My experience with Lampizator

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Geardaddy

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Oct 1, 2012
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I only heard that Ian had the return problems and went public after the fact.

No, I did not post out of a sense of desperation. I posted out of a need to clarify in public on an issue that was already public at the time, and to point out that my post was used by Fred in an unfair manner. He should have asked Ian directly if he liked the Lampi, and not deduced from my post that he wanted to keep it. That Fred implied what he did was a mistake -- he should have made sure with direct contact that the customer is satisfied, and not doing so was a grave omission that he cannot brush over with intransigence on the matter.

Quotes from other threads (or references to them) or emails is commonplace on audio forums and hardly warrants your own intransigence. You yourself referenced Audioshark. For what purpose? to maximize damage?

So, if I ordered a product from Border Patrol or Berkley tomorrow, how long would I have with them?
 

Geardaddy

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2012
522
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Charlotte, NC
This is exactly what I am disturbed by. What blown up tube? There was no blown up tube. The tubes did not work correctly the day the DAC arrived because they were upgraded tubes that required the flip of a switch. That is normal on all the B7 Lampis. Nothing more. Fred told Ian that he could keep the upgraded tubes and he would send the other tubes, also. This was not a issue that would keep anyone from deciding on the DAC during the trial period, unless that was not the intention. Many of you read the first emails where the OP had not flipped the switch and decided there was a problem and Ian is not correcting anyone. It is unbelievable how the facts have been so easily distorted.


+1

Facts or interpretation of said facts are fast and loose....
 

KeithR

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May 7, 2010
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i won't comment either way on the refund period, but if there is a screw loose still, at minimum the unit should be replaced under warranty. the fact a 101D blew after a week says there could be a manufacturing issue.
 

Al M.

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Sep 10, 2013
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So, if I ordered a product from Border Patrol or Berkley tomorrow, how long would I have with them?

BorderPatrol 14 days, Berkeley don't know. I personally had a long weekend with the Berkeley Alpha DAC 2 from my dealer, but that was sufficient since a) it was already broken in by the dealer and b) it isn't tubed. And if I wouldn't have decided yet, the dealer certainly would have given me another long weekend with it.

In fact, Paul at Goodwin's first gave it to me in June 2012 to try out, but it didn't make much difference in my system since my acoustics were bad; that was before room treatment. Paul agreed that it did not make much sense to spend $ 5K on an upgrade that made only a marginal difference. A year later, after I had my room treatment, I tried it again, and that time it made a huge difference. So I purchased it. I only tried it after I had asked Paul to try at home two other acclaimed, cheaper DACs that both were inferior in my view to my 20 year old (albeit modified) Wadia 12. The way Paul treated me as a customer, letting me try all kinds of stuff without ever pushing for purchase, now that's how you do it. Needless to say, I will remain a loyal customer of Goodwin's for future electronics/gear upgrades (Shunyata, Berkeley, HRS rack etc.). The BorderPatrol purchase was a necessary outlier since the brand is not carried by retailers and it served my specific needs; as it turns out far beyond expectations.
 

Geardaddy

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2012
522
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930
Charlotte, NC
i won't comment either way on the refund period, but if there is a screw loose still, at minimum the unit should be replaced under warranty. the fact a 101D blew after a week says there could be a manufacturing issue.

I agree that some form of warranty work might be indicated. A blown chinese knockoff tube is within the realm of the ordinary....
 

Geardaddy

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2012
522
1
930
Charlotte, NC
BorderPatrol 14 days, Berkeley don't know. I personally had a long weekend with the Berkeley Alpha DAC 2 from my dealer, but that was sufficient since a) it was already broken in by the dealer and b) it isn't tubed. And if I wouldn't have decided yet, the dealer certainly would have given me another long weekend with it.

In fact, Paul at Goodwin's first gave it to me in June 2012 to try out, but it didn't make much difference in my system since my acoustics were bad; that was before room treatment. Paul agreed that it did not make much sense to spend $ 5K on an upgrade that made only a marginal difference. A year later, after I had my room treatment, I tried it again, and that time it made a huge difference. So I purchased it. I only tried it after I had asked Paul to try at home two other acclaimed, cheaper DACs that both were inferior in my view to my 20 year old (albeit modified) Wadia 12. The way Paul treated me as a customer, letting me try all kinds of stuff without ever pushing for purchase, now that's how you do it. Needless to say, I will remain a loyal customer of Goodwin's for future electronics/gear upgrades (Shunyata, Berkeley, HRS rack etc.). The BorderPatrol purchase was a necessary outlier since the brand is not carried by retailers and it served my specific needs; as it turns out far beyond expectations.

