Your most disappointing purchase or audition?

It seems that the issues that Tubes108 is talking about did not occur. I say that because I've not heard of this event and this company is too small for something like this to slip by me.

I take issues with a number of comments in the post- for example the preamps don't 'blow tubes'! We use a custom wire for internal hookup- so there would not have been one amp built with stranded wire and the other built with solid core. They would have both been solid core- we don't even stock a stranded hookup wire. Further, his comments about changing resistors to save time and 'Some directional components within the preamp were installed backwards', seem just dead wrong to me- the preamp is not likely work with electrolytic caps installed backwards(!) and certainly not with diodes either, on top of that we play each piece for 3 days to a week prior to shipping.

It does not surprise me that a power tube could have arced in one of our amps. We have seen tube failures (arc-over being the main failure mode) for 38 years. The amps are built to survive such events- its nothing new. We warrant the tubes for a year and its most likely that we will see failure of tubes immediately after shipping, depending to some degree on the shipping itself. But especially with the MkIII models (introduced 10 years ago) and newer, we have yet to see a tube failure damage the amp. However if Tubes108 was inside the product changing resistors to different values as he says, it is possible that this caused some of the damage he describes.

Right now I am feeling very much like this was some sort of drive-by potshot as neither I nor any of my staff can recall such an event. We are human of course, so we have a warranty to take care of the fact that we are not perfect, and our gear is entirely hand-wired, so there is certainly a human element. So I concede that we don't have a perfect record of shipment without failure or screwup on our part- that comes with the territory! But what I am seeing described is failures in all three products sent to one customer, in particular that details presented are not only unlikely but some of them are flat outright impossible, so I take this post as some sort of trolling event where there is possibly an underlying agenda.

Ralph, your well established credibility on this forum and in the industry as a whole leads me to agree with your assessment of this alleged situation. It sounded like a very unlikely scenario from the beginning.

Re. Atma-sphere. Charles, your posts are well thought out and valued. My matched monoblocks differed drastically from each other internally and had numerous problems including emitting profuse amounts of smoke and there were numerous problems with a preamp. You suggested that my equipment must be the exception to the rule regarding Atmasphere as a friend’s Atmasphere components work fine. From a statistical or logical level that suggestion does not compute.

Also I didn’t state anything global about Atmasphere product reliability/service. Now that you mentioned that, the 1st I heard about Atmasphere issues was in the Stereophile review of the Atmasphere MP-1. Read it--during his lengthy use of the MP-1 the reviewer experienced so many problems that his review detailed why he no longer used the preamp as his reference. Digging into old posts on audio bulletin boards, assuming those contentious threads were not all deleted, provides additional viewpoints.

Per my Atmasphere equipment. I was young and naive, assumed there was a common goal to make those purchased-new products work properly. After more than a yr of efforts at repairs I realized my goal differed from others.

Rpeluso. I agree Ralph comes across in a professional manner. Still, that someone posts has no bearing on anything other than he posts. A side comment, and of course to each their own, I feel any manufacturer that posts frequently is self serving on a subtle to an overt level and takes advantage of an under-the-gun manner to advertise product.

Atmasphere, you don't have anything to worry about. Yes we're human but your reputation is SOLID.

I'm NOT a customer of yours but was seriously considering the MA-2s.

Ah, the Taylo 7u posted by Csmgolf reminds me of my own experience owning Taylo Reference monitors (Revelator tweet) -- these things sounded GREAT, except for the lacking low end (monitors that size can't have good bass). I thought I'd upgrade to the newer Linbrook Signature Monitors to get those same sweet minds & highs with a bit more low end extension. Bought them used from Tyler Acoustics for $2200 with stands (I think those were extra). They were horrible from top to bottom; wooly and completely lacking the magic and sparkle of the Taylos. They weren't broken; they just didn't sound good. And I can't tell you exactly how ugly they looked on those pedestal stands -- just the wrong sizes and proportions on a very large scale.

Shortly after this experience I made 2 more big mistakes: 1. Legacy Signature III: these weren't nearly as bad as the Linbrooks, but they weren't great either. 2. Sunfire Signature II amp: worst sounding stereo amp I've ever had in any of my systems. Completely defeats the purpose of having unlimited power on tap if you can't stand to listen at any volume. A PS Audio HCA-2 ran musical circles around it, and a Parasound A21 made it a laughingstock.

Also gotta give a dishonorable mention to Grado RS-1 headphones, since they're so overpriced and their sound quality is extremely overrated. Plus, the build quality of the units around 2005-7 was awful.

Ah, feels good to get some of the hate out. I'm SURE I've forgotten plenty of others...for now.