tyrion

Jp's DNA-.1 For anyone interested. Mark Reid, a local DIY'er offered his services to repair SP amps. He has been building amps, tone arms, tt plinths, repairing McIntosh tube and solid state gear for a long time. He is a great guy and located about 10 minutes from where I live. He will probably be doing the mods to my McCormack DNA-.1.

I believe they are working tomorrow. Tracking shows my amp being delivered tomorrow.

Did you lend them to this guy through Mikhail? If so, tell Mikhail you want the guys name and address unless you have this information already. Someone should have the address if they were shipped to the guy in Scottsdale. If you can get his information, send him a certified letter, return receipt demanding return of your property. If he doesn't return them, contact the local police. At some point it will be considered theft. Just my $.02.

They were sold. If W4S didn't have the 15% restocking fee I would buy the ST-500 direct from them or Underwood and compare them to the McCormack for a few weeks.

Galibier Design - Serac

Lets hope he continues to deliver. I get more nervous each day. At this point he is a lost cause as far as I'm concerned. What he has done may not be technically criminal but it's effect is almost as bad.

A guy in Fort Lauderdale is selling the SX-500 monos for $1400 which is a bit pricey considering they are $1800 new and the new ones are the mkii. I sent an email to see if I can audition them. Sherwood, for what it's worth, your post got me thinking I should at least give them a listen when they are so close.

I've spoken to Dan a bit about this. However, not being an attorney in Colorado, there are limits to the advice I can give him. Even if there were enough people to some how either form a class (doubtful) or to make it worthwhile for a local attorney to take this on, there is the problem of collection assuming they win. SP is a corporation. No one knows what, if any, assets SP has to collect against. I have no idea what the collection laws are like in Colorado. Getting a judgment, without being able to collect is an empty victory that will cost those pursuing it money. If he formed a separate corporation for selling tubes then that would likely be out of reach. Also, what is the basis of the suit? Perhaps breach of contract, but then, what are the terms? Was it anticipated by either party to the contract that delivery would be within a certain period of time, etc. I'm not saying it's not possible but someone will have to speak to a local attorney. Litigation is expensive for all involved and should always be a last resort and never done on principle. Most people can't afford principle. State Attorney Generals' offices typically have a department that deals with consumer issues. It's maybe possible, if the Colorado AG's office received enough complaints, with the amount of money at issue it might peak their interest. It's a difficult situation and the above is why I've told Dan, to try to get his gear and get out. Mikhail has always delivered something. It's better to get something than nothing. It's likely he has next to no cash flow having been paid for the items waiting to be delivered more than a year ago.

Odyssey Stratos on Audiogon

I've spoken to Klaus on a couple of occasions and he is a great guy. I still may buy a pair of the Mono Extreme amps to compare to the McCormack.

AudiogoN ForSale: McCormack DNA 1 This is a great deal on a dna .1 deluxe.

He's a good son.

I'm all over the Musicone.

My only point is that the amps are all paid for. Unless Mikhail is willing or able to give refunds, get what you can, while you can. It may be all you can get. Legal action will likely be difficult, expensive and if you get a judgment, you may never collect.

Here is a pic of part of what I bought today:

So far, Mikhail has eventually delivered the product purchased. Better to have the amp with the chance there are problems then nothing at all. If the amp does have problems, the solution is to find someone that can repair the amp. At least a few in this situation have had their amps repaired by others. My only point is you can be as tough as you want but in the end you may find yourself empty handed. If you would be willing to take that risk, so be it. I would like to see those that are in this situation at least get their amps. My guess, and it is a guess, is that SP may not be around for very long.

For me it's easy. If I like the HD800 better than the Jade then the Jade goes. If not, then I have a Jade and BH. Either way it's a win, win for me.

Now you are out an amp, the money paid for the amp, your plane ticket, hotel for the night, taxi and/or rental car.

And when he doesn't send the money and still have his amp, then what?

I've heard from a couple of others that have similar opinions to the Tyll, Jude and Ed.

AudiogoN ForSale: Mccormack DNA 0.5 I think I would jump all over this if I didn't have Jp's amp on the way.

The business is owned by Mikhail and/or his wife. The idea that he can't do something because of his accounts payable person is nonsense. Having said that, his customers are pretty much at his mercy. The unfortunate thing is the poor quality control so you don't even know if the amp you are receiving is going to work on arrival.

Tom Hankins posted on HF, that his amp is not working.

I just read a Stereo Times article on the 909 and it says that the emphasis is on the mids. It seems to me that if you are looking for deeper, more controlled bass then these may not be the way to go. I don't anything about them beyond the review I just read. It does say they are rated at 250w at 4 ohms. I'm giving McCormack a try based upon Jp and Voltron's suggestion. There is a McCormack dna-.05 deluxe and .1 deluxe on Audiogon. I think the .05 is 125 into 8 ohms, not sure about 4 but I do believe it's rated for 4 ohms. I would say it's a minimum of 200 watts. I was also looking into the Odyssey amps.

dp