I just want to add another voice to this chorus.
I have been a friend of Will since before Melos moved out to Las Vegas and I was one of the investors that lost a lot of money when Melos ultimately proved unable to make it. I also have known Jerry for a number of years since. They are both very dedicated people to what they do.
Will was the former chief technician for Melos and is one of the most knowledgeable people on all of the Melos gear. Will established Melos Audio Restoration several years ago to help owners by maintaining and modifying the equipment that he loves. His operaion in Las Vegas is really a labor of love.
Will works full time and Jerry works with him part time in repairing and modifying Melos equipment. When they take in equipment for work they give best guesses on the amount of time and the cost of making the repairs. They try to be accurate but unfortunately its an imperfect world and sometimes the work takes longer and costs more than they thought. While the equipment is in house Will and Jerry do their level best to find anything that is not working properly and they replace parts and repair areas that experince has taught them are potential problem areas.
I have had a number of pieces of my Melos gear modified by MAR over the last several years, including an MA-333R line and phono, MAX-1 and MAX-3R and a pair of RWT-70s. I also had an MA-110 converted to an MA-220 and an MA-220 Phono converted to a killer all-tube MC phono stage. Currently my MA-333 is back in their capable hands as a guinea pig for conversion to a completely balanced balanced all tube phono and they have a very old Triode 200 that will be upgraded to an MAT-180. Since these experimental pieces take far longer to do and to work out the bugs, I keep some spares (like to MA-220 pieces) around so I can enjoy my music while Will owrks his magic.
I have been to MAR many times. I want to tell everyone that sends them equipment that these guys are very, very busy. There are also a number of customers who have been less than patient and far too often they have had to interrupt their schedules to try to get pieces done to try to satisfy someone who has gotten onto one of these public forums and screamed about them. I want to tell you that you are not doing a service to others, you are doing a disservice. It maens that Will and Jerry have had to stop work on other peoples equipment slowing things down further.
MAR has also been plagued from time to time by the gorillas that work for a number of shipping companies. Twice my RWT-70s were shpped back to me and were damaged in shipment with wires actually pulled out of the borads and foils lifted due to rough handling. The boxes ooked fine of the outside but the damage was ovious when the covers were puled off. Will and Jerry have bent over backwards for me to correct these problems as quickly as they could.
I want to give both WIll and Jerry kudos for the work they do and recommend them to anyone who had Melos equipment that needs repair. There are a number of others who have popped up from time to time to "modify" Melos gear. There are none that actually undersatnd the equipment and deliver the goods like Will and Jerry. Unfortunately MAR is just a two man operation and this work takes time. You have to be patient and have faith but they will come through for you. It alkso pays to ask ahead of time what the work schedule is like befiore you send your gear. If they ae busy and all you want is a mod, you would be wise to wait and schedule it with them so you won't be without for longer than you can bear.
Dave
I have been a friend of Will since before Melos moved out to Las Vegas and I was one of the investors that lost a lot of money when Melos ultimately proved unable to make it. I also have known Jerry for a number of years since. They are both very dedicated people to what they do.
Will was the former chief technician for Melos and is one of the most knowledgeable people on all of the Melos gear. Will established Melos Audio Restoration several years ago to help owners by maintaining and modifying the equipment that he loves. His operaion in Las Vegas is really a labor of love.
Will works full time and Jerry works with him part time in repairing and modifying Melos equipment. When they take in equipment for work they give best guesses on the amount of time and the cost of making the repairs. They try to be accurate but unfortunately its an imperfect world and sometimes the work takes longer and costs more than they thought. While the equipment is in house Will and Jerry do their level best to find anything that is not working properly and they replace parts and repair areas that experince has taught them are potential problem areas.
I have had a number of pieces of my Melos gear modified by MAR over the last several years, including an MA-333R line and phono, MAX-1 and MAX-3R and a pair of RWT-70s. I also had an MA-110 converted to an MA-220 and an MA-220 Phono converted to a killer all-tube MC phono stage. Currently my MA-333 is back in their capable hands as a guinea pig for conversion to a completely balanced balanced all tube phono and they have a very old Triode 200 that will be upgraded to an MAT-180. Since these experimental pieces take far longer to do and to work out the bugs, I keep some spares (like to MA-220 pieces) around so I can enjoy my music while Will owrks his magic.
I have been to MAR many times. I want to tell everyone that sends them equipment that these guys are very, very busy. There are also a number of customers who have been less than patient and far too often they have had to interrupt their schedules to try to get pieces done to try to satisfy someone who has gotten onto one of these public forums and screamed about them. I want to tell you that you are not doing a service to others, you are doing a disservice. It maens that Will and Jerry have had to stop work on other peoples equipment slowing things down further.
MAR has also been plagued from time to time by the gorillas that work for a number of shipping companies. Twice my RWT-70s were shpped back to me and were damaged in shipment with wires actually pulled out of the borads and foils lifted due to rough handling. The boxes ooked fine of the outside but the damage was ovious when the covers were puled off. Will and Jerry have bent over backwards for me to correct these problems as quickly as they could.
I want to give both WIll and Jerry kudos for the work they do and recommend them to anyone who had Melos equipment that needs repair. There are a number of others who have popped up from time to time to "modify" Melos gear. There are none that actually undersatnd the equipment and deliver the goods like Will and Jerry. Unfortunately MAR is just a two man operation and this work takes time. You have to be patient and have faith but they will come through for you. It alkso pays to ask ahead of time what the work schedule is like befiore you send your gear. If they ae busy and all you want is a mod, you would be wise to wait and schedule it with them so you won't be without for longer than you can bear.
Dave