Great Customer Service from Dan at Running Springs Audio

zybar · « **on:** 14 Nov 2008, 01:42 am »

I know that we tend to post the negative experiences with vendors more than the positive ones, so I thought it was worth taking a few minutes to describe the great customer service I recently received from Dan at Running Springs Audio.

I have owned a RSA Haley power conditioner for the last 5+ years and it worked trouble free up until a few weeks ago. Out of the blue, I smelled plastic burning and went over to the system and saw that one of the outlets in the Haley was literally melting. I immediately shut everything down and took the Haley out of the system. I called Running Springs Audio and was pleasantly surprised to talk directly to their head designer, Dan Babineau. Besides being incredibly knowledgeable in his field and about audio, Dan is just a great guy to talk to! Dan was genuinely concerned about the issue (I believe he said that he can count on one hand the number of field issues that have been reported with over 3000+ deployed units) I experienced and told me to send the unit out to him ASAP. Dan promised it would be looked at as soon as it arrived. Heck, he even went so far as giving me his cell number to call in case I had any further questions or concerns.

Once my Haley reached Dan, he was true to his word and went to work on the unit right away. He was able to diagnose the problem quickly and did all the repair work lickety-split. His communications to me were clear, concise, and timely (which isn't always the case with many vendors). As if that weren't enough, Dan went one step further and provided updates to my trusty, but older unit while doing the repair work!

I have owned my Haley as long as I have because of its performance and trouble free nature. Now I have another reason to be a Running Springs Audio customer, outstanding customer service!

Thanks and kudos to Dan.

George

rydenfan · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Nov 2008, 02:19 am »

George, glad to hear you had such a positive experience. Nice that Dan stood buy you like that.

satfrat · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Nov 2008, 02:50 am »

Care to share what actually happened George? If the conditioner had an GFIC outlet, why didn't that shut down the conditioner? I always thought that's what it was there for? I'm glad to hear tho that you were right there to deal with the problem.

It's scary to think what could have happened.

Cheers,
Robin

zybar · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Nov 2008, 01:01 pm »

Quote from: satfrat on 14 Nov 2008, 02:50 am

Care to share what actually happened George? If the conditioner had an GFIC outlet, why didn't that shut down the conditioner? I always thought that's what it was there for? I'm glad to hear tho that you were right there to deal with the problem. It's scary to think what could have happened.

Cheers,
Robin

Robin,

The RSA Haley doesn't contain GFIC outlets.

Rather than butcher the technical details, I will see if I can get Dan to post here or send me an e-mail.

George

Bill Baker · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Nov 2008, 01:26 pm »

Being a dealer for Running Springs Audio and have sold a couple Haley's the past few weeks, I can confirm George's comments about Dan. A real stand up guy and a smart guy at that.
I have had many pleasurable conversations with him.
It is nice to see positive comments once in a while as the world is full of negative talk. Everyone is too quick to talk about negative experiences.

satfrat · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Nov 2008, 07:38 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 14 Nov 2008, 01:01 pm

Quote from: satfrat on 14 Nov 2008, 02:50 am
Care to share what actually happened George? If the conditioner had an GFIC outlet, why didn't that shut down the conditioner? I always thought that's what it was there for? I'm glad to hear tho that you were right there to deal with the problem. It's scary to think what could have happened.

Cheers,
Robin

Robin,

The RSA Haley doesn't contain GFIC outlets.

Rather than butcher the technical details, I will see if I can get Dan to post here or send me an e-mail.

George

Maybe that's why everyone likes them so much. Never heard anything good about GFIC outlets from a sonic standpoint anyways.

Cheers,
Robin

saisunil · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Nov 2008, 07:43 pm »

Nice ...

We all need more good news threads.
spread the good word!

TONEPUB · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Nov 2008, 01:09 am »

That's why I have five RSA units....
2 Haley's, 2 Jaco's and the new Dmitri.

