, John. The TAP is such a front-to-back dialed solution that I'm happy to hear you're looking for plan B and hopefully the right partner will materialize. Seeing that our review painted the partnership picture between Bent and S&B, I'm wondering whether a formal statement by them or you added to the end of the review would be appropriate to insure that the facts presented are current?

Would you mind getting with S&B to see how you jointly decide on this or whether it's a complete non-issue?

Best.

[Kevin Haskins]

You know "turn the other cheek" only goes so far. 

All I can say is that whatever they get, they deserve.   There has been no bigger supporter of S&B and they way in which this was handled speaks volumes about them.   

If they had done this to me, I'd have been out of business and my kids would have been moving in with Grandma & Gramps until I found a way to pay the bills.    Its just unacceptable to treat people like Jonathan has treated you in this affair.   

[denjo]

John
I have learnt that when one door closes in your face, another will open. I only know that this might be the beginning of a new chapter for you, an exciting one albeit with its many challenges ahead. But, what does not break you only makes you stronger! Sometimes we just need to open our eyes to opportunities around us!

Can I change the subject tag above - "The TAP is bent but not broken!"

All the very best!

Best regards
Dennis

[Steve Eddy]

I just got off the phone with Tom over at CineMag. He said he'd be willing to consider developing a TVC for you. They're good people, they do good work, and have quite a legacy of transformer design and manufacturing behind them. I sent him to the TX-102 page on the S&B site and he said to feel free to give him a call and talk it over.

Good luck!

se

[miklorsmith]

I will be pulling for you John.  You're obviously a craftsman with true focus on providing no-compromise products for reasonable prices.  I'd really like to hear one of these beauties in my rig some day.

[Ed Sawyer]

John, here's hoping you can find either a way to work things out with S&B (doesnt' sound likely though) or find a better provider. What they did was bizzare and utterly foolish, and will likely cost them lots of $ and goodwill to boot. Ultimately you will find a better supplier anyway I am sure.

places I'd consider discussing it with:

Dave Slagle, though he is not set up for commercial production.
Lundahl - they do some great work and make lots of complex small-signal trannies already. Kevin Carter @ KandKaudio.com is the US dealer for them.
Magnequest - pricey sometimes but perhaps an option?
Heyboer - they have a good reputation on cost, not sure if they can handle really small/fine work like these or not.
I bet Brian @ DIYhifi has some Chinese/Taiwanese sources for the (amorphous-core usually) stuff he uses in his products.
Cinemag (as already mentioned)
Plitron - they are more into toroids but maybe something could work out that way?

Either way I am sure you will bounce back fast, and the end-product will likely be better in any event!

Best wishes, let me know if I can do anything to help

-Ed

[gooberdude]

I think Nick Chua with Promitheus Audio might also outsource his transfomers.     

[Mondie]

You know "turn the other cheek" only goes so far. 

All I can say is that whatever they get, they deserve.   There has been no bigger supporter of S&B and they way in which this was handled speaks volumes about them.   

l agree 100%, l am very suspect on the motivation behind this move. There is more to it that the TAP-X, commecial greed perhaps.

l am over the moon at the performance and engineering in my TAP, l hope you can find a way to move forward from here with a new supplier. Best of luck John!

[Clive]

I think that given the price of the existing MFA preamp ($2.5k in the US or £1.5k in the UK) it seems to me that they need this preamp to have a remote control, TAP was a great way to achieve this.

Maybe they have a plan to introduce a remote version of their own instead of the TAP.

Maybe they don't appreciate the need for a remote version and how limited they may eventually find the market for their existing version.

Maybe I'm assessing the market requirement incorrectly.

[Ed Sawyer]

If they plan to continue trying to sell the overpriced 'music-first' preamp, that is going to meet with continued failure as it already has. It's under-functioned, overpriced, and fugly to boot. What are they thinking there? There's a ton of better choices, (or were) including the TAP of course, and the AudioSector unit, both of which I think were/are cheaper than the MFA piece.  Them selling the new TAP was the only logical choice, an idea which they seem to have abandoned (to their own folly I am sure).

