My SL-QL1 @ Vantage Audio service

Hi Chris
How long ago did you leave your deck with Richard?

Hi Jason

2 weeks ago and have recieved good comms since :)

Are you still waiting for your SP10 ?

Yeah
They recieved the SP10 on 22nd November and sent me a couple of initial e-mails with a quick overview of the the assessment of work needed.

However I was waiting for a final quote which included a full refurb of the PSU from 28/11/10 and I only got the quote today after again asking where it was.

I hope the quality of the work is better then the customer service. It should be as all feedback from elsewhere has been good.
When is yours due back?

Every supplier has his good points and bad points, no one is perfect, one thing you don't do is make derogatory comments about them on a public forum, if there is a beef take it up with them directly and don't try to harm their reputation in public I say!

There is no substitute for talking, e-mails are a pain in the bum sometimes mainly due to spam folders taking messages and hiding them!

Technics Sl1210 Mk5/Mission 774SM/DL160; Technics Sl1210Mk2/Ortofon VMS20eMKII; Technics SL1210MK2/(Jelco)LAD Tonearm/Nagoaka MP20; Systemdek Transcription/Mission 774 Original/Ortofon VMS20e MKII.
Other Carts:
AT120e, AT440MLa, AT110e,Goldring 1****, Pickering XV15-625e
2X Marantz CD5400
marantz PM7300,Rotel RA960 BX; Cambridge Audio 640P X 2
Wharfedale 9.1; Tannoy Mercury F1.
(Technics SP10 MKII being serviced by Vantage Audio; to be fitted with (Jelco) LAD Tonearm on return.)

that is quite a collection mate, I long for an SP10

I have talked to him and I don't think I've made a derogatory remark about him / Vantage Audio.
Every post I've read on any forum says that the work is quality. Certainly the work he shows on his website looks great and he clearly knows his way around a DD table.
I'm just disappointed by the communication and made one comment on it.
He / they are still doing the refurb work for me and I'm still buying a PSU from him when the new stock arrives in February, so one small comment isn't really running him / them down is it?

Is it one man or a couple of people by the way? All the e-mails refer to a team? Just curious.

As for the SP10 I briefly had it playing before I sent it off and it is wonderful. Should look great and function brilliantly when it returns.

Hi Jason

Richard did say in the new year ' i think my deck is quite an easy project for him to complete ! compared to an SP10 or LO7D , he told me his son works with him ! so its a very small family buisiness as i understand it .

The thing is, when dealing with small, specialist companies, you have to make allowances for the fact that they don't have the same infrastructure in place, compared with bigger organisations, to guarantee similar levels of efficiency. Therefore you must allow more time for work to be carried out than normal, and sometimes there will be delays. However, nine times out of ten, there's nothing 'dodgy' going on!

Small companies like Vantage Audio will generally be working flat out most of the time to earn a decent living, and so will often take on more work than they can realistically handle, which can lead to the delays some have experienced. If quoted, say, three weeks for completion of any work, then add another couple of weeks on top, and that'll usually be about right...

But that's the price you pay for access to such expertise, so the best thing to do is be patient, sit tight, and you'll reap the rewards when your gear comes back sounding better than ever!! :)

Marco.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marco

The thing is, when dealing with small, specialist companies, you have to make allowances for the fact that they don't have the same infrastructure in place, compared with bigger organisations, to guarantee similar levels of efficiency. Therefore you must allow more time for work to be carried out than normal, and sometimes there will be delays. However, nine times out of ten, there's nothing 'dodgy' going on!

Small companies like Vantage Audio will generally be working flat out most of the time to earn a decent living, and so will often take on more work than they can realistically handle, which can lead to the delays some have experienced. If quoted, say, three weeks for completion of any work, then add another couple of weeks on top, and that'll usually be about right...

But that's the price you pay for access to such expertise, so the best thing to do is be patient, sit tight, and you'll reap the rewards when your gear comes back sounding better than ever!! :)

Marco.

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You're right on the button about this one. Maybe we forget that some of the big name manufacturers whose products we enjoy more than likely started out as one fella, a bench, a table lamp, a pile of tools and a helluva lot of good ideas... respect mate.

Ron :)

PS An example is Mike New and his bearing and platter for the Tekko 12**, yes?

Ron

Marco,

Post 47...spot on...a very sound approach :) Richard is a very obliging chap, and will always try to help - it is sometimes easy to forget that overhauling/repairing/tweaking obsolete high end Japanese turntables is a pretty specialist, time consuming job. When I bought my L07D back in 2003, it was broken (but initially would play records using one set of coils!)...ultimately, it gave up the ghost, the platter spinning at CD speeds :eek: I tried a number of repair establishments, paying one good money to tell me 'it's scrap'! :doh: Then I stumbled across Vantage...

7 years on, and it's not missed a quartz lock! Furthermore, the tonearm and bearing were serviced; what a difference...

I think Chris is in for a bit of a treat :)

Best Wishes,

Paul.