Beware of IMR Acoustics. Possible fraud on the way

[Bioibon]

I think people of a certain age around here know about the shady business Trinity Audio got into back in 2017/18, leaving many users without their well-earned money, and leaving debts that have come to be estimated at over $130000. Debts that were never paid.
https://drop.com/talk/24528/imr-trinity-audio
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/157887895/worlds-first-tuneable-wireless-earbuds/comments

From the ashes of that company came IMR Acoustics, which started with one successful IEM (IMR R1) and continued with a large number of IEMs after that.
This company was founded by Trinity Audio's chief designer Bob. Several years later, the company began to engage in the same shenanigans that Trinity Audio fell into and left hundreds of users out of pocket. The secuence of evens can be summarized as follows:

1- Bob begins with Event Horizon to exhibit the same behaviors that led Trinity to disaster. Event Horizon gives no signs of life and people starts to claim for thir money. Suddenly, a user appears showing (with photos) a supposed unit that has arrived home, but that the courier service has smashed it. People ask questions and become suspicious. The user disappears. Some people get their money back. Others don't. Nobody has seen a Event Horizon. Never.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-acoustics-event-horizon.960911/page-30
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-acoustics-event-horizon.960911/page-20#post-17705971

2- A series of outright lies about the state of his products begin to be concatenated. Lies that start to become unsustainable and reach a zenith with quasi childish arguments (Shipments are lost due to strikes, vacations, theft at Royal Mail, non-existent tracking numbers...). The lies with Royal Mail become absurd and incredulous. When all this is more than evident, Bob stops answering emails.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-acoustics-event-horizon.960911/page-26
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-audio-sonic-adventures-impressions.938732/page-756

3- Users who order a custom Enigma and after a long time without receiving them receive photos of supposedly their IEMs, but after some analysis they turn out to be a clear fake. Never recived their custom IEMs

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr...es-impressions.938732/page-1053#post-17866290

4- A new IMR IEM (IMR Dawn) is offered as an alternative to two models that have not yet been released. It is discovered that the Dawn is nothing more than a remarked Chinese IEM that IMR offers for $250 while it is offered on Alibaba for $20. Then offers it in exchange for a non-existent Zion and NaLe much more expensive and clearly of a higher segment.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-audio-sonic-adventures-impressions.938732/page-958#post-17752210
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-audio-sonic-adventures-impressions.938732/page-962

5- Suddenly, IMR allegedly starts transferring unsolicited money to customer accounts and then reclaiming the amount through an opaque company. A series of events very reminiscent of a money laundering and asset stripping process.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr-audio-sonic-adventures-impressions.938732/page-1258

8- IMR suddenly disappears without prior notice. The website disappears, as well as their Ebay sales.

9- After some time deceased, IMR comes back to life with a new model and the same limited offer as ever, and the same bussines model.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/imr...es-impressions.938732/page-1337#post-18694500

Please, there are many people who have lost money with this company. There are people with losses of several thousand dollars. Be very careful with this new IMR reboot, as it smells like a twist on the scam they have been running for quite some time now. There are many of us who fear that a new scam is about to start and this adds a new source of anger and shame to all those who have been robbed of large sums of money by IMR.

 

[mochill]

I've been scammed as well on Zion pre order

 

[behemothkat]

I’ve been scammed on “trade-in” transaction: I sent IMR IEM for trade-in, confirmed via email they received it, I paid difference, was told “your new better model IMR IEM posted, here is tracking” but tracking never become active. Email conversation in the beginning was active, then they just stopped to reply my emails.
I suspect I have seen my old IEM among eBay listed items later.

 

[NLP218]

I’d bet good money a lot of folks who got scammed ain’t even on this forum, sadly.

But I’ll go ahead and share what happened to me.

I got swindled outta over $3,000+ on products that never showed up various pre-orders and trade ins.

