DO NOT BUY anything from AV123

[Chu Gai]

Well, you're being pretty tough there, gonk, on a man who is chronically ill and struggling during inclement weather He's out there have meetings with the design team, with his legal team, manufacturing, production, shipping, suppliers, and even with all that, he's managed to accomplish 99% of the manual. Well, here's a sneak peek and after reading it, you'll see just how far he's come and how your own efforts pale by comparison.

Congratulations on buying the MFW-15 subwoofer. If you have any questions, please call me.

Hemmingway couldn't have been more brief.

Just curious though, has anyone asked him how things are going with his second home in Russia and the dog he sent there? What about the two Lexus vehicles he sent? And where's Santiago? No Christmas wishes from him? Jeez!

 

[gonk]

Well, you're being pretty tough there, gonk, on a man who is chronically ill and struggling during inclement weather He's out there have meetings with the design team, with his legal team, manufacturing, production, shipping, suppliers, and even with all that, he's managed to accomplish 99% of the manual.

Ha! You bring up an excellent point. I should have been tougher - after all, during that two-year period I was on a walker or crutches for a total of 25 weeks (19 weeks in 2008 and six weeks this fall) and still got my work done. Slackers.

Oops... I forgot to be unfailingly sympathetic to every excuse from and every hardship that arises in the vicinity of AV123. I'm a bad, bad gonk...

 

[Chu Gai]

Well, you can think all you want of your efforts, but I've heard nothing but good things about this manual that some consider a milestone.

President Obama has asked me to study the manual so that I can get his message along more clearly and take a more humble attitude towards the press corps. - Robert Gibbs, press secretarty to POTUS

If only I had such eloquence. - Maya Angelou

Mark has already agreed to come on my show and discuss the manual with the studio audience. He's on my must read list. - Oprah Winfrey

The manual left me speechless. - Marlee Matlin

The explanations were so clear I could see what he was talking about. - Stevie Wonder

I was so engrossed in the plot I didn't even realize my wife had left with the kids, painting, and furniture. - Tiger Woods

 

[randyb]

The manual cured my constipation.

 

[MinusTheBear]

The manual taught me how to use a screwdriver properly .

 

[Chu Gai]

But does it teach you to use the Jedi mind trick to avoid ruining the finish when removing the amp?

 

[gonk]

These are not the screws you are looking for... Move along, move along...

 

[MinusTheBear]

But does it teach you to use the Jedi mind trick to avoid ruining the finish when removing the amp?

With all the amp failures reported on this sub, I would hope there is a section on "tips and tricks" on how to safely remove the amp from the enclosure without damaging the veneer. There would also need to be a DIY section for eliminating non ground loop related hum/buzz, replacing drivers etc.

 

[Chu Gai]

You mean damaging the veneer more than it already is, right? I'd probably try something like running a bead of lemon oil around the perimeter, letting it sit, then using suction cup devices to lift them amp.

 

[stevo238]

When I finally got that amp out of the box, I could only think of that Martin Luther King quote, "free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, it's free at last."

I don't really have an MFW-15. Who would be crazy enough to buy one?

 

[Chu Gai]

I thought it'd be fun to go back in time...

a year or two to see what was written on this day at VA321 by none other than Shifty-san.

12-31-08

A few words from mls about electronics for subs - x-amps - x-heads, etc.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Afternoon…

I’ve been assembling this letter for the past few days, culled out of information gleaned over the last few months. I’m really not able to type for long periods of time right now – but I’ll do my very best to convey some important information. My mobile phone went “south” on me today (again) so I’ve been able to spend some time finishing this note to all of you…

Needless to say I have been very chagrined with the recent defect rates we have seen in our electronics from China. Our key person there (Zeng Ming – his English name which is Stephen) has worked very hard to become a preeminent sourcing expert for Southern China. In most cases Stephen has really done a great job getting us the right price for the right product – but recently, this has really changed which caused me to do more than a little bit of investigation.

Stephen has been using one subcontractor quite a bit for our electronics. This contractor is well known to me – and mostly in a very positive way. They are a very large company – and most would tell you EXTREMELY well established. I certainly thought that…

Stephen it seems saw some things happening 6 months ago that I did not see – or that were reported to me in any fashion. It seems that our sub-contractor involved here actually closed part of the subsidiary company – and (as I’ve learned) had been experiencing some really severe financial issues. Alarm bells were going off in his head – but I was really in the dark about all of this until recently.

