Experience with Blue Circle amps

Thorty40: Well I guess it could be anything?? Still sounds to me like the customer service problem is with that dealer. He does not stock it; he just orders it and has it shipped to you. Then he does not want to deal with any problems. In the end you did not get charged for anything. It really could have been "DROPPED" shipped by UPS or whoever. I don't have a BC dealer near me, so I have always dealt directly with BC. They have always treated me like I was the most important customer they have.

In the end Sterophile liked the BC21 and BC22. That is what confuses reviewers. I agree the specs. of Gilbert's gear may not always test out well against the "established norm", but no one denies that it sounds great. This may in fact raise a question of whether the "established norm" is best. If Gibert has come up with a formula that is superior to what has passed as a good design in the past, we should maybe recognize his genius. All great minds are usually met with skepticism when they challenge the status quo.

Sugarbrie, I'm just saying what I know, the dealer is well respected by everyone and I have dealt with them for years, manufacturers also have great respect for this dealer.

The test is done for reliability and there is alot of great sounding gear that tests great. The BC22 tested very bad, not just against the standard norm. How could it possibly be the dealers fault for the amp blowing up, as well as others that were bought from other dealers and direct? Both of my packages arrived in perfect shape, no dents or holes with no sign of water damage, ect.....

Stereophile and their reviewers bear little weight in regards to my own decisions concerning audio purchases. However, the bench test measurements are sometimes interesting to read and are less biased for obvious reasons. My purchases usually are based upon the various input of other "audiophiles" and my own judgment concluded by time spent personally with a given piece of gear.

I agree with you 100%. That Audio Refinement Complete integrated bench tested out poorly in someone elses review. It is sort of confirmed by the fact that YBA won't publish a 4 ohm rating (and a number of other stats) for the Complete, but they do publish all those stats for every other amp they make. But anyway, the Complete sure does sound pretty good for what it costs.

I can remember some reviews in HiFi Choice where one one component they'll said something like, "it sounds very good, but we can't explain why,". Then on another they will say: "It tested out very well, but we don't like how it sounds".