Best stuff I've ever used.

arthurs · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Nov 2008, 01:47 am »

I have a Haley and a Duke, and have had the true pleasure of talking to Dan a couple of times, great guy and really helpful/informative...I really like his products

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Nov 2008, 02:48 am »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 15 Nov 2008, 01:09 am

That's why I have five RSA units....
2 Haley's, 2 Jaco's and the new Dmitri.

Best stuff I've ever used.

Jeff,

Can you describe the sound difference between the older models (Haley and Jaco) vs. the new Dmitri?

Thanks,

George

TONEPUB · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Nov 2008, 03:10 am »

You can read the full review in issue 18....

The Dmitri replaced a Danielle in my main system.

It just does more of what the other models do. Sound quality/tonality
is no different, and like the Jaco, Duke and Danielle, you can run a big
power amp with them with no limitations of dynamics. The Haley sounds
like the other three, but it's only a 15amp device (vs. 20 in the others),
so you probably can't run a 300wpc amp at full throttle with it...

But the big diff between the Dmitri and the others is that it makes the backgrounds
even quieter, less grain overall and more smoothness overall than the Jaco or Danielle.
I felt it was worth the extra dough, but again, the Jaco and Danielle are both outstanding.

I've got a pretty resolving system, so I was able to hear enough difference to
jump off the cliff and upgrade, but I am very happy with it.

My main system has the Dmitri powering a CJ ACT2/series 2, Naim 555(W/ps 555),
Nagra VPS phono pre, and a Rega IOS phono pre along with three turntables.

The Jaco powers a pair of MartinLogan CLX's, a MartinLogan Descent i and a CJ
Premier 350 power amp. The Dmitri made a very good diff there too, but I could only
afford one and in my system the bigger improvement was on the source side.

If the govt. ever sends out another round of "economic stimulus" checks, I'll probably
replace the Jaco with another Dmitri, just because I'm obsessed.

Also, my sources and the power amp/speakers are both on sep. 20A lines.
The Dmitri uses the new RSA HZ power cord and my Jaco uses a Shunyata
Anaconda Vx power cord. The rest of my system is a 50/50 split, using Running
Springs Mongoose power cords and Shunyata Python Alpha power cords.

mdconnelly · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Feb 2009, 02:27 pm »

I'm been seriously looking at power conditioners and Running Springs in particular, for my 2 channel setup. I've got a McCormack DNA-500 amp and was wondering if the Haley might impose some current limiting. Should I really be looking at the Jaco?

George, I know you once had the DNA-500. Did you use it with the Haley?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

zybar · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 03:12 pm »

Quote from: mdconnelly on 4 Feb 2009, 02:27 pm

I'm been seriously looking at power conditioners and Running Springs in particular, for my 2 channel setup. I've got a McCormack DNA-500 amp and was wondering if the Haley might impose some current limiting. Should I really be looking at the Jaco?

George, I know you once had the DNA-500. Did you use it with the Haley?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hmmm...I probably did at some point.

I know I used a Duke with the DNA-500 as well.

Regardless, I know that the Haley can handle all but the most extreme amps. When I am running my Atma-Sphere MA-1's (Class A) and Pass clone amp (Class A) I am pushing 10-11 amps and not hearing any negative issues - just positive improvements.

George

JakeJ · « **Reply #13 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 04:00 pm »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 15 Nov 2008, 01:09 am

That's why I have five RSA units....
2 Haley's, 2 Jaco's and the new Dmitri.

Best stuff I've ever used.

TONEPUB

I also live in the Pacific NW and been under the impression that due to the large hydroelectric system feeding the grid we have pretty clean power. Here in my home I've not seen power fluctuate more than 119VAC to 121VAC. Also I have a Monster PC that seemed to make no discernable difference other than act a convenient power distribution point that is better looking than a power strip.

My system is resolving enough to hear differences in cabling so I believe it would also be sensitive to PC's that actually *do something* as opposed to what I have experienced to date. Your endorsement is clear so I was wondering how many times you tried straight wall power vs. a PC and a bit of overview of your journey over time with various power conditioners. If all my questions are answered in e-zine then just point me to the issues, haven't read 'em all.

