Custom-3 announcements and impressions

[cn11]

Originally Posted by PeterDLai

Oh, I meant no harm in saying that. Just noticed that the two you listed in your signature seemed to be very exemplary of FOTM 'phones.

Though there are plenty of people who still swear by them...

Oh I know, I was being humorous about the reply! I hope the Custom 3 lives up to the hype! If it indeed sounds better than the Image, as described by Amy, and going by what Soozieq says about the Image, I think we're all in for something pretty great.

Cheers, Chris.

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by cn11

Damn PeterDLai, I'm not just another flavor-of-the-month-boy on this forum I hope!! I like to think I have good taste in IEM's, or canalphones as you prefer...

How long does flavour (spelt the English way ) of the month actually last then?? The Denons have been going strong for 5 months - the Futuresonics for a lot longer - so what's the definition of a 'month'?? I always thought a month was a month! Educate me please

[tstarn06]

So Klipsch in its infinite wisdom sends out an email, offering a discount, and then if you don't get one of the first 40 pair, you are SOL. The email says deal is good until Feb. 20, but you can't preorder them. If you try to order, they ask for email to let you know when more are in stock. Why not take pre-orders, like any normal Web retailer? That way, serious buyers will put their money down, and you are not dependent on an email to make a buy.

Any answer Amy? Just curious. Not saying I am buying the Custom 3s, but I have a friend who wants them. The entire concept of pre-ordering means you get them when they are available.

Oh, and I agree on the FOTM issue. I admit to falling for one FOTM in my early head-fi days (can you say V-Moda Vibe?), but on balance, it's more a search for the right phone, that's all. And no one is really dumping their C700s or M5s en masse, like they did with the Vibes or other FOTM phones. Anyway, my FOTM two cents. My problem with buying any more phones is every one of the phones I own right now is fantastic in its own way, so not much room at the inn. And at $275, just too far over the line price-wise. But one day, I will give a $250-plus phone a try. Now, have to run out for those lottery tickets.

[tnmike1]

I'm a confirmed Ety4p user and another pair of IEMs is going to have to provide a lot more to make me switch. I'm also an eyeglass wearer for reading--which is where Iuse my IEMs the most--so that "over the ear" loop of the Custom 3 has me somewhat worried, like will it interfere with the frames of the glasses.

Finally, for a mere $25 savings, I'd rather wait and see what the reviews say about these guys. Really don't want to put out the money and find out the Etys can't be topped, or that for a wearer of glasses, these Custom 3s interfere with the wire on the frames.\
So will wait and maybe take the plunge in another couple months

[pretzelb]

Originally Posted by tstarn06

So Klipsch in its infinite wisdom sends out an email, offering a discount, and then if you don't get one of the first 40 pair, you are SOL. The email says deal is good until Feb. 20, but you can't preorder them. If you try to order, they ask for email to let you know when more are in stock. Why not take pre-orders, like any normal Web retailer? That way, serious buyers will put their money down, and you are not dependent on an email to make a buy.

Any answer Amy? Just curious. Not saying I am buying the Custom 3s, but I have a friend who wants them. The entire concept of pre-ordering means you get them when they are available.

I'm trying to understand your point in this beyond being a bully.

Fact 1 is they decided to NOT do pre-order. Smart business move on their part? It's hard to find wisdom in not doing pre-order but the fact remains it is their option.

Fact 2 appears you got an email about a special offer good until Feb 20th. My calendar says it's only Feb 7 so that offer is still good.

Fact 3 is recently 40 were made available and I assume are now gone by what you say.

The only way I can see a reason to be upset is if no more are available before Feb 20. While I suppose that is possible I doubt it unless they are facing some major issues of some kind. If that does happen then anyone who got an email would have (imo) a legit reason to be upset.

But until that does happen all this amounts to is grumbling because you can't pre-order which isn't required by any manufacturer. Plenty of excellent online retails refuse to let you place an order that they can't fill due to being out of stock. Plus they offer email notification for when stock is replenished. I don't see why Klipsch should be singled out for doing what is almost common practice online. Again, this assumes stock does replenish prior to Feb 20.

I would bet that had Klipsch took pre-orders like you want they would get grief for running out of stock or taking so long. It's just another case of a company getting bashed no matter what they do.

