Transparent Audio is anything but Transparent
I bought a new tube amp. With its placement the right channels speaker cable is too short. Out of impatience to reach the tube amp I bought a single 15 foot super old Music Wave Ultra MM at a reasonable price. It’s 25 years old and sounds great, so I decided to look for a newer 10/12 foot pair, and move that single to the center speaker.
I went to Transprent Audio’s website and it became apparent that I can’t afford new. I started a search for used. This is where the frustration with Transparent Audio began.
My mindset or expectations from Transparent stem from a 2022 letter that Transparent Audios’ president and CEO, Karen Sumner wrote on the “What’s Best Forum” titled “Preowned Transparent Opportunities.
The article opens with Karen writing, “With the introduction of Transparent Generation 6, there are a few more than usual Gen 5, MM2, and older Transparent Cables available through the pre-owned market that offer a lot of performance and value. I hope many of you will want to take advantage of this opportunity.
She makes it clear that with third party sales, “the warranty is not transferable. There will be a fee for recalibration and for any repairs or termination changes that might be necessary. Call 207-284-1100 or write to info@transparentcable.com for recalibration help and service. She never discourages third party sales. Quite the opposite. Karen closes the article with, quote, “Please feel free to ask me questions if you are considering purchasing some preowned Transparent.
So, in a nutshell she writes, “I hope many of you will want to take advantage of this opportunity, and “Please feel free to ask me questions if you are considering purchasing some preowned Transparent.”
But it’s all a lie. They don’t answer any questions, and they screw over Audiogon sales by steering you away from third party sales, and pushing you to their dealers.
I called and asked “how do MM2 Ultras stack up against the G5 Supers. I was literally told that they don’t give out that information. It’s for us to know and for you to find out. While searching I stumbled upon the Aliexpress counterfeits. They are shipped in a poly bag. Then you go to eBay and buy the box for $50.00 a pop. Transparent Audio Reference PowerLink Factory Cartons eBay item number:224172498955.
I found a pair of G5’s that would work, but being worried about counterfeits, I emailed Transparent customer service with three photos for only for their opinion. Like I said, they don't answer question, and steer you to their dealers, scewing over the Audiogon sellers.
Their reply was “We can never guarantee the authenticity or functionality of products being sold by anyone other than our authorized dealers. If you choose to purchase from third parties, those purchases are made caveat emptor. If you’d like to be absolutely certain you are purchasing authentic Transparent products, I recommend you shop our network of authorized dealers.
So it’s clear to me, that this article wanting you to take advantage of buying used and answering your concerns was just a bunch of propaganda. Thanks for nothing.
@classicrockfan so why persecute those who can and do have better systems and income? " No way to find out who makes more money who has better amps/speakers... but one thing i know for sure is that i know how to solve second order differential equations... you don't. |
The old school way of creating such high fidelity fakes was called the "5-to-9 shift". The same factories where the real goods were made during the 9-to-5 shift were used to make the knock-offs in the off hours. Same materials, same craftsmanship, just no legit serial numbers and don’t tell the boss. The newer way has been to disassemble items, 3D scan them, and then use 3D printing technologies to reproduce the parts and then assemble copies. This is way too costly for anything other than very expensive small items, like luxury watches. As an aside, the person who employed me used to own the 4th Ferrari P3, a mean feat given that only 3 were ever produced. He commissioned the 4th, which was a counterfeit made in Thailand. He used to take it to World Trade Organization meetings and to various trade meetings in the EU to illustrate the extent of counterfeiting problems. It alway caught people’s eyes... until it caught fire... at least that part of Italian auto engineering was faithfully reproduced 🏎 🔥 |
bubba12 They have the right to run their business anyway they wish. That’s not my point. Since I started this thread, I have had a lot accusations thrown at me that have absolutely nothing to do with my original point/complaint. My point has always been, if you’re going to say what you do, then please, do what you say. That is what I expected, so I was thrown for a loop. Karen tread was prompting us to take advantage of resale opportunity's and telling us to feel free to ask her questions if you are considering purchasing some preowned Transparent. That is far from reality. If she was honest about her business model, the thread would have been one sentence. Buy used from the dealer, keep upgrading or we’re through with you. There you go, I can accept that. What I can accept is bull. Maybe I will go ahead and buy used or new from a dealer. I will register them making it no secret I have these OEM cables. Later things change. I decide I to need to sell the cables. Even though these cables, with this serial number, are register to marshinski, with this address, email and this phone number, Transparent won’t confirm to any potential buyer they’re good. That my name is registered to that serial number. That’s not how you thank people for owning your product, which also invertedly gets auditioned to your family and friends. |
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There are two kind of fakes. One is OEM manufacturer also manufacture extra numbers and sends to some other wholesaler who sells it cheaper. The purchaser gets original part but no brand. Second is copy of some expensive and fast moving items and very cheap. Only visual appearance and usage can tell the difference between 3. Transparent product description in website and price implies cable has some kind of AI tech/chip which modifies SQ. Still there are large section of people who consider snake oil selling.
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