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Vendor war stories . . . good ones that is . . .

I see lots of bad mouthing of companies but sometimes, these folks building our gear are really amazing. I've worked for a few notable electronic companies and sometimes it was a source of great personal price.

I'd like to tell a few positive ones about the companies who have amazed me with their own pride-of-product . . . and I encourage you to do so yourselves.

Bryston - I own a nice little integrated amp (B60) that I bought used about five years ago. Three years ago, lightning struck a tree outside my house, traveled down the tree into the dog's "invisible collar" wire and into the house. Once into the 4 way electrical outlet, it blew the dog collar transmitter completely apart (imbedded into the opposing wall but not the dog) and took out everything on that outlet, including my Bryston. It goes without saying that the integrated amp was toast.

I sent it to the Vermont service guy Bryston has (I didn't get around to mentioning the lightning) and about a week later got a call from the repair tech. He said - and I quote - "this is really unusual, we don't usually see this sort of failure". Being a good boyscout, I confessed the lightning strike. He said he'd get back to me.

A few days later he called back (notice I'm dealing with a real person here? A person that actually knows what he's talking about . . . not someone with a prewritten script in front of them)? He says, and I quote again, "We don't actually warranty against lightning strikes. So the next time this happens, we won't be doing it under warranty."

Wait, WAIT! "THE NEXT TIME?" THEY ARE FIXING MY AMP UNDER WARRANTY? IT'S AT LEAST 15 YEARS OLD, IT'S BEEN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. JESUS CHRIST, WHAT KIND OF COMPANY IS THIS?

Guy said he'd ship it out the next day. Meanwhile, I'm pretty much totally speechless. I say "Thank you." and hand up.

Vendor of choice.
dancub
brf
1,715 posts
 
I had an original Bryston 4B which developed a mechanical buzz in one the transformers. Since Bryston was within an hour’s drive, I drove the amp to their factory. I was brought into the repair area where the tech removed the cover and said that Bryston now used the new toroidal transformer in their amps.

They asked if I would you like to change out both transformers for the new toroidal ones. I asked how much, and they said no charge. They did the full upgrade while I waited and benched test the amp to ensure it exceeds factory specs. Great company!
dancub OP
83 posts
 
Never thought of it as prepaid...that's funny!

Great story too, Brf
77jovian
436 posts
 
In a slightly different vein, YG Acoustics is here in the Denver area. A couple years ago, I called them and asked if they had a listening room, since I had never heard their speakers, and there isn't a local dealer. Not only was I invited to visit, Yoav Geva met me at the door, gave me a personal and extensive tour of the factory, introduced me to everyone who happened to be there, patiently answered every question I could think of, and then sat me down in a listening room with the Anat References (though I made it clear they were way out of my price range). He left me to soak up the sound for over an hour, checking in periodically to ask about my music preferences, offer me a snack and answer any more questions. Spectacular hospitality and, by the way, spectacular sound.
bigby
162 posts
 
I had the same experience with EgglestonWorks here in Memphis. A factory tour from Jim Thompson and time in their listening room with their full line of speakers. I bought a pair of their Rosa speakers. They are perfect for my small listening room.
tonykay
1,308 posts
 
A quick story...I bought a Nakamichi deck that had been modified when new and the owner had added an interchangeable electric cord, by Kimber Kable. The cord had a short in it so I contacted Kimber and they asked me to send it to them and they would determine if it could be repaired. I got a call back from Nate at the Kimber factory who told me that he had not seen one of these, but that it was as good as anything they make today. Anyway, he sent me a replacement without charge. Great customer service! By contrast, imagine calling GM and telling them that your 20-year old Chevy is running rough. Do you think they would offer to replace it without charge. Fat chance!
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