300b lovers

Hi Don, I have heard a VAC Amp' within the UK, one of the earlier models is owned by a HiFi Group Member who owns a 300B.

Another newer Model VAC is also owned by a Group Member, I am yet to be demo's this one.

I have heard Modwright as well other Brands that are not with a dealer distribution, it is not too strange for products to end up in the UK without the supporting networks behind them.

There is a fair amount of UK Audio Enthusiasts who are willing to look far and wide for their entertainment to be satisfied. 

@pindac Would it require a 240 VAC version or have most of the ones you have heard been US market 120VAC ones that someone was using a step up transformer with on your side of the pond?   I will say that I have the pair of prototype amps that will go into production other than some cosmetic changes to the cases and panels.  The circuit and power supply will not change as they are done.  I abuse the amps regularly, putting them on the bench and tweaking something and turning them on and off 10 times in 30 minutes.  Nothing has fazed them in 3 or 4 months since their birth.  So I am pretty darn confident if they arrive undamaged they will simply just work and be very reliable.  I/we wouldn't sell them if they were not very reliable.  But shipping overseas is always dicey, even with good packing.

I have not inquired to the VAC Owners if they are using their Amp's with a Step Up Mains Tranx, or with any other US Imported Audio Ancillaries I have been demo'd.

I am a listener first and foremost.

The offer of the Prototype Amp's will be a great temptation to somebody, the Pedigree of the EE's and made known design intent behind this design alone, should be enough to convince a special experience is to be had. The reports of listening experiences to be found within this thread can only but reinforce, the idea of the purchase being very worthy of a consideration.

In the UK there are excellent Third Party support services for Electronics Support in both Valve and SS, these services are able to be found across the Country. The Services are not unreasonable in their costings, I have only ever seen the waiting time from certain services being the cause to search further afield. I do believe that the the notable trust that has been placed in these very services, along with the idea that receiving EE support is not being too much of a difficulty to achieve, is an instrumental factor in the making way for rarely seen items of Audio Equipment arriving in the UK from a variety of Countries where products have not got a UK support network.

As for overseas shipping, there are lots of Chinese Origin Audio Equipment arriving in the UK, especially Valve Amp's, of which some are requesting multiple £0000's to acquire. I am yet to have seen any horror stories about the Quality of the goods , resulting from their Transportation.

I myself have imported many items of Audio Equipment from Japan and over approx' 10 years, have experienced two incidents where goods arrived with a damage that was not as advertised.

Either a undeclared damage or transit damage was received ? 

I will keep looking in on this valuable thread.  

Hi there, Pindac!

The decision to export out of North America is largely up to Spatial Audio. Don and I are the technical advisors and consultants, but exporting is a business decision. We can suggest and advise, but we do not make the final decision.

As Don has mentioned, exports to Europe would have to meet rigorous EU safety standards, and an EU servicing center would be wise. The EU is a big place with many technical and legal requirements that are quite different from the North American market, which has one dominant language, safety standards, and electrical power. If you can sell it in Los Angeles, you can sell it in Toronto, and everywhere in between.

Sure, there are small audiophile manufacturers who import on a "grey market" basis into the EU and the UK. That’s fine until you get caught. Don, myself, and the team at Spatial intend to be on the straight and narrow when it comes to regulations ... we are not Tesla, Apple, or Microsoft, with armies of lawyers to smooth the path into new markets.

Back when I was at Audionics in the Seventies, we eventually surmounted the many EU technical regulations and sold our products into the European market. But it took several years, and we didn’t attempt it until we had significant sales volume in the domestic market. Sure, it’s easy to order a Monolith power transformer with multiple input voltages. That doesn’t make the finished product legal to sell in the UK or the EU.

The unusual thing about the US market is that it is really easy to sell into ... tariff rates are some of the lowest in the world, technical safety requirements are not too severe, and the market is huge and easy to serve. Markets everywhere else are different ... more fragmented, higher tariff barriers, multiple languages, many different technical standards, and other obstacles.

Pindac, I should mention when a private party flies into the USA, buys a product here, and returns with it to the UK or EU, that is technically a "grey market" sale. There is usually no legal problem with the new toy, assuming the local duties and VAT are paid ... but usually it is not legal to re-sell in that country. EU countries take a dim view of grey market sales ... while I have no idea how aggressive UK enforcement is. (In the US, the Federal government doesn’t care about grey market sales, but overseas warranties will not be honored by repair shops.)

And warranty support ceases once it is taken out of the North American market. The primary purpose of an overseas servicing center is to provide continuing warranty support, at a quality standard that matches the original manufacturing quality, with the same parts, service manuals, employee training, etc.

(A "black market" sale, of course, is something that is completely illegal to import into the host country, like an AR-15 into the UK, or something like that. Many laws are broken and arrest warrants are issued. "Grey market" means the product has not been tested by the relevant safety agencies, and is not certified for sale in that country. The most common outcome is that it is seized by Customs and is not returned.)