One off my Audiopax 88s has gone up in smoke.

I have been watching this thread from afar, I own a Model 5; i would really wish them to succeed in this turnaround, as their products have a promising sound. lets keep fingers crossed!

egidius

Charles,

I am very happy to hear that you finally got your amplifiers fixed. I'm a little shocked, that after taking nearly two years to fixed your amps that you're thanking Audiopax. You are one patient and understanding individual. If it were me, I would sell those amps immediately while they are still working.

Brawny, I would like to point out some details that may help understand the full story:

Charles purchased used 220V amplifiers from overseas and connected them to UK's 240V, which these days is closer to 250V. Of course a transformer melted down.
He tried fixing the amps through a local tech, who made a basket case of the amplifiers. A lot of time was spent - actually more than 12 months - trying to fix the amp locally, not Charlie's fault in any case.

Audiopax went through a major reestructuring recently. On June 25, I read Charlie's post and reported the issue to one of Audiopax's new directors.

Upon receiving my e-mail, Audiopax designed a new over-specified toroidal power transformer for Charle's household voltage. A pair of transformers was custom-made, bench tested for a month, then the amplifiers were shipped back, free of charge, within a workable timeframe for a total redesign of the power supply.
My best wishes
Casouza

Casouza,

With all due respect, what was the point of your post? To shift some of the blame to Charles or make excuses for Audiopax? The fact of the matter is that in March 2009, Charles tried to reach out to Audiopax to get his amplifiers repaired. You can read the history of the thread above. Why the amplifier's broke, who tried to fix them, and whose fault it was is irrelevant. Audiopax went MIA and apparently were restructuring for nearly two years.

Audiopax was sold and distributed hear in the U.S. for a few years. Jim Smith did a great job of promoting the Audiopax toasters. Unfortunately, Audiopax managed to develop a reputation for poor customer service. I know one customer that waited for months to get his Model 88's repaired. I came very close to purchasing a pair of Model 88's myself. A friend in the industry, convinced me not to because of these types of potential issues.

Eventually, Audiopax ran into U.S. distribution and dealer issues as well. To make matters worse, their U.S. retail prices more than doubled in a short amount of time. The devaluation of the American dollar didn't help. In addition, Audiopax was constantly fiddling with their designs. Often swapping out different parts. It got to the point where no one knew what version of the product they had received or were getting because no two were alike.

There is no doubt that Eduardo De Lima is a really nice guy. There is also no doubt that Audiopax makes great sounding products. However, it takes a lot more than these attributes to run a successful company. I would be very hesitant and cautious in purchasing any Audiopax product. However, I really do hope that they turn things around because Eduardo is a very talented designer that makes great sounding unique products.