I ran into a very similar situation on audiocircle. Bought two preamps and an amp off a company that has a manfacturer thread. My equipment had bad parts, and I found other people who bought from this smaller audio brand had problems too. I lost much money when I got rid of this junk. The forum moderator (who was the owner/designer of stated junk) banned me from posting. Audio forums are first for positive advertising, NOT for owner exchanges that might be brutally honest or negative. Audio forums are not really forums for a fair exchange of ideas...... IMHO.