Stereo Times rave review on 30.2 now posted

Flashman · « **on:** 24 Jul 2008, 12:41 am »

David Abramson over at Stereo Times now has posted his 30.2 review http://www.stereotimes.com/amp072208.shtml.

He sums up the review as follows: "In the meanwhile I’m enjoying my 30.2. Yep - my 30.2. Elegantly simple, functionally flawless and sonically whole, I couldn’t pass this one by. At the price, it strikes me as an utter sonic triumph and serves to remind me daily that different isn’t always better, though sometimes it very definitely is!"

whyyyyyy · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 01:09 am »

mmm. That was a great review. I really think he hit the nail on the head with that. I found it really enjoyable to read especially as a current owner of a sig 30.2.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 01:28 am »

Vinnie....

Congrats on another nice review....

Chris

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 01:38 am »

Thanks, guys!

A special thanks to David Abramson of Stereo Times for his very complimentary review of the Signature 30.2 integrated! Later on he mentioned to me that he is very interested in trying the Isabella (with Isabellina) in the mix (and the upcoming RWA cables) aa
Right now he seems more than pleased to be the owner of the 30.2 integrated and is enjoying the life -- off the grid

Here is a short list of upcoming reviews lined-up so far:

6moons - Isabella with built-in Isabellina dac (using a Macbook and CD transport as a source) and headphone amp output. This will feed a Signature 30.2 power amp, and RWA cabling will be added into the mix. We will be shipping this to Srajan Ebaen in new 6moons headquarters (beautiful Switzerland!) in early August. The preview is already posted on 6moons.com

Tone Audio - Jeff Dorgay of Tone Audio already owns a Signature 30.2 power amp, and we will also be sending him an Isabella with built-in Isabellina dac and headphone amp output and RWA cabling. Expect this review to come out in the October 2008 issue.

-- There are also some reviews in the works overseas... we'll post them once they are out (and in some cases, translated over the English).

We'll see if we can line-up a review of the stand-alone Isabellina dac in the near future as well. The Isabellina and RWA cabling will be available by August 1st

jhm731 · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 02:08 am »

Has there ever been a negative review on StereoTimes?

denjo · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 02:33 am »

Quote from: jhm731 on 24 Jul 2008, 02:08 am

Has there ever been a negative review on StereoTimes?

Never read a negative review in Stereo Times - just less positive ones!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 03:10 am »

Quote from: jhm731 on 24 Jul 2008, 02:08 am

Has there ever been a negative review on StereoTimes?

Hi jhm731,

I haven't read many StereoTimes reviews (mainly because I don't have a much free time as I wish I had), so I'm not sure
how many negative reviews there have been compared to positive ones (vs. other review sites and publications out there).

With your question above, it appears that you are voicing skepticism towards this review (or towards Stereotimes in general), correct? I do not believe that there is anything wrong with doing so. I hope that all of our customers purchase RWA equipment with confidence and trust their own ears to decide if it is the right choice for them. While positive reviews are helpful in getting potential customers interested in a certain piece of equipment (at least this is the case for us!), we strongly believe that it is essential that the customer trusts their own ears and listens for their self and decides for their self. Maybe they will agree 100% with a published review, maybe not agree at all, or maybe agree with parts of it... what is more important is that we offer a 30-day full money back return policy (minus the shipping) so potential RWA customers can be their own reviewer and try with confidence, and with a generous 5-year warranty, they can buy with confidence. Our return rate since the birth of the 30.2/70.2 has been essentially nill and we are proud of this and plan to always offer this 30-day policy and 5-year warranty.

In the case of this new Stereotimes article, it was indeed positive... the reviewer, David, Abramson, is now a proud owner of the RWA Signature 30.2 integrated amp that he reviewed. Both reading the review and receiving a call from him asking to purchase the review unit made me feel really good. Just like with all the reviews before his, I appreciate all the time and effort that he put into this review and am pleased that he is another proud owner of the 30.2!

Thank you all very much for your continued interest and support!

Vinnie

TONEPUB · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 03:34 am »

What I'm curious about is why we always hear the big cry for "negative reviews".

I get the occasional email asking me why we never "bash" anyones gear that
"is terrible"....

The fact of the matter is that today, hardly anyone is out there making junk.
There was a lot of substandard stuff back in the 70's and 80's because a lot
of people were still finding their way. These days, it's pretty hard to make junk
and stay in business.

