Do not buy any Sonus Faber used

If true, Sumiko IS committing marketing suicide. I just hope they realize it while they are still in business. They may wake up and realize that they are not the only game in town. It's just another example of the tail trying to wag the dog.

I bought a McIntosh MVP871, as a discontinued model, after the MVP881 was introduced. I was told it would include full manufacturer warranty. I sent in the warranty card and Mcintosh sent back a letter denying coverage because the dealer had exceeded the grace period allowed for discontinued products. I wasn't asking for service, just the warranty coverage. I don't expect to have a problem with a new component, let alone a McIntosh. It leaves a bad taste with me and I'll have to think twice before I buy, or recommend one of their products in the future.

BTW, I own Sonus Fabers and have never had any problems with them.

The issue for Sumiko and Sonus Faber is grey market stuff. There are people who bring it in for Europe and sell it in the US. It used to be a bigger problem than it is today. They have had that notice up for years. If I remember correctly they put that notice up when someone was selling a pair of Strads from Poland that the seller claimed were gifts from the founder Franco Serblin, which was not true. As long as your speakers have real serial numbers and came from an authorized US distributor you are fine. If you want to buy a used pair, just check where it was purchased, get the serial number and check with Sumiko.

Not sure if this applies to SF, but I once read that of one US distributor that would not service products that were not imported into the US by themselves. He argued that he has invested in the US distribution and set up a dealer network, provides warranty service etc., and if someone wants to buy from a non domestic source, they can also use that source for service and parts.

Only products that were not intended for the US market were precluded from support. The distributor did not abandon the used US imported market.

It is and excerpt from yesterdays "important notice" posted by Sumiko on Audiogon. It caught my attention because I was looking to buy some Sonus Faber monitors. I'm not sure how closely they're going to enforce the policy (the part about a proof of purchase from authorised dealer)but to refuse to sell parts for a product no matter the origin makes little sense to me. They usualy have hefty markup on parts and can order from manufacturer if needed. Anyway , maybe I've read too much into it but to me manufacturer has an obligation to support its product for a reasonable period of time.

Must be a trans-shipment incident. Dealers from other countries selling out of their area?

I haven't paid a lot of attention to Sonus Faber since the mid 1990's, just curious, do they now make their own drivers? As far as I knew, they use drivers made by other manufacturers.

I remember a friend in the 1990's who owned Extremas and needed new drivers. He knew which drivers they used and saved 50% buying them elsewhere.

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