Reliability of Dan D'Agostino equipment


I'm considering a purchase of one of the D'Agostino preamps, and eventually, an amplifier.  I have learned from hard experience that high end brands, that should be bulletproof and reliable, and often anything but.  

What is the experience of folks on the forum with regards to D'Agostino?  

How often have you encountered problems?  

Have the problems occurred within the three year warranty or out of warranty?  

How long do repairs take, since if you place an order for a new item, the delay is three to six months for shipping?

Many thanks in advance for any responses.

Ag insider logo xs@2xallan1011

At the prices the really high end equipment manufacturers charge, those products should not only sound great but do so for a long time w/ virtually no reliability issues! 
 

For myself, I judge whether to buy audio equipment or actually almost anything of at least decent quality based not only on performance but long term reliability vs the cost which then for me defines it’s ultimate “value”. 
 

I think todays modern speakers have a good chance of lasting a long time w/ better quality drivers & crossovers than in the past but I’m not so sure about today’s complicated electronics. That remains to be seen. 

I have had  a Progression Integrated Amp in my primary system for about a year.  I have had no issues or problems at all.  I recently attended an event where there was a rep from D’Agostino, DCS and Wilson.   The D’Agostino rep gave me his card as a contact should I ever have a question or issue.   That may be just good PR but it made me feel more confident that they would stand behind their product.

I imagine it would be helpful to purchase any high end gear through a dealer that has a good working relationship with the manufacturer.   In my case, I have purchased all my equipment through Audio Concepts in Dallas who sells all the equipment t I mentioned above

Can't speak to the newer gear by Dan,  but I did have a Krell KSA 50 MK I that  was very reliable. Also great sounding.  As for why Dan started D'agostino Audio, I remember reading an article about Dan and his then wife, Rhondi partnering with some other people from Madrigal.  They became annoyed  that their chief engineer was fired by some of the new partners and voiced their disapproval.  As a result, when Dan and Rhondi came to work the next day, they found the locks to their office changed.   

So began the legal battle between the D'agostinos and the Madrigal people.

Ultimately,  Dan decided to start D'agostino Audio.  His gear is really audio jewellery for the well heeled and from what I have read quite good sounding.

 

 

I have no firsthand experience with the brand, so I can't speak from experience. However, there is a YouTuber I follow whose channel is devoted to ultra high-end audio (Wilson, Magico, Gryphon, Boulder, Pass, etc.), and the members-only section of his website includes a video in which he discusses brands that have a reputation for reliability issues. I would recommend checking it out. The channel is Jay's Audio Lab. By the way, you would think that any insanely expensive audio gear would last a decade or more without issue. That's what I thought too. Two equipment failures and Jay's video changed my mind.