Welborne Labs

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Welborne Labs

This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes

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I will be closing this forum in a few days. There are many reasons to close it down and many reasons to keep it alive. On average the Welborne Labs forum is visited about 800 times per day (which is pretty good) but oddly enough only receives 1 to 2 posts per day... which is pretty poor considering half of those posts are from ME! It pretty much indicates a real lack of activity.
In fact it seems that most just hop on here to ask Ron a question. “Hey Ron, what’s your opinion of this?”; “hey Ron, how do I fix that?”; “hey Ron, where is my order?”; “hey, Ron, which one is better?” Many come here to ask ME a question and also send me an email with the same question. So I guess the thought process is, “I’m in a hurry for an answer so where will it get answered first?”. Of course I feel compelled to answer the question in both places which adds to my daily workload.
I started this forum in hopes that many would participate and share their experiences with the Welborne Labs' products and come here to ask for and share opinions. But there has been no real participation, no sharing of ideas, no sharing of project photos, successful modifications, etc., etc. Aside from a few individuals like Chris O., 4season, Bas Horneman and occasionally a few others there has been no support from and for the community.
I receive dozens of "emails" each month from customers complimenting me on our products, our website and our service, but how many compliments or positive experiences do you see posted here? So this forum isn't exactly helping me with free marketing or providing that "word of mouth" benefit.
Why no participation?
- Maybe the Welborne Labs clientele don’t feel obligated to share their experiences... "that’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with that!"
- Maybe the Welborne Labs clientele don’t feel qualified to share ideas, express opinions, etc.... "a little hard to believe considering I correspond with many very knowledgeable customers on a daily basis."
- There is nothing worth talking about in the land of Welborne Labs.... "mmmmaybe."
- Maybe the Welborne Labs clientele don’t care about anyone else’s opinion but Ron’s.... "how flaterring!"
- Maybe Ron has scared everybody off with his mellow tyrades.... "guilty as charged - every now and then"
- Maybe the Welborne Labs clientele would rather do other things, like build projects and listen to music than hang out in chat rooms.... "there’s nothing wrong with that either!"
Why no participation? I don’t know, you tell me. All I can do is speculate.

I may revive this forum in the not too distant future. I do have a place-holder for it on the new website that’s coming soon. If I bring the forum back it will be reformated in hopes of making it easier to find answers, ask questions about specific products and product areas and hopefully it will be presented in a format that encourages and fosters more participation. We shall see.
Until that time, I suggest you sign up for our Newsletter. I am now emailing a newsletter every 2-4 weeks with the latest product news, updates and changes, sale notices, show schedules, etc. If you haven’t received one yet, that means you are not on our list. You can sign up for the Newsletter on our homepage. Of course, if all you care about is my opinion, feel free to just email ME.
My thanks and appreciation goes out to those who have participated on this forum over the last few years. Your support has been very much enjoyed.
OK, so everybody gather around for a group hug. I feel better already.
Later

Ron

http://www.welbornelabs.com (Open in New Window)

Follow Ups:

Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Flying Red 12:31:35 08/01/05 (1)
I visit every day and this is my first post. I recently took delivery of a pair of DRD 300bs which are sounding great. I'm new to SET amps and at this stage am absorbing knowledge and ideas and don't yet feel I've much to contribute here.
However, this forum was a big plus in my choice of the DRDs. Seeing Ron's engagement and response to queries was a big plus in favor of the product and knowing that this forum is here if I have problems was a source of comfort.
When I had an amp die shortly after switch on it was great to be able to search the history for some ideas on diagnosing the problem.
The bottom line for me is that I'm not interested in buying audio equipment manufactured by a large corporation whose management are in touch with their customer base. I want to see the principal actively participating in an on-line community in the way that Jim Hagerman, Frank Schroeder and Thom Mackris do.
So I'd say, in closing that there's more to this forum than meets the eye and shutting down may have more effect on your business than you might think.
Regards
Ralph
- Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Flying Red 12:33:09 08/01/05 (0)
  The next to last para should read "whose management are not in touch with their customer base.
  R
I vote to keep it going....NT - Nutube 16:04:09 07/31/05 (0)
x
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Bobby G 23:43:07 07/30/05 (0)
I think you have to try to lure in more beginers,maybe even tweak your site to attrack more newcomers to this insanity,the more newbies you can bring into your store that you convince can sucsesfuly build these kits the more posts on the forum.
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Thorsten 18:11:29 07/29/05 (0)
Hi Ron,
I appreciate the issues in the forum, also the time involved. I will not debate the rights and wrongs, many people faught to give us the right to decide, so I respect anyone who decides.
But PLEASE, let the record stand, do not "blow up" the archive, but ask "the bored" to let it stand, if not, retrieve the posts and host them elsewhere...
Ciao T
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - chris.keating@smithturf.com 13:02:49 07/29/05 (0)
Ron,
Thanks for keeping the forum alive for THIS long. I visit it daily and only post when I feel I can add something worthwhile. I have learned a tremendous amount from your regular posters and I think the lack of posts simply reflects just how small our hobby's community really is. You are probably MOST aware of that since your living relies on this community! I'm not sure you can gauge how the forum might have helped your business through the years. I guess the only way to tell is to close it and see what happens. I do believe that people with questions about prospective product purchases have been assured by users that the value and quality you offer is UNMATCHED. As always, good luck, continued success and kind regards,
Chris Keating
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Jeph 10:48:36 07/29/05 (0)
Hi Ron,
I am one of the 800 daily visitors that never post. The forum is very focused on Welborne products, and that might be the reason. I don’t own any of your gear, although I have bought parts from you.
I think you should reconsider:-)
Best regards
Jeph
Thanks and keep up the great work! - Chris O 06:34:49 07/29/05 (0)
Once a month you will have to snoop around the Tube-DIY forum for a chuckle. I can completely understand your position on the manufacturer specific forum. It is the reason I do not have a cell phone, cable TV, microwave, dog, career; too many distractions.
DIY Audio, to me, is a quest for knowledge much more than it is a quest for cheap sound. Few people seem to want to practice their skills and develop competency. I would not have dreamed of starting out with a $1,500 kit. My first kit was a $25 electronic crossover with a $35 power supply that took me 2 months to get right. I have learned so much more and had a lot more fun trouble shooting badly humming amps, burning out tubes, smoking caps, drawing schematics, leaving out grid resistors and fixing problems. But I guess it is easier to simply blame the kit provider and return things. Life is too short to go through it without understanding what you are doing.
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Ejam 17:33:25 07/28/05 (0)
Ron
My take on this is that your forum does not present enough diy designs, circuit, amp pictures ... experimentation in other words. The forum is a vehicle for your products which is fair enough but if you want more involvment then you need to stimulating people's minds to get involvement rather than posts of product promotion and back slapping. A great example is the Magnequest forum: a couple of months ago was alive with diy designs and numerous variations, stimulated in part by Jeff Lessard's Seth design. It was great to see and be involved in. Now before I get the big lecture on commerical designs and making a living etc, you need to throw the dog a bone occasionally if he is to perform for you. Suggestions would be to release the old Apollo design, a variation on the DRD or one of those many designs that haven't got off the ground or were too weird for commerical release.
FWIW
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Just_Thom 16:54:36 07/28/05 (0)
Sad reality, Ron ...
How does one person best allocate their time ... to service customers, fill orders, support past, current, and future sales, play shipping and receiving department, bookkeeper, maintain the web site, develop new product ... oh yeah ... go for a hike with the kids on an occasional Saturday, etc. etc. etc.
Until I became a small manufacturer, I had no clue as to why you rarely had time to socialize with the local tube geeks here in Colorado. Now I know.
One needs to play triage with one's time and sometimes, you have to cut where it hurts.
Maybe your products are too well developed. I they weren't so completely well thought out, maybe there would be more activity on this forum - as far as tweaking them ... but alas, people solder your kits and return to enjoying tunes.
Hopefully the word will continue to spread.
Cheers,
Thom
|
| Galibier Design
| ... crafting technology
| in service of music
| http://www.galibierdesign.com
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - MikeT 13:34:59 07/28/05 (0)
Postings seem to be way down on all the tube-related forums. I've been a member of AA for four years and it seems things have really fallen off on Tube DIY, SET, KandK, and Welborne. My impression is this coincides will all the trouble on Tube DIY a few months back. It seems either people left and never came back, or they no longer post. Until that time, I never saw anyone get insulted or personally attacked. For example, I vividly remember one butthead on Tube DIY who accused Lynn Olson of having a hidden agenda. I don't think I saw another post from Lynn again.
I have found your web site and it's contents to be of great value. Your old catalogs contained a wealth of information, and I refer to them often. (I'm glad I downloaded them, because I can't find them on your web site anymore!)
We need guys like you, Lynn Olson, Doc Bottlehead, Kevin Carter, Mike LeFevre, Pete Millett, Gary Pimm, and all the others to keep this whole deal going.
I say: thanks for your time and effort. Keep up the good work, and contribute your time and knowledge all you can.
Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - teknofossil 05:41:21 07/28/05 (3)
Ron,
while I am new to this forum (although I have known of your company since at least 1990 from its adverts in Glass Audio)I only recently have purchased a product directly (the remote attenuator project), primarily due to the fact that most of my projects (when I have time) is either solid state, hybrid or PP and my loudspeaker interests lie in the less efficient category (ESL's, Linkwitz type dipoles) and SE low watt amps aren't an option. Besides my regular job (I am a technician at a aerospace OEM in their after market support division) I also run a wildlife center for the state I live in. Both jobs are busy this time of year and my personal computer/internet time is quite sparse. I will be visiting AND contributing to this forum on a more frequent basis once things settle down (provided it isn't nuked).
SO, I respectfully request that you reconsider or at least put on hold your plans to suspend the forum.
-T
- Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - paba 08:14:21 07/28/05 (2)
  Hi Ron,
  this forum is a regular stop for me when I do my forum reading. I only recently purchased my DRDs and haven't started them but my plan was to post some pics and reports of the experience and of course how they sound. If the forum is done, when I'm ready to do that then I just send you an email.
  What I thought I would have seen more of on this forum is owners trying different tweaks and sharing them a bit like what goes on with Bottlehead crew.
  I've seen very few postings on DRD tweaks, maybe they are just fine as is and not much more can be squeezed out.
  The other thing I wanted to see more is owners sharing "system views" like what's their preamp, what's the speakers, what they've tried that works well together, what doesn't work so well, etc...
  So in short, I see your point. But I have to think the DRD owners are busy listening to music now and have taken a rest from this constant mod/tweak craze.
  cheers
  paba
  - Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - Colin 10:03:19 07/28/05 (1)
    