Even the pics of the internals of the MFA unit show it's nothing special, with parts quality far below that of even the original TAP.  How they expect to sell that @ $2500 is beyond me. I know they changed Distributors in the US partly due to lack of sales volume, though I would tend to doubt the new distributor is going to have any more luck than the old one did. (their expected sales volume was totally unrealistic from what I understand)   

The only possible route they seem to be taking would be to eliminate sales of tx-102 to everyone else (incl. above mentioned manufacturers, as well as DIY users), forcing the adoption of the MFA piece for anyone who wants a tx-102 based unit.  Such a route is destined to fail for many reasons.

Hard to see any logic at all in their choices so far. Ah well, their loss.

-Ed

[John Chapman]

Hello!

Thanks guys for all the supportive comments. As I get a few days and most importantly a few nights sleep behind me it seems more and more like I have a fun time ahead. Everyone who knows me knows it is the product design I love best!

Thanks for all the leads in the thread and via private e-mail for possible partners. I'll be giving myself a week or so here to get clear and then will start to get rolling with that side of things. I'll move as quick as I can but I won't have a new TVC right away - it'll take some time to do it up right.

Srajan I will mail shortly - yes likely we need to say something to make clear the future of the TAP.

Thanks again to all!

John

[Srajan Ebaen]

After hearing back from Harry O'Sullivan of MFA Audio earlier today to see how he felt about a brief Postscript to the review, I have just added the following after the review's conclusion which I believe captures the gist while remaining brief. The "described above" bit of course refers to the review proper in which the Bent/MFA collaboration was detailed.

P.S. 3/30/07:
Harry Sullivan of Music First Audio has informed us that he decided to end the arrangement with Bent Audio described above and will no longer sell the raw TVC part to them. John Chapman tells us that he is committed to relaunching the TAP with different transformers as soon as he can find or specify suitable replacements. In either case, the TAP as reviewed is herewith discontinued except for fulfillments of a few outstanding orders for which Bent Audio still retains the requisite S&B parts in inventory. Whenever the TAP relaunches, 6moons will be pleased to revisit it with a formal review to update our readership - Ed.

Just specific to this thread, I will also say that this development forces John to consider alternate parts -- either finding them or having them made to spec -- and, in the long run, could lead to more options and perhaps even better performance. It's only when the best mousetrap runs out and is no longer made that someone sets out to design a new one. And often, that's when the mother of invention gives birth to something even better. If so, wouldn't it be ironic if MFA's decision prompted that very development?

[poseidonsvoice]

John,

My heart goes out to you. The TAP *is* an excellent product. I echo the sentiments others have mentioned and believe that there are TVC and AVC manufacturers locally who can support you. Dave Slagle immediately comes to mind as does Kevin Carter with Lundahl. Since S&B had doubled its asking price for the TVC's (admittedly due to inflation as well as increasing costs of metal in general) I started looking elsewhere for my projects. There are quite a few options.

Bent must survive. There is just too much talent there. The TRIK is astounding!

Anand.

[shib]

 

John,
     Had to check the date of your email to see if this was some April Fool's joke.  As you mentioned, things tend to work out in the end.  When the dust settles, you will now be able to call the TAP 110% your own.  You'll probably end up one of the leading authorities on transformer design! 
     I, too, was taken aback.  Reminds me, to a much lesser extent, of a recent experience of my own.  Had a local bike shop (recommended by a riding buddy) help me do a custom build on a Foes 2:1 FXR mtn bike.  Everything was chi chi.  Then, I had the same shop build me up a Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike.  I probably spent about $7k at the shop.  I've had warranty issues with the suspension fork, the disc brakes, and the rims used for the hand-built wheels.  I had the shop replace the King race on the fork with a custom Ventana piece.  The job was not up to their usual standards.  After questioning the owner (an ex-Tour de France wrench), I was told to find another shop that would meet my high standards.  What???  At that moment, that is how you must have felt. 
     Shows me that the shop is all about the sale.  They want to deal with complete bikes only.  They don't want to waste their time with "parts," or with educated clientele.  Sound familiar?

Michael