[BenBau]

I have never been in contact with the Chinese customs. I would not know how to contact them, let alone how to push them. Al contact with customs is through Kingwa (or actually Edwin). He keeps talking about "apply to customs company", maybe an intermediate?

 

[haloxt]

http://english.customs.gov.cn/Default.aspx?tabid=3972
 
I think this is the site, but the links to contact them aren't working. Can you ask Edwin for their contact information? I know people who can speak fluent Chinese so if you want I'll talk to customs just need your customs declaration number.

 

[tim3320070]

Squeaky wheel works more often than not....

 

[BenBau]

tim3320070 - Sorry? haloxt - I've sent an email to Kingwa/Edwin (thanks for your help)

 

[tim3320070]

I am sorry- it means that the one who asks the most gets the result desired. Can someone translate to Dutch better for me?

 

[BenBau]

Not necessary, I understand what it means now - hope you're right...

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Jeez BenBau...I feel for you man. I hope this mess gets fixed up and you get your amp back ASAP.
 
This kind of delay is unacceptable IMO. Some guidance WRT paperwork related to sending units back for service (warranty replacement etc) should be posted on the website so this kind of snafu can be avoided.
 
Peete.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Jeez BenBau...I feel for you man. I hope this mess gets fixed up and you get your amp back ASAP.
 
This kind of delay is unacceptable IMO. Some guidance WRT paperwork related to sending units back for service (warranty replacement etc) should be posted on the website so this kind of snafu can be avoided.
 
Peete.

Indeed.
 
In the parlance of the day, this needs to be a teachable moment.
 
It's really not A-GD's fault, that it is being intercepted at the border.
 
But it is in A-GD's interest that they understand how to prevent this happening in the future.
 
For instance,  email a PDF file in Chinese for documentation.  Or for affixing to the outside of the box.
 

 

[Kees]

Quote:

I bought my Phoenix almost a year ago. At that time there were no agents.
On the Pacific Audio website, I could only find the Audio-gd DACs.
Kingwa told me a few weeks ago I was the only one with a Phoenix in The Netherlands. He also could have contacted "his" agent and asked him/her to help ....
 
Also, money is never an issue for me. My (spare) time is much more limited.
 
Anyone knows another brand that has a balanced HP amp with pre-amp function?

Rudistor RPX-100 (now RPX-300) is an excellent balanced headphone amp and preamp.

 

[BenBau]

Kingwa got a reply from customs; apparently he does use an intermediate ("a friend"). Customs blocked my package, because it contained two items and they said my invoice stated "audio amplifier", not "2 audio amplifiers" (how should customs know it's an amp and a power supply)?
To obtain it, Kingwa should have an "import business license" which he has not. He says he will further investigate how to get the package....
 
Great stuff: bureaucrats in a communist country (if it wasn't for MY Phoenix)....
 
That Rudistor RPX-300 looks heavily overpriced!

 

[Priyajeet]

Has anyone else besides BenBau have any bad experiences with this amp? Not in terms of sound qualty but product quality in general? I am thinking of getting one but I dont really want to invest in something that might be brittle and getting repaired being a pain, specially reading last couple pages of this thread.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Has anyone else besides BenBau have any bad experiences with this amp? Not in terms of sound qualty but product quality in general? I am thinking of getting one but I dont really want to invest in something that might be brittle and getting repaired being a pain, specially reading last couple pages of this thread.

The first 10 had caps that needed replacing.  Other than that, no.

 

[BenBau]

If my amp would get lost or stolen, I would buy a new one instantly!
The only real issue I have with Audio-gd in general is the sloppy handling and the build quality. On all my devices there were small scratches and the fitting of the panels is not always "high end" worthy. In the end the sound quality is the most important. I would easily pay 25% more to have a perfect enclosure though!

 

[Currawong]

BenBau, I tend to think now it's a cultural thing and that the Chinese just don't take as much pride in outer presentation as we expect them to.  Though that being said, with brand-name gear, we pay a lot more money than you think for the shiny box and nice packaging. Whenever I see someone buy something like a printer for their computer, and immediately throw out the box, I want to say "Do you realise you just threw away $20-30?".  I agree though, Kingwa needs to do better, but I'm at a loss how to describe what "better" is without being able to show some good examples and it would probably result in his prices going up.

 

[nigeljames]

My Roc arrived recently. Very well packaged and in perfect unblemised condition. Audio-gd must be improving.