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Viva, no longer a fan

Viva as a company has decided to abandon the audiophiles who engage in the used market.  I heard that the had implemented new transformers in there amps.  I emailed them directly 3 times over a 2 week period with no reply.  Finally I called and the knew who I was by name, surprised I was then told that the US importer would be contacting me.  Here is the mail exchange:

From: John Krupa
Date: September 21, 2016 at 7:04:52 PM EDT
To: support@vivaaudio
Subject: Fwd: Viva Audio

Totally what I did not expect!!! I was primarily looking to upgrade them to the new Quattro status as I understand there was an big transformer upgrade that I was willing do in addition to the voltage change. After the Bob Clarke email I was taken back and responded how I felt. I really am no longer interested in Viva as a company to do business with if that is the case and will blog the copy of this email to the various sites.


From: John Krupa 
Date: September 21, 2016 at 2:08:37 AM EDT
To: Bob Clarke
Subject: Re: Viva Audio

The Verona's are at my Girlfriends house in Manchester. I heard there was a new Transformer upgrade in the Quattro series, hence my interest. I have over $300k invested in my system and I have Sola CVS transformers providing both voltages hence it was only for convenience sake. Upgrades are and have been part of this industry that I have been a part of for over 40 years since I started in this hobby. Name the manufacturer and it hasn't been a problem. Upgrading from. Mk1 to a Mk2 or an SE upgrade. Weather it be BAT, YG, Plinius, Ayre, the list goes on and on, It's a shame that a manufacturer acts in such a petty way. I will make sure that I share this email on all the sites that I am a part of! It's funny but this I believe reduces the brands appeal and will drive down its resale valve hence the initial desire to purchase in the first place. This is an email I would have expected from a "name deleted" type. Now I guess Viva! No longer a fan!


On Sep 20, 2016, at 12:02 PM, Bob Clarke wrote:

Dear Mr. Krupa,

Viva Audio has asked me to respond to your request regarding voltage changes and upgrades for Viva Verona amplifiers and Linea linestage. Viva no longer services equipment purchased on the used market from anyone that is not an authorized Viva dealer. They do not make voltage changes, in order to discourage grey-market international sales. I would recommend using a high-quality, high-current step-down transformer, which, besides allowing the use of a European voltage product, will also have the beneficial effects that isolation transformers provide.

Best regards,
Bob Clarke
Profundo


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michelzay
114 posts
 
Viva audio is a very small company and tracking serial numbers is very easy to do. This is just an excuse to not offer an appropriate customer service. When you buy a new device from VIVA, it takes a couple of months to make it and get delivered to you!. Grey market phenomena is more valid for big companies.

Here is my story with Viva cutovmer service :
Three years a go, I called their distributer in US, based in TX. I left several messages without any feedback! I then called Blackbird Audio and talked to Dan Muzquiz, whom is a gentleman and answered partially my questions about Viva preamp. A friend of mine in San Diego bought a couple of gears from him, and always talks about Ken being a nice professional person to deal with.
Then I bought a used VIVA Linea and had a few question which is not answered in their web site and manuals. I sent emails to VIVA in Italy without any feedback. I then asked the same question on their Facebook page a couple of times. Finally they sent me some fuzzy answer and then ejected me from their Facebook page!

I sold my Viva Linea XP last month,I bought it at 1/4 of its retail price and sold it as such. I have now an Einstein the Preamp which is fantastic compared to Viva Linea (same retail price!). Besides, Einstein customer service is wonderful on answering promptly your question, thanks to Mr. Volker Bohlmeier (designer) of Einstein for his fast feed-backs. Einstein is also a small company but they don't use funny excuses like Viva Audio.

inna
7,296 posts
 
Viva must be losing the competition and for some reason got engaged in self-destructive behaviour. Whatever it is, they can listen to their stuff bloody selves. 
whart's avatar
whart
3,037 posts
 
I think you have to distinguish between grey goods and equipment on the resale market that was originally authorized to be sold in a particular territory or region. Grey goods, as I understand it, are legitimate goods, but only within the territory or region for which they are authorized to be sold. In many cases, rather than using the authorized dealer or distribution network within your country, you can buy from the country of origin or neighboring country at a cheaper price, but that bypasses the distribution and support system the manufacturer has put into place. (Some of the mark up or difference in price is a reflection of the additional cost of that local distribution and service network). In the case of electronics, power supplies may be modified or other changes made to adapt the product for the remote market. The manufacturer typically does not want to have to support that -even if being paid to do so by the end user--since it not only undercuts its distribution system, but puts its brand in jeopardy if unauthorized modifications have been made to the equipment.
I don’t think these are shabby excuses, but reflect legitimate concerns. (PS: I’m not addressing ViVa alone here, but the issue more generally and have no view on ViVa’s service or support, in the U.S. or elsewhere).

In my earlier post upthread (I thought these posts were numbered, but it appears at 09-25-2016 9:57am), I pointed out that the U.S. distributor’s stated position went beyond that, and denies support to "equipment purchased on the used market from anyone that is not an authorized Viva dealer." Read literally, this would exclude support for goods that were authorized for sale in the territory in question, but purchased used from a private seller.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Whart, 
Excellent comments and perspective in making the distinction.  To not offer service to all used Viva product ownersowners is wrong in my opinion.  I'm specifically addressing the true grey market dilemma. Viva shouldn't discard the baby with the bathwater. 
Charles, 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,479 posts
 
Agreed Charles. Don't punish the customer. 
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