[Amy]

I would love to take preorders, but we do not have the software capability to do this. It is unlawful to charge credit cards without having the product to ship, and our software doesn't have the ability to "hold" or capture a credit card number without charging it.

Keep in mind we are first and foremost a manufacturer, not a retail outlet or dealer. Direct sales is offered as a convenience to our customers, and not something we invest a lot of resources in. Amazon.com is a retail outlet--of course they are going to use all their resources to support that.

That said, we will honor the $25 off coupon for the Custom-3s beyond Feb 20th, as demand/inventory dictates. We may not have the latest and greatest in store software, but we are fair.

Thank you!

[tstarn06]

Originally Posted by pretzelb

I'm trying to understand your point in this beyond being a bully.

Fact 1 is they decided to NOT do pre-order. Smart business move on their part? It's hard to find wisdom in not doing pre-order but the fact remains it is their option.

Fact 2 appears you got an email about a special offer good until Feb 20th. My calendar says it's only Feb 7 so that offer is still good.

Fact 3 is recently 40 were made available and I assume are now gone by what you say.

The only way I can see a reason to be upset is if no more are available before Feb 20. While I suppose that is possible I doubt it unless they are facing some major issues of some kind. If that does happen then anyone who got an email would have (imo) a legit reason to be upset.

But until that does happen all this amounts to is grumbling because you can't pre-order which isn't required by any manufacturer. Plenty of excellent online retails refuse to let you place an order that they can't fill due to being out of stock. Plus they offer email notification for when stock is replenished. I don't see why Klipsch should be singled out for doing what is almost common practice online. Again, this assumes stock does replenish prior to Feb 20.

I would bet that had Klipsch took pre-orders like you want they would get grief for running out of stock or taking so long. It's just another case of a company getting bashed no matter what they do.

If Klipsch did take pre-orders it would have been easier for Head-Fi buyers to take advantage of the $25 discount offer, which Amy graciously now says they will honor beyond the February 20 deadline. That makes sense. My point was that in order to get the $25 discount, you had to wait for an email letting you know they were available again. But you might not have had email access for any number of reasons, and by the time you saw the email, the next batch (whatever the number) would also have been sold. So the process would start again. See the point?

If you are going to offer a discount to a select group of customers, it would be nice if they could "lock in" an order with the discount so when they did become available again, they did not have to wait for an email to place an order. Online retailers who have "out of stock" email notifications typically are not offering a discount on that merchandise, so it's no loss to the customer.

Does this make sense? I was not bashing the company. Just pointing out that to get the discount requires a fast response to an email you might not see for a day or two. You could miss the chance to buy, and that cycle could repeat itself once or twice before February 20. And, if you read Amy's email, she explains why they could not do pre-orders. No bullying intended. Why so defensive about someone making a point about a potentially frustrating situation?

Thanks to Amy for extending the February 20 deadline on the discount. That should take care of it, but I believe she understood my point. Hence, her response.

Fact 1 - You seem to agree with me in the first place.

Fact 2 - Before Amy's note that they would extend the deadline for buyers, there was no guarantee you could buy with the discount before February 20 under the offer as it stood (for reasons outlined above).

Fact 3 - Yes, they were gone. Which is why I noted that a pre-order would be a good move by Klipsch for customers serious about buying and wanting to get the $25 discount. And, again, as Amy noted, they are now willing to extend the deadline. I guess they heard my concern, and reacted positively.

Is that bullying? I don't think so. Just pointing out that by having a deadline, they could lose sales, and some people would not be happy and not buy Klipsch phones going forward.

So relax. My note got Klipsch to react favorably to Head-Fi buyers (by honoring the discount beyond Feb. 20), which was my only objective. Sorry if I used the phrase "infinite wisdom." It was just out of frustration at the time.

[Amy]

I understand, and didn't feel bullied at all, but I can see how someone could read a post in that context. Forums can be a difficult place to pick up on a "tone" of a conversation!

It's all good, guys! Enjoy those Custom-3s (and hopefully we'll have more very soon!!)!

[pretzelb]

I guess I got drawn offsides by "infinite wisdom", "you are SOL", and "like any normal Web retailer". It didn't sound like it was being fair ... but my reaction was poor.

[onlychild]

My Custom-3 will be here tomorrow. I will let you know how they stack up against the Image and Denon c751.