[evilcthul]

This thread shouldn't become an all out assault against Divergent/ASL. We should try discuss the matter at a civilised level and be thankful that at least a manufacturer is trying to address our concerns.

With that in mind, I'd like to gather your PERSONAL (not second/third hand) experience with ASL and Divergent GOOD or BAD.

It would probably be best if you briefly listed your:

Product:
Problems (if any):
Problem type: Audible/Physical/Cosmetic
Severity of the Problem: Minor/Annoying/Unworkable
Remedy (if any):
Experience with Divergent:
Turnaround time for service:
Ways in which Joseph could improve (Keep this civil):
Ways in Which The Product Could Be Improved: Should it be scrapped/fully redesigned or just a few issues resolve?

If your problem is minor like say crooked feet and you decided not to return your product tell us why? I'm trying to gauge what you guys consider as acceptable/unacceptable.

We should work to get a consensus of what problems plague people most often and why. After this is done, we should have a competent list of ways in which Joseph should be able to deal with the QC issue that has recently flared up.

 

[tanfenton]

Product: ASL MG-Head DT
Problems: Both channels intermittant; unacceptable hum at twelve o'clock and later; uneven feet; loose RCA jacks
Problem types: Audible, physical, and cosmetic
Severity of the problems: From minor (physical to cosmetic) to unworkable (channel oddities)
Remedy: It had acted up only once before I modified it. Thinking I'd fixed whatever had happened, I sold it to another member here. Back in my possession, I found that the potentiometer had gone south.
Experience with Divergent: Ordered from Headroom
Turnaround time for service: No professional service sought

Ways in which the product could be improved: Start by using a better pot. I never minded the detented ALPS 50mm until it decided to be less-than-functional.

Shield every AC-carrying line. The noise pollution from these becomes most evident near the tube positions on the board. I can move one under a socket and really get the amp humming. (These wires are prone to shift after shipment. It would be nice to have them routed and secured with greater care.)

Use a small bubble level to determine whether the feet are even in height. Visually inspect the face plate for manufacturing flaws: incomplete silkscreening, pitting, and crooked lettering. These areas seem to be the most often neglected.

Ways in which Joseph could improve: I loved the sound the amp gave me while it worked. I must admit, though, that these few niggling flaws discourage me mightily about any future dealings I might have with ASL. I don't expect a complete redesign, and I don't want the project discarded. I want Joe to hear his customers out and act on what he can reasonably act upon.

NGF

 

[grinch]

Product: mg head dt
Problems (if any): occasional hum when (grounded?) by me, mini-jack = dead
Problem type: Audible/Physical
Severity of the Problem: in my book, minor = annoying
Remedy (if any): haven't done anything with it. don't really need the mini-jack, but it still bothers me a bit.
Experience with Divergent: none whatsoever.
Turnaround time for service: never tried.
Ways in which Joseph could improve (Keep this civil):
Ways in Which The Product Could Be Improved:

the last two i will answer here. i feel bad for joe. he's obviously a very intelligent and talented designer who really cares about his products and customers. i find this an extreme rarity in any field.

i think my situation with the mg head is a bit different from everyone else's since i got mine over a year ago. i haven't really had the same problems, but it was my first amp and at the time, $280 was a lot for me to spend. i got one with a broken mini-jack and returned it for a new one with working mini-jack, but after a few months that one broke too. the channel hum isn't a huge problem for me, as i just use it at work with a crappy source and a noisy environment and it doesn't always crop up on my unit.

i am not really sure what it would take to get these problems fixed, but i hope that they are found out quickly. i realize that it's very tough to keep the prices low and the quality level perfect. i think asl has done a great balance with this, but recent problems are starting to give them a bad name. this is the kind of thing that kills companies and i hope asl can get these resolved so they stick around.

 

[SumB]

Product: MG Head DT, MG Head OTL
Problems (if any): None
Problem type: Audible/Physical/Cosmetic: N/A
Severity of the Problem: Minor/Annoying/Unworkable: N/A
Remedy (if any): N/A
Experience with Divergent: Slow processing order (real slow)
Turnaround time for service: N/A
Ways in which Joseph could improve (Keep this civil): N/A - now Tash could've been honest about the products' performance with low impedance cans when asked.
Ways in Which The Product Could Be Improved:

Lose the transformer, as nobody will argue with me anymore when I say it's completely useless. Lower price in accordance with this or beef up parts quality.

