I recently purchased a TechDas Air Force III Premium S Turntable with two Graham Engineering tonearms (Graham Phantom Elite and Graham Phantom III) and Nordost tonearm cables and DS Audio Ionizer. My purchases involved multiple audio dealers including Jeff Harris / Reference Analog, Chad Stelly - Acoustic Sounds and Maier Shadi - The Audio Salon. Jeff Harris of Reference Analog was my local dealer. Local dealers usually try to guide a customer to a line that they carry. Jeff knew I wanted a vacuum-hold down table and worked with Chad Stelly at Acoustic Sounds (TechDas dealer) to facilitate me getting the turntable I wanted. I'm a physician that travels a lot for work with little free time, so Jeff graciously networked and worked to get the table and arms I wanted with Chad. I just sat back and let the process happen which as a wonderful experience. Chad worked with Maier Shadi (TechDas NA distributor) and Craig Buckles (Graham Engineering distributor) and I had all the components delivered to my door within 10 days and arrived/coordinated when I got home from a work trip. Jeff and Chad both came to install the table and arms. Jeff has to drive 120 miles and Chad around 500 miles. After the install I had a couple of minor issues with the table and one of the arms. Chad quickly worked with Maier and Craig to solve the issues and Bob Graham himself tricked out a Phantom Elite arm to swap out my other Elite arm and even sent a nice personalized note with it. Chad and Jeff came back again for the second install of the tonearm. Maier has been great answering questions (even made one phone call to me from Dubai when he was traveling). Chad and Jeff have checked in with me almost every week since my purchase (late July) to make sure I'm happy with things and is there anything else they can do.
As far as sound, I've had a high end system since the late 90's and this is absolutely the best analog sound I have ever been able to achieve. I truly has no noise floor and its so quiet it sounds like analog tape or streaming - no groove noise at all. And the sound is glorious - again the best analog front end sound I have ever had and likely ever heard.
Moral of the story is that yes, high end audio is becoming more and more expensive, almost unreasonably so. But you can, still get value in what you pay for. It starts with a great local dealer who truly wants what's best for you, the customer and not what's best for him/her as the dealer. Jeff Harris of Reference Analog always puts me first and does everything he can to achieve the sound I want - whether it be loudspeakers, amps, preamps, cables or turntables/tonearms/carts/racks, platforms, etc. Next is the gear - of course the audio components have to deliver and somehow be worth the money spent. And lastly, the network of support from the dealers and distributors must be top notch. I can't say enough about Chad Stelly at Acoustic Sounds making two trips to my home, at around 1000 miles round trip....twice! Maier Shadi has been so gracious to answer questions and support after the sale, as well as Craig Buckles and Bob Graham himself.
It's been a great experience with my lastest audio purchase and it gives me confidence and faith that high end audio will continue to survive and hopefully flourish, based mostly on professionals putting the customer first. I'm humbled and privileged to have the experience with them all. Sometimes it takes a village!
As far as sound, I've had a high end system since the late 90's and this is absolutely the best analog sound I have ever been able to achieve. I truly has no noise floor and its so quiet it sounds like analog tape or streaming - no groove noise at all. And the sound is glorious - again the best analog front end sound I have ever had and likely ever heard.
Moral of the story is that yes, high end audio is becoming more and more expensive, almost unreasonably so. But you can, still get value in what you pay for. It starts with a great local dealer who truly wants what's best for you, the customer and not what's best for him/her as the dealer. Jeff Harris of Reference Analog always puts me first and does everything he can to achieve the sound I want - whether it be loudspeakers, amps, preamps, cables or turntables/tonearms/carts/racks, platforms, etc. Next is the gear - of course the audio components have to deliver and somehow be worth the money spent. And lastly, the network of support from the dealers and distributors must be top notch. I can't say enough about Chad Stelly at Acoustic Sounds making two trips to my home, at around 1000 miles round trip....twice! Maier Shadi has been so gracious to answer questions and support after the sale, as well as Craig Buckles and Bob Graham himself.
It's been a great experience with my lastest audio purchase and it gives me confidence and faith that high end audio will continue to survive and hopefully flourish, based mostly on professionals putting the customer first. I'm humbled and privileged to have the experience with them all. Sometimes it takes a village!
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