Mark Schifter was very good at lying. I can see why people like Danny and Mark Seaton worked for him. I'm embarrassed to tell this story, but WTF, who cares.
I retired from the Navy a little over two years ago. Way before MLS was exposed for the POS con-man he is. A couple of months before I retired MLS posted that business was growing so fast he couldn't keep up with it and was looking to hire a couple of people to help with the demand. I actually did a couple of searches on house prices near Longmont, and discussed the possibility of moving there with my wife. I ended up finding my current job before things progressed past a a few Internet home searches and some talk about about it with my wife.
Now, I wasn't your typical Kool-Aid drinking, "frothing at the mouth" MLS nut-hugger. With minor exceptions I posted on three sub-forums over there:
1. What are you listening to
2. The beer thread
3. Cigars/Pipes
I rarely posted elsewhere, and always avoided the "fanboy" threads. Never had any interest in it. I like music, beer and cigars, and that comprised 99% of my posts.
I did go to the N.C. GTG and met Quadman (and his wonderful family), Derek, and Bill. They seemed as normal as I'd like to think I am, and never once did I suspect anything was wrong with the company. Hell, Mark Seaton was there to demonstrate the BMF (unfortunately broke in transit). We had a nice chat about the sub, his ideas on the perfect subwoofer and some upcoming projects. He certainly didn't act like any of the forum "loonies". The X-Static Danny designed was there and sounded wonderful, and the Minis were sounding pretty good connected to an Onix tube amp. At the time I thought Mark Schifter had some kind of secret mojo and I wanted to be a part of that.
Looking back to that time, I never saw anything out of the ordinary. If I had I certainly wouldn't have entertained the idea of working for him. Danny had a killer product on display, and Mark Seaton was one of the coolest designers I ever talked to. MLS was a no-show even though he said he was coming.
In the end I'm glad things turned out as they did. I'd be deeply embarrassed to be somehow related to this, and it looks like Danny and Mark didn't get to F-d over too badly by him. Thank goodness.
I guess what I'm trying to say is nobody should EVER say anything negative about Danny or Mark for their involvement with AV123. They were victims of the lies just like I (very easily) could have been.
Slush
Slush,
Your story mirrors mine in many ways. A few years ago I purchased a house and set off building a home theater. I stumbled upon AV123 and started researching the offerings. I was looking at several things at the time but they seemed to have a good value for money and I ended up buying an X-series setup for my room. At the time, I may have been one of the first to get the MTM and SLS towers. Regardless, I was happy with my purchase and still use them today (though upgraded by Ninja). I also went on to buy RS450s for a stereo rig and Ref1's (which I have since sold).
I was happy with the speakers, and became active in the forum. I went to the NW GTG, met MLS, Seaton, and a bunch of forum regulars. At the time, all was well, everyone was having a good time discussing not just HT but everything else as well.
I won a coupon for a BMF, $500 off if I recall. Was very happy but there is no way that sub would work in my room so I sold it in the forum at a discount. At the time, the BMF was 'just around the corner'. I used the money towards my set of RS450s. I felt worse and worse as the months dragged on and no BMF. I felt like I stiffed the guy that bought it, a follow Canadian to boot. In the end, I think he ended up making some kind of deal with MLS. Regardless though, not a great situation.
Like many others, I was swept up in the raffles. They seemed like such great causes that I participated in many of them. The prizes were always good too, and MLS always gushed about both sides. I knew the chance of winning wasn't great but given that the money was going to a good cause made that moot.
Over time, I saw that promised products never got finished (BMF, X-Plosive, RSL II, many others). Worse yet people gave MLS money for these items based on his promises and with the overall glowing support from the forum.
I also saw that the reliability of the products was suspect, especially the subs. These were not being dealt with very well, and users were left with dead equipment for months.
Eventually, the negativity on the forum seemed to overshadow all of the positive threads and discussion. There was a temporary closure which turned into a very long closure. I lost interest at that time and despite the forum re-opening I didn't go back beyond a couple of posts.
I finally read about the charges against MLS and was stunned to realize that he stole from the very people who supported him. There is a special place in hell for guys like this. I was lucky and only participated in raffles, losing a few hundred dollars to the crooked ways of Shifter. I feel bad for the guys who lost thousands and even worse for the people and charities who were supposed to benefit from the generosity of the forum members but didn't see a penny.
I'm glad it's over, at least for me. I'll follow the story to see if justice is done but like many other times I think I'll be disappointed.
