Lounge Audio
I feel I should warn folks who have bought a Lounge Audio product or are thinking about buying one.
I own a Lounge Audio LCR MkIII Silver Ed. and Copla. I originally bought both units new about 5 years ago.
Around 2 yrs ago I sent the LCR MkIII in to be upgraded to the Silver Ed. and have a Mono switch installed.
I got it back in good time except the Mono switch was installed but not wired. I decided not to send it back in this instance as I could live without the mono switch and I could probably repair it myself sometime.
Not long after, one of the channels in the Copla went out. I called Robert and he said that it's more than likely an LED that went out and that he's since been using better/more reliable LED's in the unit. He said to send the unit in and he would get to it as soon as he could. I decided to send both units in so he could fix that mono switch in the LCR MkIII as well.
He did warn me that it may be some time before he got to it because he was swamped with orders. Apparently, the Copla received a minor positive review in Stereophile Magazine in Feb. just before I sent it in. To be fair, he doesn't charge for repairs for the life of the unit/s. That's a nice gesture but I think I would rather pay for the repair and get it done in a reasonable amount of time rather than have wait for months to get it done for free.
I'm coming up on five months now and haven't seen my units. I called him a couple months back and he basically said he would get to them soon and he didn't say he was having supply issues like some companies were having during the pandemic period. I'm not sure what his definition of 'soon' is but it's not the same as mine is all I can say.
He also said that because of the amount of interest in Lounge Audio since the review, he hasn't been answering emails because most people were just "fishing".
I sent him some texts but haven't received any replies. I also emailed him again because that's the only Contact info provided by the Lounge Audio website. I don't know if he's not answering his calls/texts or his number is not good anymore.
I've been using a MoFi Studio phono pre in what I thought would be a temporary situation. I've since pretty much given up and bought a Sutherland Insight last week.
Thanks in advance for reading my rant.
Perhaps some folks will think I'm being unreasonable but I can't recommend Lounge Audio in good conscience to anyone who wants to buy one of their products and then may have to send it in for repairs.
IMO no one should have to wait this long.
I finally received my units. It was over six months since I shipped to getting them back. The owner, Robert Morin finally contacted me and kept me informed. I always thought he was a good guy and I like both the LCR MkIII and the Copla. I wasn't just dissatisfied with the long wait, I was under the impression it wouldn't take over half a year to get my units back. I was more miffed at the fact that I wasn't able to get him to answer my requests for some info on when I could expect my pieces back. I had a unit go to Italy and back in less than a month and it wasn't under warranty. When you have to wait that long for a repair, the company should give you fair warning that it may take much longer than normal due to the current workload. Robert did warn me that it would take a little longer than normal. I sent the LCR MkIII in for the Silver upgrade and it was back in less than two weeks. What was I to expect when he said it may take a little longer than normal? A month? Six weeks? Maybe. Not over six months. And, not without an explanation on what is taking so long. In the end, it turned out well. I bought another phono pre in the meantime and had a MoFi Studio phono pre to use when I first shipped the Lounge units out. If any of the Lounge units need to go in for repair again which I hope won't be necessary, I will know exactly what to expect. And, hopefully others will too. |
I started a thread entitled, "How long is too long" a few weeks ago. I didn't mention the name of the company at first but members insisted. I wanted to start a formal thread warning folks who own Lounge Audio gear and need repair/s to expect what I consider a long wait. I posted over on the Steve Hoffman Forums as well. The owner is a member there. Seeing that I can't get him to respond to emails or phone, maybe he'll respond on the forum he frequents.
|
I posted on the Steve Hoffman Forums where Robert Morin the owner of Lounge Audio is a valued member and have a bad feeling I’m about to take a beating there. Someone brought up the possibility that something may have happened to him. His last post was June 3. I replied that God Forbid something bad is going on but that I should have had my gear back long before June 3rd. Another poster pointed out that I only had 17 posts up 'til that thread. What that has to do with my situation I don't know. |
It appears that many (not all) on the Hoffman site think I'm being unreasonable and that I should show more patience and understanding. I can't believe I'm having to defend myself. I give up. I may get my gear and maybe not. I now have another phono pre plus a back up. If I get the Lounge Audio gear back, I'll make sure it works, box it back up and maybe someone on the Hoffman forum will buy it. |
@cey, Thanks cey, I appreciate it. I was getting the feeling I was in the wrong here especially over at the Hoffman Forum. When originally created the "How Long Is too Long" thread I was basically putting out feelers for others who have dealt with audio companies both big and small felt before I revealed the company. I have since emailed Lounge Audio with no response and they have no listed number. Maybe something personal or health wise is going on and hope the man is alright. If that was the case I would hope a family member would put something on the Lounge website or Facebook page to notify past and future customers that due to personal reasons he won't be able to take any new orders, upgrade or fix gear for whatever amount of time they think is necessary. |
I agree Jim. Some folks over at the Hoffman site where Robert of Lounge Audio is a member are concerned that maybe something is amiss in his personal life whether it be health or something else. I hope that's not the case but I believe they shouldn't be taking new orders on the website if there's such a problem. My conversations with him were that yes, he's a one man operation but was getting a bit of help from family members so if there's some problem it should be posted by a family member if not himself on his website or Facebook page to let past and future customers know what to expect. |
Well, a good poster on the Hoffman site who's a little closer to Robert of Lounge Audio was able to get a hold of him and just as I suspected, he was just overwhelmed with orders after the Stereophile review. He was informed that he has one more repair to do before he gets to mine. He wasn't answering emails, texts or calls. He apparently is truly a one-man operation and has no one to help him in doing the menial things such as answering emails or calls. I don't know if this is by choice because he can't afford to pay someone, didn't have the time to find someone or simply choses not to get help. So, I should be getting my gear sometime soon but then again, I was told two months ago when he was still answering calls that he would get to it "soon". Although, I don't consider this resolved until I actually get my gear back, I feel much better about the whole thing now that I know the owner is not dead or something terrible like that. Then I would feel terrible. Thanks to all who bothered to comment especially those that supported my position or those that gave me pause to think rationally. |
The Sutherland is really my first phono pre that I wouldn’t consider "budget". It’s not over-priced but I had the Lounge LCR MkIII plus Copla and the MoFi Studio not to mention the built in tube phone pre in my Rogue Model 99 Magnum. All sub $1000. There are some good sounding pre’s out there but there for less than a grand but the Sutherland was a pretty big step up imo. Btw, thanks for chiming in on at the Hoffman site. Like all forums there's some good folks over there and some not so good.
|
