Which companies deserve a star for Christmas


Which companies gave you a stellar experiences this year in terms of excellent product, and knowledgeable and accessible sales and service?
After spending 45 minutes of hold with AT&T last night and never being able to even talk to a person at several companies this year. It is refreshing that in audio you still can talk to someone quickly who is eager and able to help you.
I nominate in alphabetical order the following companies that gave me stellar experiences this year: Audio Horizons, Ayon, Morrow Audio, Nuforce, Stillpoints, Von Schweikert.
128x128gammajo
Tyler acoustics is second to none in customer service.
Ty is fantastic to work with.
His products are awesome.
It's pretty obvious that a lot of the replies mention dealers and small manufacturers. I am sure that is'nt a coincidence. When your dealing with the head honcho, you get a quick, knowledgeable reply. Larger companies with separate customer support services are much harder to get right.
On that basis, a gold star for: Kevin at K&K audio
Lou at Daedalus Audio
Hi all ! My votes go to.....VTL , Thiel , Tekton Design , Transcendent Sound and Bottlehead .
Joe Abrams at Equus Audio.
Great person to do business with. Not a greedy dealer. Great communications.
For buying MIT products I only go to Joe.
Joe Nies
Ty from tyler acoustics excells in customer service, I talked to him on the phone and thru emails several times and he is always prompt and his speakers are steller in performance
NOT a company per se, but Rick Hopkins is an Audiogon member who was a HUGE help to me in researching different kinds and models of reel to reel tape recorders. i eventually found a seller on e-bay who is perhaps THE #1 (US) expert at restoring and setting up Studer tape machines (Fred Thal) who i bought a used A810 from. i believe Rick dropped them a line about me which smoothed the transaction since my questions to the seller were from someone who hadn't any hands-on knowledge of these professional-grade machines.
Rick has a Virtual System to die for and enjoys communicating with folks who still love vintage audio. Thanks, Rick. HH, MC, and a HNY. (etc)
A month ago, I purchased an OEM factory hot-rodded Theta Compli Blu CD/DVD. Two days ago I put a DVD in the drawerÂ… closed the drawerÂ… and nothing happened. I pushed the button to open the drawerÂ… and nothing happened. I unplugged itÂ… plugged it back inÂ… and the drawer still wouldnÂ’t open.

I left a voice mail message on the Theta Support line asking for a return phone call… which was promptly returned. After trying several “fixes”, John at Theta said he’d call OPPO to see if they had what he referred to as a “back-door” fix to open the drawer. Ten minutes later Theta called with the “back-door” fix, and I was up and running in no time.

As it turns out, the Theta Compi Blu wasnÂ’t at fault because the DVD I had inserted is a DVD thatÂ’s on a short list of DVDÂ’s that are problematic with OPPO based equipment.

By the way, the OEM factory hot-rodded Theta Compli Blu is beyond the bucket good.
Willy Hermann for his friendly service and advice on my stable of Nakamichi cassette decks.
Evolution audio-video
David Weinhart designs
Brooks Berdan Ltd
Blackbird audio
Music Direct
Patrick Calmettes of Jadis and Mark O'Brien of Rogue Audio certainly also deserve mention.
Roger Modjeski at Music Reference - who designed & built my amp this year & personally burned it in for a week at his home to make sure it was flawless when I received it.
Ryan Tew at Red Dragon Audio is awsome. Albert VonSchweikert is also great and Patrick Butler at Vienna Acoustics is on my list of good folks. All three were helpfull and great to talk to.
Wow! Thank you everyone for responding. It is terrific to be reminded of all the great companies and people out there, and to see them duly honored.
Happy Holidays
Joe
Retailers:
Underwood HiFi
Reno HiFi
MusicDirect

Manufacturers:
Atma-Sphere
dB Audio Labs
Vapor Audio
SoundSmith
Years ago I called Rotel when my amp lost a channel and a local shop quoted me $250. They connected me directly to a tech and he recommended I send it to him. Saved me from being screwed by that shop and $180.

Also, when I was working on a TT project I called vpi and I believe I talked to the owner. Very nice people, very helpful. I read here that the family is going through the toughest of times and my heart goes out to them.
Chris at vh audio, unmatched service, quality products. We need more like him. Jallen
Kevin Hayes and the staff at VAC.
My previous post did not carry the first sentance by mistake.
Joe at JPS Labs....just ordered a new custom power cord (different IEC connector) for my amp & 5 days later it arrived from NY to FL. thanks Joe!
Bryston. One of my 28's was overheating as the bias was off. After contacting Bryston it was picked up off my doorstep the next day, shipped to Vermont (from CA) and returned to my door step about 6 days later. In perfect working order of course.
Excellent communication and a very reasonable turnaround time on an upgrade (slight delay due to Kevin not being totally satisfied with the sound of the amp on his listening review and having it reworked again). This is the product and company pride that will keep me as a long term customer.
Coincident, Israel Blume for ultra quality products and equal level service and response.
Charles
Reno Hi Fi
Eden Sound
Galen Carol Audio
Brooks Berdan
Crystal Clear Audio
PBN Audio

Happy Holidays
Odyssey (and Symphonic Line)- Klaus Bunge
GR Research - Danny Ritchie
Dodd Audio - Gary Dodd
Paul G - Tube Audio Design (TAD)

All great guys with fabulous products!
Calvin at Audio Research -very patient and helpful. Always have parts for everything! RIP Bill
I only talked through e-mails with Lindy from Redgum Audio in Australia. Great.
John Rutan-Audio Connection, Verona, NJ
Kevin Deal-Upscale Audio
Eric Alexander-Tekton Design
The Tube Store
Paul Chambers of Goodwins high end has always been very helpful, and has given me a couple of VERY good offers over the past year. I also bought a pair of Lipinski 707 monitors from Lukas Lipinski. It's not every day a CEO and President of a company will even talk to a customer, let alone the deal he gave me on the speakers. I truly respect anyone in a high position that puts people before profits, unlike some of the scumbags I've worked for in the past. My respect is for anyone in any business caring enough to rate people over profits. Guess who I'll promote and buy from again, even if their prices are higher than the snobs out there. Best of luck to all.
Synergistic Research (SR) has provided service and advice that rates 5 stars. During the last year I have installed a SR based system in both my headphone system and my floorstanding speaker system. Multiple calls to clarify what power cord , speaker cable, interconnect, etc. have always been answered right then. Never a voice mail box or a we will return your call message. When I lost a connecting part, they promptly sent out a replacement.
Scott Walker Audio also has my 5 star rating. If looking to purchase SR products he is a great resource.
Listening to Christmas music has never sounded better!
Have to include Thor Audio ..Ted and Jordan..Great guys that want to do it right......
Another vote for Aesthetix & Glenn Buckley! I had the exact same experience as Ucmgr.

Logitech Squeezebox is also great with their tech support . . . one of the best.

As for ATT, their business model seems to be based upon what's convenient for the company, not what's best for their customers. And what's with the Federal privacy law statement before they can look at your records and talk to you? They have the information already and they're talking to you about your own records. And as soon as the Feds asked for calling records after 9/11, they gave them up anyway.