I am so beyond pissed here. Just spent the last 90 minutes + for a long and detailed response, and we got a freaking 5 second black out. Aaaaaaaargh.
Sorry guys, won't be as detailed here and also not as dramatic as some of you might think.
In short now:
1. Mike (Artillery) is a good guy, and we have had a pretty good relation. I called him last night to see what exactly is up, and we talked for a long time, and resolved a lot of things here.
2. Yes, he has indeed legitimate beef in some aspects, and I admit that I screwed up. But there are also some misunderstandings, and in some areas, Mike is wrong as well.
3. Main issue, the amps. Last summer Mike came back to me, upgrading from his Emotivas. He had new EP's and wanted 4 monos for a kick ass system. So, to give him an absolute bang / buck here, I made him a very special Kh. mono with near Kismet internals and even 2 of my Symphonic Line transformers. The second pair was build around a used in-trade pair of SE's red boards. Actually, the main pair is probably not even broken in yet. With everything tallied, in the end I pretty much came away with close to $ 0. in profits, but that was fine. Anyway, it is true that when Mike got the amps I gave them to him without faces and with used tops, because he had to wait for all new metal to be made, and Mike was fine with that.
4. It is also true that the one Khartago amp for the bass / SE/ developed a problem. So, I put in another board. Then it had relays going nuts. Picked it up again, and dammit, the transformer went nuts and caused all of these problems. Aaaargh. A really rare instance that I have only seen twice before with over 7000 transformers used. Danm transformer.
Anyway, finished up another board and this time, to make sure that everything was changed , after talking to Mike, also changed case, caps etc. Completely new amp. Had different color caps and some resistors, but specs were the same.
However, yes, Mike had the problems, that is true. Damn transformer.
5 Now, as for customer service. It is also true, and here I made a big mistake, that I somewhat pushed Mike to the backseat with the finishing of the amps metal. Thought it would be ok, but it was not, and I should have been more sensitive to this. However, as for repairs and overall customer service: I have been to Mike's 8 times, and we spent a lot of time together, actually. He lives in downtown Indy, so it's not a big deal. Delivering the amps, picking that one amp up twice, delivering again, dropping off face plates in a special blue, dropping off top plates when I finally had them. One night Mike called me that one of the amps was running hot. So, 10 PM, taking the bike, down to Mikes checking on the bias, which was to be re-adjusted a bit. Not really that hot, but then again, who knows about voltage swings etc. ??? Actually, I had an old Meter that I gave to Mike and showed him how to check the bias and offset so that he could make sure they are 100 % all the time, since there are voltage changes at different times of the year. So, I have always been there pretty much right away, even pushing other work aside. Damn transformer. BTW, we listened for a while to his EP's and man oh man, it sounded great. Easily the best I have heard the speakers and that without the main amps broken in yet. Very nice.
6. It is also true that when I delivered the amps to Mike, one of the screws that hold the top cover down underneath the amp broke off on me. Told Mike that I will take care of it when I'll get the tops to him. So, one night last month we talked, and I told him that I would be over late that night. I had to brush metal first. Well, when I got to Mike's place, he wasn't there. 11 pm, stood in front of his apartment building. and some people came in. At least they let me in as well, and I dropped off the last top cover for him in front of his door. Actually, it was a very funny elevator ride. Here are 2 girls, early 20's, Mike's age as most in this kick-ass building of his. And here I am. Dirty and metal shaven clothes, dirty face and hands, wild hair, standing next to them with a brown paper package (top) in one hand and a drill and a long and sharp hammer tool in the other. The girls were scared for their lives, hehehe.
Seriously though, the fact is that I didn't take care of the screw to that point, and Mike did it himself, which was probably the last straw for him. I understand.
7. As for reliability. Yes, shit happens, but anyone who really knows the industry will appreciate this big time. All in all, and this includes over 1000 units that are at least 7-10 years old, we have a problem rate of less than 5 % net !!! And this includes parts failures, our fk-ups (anybody telling you that they don't make any, run away) and mostly user problems, but also that of hum or grounding issues at user's places. In short, what I have to attend to. This is a stellar number !!!!! Throw in all of the Sl units out there as well, and you know that the design is impeccable. But like you guys said, shit happens. Damn transformer. It is telling though how you take care of the problems, may they be really small or major. And yes, I took care of Mike's problems very fast. Just not the top covers.
8. It is also true that we are a true small family business. 3 people, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Actually, there are a lot of obvious drawbacks, especially when you consider that everything we do is hand made, You guys have to wait for orders or upgrades, and yes, I'm working like a nut case. However, for me it is not a big deal. With most work, I always feel "Zen-like". I can actually relax and think. And then there is so much soccer to watch on Satellite, hehehe. Ultimately, all of you guys know that you should call me in the evening. During the day I have to run errands, do a lot of metal stuff, and am on the phone nonstop. And no, you can't leave a message when I'm on the phone. Should probably change the phone system. And yes, because I work until mornings many days, I do sleep a little longer. that's why our official business hours are from noon - 8 pm.
9. Finally to the Emotiva, which has been raised here. A couple of weeks ago when I went to Michigan I had the chance to listen to the RPA's side by side to the Stratos monos on a pair of Maggies 1.6's. Yes, I would take the Emotiva hands down over anything Outlaw or Denon etc. Who knows, maybe in some systems it might actually better the Stratos .
Let me put it this way: Bigred, whenever you want to, I'll get you an amp out to compare side by side.
There are also a couple of other issues here that bug me. Yes, it is an amazing value as well for what you get for the money, but looking at it, we probably have twice the manufacturing cost in a Khartago than they do. And I take pride, real pride in having the amps made here in the US by hand, populating, soldering, 5 step QC process, etc. Real pride. We are just not that huge multi-million Dollar corporation that has the typical 100 people plant in China, paying less than a Dollar for labor.
With the Audioreview issue: AR is so passe and lost relevance a long time ago. What I do care about is this site, because I can be in constant or immediate contact with my own customers. This is how it should work. And even though I have very few posts, I do monitor AC several times a day, so that I can respond right away.
Anyway, rambled on again, with a little less focus than earlier. Again, just wanted to make the points that Mike was correct in some ways here, and I have to fess up to it. However, and as he would admit, I'm sure, there are also a few issues that were wrong on his part. Either way, I am sorry that it came to this, and actually made him to stand up to his word about taking me to dinner. I'll cash in that chip in the next couple of weeks, hehehe. He's a good guy. Frustrated, but good.
Late,
Klaus
