Fred,
frankly, I am appalled that you would use a forum post of mine as 'proof' that Ian wanted to keep the unit:
"Ian and I wholeheartedly agreed that the Lampi was the superior DAC among the ones heard in his system, and it's a winner."
Yes, I said among the three DACs that I heard in his system the Lampizator was a winner, and Ian may have agreed with me, but I never intended that this suggested he was ready to keep the DAC. In fact, while we drank coffee shortly after that exchange of impressions I mentioned, like I had several times before, that he should try the Berkeley Reference DAC before he made a decision (honestly, I had thought the Lampi was a non-binding free try-out, and had no clue that Ian already had deposited money). I personally would never buy a Lampi without having heard the Berkeley Reference DAC as well, but that is just me -- since I exclusively listen to Redbook CD, I am a PCM-only guy, so naturally I would look for a PCM source first (I have no interest in DSD, frankly, simply because the available music is so little compared to PCM). Certainly, I was impressed by the DSD-converted PCM signal on the Lampi, but it would not have been my natural choice. So yes, among the 3 DACs auditioned the Lampi may have been the winner, but this was by no means meant in absolute terms. Re-read my statement again, please. And perhaps I should have left out the term "wholeheartedly", which is questionable, but that was just my usual enthusiasm speaking.
So all in all, it is entirely unfair that you would use my post as 'proof' that Ian wanted to keep the unit. You didn't even know about the personal background of my comment, and I just helped you with that. You should have asked Ian himself if he wanted to keep the unit, and not refer to a forum post of mine.
While I have my doubts that it was the best way for Ian to go public with his complaints before trying to sort out things some more with you privately, I would strongly suggest that you come to a gentlemen's agreement with him about the return of the unit. Intransigence on this matter will in no way help the reputation of Lampizator, as also evident from some posts here and at Audioshark -- even though you have garnered some support for your position as well, but that is only a partial gain that I think will not yield a net bonus for you and the company you represent. Perhaps Ian is partially to blame for the situation, but you clearly are as well, and refusal to work towards a resolution of the matter will not work in favor of either you or Lampizator.
Al