The last several weeks though have brought a TON of information to my office. Once this data came to my full attention, I did the smartest thing I could do. I sent in another company (a close friend of mine) to get a quote on a project that he was working on. I’m really glad that I did this…

As in most Chinese companies – after introductions my friend was escorted to Conference Room where he could talk with the owner and manager. This is sort of the norm in China where everyone sits around and discusses the project over “tea” before the grand tour. I knew that IF the project seemed interesting to the factory owner that we could ask to see “the sample room”… and not just the production floor.

As it went – the sample room was offered in less than an hour where my friend’s assistant was able to quickly and efficiently make mental notes of several products. Those notes were sent to me the next day – but more importantly – this was juxtaposed the products they saw on the manufacturing floor… That was the piece of information I was looking for.

I was able to identify with my friends help some 14 products that were clearly in the sample room – but NOT being manufactured at the moment. Some of these were (in fact) US brands that many of us know. A few were UK based – and many were Canadian based, as the owner and his partner hold Canadian citizenship. Armed with this information – and given that it IS (after all) the holiday season I began to do the best I could and call these companies and chat with the owners or GM’s in the hopes of finding out what THEIR experiences with V***** have been.

Around this time – I also had a very telling conversation with Dane. He brought something to my attention that I frankly had not thought of. Dane had been hearing from many sources that in China there is really a HUGE problem going on NOW with “Black Market” parts. These could be mislabeled – or worse… Sometimes the factory knows about this – and sometimes they don’t.

In many cases the people that would talk to me echoed my own experiences… Some growing pains with new designs – then things get a lot better for some time – then they get progressively worse… That pattern seemed to repeat itself… I kept hearing the same story over and over… Of course I’m worried about all of it…

The good news is that ALL of the upstream products for av123 will be from the new factory – and we have a VERY DIRECT insider’s view into the entire operation. A very sophisticated incoming QA has been installed (for parts) and an equally wonderful FGI Quality Assurance Program has been put in place. My guess is that these two steps alone are going to really mitigate much of our problems. Getting out of V***** will be the best thing that has ever happened to us… These are very positive steps…

I also know that this coming week or new x-head boards will arrive (we waited for the ones from the new factory) and on the 8th of January our new shipment of UL/UF is set to leave from China (via Air) to our waiting arms… I have seen the pictures of the new factory and the final products look sensational… Doug has visited each one of these products from the new factory and he has given me a really very positive “Thumbs Up” review… We’ve made some very minor tweaks here and there (like perforating the heat sinking aspects of the cover for the switch mode psu – stuff like that)… just to eek out the last bit of performance. I should also point out that ALL of the new MFW-15 amplifiers will come from the new factory - just waiting their delivery schedule now... Will report on this later...

By the way… a moment more about x-amps... With this sort of amplifier – or any amplifier switching at more than 300kHz you will hear a very slight (but audible) hiss if you put your ear near to the tweeters. This is normal… We switch at about 310kHz…

As well, we did a bit of investigation on the audible clicking sounds generated by the cover of the “flyback” transformer in these amps… It seems that they can jar loose a bit – but this will not effect the performance in any measurable or audible way… We have asked that these be damped, secured and carefully inspected so as to not come loose… Our test samples never did this – but of course production brings another level of complication into play…

Later today – I will have the Stereo Version of the x-map here at the house – and I will probably take some pictures and post these for everyone… I’m asking Stephen as well to take some good pictures of the new factory for everyone to see and enjoy…

Well – more later… My cell phone broke again today (I love my TREO – but they do try my nerves at times) and I’m waiting for my lovely Gracie to do some driving for her Grandpa…

Happy New Year – Safe, Happy and Healthy

All the best…

mls

12-31-07
Try tightening down the screws a bit...

Happy New year...

mls

 

[stevo238]

He probably wasn't able to type for long periods because he had food in one hand.

 

[stevo238]

I'm guessing the FGI (ForGet It) Quality Assurance Program is still in place.

 

[Chu Gai]

I think he's called it the 3-step QA program.

 

[Chu Gai]

Well, it's a new year

depending maybe on what religious persuasion you might be, but I figured it might be interesting to come up with a list of various excuses or explanations that VA321 has come up with over the years. You know, excuses as to why the product is delayed, why your order can't be fulfilled, why just about anything. Now, that's not to say some reasons aren't legitimate. I'm sure some are. But over the years, there's certainly been a ton of them. In a flippant kind of way, I could see a comprehensive list like this being useful for Shifty. One of us could develop a form letter with drop downs using macros or VBA programming and this would make it easier for Shifty to come up with rapid responses.

So, here's the rules ('course you can break them. It's not like I'm David Stern and am going to slap you with a 1/4 million dollar Mark Cuban fine after all). One explanation per post unless that explanation also has multiple explanations contained within the post.
Links are nice.
Don't repeat someone else's excuse.