 

[N@Z]

Product: MG Head OTL
Problems (if any): minor
Problem type: Audible - slight hum/Physical/Cosmetic - EL84 tubes don't sit straight
Severity of the Problem: Minor/Annoying - sometimes/Unworkable
Remedy (if any): Slight hum was due to close proximity to a cordless phone which seems to have gone once I removed it. Also, as adviced by the seller, keep the tube cage on to reduce RF interference. It works.
Experience with Divergent: none
Turnaround time for service: n/a
Ways in which Joseph could improve (Keep this civil): none, he attends to & communicates very courteously/diplomaitcally to people's grievances already.
Ways in Which The Product Could Be Improved: Should it be scrapped - I certainly hope not! it's a great little product/fully redesigned or just a few issues resolve? - As long as Joe maintains to listen to the issues raised in this forum (or others)& acts upon it, more products in future should be prone to less if no quality issues at all. Whether a full redesign or a few issues resolved all depends on the outcome of the collective consensus here.


I was lucky, I bought my amp 6 months old from the thread starter who seemed to me to be quite handy in electronics & whatnot so whether there were any quality issues with the unit it must have been ironed out by him beforehand as I find that I have no complaints other than the minor things stated above. Maybe he can elaborate further on that.

Touch wood, hopefully the amp will be reliable & lasts a long time. I've owned it for a couple of months now & it has performed nearly flawlessly. I personally would like to purchase more higher end amps from ASL in the future & still keep this amp. It is my very first tube amp, sentimental value counts! For that I would like to thank evilcthul, Joesph & ASL.

 

[kelly]

Product:
MG Head OTL

Problems (if any):
None with product. Mine worked perfectly.

Problem type: Audible/Physical/Cosmetic
Severity of the Problem: Minor/Annoying/Unworkable
Remedy (if any):
N/A

Experience with Divergent:
They were a bit of a pain in the ass. I sent several emails and phone calls and rarely got response. When I finally managed to speak with someone there, I was told I would have to send a money order (no credit cards could be accepted). I was also then told the MG Head was out of stock. I finally got mine about a month after this time so in total it took me about two months to get the amp. The lady on the phone didn't strike me as the friendliest either and overall I was thinking at the time that I'd probably not order from them again. On the bight side, when the amp arrived it was extremely well packaged for shipping and arrived in tact. This is my only experience with Divergent to date.

Turnaround time for service:
Two months total (see above).

Ways in which Joseph could improve (Keep this civil):
?? Joe Lau is an incredibly cool guy who I value tremendously as a contributor to Head-Fi. I wish his business all the success.

Ways in Which The Product Could Be Improved: Should it be scrapped/fully redesigned or just a few issues resolve?
It'd be nice if the MG Head managed to be a bit faster, a bit blacker and a bit more extended... but then it'd be an RKV and it'd cost more. I dig the MG Head a lot. For a tube amp at that price, it's unbeatable. I wish they'd redesign to account for QC issues and I did NOT like the stepped pot. They should probably upgrade to an Alps Blue or something even if it bumps them closer to $400. I think a good MG Head with no quality control problems and a good pot would be a success at $399.

If your problem is minor like say crooked feet and you decided not to return your product tell us why? I'm trying to gauge what you guys consider as acceptable/unacceptable.
No problems AT ALL with the one I had. Faceplates, feet, cage, etc. were all fine. I sold the amp to another Head-Fi'er when I decided a Corda HA-1 would meet my office needs better but had no real issues with the amp.

 

[evilcthul]

To answer Naz's Q's:

Basically to eliminate hum I subbed out the stock 12AX7 and replaced it with an Electro Harmonix 12AX7 (it's a Telefunken copy.) With that, I got blacker blacks and no background grunge...

Same effects can also be achieved with a Sovtek 12AX7LPS (I think it's LPS.) It has a special spiral filament...

I think Joseph should include a tube cage as standard + grounding wire as it stops the tubes picking up RF (without it sometimes you can hear radio.) It also protects the tubes from hands. The cage should be black though as I've heard silver reflects heat (according to Cary Audio.)

I never tweaked with the inside of Naz's amp... It had no hum to start with so I was thanfully free of that task.

PS: I'm not jumping ship... I have an ASL goody on the way, more on that later