Thanks,
Jake

Dan Driscoll · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 04:06 pm »

It's always great to hear about positive experiences with vendors and designers, thanks for posting.

TomS · « **Reply #15 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 05:25 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 5 Feb 2009, 03:12 pm

Quote from: mdconnelly on 4 Feb 2009, 02:27 pm
I'm been seriously looking at power conditioners and Running Springs in particular, for my 2 channel setup. I've got a McCormack DNA-500 amp and was wondering if the Haley might impose some current limiting. Should I really be looking at the Jaco?

George, I know you once had the DNA-500. Did you use it with the Haley?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hmmm...I probably did at some point.

I know I used a Duke with the DNA-500 as well.

Regardless, I know that the Haley can handle all but the most extreme amps. When I am running my Atma-Sphere MA-1's (Class A) and Pass clone amp (Class A) I am pushing 10-11 amps and not hearing any negative issues - just positive improvements.

George

I know my DNA-500 used a 20A power connector on the amp IEC side, but I can't remember if I had one flat blade on the plug end that would only fit into a 20A outlet. I'm not home to look at my Haley, but might that be a problem if they were only 15A style outlets (2 straight blades)?

mdconnelly · « **Reply #16 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 05:30 pm »

The power cord feeding my DNA-500 has the 20amp connector on the amp side, but a normal male connector on the wall side and that'll work fine on the Haley although I will need to get a 15a PC to feed the Haley as well. I believe the Jaco comes with a 20a PC but it's still a normal male connector on the wall side.

zybar · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 05:38 pm »

Quote from: TomS on 5 Feb 2009, 05:25 pm

Quote from: zybar on 5 Feb 2009, 03:12 pm
Quote from: mdconnelly on 4 Feb 2009, 02:27 pm
I'm been seriously looking at power conditioners and Running Springs in particular, for my 2 channel setup. I've got a McCormack DNA-500 amp and was wondering if the Haley might impose some current limiting. Should I really be looking at the Jaco?

George, I know you once had the DNA-500. Did you use it with the Haley?

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hmmm...I probably did at some point.

I know I used a Duke with the DNA-500 as well.

Regardless, I know that the Haley can handle all but the most extreme amps. When I am running my Atma-Sphere MA-1's (Class A) and Pass clone amp (Class A) I am pushing 10-11 amps and not hearing any negative issues - just positive improvements.

George
I know my DNA-500 used a 20A power connector on the amp IEC side, but I can't remember if I had one flat blade on the plug end that would only fit into a 20A outlet. I'm not home to look at my Haley, but might that be a problem if they were only 15A style outlets (2 straight blades)?

I believe it worked with a 15 amp outlet.

George

owenmd · « **Reply #18 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 05:57 pm »

The Haley (well at least mine) will accept 15 or 20amp male plugs.... it has the "T" shaped multifunctional duplexes. The Haley feed is a 15amp IEC.

Mark

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 5 Feb 2009, 05:57 pm »

Quote from: mdconnelly on 5 Feb 2009, 05:30 pm

The power cord feeding my DNA-500 has the 20amp connector on the amp side, but a normal male connector on the wall side and that'll work fine on the Haley although I will need to get a 15a PC to feed the Haley as well. I believe the Jaco comes with a 20a PC but it's still a normal male connector on the wall side.

I can highly recommend the Kaplan Cable (http://www.tweekgeek.com/search_adv.aspx?sp=the&option=s_name,s_description,s_details,s_pf_id&min_price=&max_price=&manuf=1230583540&cate=&so=) power cords.

I am using one (Copper version) on my Haley and I definitely think it is an improvement over the very good Black Sand Silver Ref MK V.

Before shelling out any money on cords from the big boys (Cardas, Shunyata, Tara Labs, Less Loss, Acoustic Zen, etc...) you should really give the Kaplan cords a try.

George