I asked Bob for my money back more than once—on the rare occasion he did bother to reply, he just told me the money was gone, same as everything else. Said I oughta just move on and forget about ever seein’ that money again. Using offensive language in the middle of that reply.

Bob is just a thief and IMR should be removed from all topics on here/ locked or deleted threads.

 

[originalsnuffy]

After my Trinity experience I never would do busiiness this this fellow. He had a good following as IMR, RIP.

 

[Ohmboy]

If there was any justice in the audio world then BOB would be in...

 

[Bioibon]

I’ve been scammed on “trade-in” transaction: I sent IMR IEM for trade-in, confirmed via email they received it, I paid difference, was told “your new better model IMR IEM posted, here is tracking” but tracking never become active. Email conversation in the beginning was active, then they just stopped to reply my emails.
I suspect I have seen my old IEM among eBay listed items later.

This is one of the meanest actions I have read about in this whole mess.

 

[mashuto]

Hah, I'm honestly surprised it took this long after all the trinity shenanigans.

With trinity they had some seemingly really interesting products at good price points. But it became pretty clear pretty quickly that their whole business model was at best unsustainable and at worst and outright scam. They would always be offering new products for preorder, then constantly miss their promised ship dates and keep delaying things. They would introduce new products for preorder before prior products actually were produced and shipped. It seemed pretty clear that the preorders of the new products were how they eventually would fund and produce earlier products.

Not to mention they sold me one of the absolute worst sounding iems I have ever heard. So sharp and unpleasant that it just wasn't listenable.

Then after all that, Bob, who always sold himself as the face and owner of the company started acting like it was never his company and he was always just contracted to design and tune the iems for them in order to distance himself from the mess he obviously caused.

So then IMR started and at least it seemed for a while like they were actually delivering things. But their whole business model seemed pretty similar to Trinity. Everything was always sold as a preorder, and there were tons of "limited" run products that were clearly meant to try and get people to feel like they had to keep buying more or else they would miss out. If your products are actually worth buying, then why wouldnt you keep producing them and selling them. When everything is limited, nothing is special.

I'm lucky I actually got everything I paid for with trinity and managed a refund for the one I didn't. But after that experience, IMR was a company I would never ever do business with and I will never buy anything from any company that guy is associated with. In my opinion, at best he is just really bad at running a business, and at worst he's an actual thief and scammer.

I hope everyone who has purchased from IMR has either received what they paid for or are able to get their money back. But really, nobody should be giving their money to that guy.

 

[Cygx1]

I got scammed like many others with my Event horizon order, I sent him many emails and never got a penny refunded. I am never going to buy anything from this so called company again, even if it proves liget or be it the best iem on the market!!

 

[mvvRAZ]

Hardly shocking considering his history... I don't for the life of me understand why anyone would buy anything at any point from a well known scammer

 

[feverfive]

Feel bad for those newer members who got scammed, but some vets here who should know better...ehh. I was castigated by one long time head-fi'er a couple years ago because I made a comment about scammer Bob. These scams all smell the same.

 

[Bioibon]

To all those to whom Bob owes money.... Has he contacted you?

 

[behemothkat]

To all those to whom Bob owes money.... Has he contacted you?

Posted in other thread (as you’ve seen) but to accommodate all the responses in one place, posting here as well: no, he did not.

 

[Cygx1]

He replied to my emails once, a year and a half ago maybe, asking about the details of the transaction with which I payed for the event horizon, as if he was going to refund me, but of course he never sent a penny and never replied to any other emails. I even wrote him yesterday in response to his email with the allegedly announced new iem, I just wrote "may be if you refund my money I would consider buying something from you again" , I knew of course he will not reply, and he did not, but I just wanted to remind him that people still remember what he did. Then I unsubscribed from his mailing list for good

 

[originalsnuffy]

I exited my pre-purchase order for one of his products at Trinity without losing money. But it took way too much effort to do so.

When IMR started I posted a few comments questioning why people are doing business with this person and got some serious flames shot at me.

Well once a scammer always a scammer methinks.