Revelation Audio Labs (RAL) - Buyers Beware!

Thanks for your update.  

that amount for a USB cable is the first red flag but hope you get it replaced @tksteingraber 

I have a similar story with RAL. Bought an umbilical cord and it was excellent.  I ventured into other cables, paid the money, he market the items as shipped but no record of any shipping info exists. Communication has been spotty to non existent. I’m out a significant amount of money wondering when or if my cables will ever show up. Fingers crossed I don’t have to fight with the platform to refund my money and the cables show up. I will keep on eye on this forum and hope to post some good news soon. 

@ozon8r if you paid via PayPal goods and services or credit card you can file a dispute. If you wired cash you are probably out of luck. 

"Excellent" cables? Debatable. The used I2s RAL cable I purchased had very loud intermittent scratchy sounds coming out of the left channel. In the trash bin it went.

I purchased a few of their interconnects some years back and they seem good for the money. Totally normal smooth transaction, I ended up recommending them to several friends who also had no issues.

Recently inquired multiple times about speaker cables and got no replies. I moved on based on that and am glad I did. Thank you for posting this thread, sounds like something has gone wrong there.

Miracle on Audiogon….just received a FEDEX notice that a package from Revelation Audio Labs is in route with FEDEX and scheduled to be delivered on Friday. No communication from Brad just a FEDEX notice.  I gave up any hope that I would ever see my cable…such poor behavior.  My other RAL Cable Hostage thread was shut down with no explanation…Go figure🤔.

IME with Brad, and based upon this thread and other clients of his over the years is this - 

He makes a great product (I bought umbilicals for my MF KW-750), when compared to stock. Other reviews and comments from folks I know and have read about, hold his cables in high regards. To me, it was worth the wait and money at the time, because I didn’t know anyone else who offered them. Now I have another source and eventually his cables will probably be replaced. 

That said, if you wish to deal with Brad. He is not very communicative at all, except when you are ordering. He seems to promise the moon in terms of turnaround time, then it becomes crickets. For some (many, really), the timeline becomes excruciatingly long. This is exacerbated by the complete lack of communication. 

My advice, if you can deal with this and accept this as fact BEFORE you order, then you will eventually get your cables. If this is unacceptable for you, then look elsewhere.  Brad will be Brad and there is no amount of complaining that will change that. He has been rather consistent with this for a very long time. FWIW.

@tksteingraber - I am glad that you finally are getting resolution with this. Like you, when I found out that my umbilicals were being shipped, he didn’t reach out to me. I just got a notice from the shipping company that they were on the way. I had heard about his antics prior to ordering, so I was somewhat prepared for the inevitable but it was still very frustrating. It was for that reason that I didn’t ever want to go through anything like that again. So, his actions lost business from myself and it just pains me to continue reading about scenarios like the one you experienced. 

Tom 
 

Well I have had good luck with Brad, I bought 2 cables from him and another used on USAM. All are very well made and sound good to me ears. I have a DC cable for my Wavelet III from HD Plex LPS, a I2s cable and a used RJ 45 cable.

I wanted to share an update that I have received all cables that I ordered from RAL and am very please with all of the cables received which include two 1.5m 15a power cables and two XLR cables of different lengths. Given the performance uplift I experienced with the power cables and XLR cables, I would order again from RAL. I provided feedback to RAL recommending better and more prompt communications while setting expectations up front on production and delivery times. RAL cables are cooked prior to shipment and the results are immediate once installed as a result. The cooking process adds time to delivery. Overall, I would recommend these cables but know that most are custom made and that adds to delivery timeline.

My initial response was influenced by Brad marking the items immediately as shipped on the eBay platform which I believe he does to prevent order cancelation once he starts building the cable and prior to actual shipment.  It protects his interest once he starts the build process for each ordered cable.  I get that. Odd but probably something the eBay platform design requires.

The cables are as good as any I have previously purchased including Shunyata Omegas, Transparent, AQ Dragons, etc.  But with Brad, you are not paying the middle man markup.  You are getting the product direct from the maker, similar to PS Audio and the move to direct sales from a dealer model several years ago (another company that provides great value IMO).

Just last week I ordered an umbilical from Brad. Excellent communication, fast shipment. Really pleased with my purchased

@tweak1 Really glad to hear you and others recently have had good experiences with Brad.  I did when I bought my first umbilical cable from him as well.  My second and recent experience was an absolute sh$&show.  You just don’t know what kind of treatment you are going to get from Brad.  He does seem to always follow through especially if you buy through Ebay or Agon.  It’s a risk people need to know about before they place an order.🤞🤞
 

Update on the new RAL USB cable I received….

After 8 months of waiting for my replacement new USB cable from Brad it still would not play a sound through my Bricast M5 streamer.  Laptop works fine same as the first cable.  I don’t know what the issue is with Brad’s RAL cable but it just isn’t compatible with my streamer.  It is the only Usb cable out of several that does not play on my streamer.  I talked to Bricasti and they informed me that they have not had issues with cables (made to Usb standards)not playing on their streamers.  I sold the RAL cable for the same price of my new Veritas Audex USB cable and it sounds stunningly good. The best Usb cable I have heard on my system…so all has ended well.  

@tksteingraber 

I purchased direct from Brad