However, there is still plenty of room for variation on the theme.

Because so much time and effort is put into a good review, why would someone
want to spend a few months of their life (perhaps more), listening and searching
for possible system synergies just to have the pleasure of "bashing" someones work?

Would you want someone to do that to something you've put your heart and soul
into creating? I'm guessing probably not.

I spend 8-12 hours a day listening to hifi gear and I haven't heard that much junk.

The couple of things I thought were really dreadful have been sent back to the mfr.

But for the most part, it's really about deciding which 500 dollar bottle of wine, one
would like to drink from. Vinnie makes great stuff, so does CJ, BAT, ARC and McIntosh.
However, I'll bet that any one of you would listen to all five of these (or others) and
walk away preferring the way one of these sounds rather than the other four.

Does that mean the other guys make bad products that are in need of "bashing"?

I have friends that own all of this stuff, and they all think they have "the best", so
who's right? Chances are, you are, because the one that's given you the strongest
emotional connection to your music is the one you will dig.

Just some food for thought....

6rs · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 04:25 am »

I own both a Sig 30.2 and now a Isabella. Since I have these, I enjoy listening to recorded music again. This is essentially all I ask for. Plus the price is ok, and I like the simplicity and novel approaches in the design, and level of integration. The "jewelry factor" may not that be that high compared to other products that, however, sell at a much higher price: Nagra, Spectral, Kondo! are products that do it for me in the "jewelry category".

If asked to write a review, how to proceed? I do see a parallel to letters of recommendation. A negative of too-critical comment KILLS the product or the applicant. Everybody wants to get a winner, hire the best person for the job. This may have led to a special language, that is read like a code: What was NOT praised that has been praised in similar products? How many standard formulations were used (demonstrating lack of enthusiasm or care preparing the text?). A balanced text directly mentioning aspects that were not as liked is out of the question, as everybody reading it will think the reviewer was dissatisfied overall even if the opposite is true.

Pelle · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 07:09 am »

Quote from: Vinnie R. on 24 Jul 2008, 01:38 am

-- There are also some reviews in the works overseas... we'll post them once they are out (and in some cases, translated over the English).

The swedish magazine HiFi & Musik will be reviewing the 30.2 in the next issue (due out in a month). I´ll see what I can do about posting a translation.

rockadanny · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 11:28 am »

Vinnie - I thought earlier this year when we spoke on the phone you mentioned a restocking fee (1%?, 5%?, 7%?) if I bought and returned a 30.2. Is that true?

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 01:19 pm »

Quote from: rockadanny on 24 Jul 2008, 11:28 am

Vinnie - I thought earlier this year when we spoke on the phone you mentioned a restocking fee (1%?, 5%?, 7%?) if I bought and returned a 30.2. Is that true?

Hi rockadanny,

This is NOT true. You might have me confused with someone else. Since we began RWA, there was never any restock fee and I do not plan to ever do this route.

As mentioned on our website, the 30-day full-refund policy only apply if the unit returned was in "like-new" condition and shipped in the original box. If it were returned scratched/dented, or not in the orginal box, we probably would not give 100% of the value (this has never happened yet... returns are essentially nil to begin with, and we never had any problems). Also note that the buyer would need to pay the shipping back to us.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,

Vinnie

rockadanny · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 03:06 pm »

Sorry Vinnie. My bad.

Now that I think about it I was also looking into other gear when we spoke.
I must have mixed up the info in my head.

Congrats on the great review!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 03:41 pm »

Quote from: Pelle on 24 Jul 2008, 07:09 am

Quote from: Vinnie R. on 24 Jul 2008, 01:38 am
-- There are also some reviews in the works overseas... we'll post them once they are out (and in some cases, translated over the English).

The swedish magazine HiFi & Musik will be reviewing the 30.2 in the next issue (due out in a month). I´ll see what I can do about posting a translation.

Hi Pelle,

Wow... thank you very much for this!

Hi rockadanny,

No worries.. . and thank you!

Hi 6hrs,

Thank you for your post and I would love to hear more of your feedback regarding the Isabella + Sig 30.2 combo... glad to hear you are enjoying listening to your music again.

Hi Jeff,

Well said, and thank you for posting your point of view as a reviewer!

