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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Re: Kevin Deal...Amperex 7308s....Mod 3A posted by Uncle Bob on May 27, 1999 at 08:37:37:
Boy....what a pile on. First I'm a profit monger, a publicity seeker, then I made a ton of money on the swap meet...short warranty...no returns..what next? I'm imported Killer Bees????This is the first time I've seen some of this stuff. Let's get some facts straight:
1. I don't know who Uncle Bob is, but please let me know when you bought from me, your name, and what your e-mail was at the time posted both here as well as via private e-mail so I can check your invoice and my e-mail records.
I'm serious on this and want to make sure we have the facts. If indeed what you say is true even within a few weeks I will send you a new pair of primo Amperex 7308's, the best, in original boxes, no charge. My warranty is now 90 days, not 30. I will report back here the facts about specific ship dates and will be happy to make sure you are satisfied. You never did say what tube you like so much that lasted in your pre-amp.
As to your statements about me recommending them to all these Mod 3A owners...and your statement that you e-mail them privately to say you have problems...I suggest anyone here check Dejanews to see how often that happens. I don't sell them to people that often, but I have done so with great results, and many repeat customers. In fact why don't you CC a copy of all these e-mails you sent here for us to see??????? Or better yet...how many times...out of the thousands of posts I've made...have I recommended that tube exclusively?
I re-tube more Modulus than anyplace in the U.S. At least a half-dozen a week. AI send me customers directly because I listen and I do a good job in getting their customers the best.
The 7308 is not the #1 tube I sell in terms of numbers for that pre-amp.
But it may sound the best for some customers and ANY tube can fail, especially in high gain systems. I don't shove anything down your throat and in fact if someone gets stressed about the price I suggest they buy Sovtek. Cheap and lasts. But doesn't touch the performance.
2. On tube recommendations: Much of the time people may call and ask for a tube that is completely wrong for their taste or product. People have bought tubes from me and unsupervised plugged 6 volt tubes into 12 volt holes. They want to buy U.S. Amperex 6922's for CAT's and Mod 3A's...and those tubes will never hold up in those positions...but if there is a failure guess who has to warranty it? Me.At the Hi Fi swap I could have easily sold twice as much if I just handed people boxes they ask for. My intention is that people get the best results, and I think they appreciate that. If it were "numbers" and selling volume, why would I go through 30 minute conversations asking people questions like:
What are they using now, and how do they like it.
How efficient are the speakers, and how much gain does the system overall have.
What sonic improvements do they want.
I have no shortage of inventory...in fact the Amperex 7308 is a tube I cannot replace to my inventory since I do almost ZERO buying in the U.S. and aqcuired these years ago. Everything I sell is imported through agreements with folks in Europe...and there ain't to many JAN 7308 over there.
The easy thing if my motives were to just pump tubes is to have on-line ordering...and if they bounce back big deal. That's what others do. GO TO MY WEB SITE AND LOOK AT THE TUBE SELECTION FORM...it says phone calls are preferred!!! If I am busy I often return phone calls at my expense to make sure people get the right stuff.
The Amperex 7308 kind of took on a life of it's own because of the comments I made when Soundstage! interviewed me, and the Vacuum Tube Valley shoot out where they named it the #1 in listening tests. But not one customer should make a buying decision based on that.
3. Returns if you don't like 'em: Some of the stuff I have you will not find anywhere in North America. I have ten times the inventory of any other dealer, and the most exotic stuff. The people that buy from me are the most sophisticated and knowledgeable in the world, and they expect the inventory I send them to be as represented. So when I say they are new they should be such. Some of my customers buy hundreds of dollars in tubes each month, and they are very particular about condition.
On some tubes, like Telefunken and Amperex, the logos are designed to fall off easily, and if the logo is incomplete some customers will not buy them....period. But I'm not in business to make people unhappy, so if they hate something in the first week I exchange happily and if I like you I'll Fed Ex it.
I went through a faze years ago of "send me four types and I'll return the three I don't like" and some folks unwittingly damage tubes electrically or cosmetically. Plus there are a few nut cases that abused that priveledge.
4. The HiFi Swap. That was very time consuming, and 100% of the profits from last years and most of the profits from this years went to charity. In fact that was in my advertisments for the swap. I did that out of love for the hobby and to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (My wife has MS as some of you know that have met her). And I'm offended by the asshole that suggested otherwise. In fact it was such a drain on my business for little personal gain I decided that this year's would be the last one before it started. Bt at the end so many people said they had a good time that we will do one again next February. I would like to ask the dipstick that made those comments what the last thing was that he did to promote this hobby.
The thing about me wanting publicity is whacky too. If you are referring to the Soundstage! interview, they asked me, and I wanted to give people info they didn't have. If you mean the mentions from reviewers in Positive Feedback magazine, Stereophile, etc, those guys pay the exact price any customer does for the tubes they purchase and find improvements with. There's not one dime discount for a "mention". I usually hear about it after the fact when a customer reads it to me. I don't call any magazine guy for publicity. Period.
Beyond that. I don't want everybody's business. I can't control quality and stuff boxes helter-skelter. We do stuff one at a time. Is it the cheapest place? No. But I would ask you to give me the name of one company that offers the variety I have and the stringent test methods and test gear we possess. One other large tube company (I won't mention names)has a "buy" list of $3.40 for 7308's. Just what kind of stuff are they going to get back into the U.S. for that???? I pay top dollar and compete with buyers from Hong Kong and Japan to get good stuff back here in the U.S. Not this Edicron stuff (do you know who Edicron is?) But it's expensive. And time consuming. I invite anyone visiting the area to stop by here and see if it's worth it.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Kevin Deal...Amperex 7308s....Mod 3A..let's get this straight - Kevin Deal 18:44:39 06/01/99 (0)
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