That's good to know about Border Patrol l as I have looked at their stuff in the past. This whole issue flags something sad: the death of brick and mortar stores where you could literally take items home for a test drive without any real hassle....
 

Al M.

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Sep 10, 2013
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This whole issue flags something sad: the death of brick and mortar stores where you could literally take items home for a test drive without any real hassle....

Couldn't agree more. I'm a lucky guy to have Goodwin's at just 45 min away...
 

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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Agreed. I don't stick w/a main dealer/shop anymore (don't really exist). My last component purchases were from a one man band who was happy to travel total 1000 miles round trip on two separate days to do home demos on Straingauge cart and Nat Audio SET amps. I've just got my old Zu dealer (again, one man band) to install Duelunds and Lundahl Hypex's in my Zu spkrs. Prior to that I took a punt on a 28 day sale or return from the European distributor on my Eera cdp. I have very good relations w/the sales guys at Sablon Audio cables and Entreq who put no restrictions on my trialling before buying. Other stuff I made sure has a cast iron no quibble return policy of at least one month, like my Audion amps. Prior to all that (pre 2008), I had an active relationship w/a main dealer which stretched back to 1995.
I believe those days are gone, but individual support/service is as good, if not better than ever, and moneys spent w/these good guys pays dividends, as I now keep going back to them, w/ever increasing levels of service and vfm (I'm on a second generation set of Zus and Sablon cables, eg).
I'm sure Lampizator/US distributor can resolve this to customer's satisfaction. No reason it can't have a happy ending.
 
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marty

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Apr 20, 2010
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If anything can be learned from this story, both side must state explicitly when the last date of trial period is. Do not leave anything open to interpretation.

If anything can be learned from this story, its not to deal with garage operations with dubious ethics. And I'm only 14 posts into this thread. Can't see what else happens. But when 2 posts out of 14 describe gear that arrived defective, you gotta be nuts to deal with this company. No technology changes faster than DAC technology. Believe me, in 6 months there will be another DAC of the month and it will probably be cheaper by far. (Better to save up and by the new Nagra DAC? At least you can be assured that will work out of the box!))
 

blbloom

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Aug 5, 2013
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If anything can be learned from this story, it's that people can easily be manipulated into jumping to false conclusions.
 
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patpend

Member Sponsor
Jun 6, 2015
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I dont get the handwringing here about posting this information. For me as a potential consumer this thread was extremely valuable. This hobby of ours doesnt deal in off-the-shelf electonic devices that you purchase at Best Buy. The customer experience is and should be paramount. Irrespective of "policies" it is interesting to see from my perspective how the customer is treated and informs me as a potential customer.
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
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You can hear stories like this from every single manufacturer. I don't feel this has any relevance or bearing on this distributor, especially seeing the comments from the OP when he received the unit.
 

BlueFox

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Nov 8, 2013
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The real lesson to learn from this story is to stay away from tubes. :)
 

jap

Banned
Apr 6, 2012
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Lesson?

The OP has a hearing aid, suffers from Tinnitus and failed to get his WA speakers properly installed.

I think he's just snakebit.
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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If anything can be learned from this story, its not to deal with garage operations with dubious ethics. And I'm only 14 posts into this thread. Can't see what else happens. But when 2 posts out of 14 describe gear that arrived defective, you gotta be nuts to deal with this company. No technology changes faster than DAC technology. Believe me, in 6 months there will be another DAC of the month and it will probably be cheaper by far. (Better to save up and by the new Nagra DAC? At least you can be assured that will work out of the box!))

Actually, he is no more cottage industry - I think 32 Big 7s and GGs were being shipped over Easter weekend alone. This is him taking off at sonic speeds. It is also a challenging time for Lukasz. I hwould guess that Lampi might have more technical issues than an MSB like dac, but a lot of Lampi lovers stick through the tech issues because of the superb SQ, and the service that is provided. To me it is impossible to get anywhere close to this at any price, unless one goes TT. Haven't heard the Nagra, but seeing feeback on comparisons, or having compared, with Playback Designs MPD-5, BADA, Esoteric K01, Trinity, MSB, etc, I wouldn't bet on Nagra. And the price of Lampi is the lowest in the league by far. And we should be encouraging such companies because they well, who doesn't enjoy David beating Goliath or Rocky winning?

That said, my take on the situation is whether Ian was in the right or the wrong here, such situations are where a company, especially a young one like the Lampizator, has to show leadership, and grab the opportunity.
 
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