    In Reply to: Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes posted by paba on July 28, 2005 at 08:14:21:
    
    Well i will be sad to see it go - I have no technical knowledge on electronics despite trying many times to understand it and it was somewhere to go for help. I love my DRD300B ultimates and have no intention of changing them for anything else but the messages from other users and the answers to my posts have been very helpful in deciding on preamps, valves etc. Its an interesting situation for Ron as he seems to have made the almost perfect amplifier sound wise and at a very sensible price. Presumably most owners are happy with their purchase's and the amplifiers are reliable or this board would be full of how do i fix this or that problem. One thing it does do which Ron might not be aware of is it pulls people to his website. Everyday i go through the website to find the forum and check to see if anything new is on the website on the way.
    I don't know what the answer is but having predetermined threads might be the answer with say - welborne users systems - tech support - old Welborne kit - etc etc
    
    Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes - drsx 14:24:27 07/28/05 (0)
    
    In Reply to: Re: This forum will self distruct in 5 minutes posted by Colin on July 28, 2005 at 10:03:19:
    
    drat ... I only recently ordered my kits and won't be able to begin assembling them for a month or two ... but I am sure I'm going to need help.
    As for the forum, as a newb to the world of welborne, i just don't have much to contribute here. Fwiw, however, i do find the forum format at head-fi or diyaudio to be easier to use than AA's, and thus I tend to spend more time there -- I'm not even really registered here. There are sponsored forums at both of those places (Pass Labs, for instance), so maybe that's another option?

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