Best regards,

Vinnie

6rs · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 09:42 pm »

Quote from: Vinnie R. on 24 Jul 2008, 03:41 pm

Thank you for your post and I would love to hear more of your feedback regarding the Isabella + Sig 30.2 combo... glad to hear you are enjoying listening to your music again.

I have not much knowledge of different gear that is on today's market. I was not happy with my previous gear. There was too much glare, listening was quite fatiguing. However, I do remember how much fun a good stereo can be as I used to own one. I sold the Quad ESL63 (too big) and the magic was gone too. The replacement, an ATC SCM20 did not fit in well.
The Sig 30.2 fixed the major problem, the glare, right away, together with an Ack Dack 2.0. I was excited again and started to upgrade tweeter, mid/bass driver and Xover compontens of my SCM20. In addition I bought mapleshade's speaker wire and bedrock stands. That was another HUGE improvement. At this point, my wife, who never used the equipment before, started to listen to her music.
With the Isabella, the most important change was that the music was becoming slower, less busy, and more transparent. Before, I often used to avoid unfamiliar, "difficult", or complex passages in the music and skip or fast-forward to my favorite spots. With the Isabella, listening to this music is not work anymore: it is more like lying in the grass and enjoying the different shapes of the clouds that are passing by. Quite often I stay up till late at night and enjoy listening to CDs that I "knew" were good but never really enjoyed before.
And it is not even broken in yet. I ordered some different tubes out of curiosity (Tesla gold pins, Tungsram and Panasonic, nothing over-the-top pricewise). The JJ tubes are described as on the warm and sweet side in other forums. So I am curious if the sound could have a little more rawness, without losing any of its magic.
B

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 10:56 pm »

Hi 6rs,

Thank you very much for posting your initial impressions. I added your comments to the following thread:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=57776.0

Thanks again and enjoy your Red Wine!

Vinnie

Zero · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Jul 2008, 11:20 pm »

Congrats on the great review Vinnie. David may not pick up the pen often, but I love it when he does!

pardales · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Jul 2008, 12:50 am »

Congrats indeed. RWA is on a roll!

gbeard · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 Jul 2008, 02:31 am »

Hey Vinnie!

Great job!

I'll be glad to audition an Isabellina dac and pen my thoughts! Have had several nice digital front ends (including my RWA SB2--still need a new battery though

) so I would be a decent choice.

I sure wish I could hear the whole shootin' match with my Super Alnico's!!!

Cheers,
Gary

jhm731 · « **Reply #19 on:** 25 Jul 2008, 06:51 am »

Quote from: Vinnie R. on 24 Jul 2008, 03:10 am

Quote from: jhm731 on 24 Jul 2008, 02:08 am
Has there ever been a negative review on StereoTimes?

Hi jhm731,

I haven't read many StereoTimes reviews (mainly because I don't have a much free time as I wish I had), so I'm not sure
how many negative reviews there have been compared to positive ones (vs. other review sites and publications out there).

With your question above, it appears that you are voicing skepticism towards this review (or towards Stereotimes in general), correct? I do not believe that there is anything wrong with doing so. I hope that all of our customers purchase RWA equipment with confidence and trust their own ears to decide if it is the right choice for them. While positive reviews are helpful in getting potential customers interested in a certain piece of equipment (at least this is the case for us!), we strongly believe that it is essential that the customer trusts their own ears and listens for their self and decides for their self. Maybe they will agree 100% with a published review, maybe not agree at all, or maybe agree with parts of it... what is more important is that we offer a 30-day full money back return policy (minus the shipping) so potential RWA customers can be their own reviewer and try with confidence, and with a generous 5-year warranty, they can buy with confidence. Our return rate since the birth of the 30.2/70.2 has been essentially nill and we are proud of this and plan to always offer this 30-day policy and 5-year warranty.

In the case of this new Stereotimes article, it was indeed positive... the reviewer, David, Abramson, is now a proud owner of the RWA Signature 30.2 integrated amp that he reviewed. Both reading the review and receiving a call from him asking to purchase the review unit made me feel really good. Just like with all the reviews before his, I appreciate all the time and effort that he put into this review and am pleased that he is another proud owner of the 30.2!

Thank you all very much for your continued interest and support!

Vinnie

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not questioning your product, just the commerical value of a rave review from Internet sites like Stereotimes, TonePub, etc... who seem to more interested in pursuing advertising dollars than identifying the best equipment.

I'd love to try the 30.2, but 30 watts/ch is not enough for my needs.

Good luck with your products.