909

well at least with respect to the pop-rivets

thank you, KG. i now have some cred.

my sentiments exactly KG! well said.

what's involved in biasing the es-1 properly? the es-1 had a few biasing turning dials that needed some fine finessing and i think he used an electric reading gauge of some sort. others amps i've seen you just flip a switch, but that might not be the same exact thing.

doesn't the es-1 have to be fine tuned? at the last so cal meet i hosted Mikhail needed to bias the es-1 to get it to sound spot on and i don't believe it was a new amp just one a regular head-fier brought to the meet.

i should also add to that list... 4) amps arriving with issues (obviously i don't know how often it happens, but i've read and heard enough about it to make it a concern)

if that is the case it wasn't right, but i believe Mikhail makes his own chassis now and isn't at the mercy of third party vendors. 2) putting stuff in writing removes doubt and likelihood of confusion. there still seems some unwillingness to show internal pics. 3) in general, SP stuff is rather pricey as are the upgrades, but it's rare to see base models so most go the upgrade route after talking with Mikhail and no one is force to do it. i can still take issue with respect to what he charges for an amp and upgrade pricing.

if i would have known it isn't the norm, i would have taken some--hindsight is 20/20. i take issue with the following: 1) lack of forthrightness with respect to wait time 2) lack of information about internals, upgrades and internal pics 3) exorbitant upgrade premiums

the one i received had been... the sky is blue i disagree with your second sentence, though.

i don't like acryllic.an allen wrench is not a problem, it's headless rivets that require a specialized tool and/or drilling.if the Aristaeus was made out of arcyllic i doubt it would have taken as long since metal work is tedious and painstaking especially considering the level of detail and care HeadAmp put into each of those chassis, but i agree Mikhail would need at least 18 months for an acryllic chassis as you said.can't forget Justin is a one man operation and a perfectionist.i can't say the same about Mikhail and how many employees does he now have, five, six... it doesn't reflect favorably on Ray or Mikhail that is takes them so long.in fact, i seriously doubt someone like Kevin Gilmore or Craig Uthus would take nearly as long on similar projects, it isn't as if the wheel is getting reinvented.it's always best to proceed with caution, but we're only talking about opening and looking not touching. visual gratification isn't at issue, it's seeing what's insideand wondering why so few SP internal pics have ever been posted. since you're such an expert and have opened them in the past why not show us the insides of your SP amps?

certainly i would like to see some more SP amp guts besides the three i've seen over the past four years.remember back when 6moons reviewed the mpx3 Mikhail refused to let them take pics of the inside for the article.i believe the reason given patent pending, which imo is highly suspect. also iirc, the reviewer indicated 6moons would not review another SP product because they felt they weren't leveled with properly.i guess i don't understand the reluctance and utterlack of internal pictures even by owners. it's as if there is some sort of moratorium on posting internal pics of any SP amp.i seriously doubt any amp manufacturer is doing anything new and novel that would justify having to hid it from anyone.in fact, anyone can buy one of these amps and check out the insides.generally knowing what's under the hood, build quality, and making it easier for the customer to check that, in fact, all those costly upgrades were included is imho all good things. i agree, quality control issues and/or missing deadlines has been something that most if not all amp makers in our community have dealt with.though, it is doubtful that most if not all have made it a common practice while at the same time still giving unrealistic delivery dates repeatedly knowing full well that they will not be filled.the issues rate ive heard and read about over the course of this past year has only been increasing.i realize customization and personalized service takes time and possibly even more time on particular orders, but three, six or even 12 months is really pushing beyond all rational comprehension.i wish i could see more SP build quality beside the recent mega buck one that took something like a year and still had issues upon delivery (and more than one delivery i believe).i only wonder how the average amp looks insides, average wait time, number of empty promises made and percentage of delivery dates gone unfilled.

why didn't you say so in the first place--a bit different then put together professionally, but whatever... i see ones' level of professionalism as a cohesive whole, but i didn't realzie you limited your question just to the chassis. my SP had rivets (headless) and others that were torked on so tight likely with an airgun, and the other SPs i've seen have had substantilly more fasteners than other similar amps and yeah i think it's easier to get inside those other amps, without question. my fastener comment still goes to the fact as to what's it look like inside and i did see the one i got as unreasonably difficult to open up. i've not had difficulty getting into my amps, but for the SP.

