realysm42
16-06-2016, 01:39
This thread is in part a rant and in part a question. I'll start with the rant as I need to vent; the last few hi-fi purchases I've made have either had quality issues of one type or another or narrowly avoided huge disappointment, here are some examples:
1. Fuses I bought - top of the range, came with corrosion marks over the contacts, sent them back so fair enough. QC at the manufacturer though?
2. New preamp - nothing actually wrong with it, in fact it's perfect but that's only because of me being extra paranoid and asking loads of seemingly stupid questions. I specified I wanted a remote control function, the only reason it came over to Australia (from England) with one is because I double checked just before it was shipped.
3. PSU for PC - I asked the manufacturer to send me the spec to confirm the build and extras. I only thought to ask this from the above experience (point 2). Turns out it's a good ting I asked as they've not built it to the power specifications they themselves quoted me as needing originally! Bare in mind I've waited more than a year for this thing, can you imagine how frustrating this is? Also, this thing isn't cheap (not that this should matter, but it's been a source of anxiety spending around $4K on something that I've not seen yet).
4. Amplifier - Can you imagine my surprise when it came to me with the face plate rattling around in the box? Turns out the screws come loose in transit. Use fucking Loctite on them then! don't tell me matter-of-factly afterwards. Jesus.
5. DAC - was originally sent to me with the wrong type of XLR output connectors. To be fair it was all rectified, free of charge for me (as it should have been).
I love this hobby and I love supporting the people I think deserve my custom, but some of these things are so easy to avoid it's almost sad; when a customer orders something, use a spec sheet, so if they want anything out of the ordinary you've got it nailed down. Once the spec is complete, send it to the customer, so that there is no ambiguity between you and them. Make sure said spec sheet follows the unit through the build so that everyone that touches it knows what's expected of them. How hard is that?
So the question, am I cursed or is this level of service we should expect from this industry as a norm?
Ps I know the cost of things shouldn't come into it (everything should be right), but when you're spending thousands on things you really want your faith in the manufacturer to be rewarded.
1. Fuses I bought - top of the range, came with corrosion marks over the contacts, sent them back so fair enough. QC at the manufacturer though?
2. New preamp - nothing actually wrong with it, in fact it's perfect but that's only because of me being extra paranoid and asking loads of seemingly stupid questions. I specified I wanted a remote control function, the only reason it came over to Australia (from England) with one is because I double checked just before it was shipped.
3. PSU for PC - I asked the manufacturer to send me the spec to confirm the build and extras. I only thought to ask this from the above experience (point 2). Turns out it's a good ting I asked as they've not built it to the power specifications they themselves quoted me as needing originally! Bare in mind I've waited more than a year for this thing, can you imagine how frustrating this is? Also, this thing isn't cheap (not that this should matter, but it's been a source of anxiety spending around $4K on something that I've not seen yet).
4. Amplifier - Can you imagine my surprise when it came to me with the face plate rattling around in the box? Turns out the screws come loose in transit. Use fucking Loctite on them then! don't tell me matter-of-factly afterwards. Jesus.
5. DAC - was originally sent to me with the wrong type of XLR output connectors. To be fair it was all rectified, free of charge for me (as it should have been).
I love this hobby and I love supporting the people I think deserve my custom, but some of these things are so easy to avoid it's almost sad; when a customer orders something, use a spec sheet, so if they want anything out of the ordinary you've got it nailed down. Once the spec is complete, send it to the customer, so that there is no ambiguity between you and them. Make sure said spec sheet follows the unit through the build so that everyone that touches it knows what's expected of them. How hard is that?
So the question, am I cursed or is this level of service we should expect from this industry as a norm?
Ps I know the cost of things shouldn't come into it (everything should be right), but when you're spending thousands on things you really want your faith in the manufacturer to be rewarded.