Anybody try the new Heaven 11 Billie Mk 2?

Just a little experience with Itai (President of Heaven11).  I bought his personal demo unit BillieAmp.  He said he had it tested, replaced the tubes, updated firmware before shipping.  Being a demo (allegedly his personal amp), no 30-day trial but did come with a 1 year warranty.  

The thing hummed like a dozen hummingbirds.  And, only on one source (analog)…even if no source was connected.  Send Itai a vid of the amp humming.  He agreed it was bad.  Sent it back.  His staff couldn’t fix it.

Again, under warranty, but he could not fix it.  Wouldn’t replace it.  And, to rub salt in the wound, made me pay for shipping to get the amp back.  

I tried different receptacles, tried an eliminator, tried another power cord, tried it with and without sources connected.  Tried two different set of speakers.  Tried different speaker wire sets.  STILL HUMMED LOUDLY!

I paid him 5 figures for a paperweight.  He won’t even honor the warranty!

I think he bends over backwards for the YouTube folks.  But, a cash customer?  I’m stuck.  If you get one that works, great!  If not?  Too bad, so sad!

 Buyer beware!

@graphicguy Sorry about your troubles with the Billie folks.  After they attempted a repair, did they say if the "hum" was still present?  Have you tried the amp at a friend's house or maybe a local HIFI store to eliminate your house as a variable?

I recently had a bad 60hz hum with a pre-owned tube preamp and I made a long thread about it trying to remedy it.  I ended up opening it and found a ground wire that was broken from its terminal and now it's fine.  Probably dislodged during shipping.

If you'd like, I can try your Billie at my house - I'll pay for shipping.  Bit of a trust issue I suppose but I'd be happy to help you trouble shoot it.

My two cents but not about the Billie. 

There is a lot of good stuff out there and the price points seem to be dropping for better stuff. However, the other factor with the reviewers is that they are getting products to review from some manufactures. So you will see about 4 or 5 reviews on the same product like the Billie because the reviewers are being supplied with the product. 

What you have to remember is that there are numerous other manufacturers who are smaller and even one man shows who either do not or can't supply this endless supply of YouTube reviewers with sample products to review. 

So that's why I think it is a good idea to come to forums like this to get ideas from experienced users who have a wealth of experience and know about various products that maybe you've never considered or heard of.

The Billie is the first or only hybrid amp -- it is just the one that is being pushed out by all the YouTube reviewers. That doesn't mean it isn't good but there are probably others which have done the same or similar thing that don't get the "press."

@tubeguy76 …sorry it’s taken a while to respond.  I actually went on vacation to Alaska.

I appreciate the offer.  I had sent the BillieAmp to a YouTuber (skunkiedesigns.com).  The lady who runs it does some of her own designs but also critiques different units).  Not sure, but I think she’s an electrical engineer…nice lady.

Anyway, she said the hum of the BillieAmp, on any outlet that she tested, on a multitude of audio set ups, was constantly present.  Like me, she tried all the usual fixes with no luck.  She believed that while the case was nice, the internals were not probably audio grade PCB’s or point wiring was haphazard.

Up until that point, Haven11’s president, Itai, really tried to push off the warranty on the unit.  He refused to admit anything was wrong, even though I sent him videos of the issue.

When he found out a YouTuber had the unit, he changed his tune and took it back.  He gave me a refund, but not until I had dropped hundreds of dollars shipping it to him and paying to have it shipped back, diagnosis fees, and shipping it to and from the YouTuber to fix it.  He finally agreed that something was wrong.  But, by that time, I was out about $300 even after he refunded the purchase price.  

My communications with him led me to believe he was kind of a huckster.  He sent pre-tested units to reviewers while the regular units that are shipped to normal users were dicey.

In short, proceed with caution.  Their support is poor and QC isn’t any better.  I question their viability in the audio community with only one product, too.