turn it on, heat it up, and touch it

OK, not opposed to a little funny and not really certain what you mean by put together more professionally since i've not seen the process, though, i don't mean to even imply something like that.... but the way i understand your question, i would have to say no since it's unprofessional to give unrealistic delivery dates, make them wait around 6 months for new or repair and then there does seem to be quite a few issues even when new or the high-end stuff. i think must people really believe and trust Mikhail and it's these repeated unfilled promises followed by more delays and all those upgrades options that i find unsettling an unstated issue is HeadAmp, HeadRoom, RS Audio show the internals of there amps and even EC isn't reluctant to show the insides of his stuff or have pics posted. i've only seen the SP p2p debacle pics, ppx3 circuit board on moon audio, and some very recent pics of the mega buck amp at the San Jose meet. what's inside, what does it look like, etc... (i am curious to know). i've built a lot of things, but nothing electrical. though, probably you already knew the answer before you asked it. yet even with mom and pop type amp builders i still believe i have the ability to perceive whether something is put together well and with care. they sound good, but i think people believe if they spend more they'll get a superior sounding amp, which may or may not be the case. And public perception influences what people think and believe to a certain degree so they're more likely to put up with it. i think people like the flexibility of tube rolling and adapters, but i wonder if those adapters and building amps that can hanlde different tubes is like a multifunction printer, fax machine, copier, etc.. which does it all, but a stand alone product that specifically designed to handle one thing might do that one thing better.

then why didn't he just say so... i received a completed demo unit that took over two months to even get shipped. this happened over two years ago. you're now seriously speculating, which is nothing more then pointless conjecture. you caught me--spin-spin-spin... i didn't say i choose my words poorly-- i said i used "lock or locked" for lack of a better term and next time i'll use a different word or phrase. I did changed my terminology since then and also explained why i used that particular word in this context. allen wrench and other tools i've got and if i really wanted to i could have opened up the mxp3, though, some of the fasteners were riveted and in comparsion to any other amp vastly more fasteners and extremely tight. i've opened up my ec2a3, raptor, gs-1, ecss, and a few other amps within seconds--none were fastener together so fastidious and over the top as the mpx3 and other SP amps i've seen. i've never owned a MF amp. i've considered opening the reimyo, but as of yet i've not especially since the screws are high polished brass/gold color and look flawless. i did open up the saturn to a certain degree i remove all the philip screws on the back panel and peeked inside--which has little to nothing to do with the amp manufacturers that build for this community.

i like getting limber before i exercise. so you agree it is more difficult to open SP amps. And the so-called reason is to limit SP's liability? i doubt that's the only reason and probably not the very first one considering the p2p of yesterday. a sufficient warning and a reasonable number of secured fasteners should reduce his liability if someone did something stupid. welded shut might not be such a bad idea especially considering all the other stuff that's overlooked and put up dealing with SP, but it would probably add an additional 3 to 6 months to any build or repair that normally takes half a year already, though, knowing SP customers they'd take it and paid up. So SP customers get your Darwin award, figures.

fruits and nuts, but whack is reserved for those on the east coast.

sucks x2

watching that is sheer torture.

most amps i've seen use philips. usually around six or eight screws and you inside the thing, but the SP had substantially more like at least double, which is really overkill. don't think using less would give any indication of shoddiness as long as it had been sufficiently and securely fastened together.

at least your getting value for your dollar whatever he is using hex, torx, sometimes possibly even rivets, it is certainly more of a task to open it up and it won't avoid a lawsuit. lookswise, it isn't like he is used them sparely. warranty or not around here we tend to like to look inside things. sorry you didn't like my use of the word lock or locked in this context, but to me in comparison to every other amp manufacturers around here that's the way i see it. next time i'll use a different word or phrase.

i like Mikhail and think he is a very nice guy. i believe he would do next to anything to make his customers happy and deserves to be commended for that, but if you read my posts today and my previous one i think it is fairly obvious regarding my concerns or issues with SP.

i received a demo mpx3 that the back panel had also been riveted. Mikhail told me that his chasis are made in house, but this conflicts with hirsch comment of outsouring.

it's not really false information, but my use of a word for lack of a better one. in fact, every amp is locked shut usually with normal screws that anyone can open without much effort or difficulty. What differentiates SP is that it doesn't use common household screws, many more fasteners than necessary and much tighter than necessary and some might even had been secured with additional rivets. so when i say locked i mean is requires a specialized tool key to open. every amp i've encounted are relatively easy to open up. the SP ones, on the other hand, are more locked up for lack of a better term and as you duly noted can be extremely difficult to open. that's good to know, but it doesn't clear up his misleading customers as to delivery dates and calls into question his word. this is true about any amp, but Mikhail makes it exceedingly cumbersome to open. and the amp i received was also riveted shut. i've opened nearly everything i've purchased to see what it looks like inside.

i couldn't live without heating and a/c anywhere even So Cal. where i currently live we are within a few miles of the beach so we get a very nice offshore breeze, which typically keeps the area 1o* to 15* degrees cooler than downtown or the valley. but i use the a/c like mad and would have a difficult time moving into a very humid climate. and that pussies comment is from your folks.