[Kwebb]

FET valve 550EX apm on audiogon:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1281579334&/Audio-by-Van-Alstine-Fet-Valve

[martyo]

Nice write-up.
From the price he must be extremely proud of those ss screws or he's looking to finally get some ac too.

[turkey]

This guy is just screwed-up. 

I haven't noticed any problems with the screws on my AVA gear, and I've had some of it for years.

Plus, I bet Frank would have simply mailed him a new set of screws if he had asked nicely.

[martyo]

Nice one. Good to see you Turkey!!

Some folks prefer to whine.

[srb]

Nothing wrong with replacing screws.  I've replaced some screws on components merely from an aesthetic standpoint.  He probably should have just said he replaced existing black screws that were showing a bit of corrosion with stainless steel screws and left it at that - and not made a reference to "Frank's crummy black screws"!
 
Or just said nothing at all, as it slightly detracts from the ad, not to mention that it evoked comments and he is now viewed by some as a "screwed-up whiner"!
 
Steve

[turkey]

Nothing wrong with replacing screws.  I've replaced some screws on components merely from an aesthetic standpoint.  He probably should have just said he replaced existing black screws that were showing a bit of corrosion with stainless steel screws and left it at that - and not made a reference to "Frank's crummy black screws"!
 
Or just said nothing at all, as it slightly detracts from the ad, not to mention that it evoked comments and he is now viewed by some as a "screwed-up whiner"!
 
Steve

I've changed things for aesthetic reasons too, so I wasn't poking fun at anyone for that. As you point out, he should have just said he replaced the screws and left it at that.

[avahifi]

Actually this appears to be a pretty old chassis judging by the faceplate which is three generations back.  Once upon a time we did have a big run of cover screws that managed to show rust a few years after going into service in humid/salty climates.

This brand of hardware has been long gone for several years now and I doubt if the issue will repeat on anything we have built in the past 7-8 years or so.  Of course the guy could has just ask us for some replacement hardware, free of charge of course.

The unit also is pretty high priced for this series of amplifier built before we went to a multi-stage regulated power supply.  That was a major sonic improvement.

The cost to upgrade this unit to new would be $799 including new regulated power supply and audio boards and the no extra cost "+" upgrade.  His asking price, $1650, plus the upgrade price, $799 equals $2449 plus shipping.  A new Ultra+ 550 is $2399.  Thus avoid this unit if your thought is to upgrade it to new performance later.  We would suggest paying no more than $1500 if you want to come out ahead on the deal.  Do note that major upgrades include minor repairs and a new three year AVA parts and labor warranty, but do not include major repairs to sections of the circuits not included in the upgrade (new output devices in this case, main power supply parts, ect.)

If you do your homework, you can come up with new Ultra+ hybrid amplifier performance for less than new price, but probably not with this unit.

Best regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[mark funk]

It's sad, but there are still people out there that like too take a shot at Frank when ever they can.



                                                                                 

[TONEPUB]

Plenty of mfrs use inexpensive screws, so what?

[avahifi]

Just for your information, I selected truss head philips stainless steel machine screws for the Ultravalve amplifier.

Why?  Simply to reduce the possibility of a screwdriver blade slipping and scratching the amazing polished stainless steel chassis that Dynakitparts is making to our specifications for us. 

These are not going to rust.  Neither will any of our other current chassis hardware, they are all stainless steel now.

Best regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[rahimlee54]

My 550 EX is 20 years old and is missing a few screws but none have any corrosion.   

[Listens2tubes]

When I sell my Super PAS 4i based T8 I'll have nothing bad to say about Frank or the preamp. They were and are at the heart of my system and I am lucky to have it that way.

[gjs_cds]

This thread makes me laugh:

1.  Go to the hardware store, spend a quarter, and shut up.  We are still familiar with real, locally owned, service-based hardware stored aren't we?

2.  When trying to sell a product, it's best not to try to put-down the product.

3.  Due to the whiny screwy-ness of the guy's choices, it was revealed that the product is over-priced!

Reap what one sows, I guess... 

[rcag_ils]

Frank's very good at giving out small parts for his product doesn't matter how old they are, this guy should have asked first. A little rust on equipment that's over ten years wouldn't bother me that much, Frank took care of all the minor hardware when I upgraded my FetValve 550, now it's like new.

This guys asking price is a bit on the high side anyway.

[charmerci]

He lowered it to 1300 obo.

[s4cabriolet]

I did not intend to start a flame war, with my Audiogon ad.  I have been a customer of Frank for years and will buy nothing else.  The screws on this unit did rust - not an issue for me except the front which I replaced with ss.  But with this community, if I described the unit as excellent without mentioning the screws- there would be heck to pay and the world would end.  As far as the pricing, without comps on bay or gon, I used the BB service on gon to set the price- now lowered.  There was no attempt to insult Frank, just an attempt to inject humor

[turkey]

Actually this appears to be a pretty old chassis judging by the faceplate which is three generations back. 

That one has a big VA and says Van Alstine, while the current pics on the web site show a small VA and say Audio by Van Alstine.

What was in between?

[turkey]

I did not intend to start a flame war, with my Audiogon ad.  I have been a customer of Frank for years and will buy nothing else.  The screws on this unit did rust - not an issue for me except the front which I replaced with ss.  But with this community, if I described the unit as excellent without mentioning the screws- there would be heck to pay and the world would end.  As far as the pricing, without comps on bay or gon, I used the BB service on gon to set the price- now lowered.  There was no attempt to insult Frank, just an attempt to inject humor

The humor didn't come through very well in the ad.

As for "with this community," I would think that most buyers would want to know everything they can about an item before buying it. Were you trying to be humorous again or were you saying that people here over-react to flaws in something they've purchased?

Oh well, no real harm done. I imagine that you'll find a buyer quickly with the lower price. Maybe it will even be someone on AC now that you're here and can answer questions or whatever. (I sold an AVA component to another AC member and I think it worked out well for both of us.)

[rcag_ils]

I did not intend to start a flame war, with my Audiogon ad.

Nah, don't worry about it, you described the screws accurately, the screws that rust are crummy screws. I think the people here overreacted a bit because the way that you tied Frank and the crummy screws together.

It isn't Frank's fault that the screws are crummy, Frank bought them without knowing that the screws were crummy, and he offered free replacement but only if he knows about it, and the rusty screws really bother the owner. I thought the SS screws that you put in the front were nice touch myself.