OK, I'll start.

This probably wasn't the first place it was said, but I liked this one (I suspect it's a legit excuse).

Dear Valued av123 customer:

Thank you for your patience as we waited for the information from the US Customs department and the latest order of Rocket Loudspeakers. We are saddened to report that the US Customs department has decided to perform a complete and total examination of all our inbound goods. With the work required to perform this examination, they have told us that the container will be available to us somewhere between and Jan 28 and Feb 9. As always, we will be working very closely with them to provide all data requested in the hopes that it will be released sooner than the dates they have provided.

It is, and has always been, our primary goal to provide quality product with extraordinary service at excellent prices. Sometimes however, there are factors out of our direct control that hamper our ability to do the above in the timely fashion.

Please continue to be patient with us and know that we are working diligently each day to improve the timing on the above.

The AV123 Team

 

[MinusTheBear]

Wasn't there a date given the week of Jan 4 for a LS9 shipment? By the way is there any 3rd party measurements on 123's flagship speaker or measurements of any kind from the manufacturer? I know there is credible 3rd party measurements conducted by the NRC that were published by soundstage on the Strata Mini, though nothing on the rockets and 123's highly touted center channel bigfoot. Again there is tons of hype about the MFW-15 performance but from any unbiased credible 3rd parties? Has the hometheatre shack done any measurements on this sub like they have done with some SVS and Axiom models in the past?

 

[Chu Gai]

Wasn't there a date given the week of Jan 4 for a LS9 shipment? By the way is there any 3rd party measurements on 123's flagship speaker or measurements of any kind from the manufacturer? I know there is credible 3rd party measurements conducted by the NRC that were published by soundstage on the Strata Mini, though nothing on the rockets and 123's highly touted center channel bigfoot. Again there is tons of hype about the MFW-15 performance but from any unbiased credible 3rd parties? Has the hometheatre shack done any measurements on this sub like they have done with some SVS and Axiom models in the past?

Yes, and someone was told they had a 100%+ guarantee. Of course that was before the terrible power outage.

Don't know of any 3rd party measurements. I recall the Strata Mini measurements. Good thing the NRC didn't measure that Rocket that UltimateAV did, huh?
I don't know if anyone has measured the 'new' MFW. I'm not sure anyone is especially interested given its myriad of issues.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Yes, and someone was told they had a 100%+ guarantee. Of course that was before the terrible power outage.

Don't know of any 3rd party measurements. I recall the Strata Mini measurements. Good thing the NRC didn't measure that Rocket that UltimateAV did, huh?
I don't know if anyone has measured the 'new' MFW. I'm not sure anyone is especially interested given its myriad of issues.

3rd party reviews of any of the rocket line models with measurements are hard to come by. Other than the UltimateAV review, is there any others?

 

[gonk]

Wasn't there a date given the week of Jan 4 for a LS9 shipment?

The 101% certain delivery date of 1/4/2010 for a pair of LS-9's has fallen through. The cabinets for that delivery are due to arrive at AV123's office on 1/4/2010, and last I heard they still had to schedule the assembly. The buyer wants to be on hand to watch the assembly since he's local - a decision that seems particularly wise considering some recent problems that have arisen.

By the way is there any 3rd party measurements on 123's flagship speaker or measurements of any kind from the manufacturer? I know there is credible 3rd party measurements conducted by the NRC that were published by soundstage on the Strata Mini, though nothing on the rockets and 123's highly touted center channel bigfoot. Again there is tons of hype about the MFW-15 performance but from any unbiased credible 3rd parties? Has the hometheatre shack done any measurements on this sub like they have done with some SVS and Axiom models in the past?

Not that I know of. It's also worth noting that any measurements of their subs may be suspect in light of (often significant) amplifier changes, and that measurements of the Rockets that date from when SAC was building them could differ from measurements of Rockets that were built more recently.

 

[Matt34]

The 101% certain delivery date of 1/4/2010 for a pair of LS-9's has fallen through. The cabinets for that delivery are due to arrive at AV123's office on 1/4/2010, and last I heard they still had to schedule the assembly. The buyer wants to be on hand to watch the assembly since he's local - a decision that seems particularly wise considering some recent problems that have arisen.


Not that I know of. It's also worth noting that any measurements of their subs may be suspect in light of (often significant) amplifier changes, and that measurements of the Rockets that date from when SAC was building them could differ from measurements of Rockets that were built more recently.

Don't forget the supplier of the 15" woofer has changed as well. I would really be interested in some 3rd party measurements of the very first MFW to the current ones being offered. Something in my gut tells me they aren't going to be the same.