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No question, just a little holiday praise

I wanted to give a little praise to some of our vendors who help make our adventure in this audio obsession by us Audiophools a little easier. In particular, SORAsound, Reno HiFi, SoundSmith, Nelson Pass, George Merrill,and LLoyd Walker.

Each of these guys obviously have business in this sector that needs customers like us, but each of these guys routinely take the time to reach out to us, and in some cases like my recent work with Mehran from SORAsound and Soundsmith go far beyond my normal experience in helping its customers.

I had (for the most part) destroyed a UNIverse cartridge due to my clumsy handling. Peter looked at the cartridge and rather than charge me to "examine it" sent it back with no charge. Then Mehran worked a deal out that helped me get a new one at a very reasonable cost. No it was not free, but based on what the used cartridges go for, it was more than a fair deal.

He stayed in constant contact after negotiating the deal to make sure i was satisfied. I actually was struggling due to the new combination of equipment and the lack of gain, so he suggested several paths for me to go and sent equipment for me to test/try out. I have struggled with brick and mortar guys in the same town doing this but here is a guy that dumps rather pricey stuff in the mail for me to try.

Once I had a solution in hand, he worked a trade with my previous ZYX ARTisan Phono which i really liked for a new RCM. Again, was it free, No, but it was a great deal considering what i could have gotten for my 8 yo ARTisan and what a new RCM sensor cost (i benchmark a lot before any purchase)

I could go on about Mark from Reno HIFI, or the numerous personal notes that Nelson Pass took time to respond to and help guide me, or the numerous notes from Lloyd on an old Apollo that he modified for a guy many years ago that i was tweaking.

It kinda makes this hobby worthwhile when we have a site like this that you can get lots of info from and then have vendors like this.

Have any experiences you want to share?
oilmanmojo
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islandmandan
1,260 posts
 
I also have nothing but good to say about the men you have mentioned. I remember several years ago, I called Walker Audio, to ask about their Hi-Def Links, and surprisingly, Lloyd answered the phone himself.

Nelson Pass is another, as you say, that is more than willing to answer questions, and even give many of his designs away for DIY.

Mark at Reno has been great, and is always very gracious on the phone, Peter Lederman does great work, and, is apparently, very helpful as well.

I would add Dan Wright to this list of caring and concientious participants in the business of audio equipment design and manufacturing (and selling).

There are a few major companies in this field (they shall remain nameless), that unfortunately cannot be added here, due to corporate greed.

We can be grateful though, for those companies and individuals that do so much to make this hobby so enjoyable.

Best regards,
and happy holidays,
Dan (islandman, not Wright)
mitch2
3,967 posts
 
Happy Holidays to;

Steve McCormack at SMc Audio for his relentless pursuit of perfection and customer satisfaction with both his upgraded and new products, exceptional friendliness and customer service, and his continued enthusiasm for making great sounding products, and

Michael Garner at Tweek Geek for his awesome "in-home audition" program, willingness to accommodate special requests, friendly discussions about audio, and customer service that goes above and beyond.
jperry
2,448 posts
 
This year I have made a number of changes to my system, and all for the better. I have been helped by a number of people who provided help and guidance.

Steve Klein at Sounds of Silence. Even though not technically a customer, Steve helped me with a used Vibraplane to assure it was operating perfectly and I understood how to use it for the best results.

Glen and Sean at Arizona Hi Fi. Glen helped me make some good and cost effective decisions about some purchases as well as finding some difficult to locate items. Sean helped me lower the noise level in my system with more efficient cable routing. What a great shop.

Chris Futrick at Timbernation built a beautiful rack to my specifications in Walnut and shipped in to me in under 30 days.

Andy at Vintage Tube Services selected some great tubes for my preamp and phono preamp that really made a difference.

Thanks to them and to everyone at Audiogon that helped me with answers to questions and shared their knowledge of this great hobby with me.

Best Wishes to all for the Holidays,

Jim Perry
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