What value is placed on the absence of UK servicing when considering a brand?

[Marco]

1. Should ‘civilians’ enquire as to what the importer / distributor’s policy is regarding repair work i.e. can all service work be carried out in the UK and if not, why not?

2. Should magazines (who always and vociferously claim to have the end-user’s interests at the very heart of what they do) be persuaded to include a brief statement re the state of UK servicing on any item they review?

Hello Howard,

In answer to your first question I think it's only common sense for customers to enquire about repair work, should it be necessary, when considering buying equipment from a manufacturer where no UK servicing is offered. Dealers should also be advising customers, too, in that scenario.

I think if it were me though, and I really liked and wanted the equipment, I would take the risk as my view with hi-fi is 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'. I've imported quite a few things now from the States and China that aren't available to buy in the UK which would have no UK servicing in the event of failure.

It's a risk you take but in my view is worth it if it pays off. So far it's worked fine for me, and if anything goes wrong I know that I've got people here in the UK that would be able to fix it if something went wrong. Of course, not everyone is so adventurous!

Regarding your second question I would say most definitely yes they should. From a punter's point of view you can never have too much information in a magazine review, so informing readers of the lack of UK servicing for a particular product is good practice, but at the end of the day I guess the onus is on the potential customer to do his or her research properly before committing to the purchase.

Marco.

P.S I have renamed your thread "What value is placed on the absence of UK servicing when considering a brand?" I think your typing fingers must have got a bit mixed up originally!

[Complin]

Just wanted to extend the discussion a little further

Most of my listening is done on high end electrostatic headphones rather than speakers such as Stax Omeag and Sennheiser Orpheus. These require as good if not better source and amplification components than your standard hifi set up due to the amount of detail available and operating at fractions of watts rather than hundreds.

There are many niche suppliers that supply aftermarket amplifiers some of which cost mant thousands of pounds. I know one person who purchased a Single Power valve (tube) based headphone amplifier from America which cost £13,000! The following is one of the posts from the worlds largest headphone forums

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sta...ew-223263-new/

I live in Israel and have an Single Power ES-1. Unfortunately the sound is
unbalanced. The sound is fuller and weightier on the left side and lighter and
hollower on the right side. I already sent it in to Singlepower and
they sent it back exactly the same as before. I was not surprised as I
once bought a SDS-XLR from them and they shipped it to me 5 months
latewith serious issues. I sent it back at my cost (over $800) and in 6
months after countless begging requests it was returned exactly as it
was before- absolutely nothing was done that could be seen physically or
heard. It was useless for me to persue the matter furthur as I was
being ignored completely for close to a year so I ended up selling it at a
big discount in "Broken" condition.

The question is what to do now with my ES-1. I love it- I just need to
fix this one problem. It really does sound great besides this one
issue. There are many competent technitions in Israel. I brought it to
one and he said he doesn't know how to open it up because the screws are
based on the fractional system versus the metric system used here in
Israel and his tool is either to big or to small. Of course Singlepower
promissed me a tool to open the screws on the amp. at least 5 times
and it never arrived. Unfortunately after being abused and lied to no
less than 30 times in our relationship Mikhael and I have decided to part
ways- so to speak.

Does anyone know what you call the tool which opens the screws on the
ES-1? I have a family member comming from the US to Israel soon and he
can bring it to me so I can have a technition here look at it. Also I
would appreciate any ideas from the technically minded as to what
potentially may be the problem so I can tell my Technition to look in these
areas.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/whe...ikhail-333677/

Hey Headfiers,

Does anyone know where Mikhail is? (Single Power) has anyone tried to contact him recently? He is totally MIA, mailbox full, and basically washed off the face of the earth. This is concerning because he is harboring a VERY expensive amp.

This is very upsetting - since, as we all know, Singlepower is not known for their responsiveness. However this recent run is non-existence!
1) Yes I have called him
2) He's avoiding my calls
3) His mailbox is full
4) I've been trying to reach him for 2 weeks calling him every day
5) He promised delivery of my amp (in for repair) over a month ago.

Irresponsibility

The above thread is worth reading, its a lesson in purchasing niche items from remote suppliers that have no service or support in the UK or EU. Frustrating, costly and just not worth the effort!

[jandl100]

Interesting. I think that my unconcern about serviceability is that I very rarely have had problems with equipment.

The last item I had to have repaired was a Musical Fidelity NuVista21 DAC which died - and which MF charged me £hundreds to fix. I was not pleased about that! Before that an obscure make of German valve amp died - but any competent vintage kit engineer can usually tackle those, and one did. I think those are the only items needing repair for many years of multiple-box ownership.

But yes, if my £13,000 headphone amp of obscure origin () was irrecoverable, I too would not be very happy. (But let's face it, if you can afford £13k for a headphone amp don't you just go out and buy another one with the change in your back pocket? )

[Mike Reed]

Even better than Jerry, I cannot remember a failing piece of kit which formed part of my system. Not that I change things much, mind.

However, there are big U.K. firms out there with enviable records on servicing and repairs. Naim (expensive but dependable) and Meridian ('we simply aim to cover our costs') are but two. Michell are fast-acting and supportive. I gather SME,Arcam, Quad, E.A.R. and Mission are, or were, good in this respect. Many U.K. cottage industries also have a good customer relationship (Art Audio has been recommended). There must be many others.

Cartridges apart, the U.K. produces some of the world's best hifi:- always has! Unless you can depend upon your distributor, sourcing from the U.K. must be a safer bet except for electronics engineers.

I guess that with valved kit, if you have access to competent help or are handy yourself, componentry and repairs are less of a concern, as Marco says.

'Nothing ventured, nothing gained', as Marco's motto may be. 'Nothing ventured, nothing lost' should also enter into the equation, I feel.

[Filterlab]

Interesting. I think that my unconcern about serviceability is that I very rarely have had problems with equipment.

I have to thoroughly agree with Jerry. I've only ever had one component fail in all the time I've had hi-fi; that was my Arcam Alpha 5+ which I bought brand new back in the early nineties. It was playing happily one day and then suddenly no sound whatsoever. It was the DAC. I expected it to go for repair but the chap at the hi-fi shop (Martin's in Norwich I think) gave me an immediate replacement off the shelf and sorted the player himself.

That was the only component failure I've ever experienced and that was almost 15 years ago. I've had a mix of new and used hi-fi since then and never run into problems with either. I just don't consider repairs or even servicing. Hi-fi's just too well made I guess.

[Filterlab]

...Many U.K. cottage industries also have a good customer relationship...

Not all of them.

[jandl100]

Not all of them.

If you are referring to a certain Banned member - think anagram of VNA - then I can assure you that his customer service is second to none. His forum persona is quite a different matter, though!

[Marco]

Interestingly, someone put forward the theory recently that the true personality of said banned member is actually that which is witnessed on hi-fi forms, and the "persona" created by him in real life is that which is false!

Marco.

[Filterlab]

That's what I've experienced.

[Mike Reed]

Interestingly, someone put forward the theory recently that the true personality of said banned member is actually that which is witnessed on hi-fi forms, and the "persona" created by him in real life is that which is false!

Marco.

Interesting hypothesis; quite the inverse of what one might imagine. You do know that he has transferred his 'rant' to PFM, where, I gather, he's no stranger.

Although totally disinterested in his later diatribes, I always felt they were more 'cant' than 'rant', and tended to increasingly portray the author as the former with a vowel change; probably unfair, I suppose.