What direction is VPI headed?

"   You just need an attention span longer than 5 minutes and someone that can understand what they're looking at. Not loosing the equipment I sent to you for evaluation would have gone a long way as well. "

Bill at Phoenix Engineering is a very nasty person @turntablemat do not let him trouble you he is known for being pompous and argumentative he is a very insulting person! This is why I did not choose to purchase from him and in fact he is now out of business so that should tell you something about him. Mat you we're smart to not do business with this person VPI is in it for the long haul and Bill was not!

Clearthink, you are entitled to your opinion. If you wish to believe that voluntarily ceasing operations means that an entrepreneur is non-trustworthy or somehow a lesser person-as you clearly state-that's your choice. I don't think most us see things that way. None of us know precisely what transpired between Mr. Carlin and the Weisfelds other than the three of them. Many of us read the acrimonious exchanges between HW and Mr. Carlin over the relative merits of their respective speed controllers when Phoenix was still actively in production.. Something you can not possibly dispute; there are more professional reviews of the Phoenix products than of the new VPI ADS. Something else you can't dispute; EVERY professional review of the Phoenix products, specifically the Eagle/Falcon and Roadrunner were overwhelmingly positive-which includes Michael Fremer's. So let's assume for the sake of argument both are roughly equal in effectiveness but one design is less expensive to manufacture, less expensive to the consumer while still  sold at a decent profit, provides more data to the user, is less space-consuming, and seems to attract more consumer satisfaction than the other design. Why wouldn't the producer of the less well-accepted product not entertain a good faith option to license and take over production of the "better" design? It must be that the Weisfelds are more reliable and that is was due to Mr. Carlin "being impossible to work with", right? How could it possibly have been driven by satisfaction of seeing a competitor disappear and regaining a monopoly on an existing product?  Ego, pride, and personal history could not possibly have been drivers, right?  VPI's reaction to the opportunity presented and decision not to accept that opportunity was entirely based upon consideration of what was best for VPI's customers, right? OK, I just wanted to check on those things. Thank you. 

Phoenix motor controllers were well reviewed and an excellent product, that's not in dispute.  Whether Phoenix's business model was profitable or not, I am not sure.  If it was a sustainable and profitable venture, why not sell the company than "voluntarily" fold it? 

Bill at Phoenix is a engineer not a car salesman.  His products worked no upgrades needed.  For a lot less money you could plug in a rpm gauge and the controller and it would adjust itself.

Bill also got involved in multiple diy projects with controllers with multiple phases.  When we ran into some issues with the cheap Chinese frequency generators, Bill designed one and of course threw in some great features. Not only did he do all this for FREE he put links to all the parts and circuit boards. 

If Bill is a bad guy we need more of them around.  Try to find a used Phoenix controller around.  If Bill has a problem I may have the same one.  The problem is people who open there mouths without a clue of the real subject.  I remember people bad mouthing the Phoenix stuff not knowing how the features worked and of course never using one.

I guess if you are interested you can could read through forums and reach your own conclusions.

Enjoy the ride
Tom

Bill certainly is not a bad guy and had a great product. We ended up not be able to work together but it isn't a take away from either company.  In hindsight things probably could have been handled better on both sides. But if it doesn't work out at least it's a learning experience.  Bill, I have no idea where those units are but I'm not arguing you sent them and certainly holding them hostage.  I'll try to locate where they are and send the back and if I can't then I'll  buy them.  Our differences aside both of our companies have always tried to help the end user.