DIY/T2 Electrostatic Amp Thread - General

[Aspirant Audiophile]

Dukei has a T2 build under his belt
I’ve seen Søren’s T2 build
I’ve seen GeorgeP’s build
I am fairly positive Birgir has a T2 build under his belt

Would love to see Dukei's and Birgir's. If they exist, are they consumer-ready?

Soren hasn't made a T2 in over a year and isn't making them at all anymore AFAIK.

George has the last stockpiled components for the OG T2.

 

[Chefguru]

First and foremost, congratulations on a second Megatron! Is it an XL? I was thinking about selling mine but reconsidered for now.

I don't have any skin in this, and definitely not on the side of Kerry or any builder, but...without naming names, some of the builders you mention literally can't make a T2, one of them is the "two year wait" T2 build, and all of them have different business models.

I will say that I decided to NOT buy a T2 (or a Megatron XL, or a Carbon CC), and only partly due to the cost.

Anyway, I'm not excusing or condemning Kerry (yet). I'm just going to shut up before I expose my ignorance (if not already) and see how this story ends.

17+ months is not an acceptable amount of time. He shouldn’t be accepting orders if he can’t deliver the product.
At this point there should in the very least be an offer at a refund and it’s up to the buyer if they want to extend.

 

[Aspirant Audiophile]

17+ months is not an acceptable amount of time. He shouldn’t be accepting orders if he can’t deliver the product.
At this point there should in the very least be an offer at a refund and it’s up to the buyer if they want to extend.

Agree with all that.

I'm still curious about your second Megatron...

 

[Chefguru]

Agree with all that.

I'm still curious about your second Megatron...

You have a PM

 

[oneguy]

Would love to see Dukei's and Birgir's. If they exist, are they consumer-ready?

Soren hasn't made a T2 in over a year and isn't making them at all anymore AFAIK.

George has the last stockpiled components for the OG T2.

I don’t have any pics of Dukei’s build but it was a toss up between him and Eksonic when I was deciding who to go with for mine. Dukei’s would have been 2/3 the cost. I decide to go with Eksonic based on number of builds completed and espoused build timeline. Obviously, predicted build timelines and actual build timelines will vary.

As for Birgir’s, I’d have to go page by page through the 212 page DIY T2 thread on head-case since the string “T2” is too short to search for.

8 months ago someone got a T2 from Søren.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/t2-finally-bought-one.885161/post-17827032

I don’t think he has stopped building T2’s. More that he is focusing more on Ki and the Megatron variants for the time being.

 

[oneguy]

17+ months is not an acceptable amount of time. He shouldn’t be accepting orders if he can’t deliver the product.
At this point there should in the very least be an offer at a refund and it’s up to the buyer if they want to extend.

I think it’s important to note that while closely synonymous, there is a difference between Kerry and Eksonic. Under Eksonic, the T2’s are built in Greece by people there and not by Kerry. Mine was sent to Kerry for troubleshooting because it made more sense than sending it to Greece.

I just wanted to make sure the two weren’t conflated because as I understand it, he doesn’t have a hand (as far as the labor aspect goes) in the current T2 builds that Eksonic puts out.

So my 17 month saga was 12 months to build (supposed to be 4-6 months), 3 months of troubleshooting with parts built in Greece and mailed to me and then 2 months of my T2 being with Kerry. He started troubleshooting it 2 and a half weeks ago.

 

[Chefguru]

I think it’s important to note that while closely synonymous, there is a difference between Kerry and Eksonic. Under Eksonic, the T2’s are built in Greece by people there and not by Kerry. Mine was sent to Kerry for troubleshooting because it made more sense than sending it to Greece.

I just wanted to make sure the two weren’t conflated because as I understand it, he doesn’t have a hand (as far as the labor aspect goes) in the current T2 builds that Eksonic puts out.

So my 17 month saga was 12 months to build (supposed to be 4-6 months), 3 months of troubleshooting with parts built in Greece and mailed to me and then 2 months of my T2 being with Kerry. He started troubleshooting it 2 and a half weeks ago.

Thanks for the clarification.
Still, at the end of the day - this seems really crazy to me given the situation and amount of time/money/effort on your behalf. You're a better man than me!

 

[nepherte]

As an owner of an Eksonic T2, I'd figure I pitch in here. So far I've had 2 issues with it:

1. Cosmetic issue with the black chrome finish
2. One 6922 tube gone all microphonic on me

Both issues took place within the 3 year warranty and Kerry has been quick to respond to my emails. The first issue took about ~6 months or so to get resolved (he still had to order another batch of them) and the second issue took about 3 months or so. While perhaps not the quickest, he has always come through for me so far. Everything repaired under warranty and at no cost for me (e.g. shipping or duties).

For what it's worth, my unit was still built by Kerry and shipped out of New York, as he was just transitioning from his one man shop to Eksonic. I believe he quoted a 6 month build time for me and it ended being 7 months total. The waiting time doesn't bother me so much, as long as there is clear communication on when you can expect it.

It's certainly not fun to have issues with anything you paid good money for. And while it does take its time to get stuff repaired, he has always come through for me. For reference, a friend of mine has been waiting 3 years and counting on the repairs of his T2 from another reputable builder (already mentioned in this thread). It can get worse

 

[mbrennwa]

I don’t think he has stopped building T2’s. More that he is focusing more on Ki and the Megatron variants for the time being.

I am not sure what Soren is up to, but my experience was not great. I committed to a build with him and he provided a quote. I payed the 50% deposit. From there on he mostly ghosted me and decided to refund most of the deposit. I could not convince him to build the amplifier as quoted by him, and he never explained why he bailed out. It took me quite some work to convince him to at least refund the full amount (but he eventually did).

One 6922 tube gone all microphonic on me ... issue took about 3 months or so.

3 months to replace a bad tube? Ouch.

and then 2 months of my T2 being with Kerry. He started troubleshooting it 2 and a half weeks ago.

So your +10k$ amp just sat with Eksonic/Kerry for 5 1/2 weeks, and no-one even looked at it? After all the drama? Ouch, again.

 

[oneguy]

So your +10k$ amp just sat with Eksonic/Kerry for 5 1/2 weeks, and no-one event looked at it? After all the drama? Ouch, again.

More detailed timeline below:

-Mailed on May 22 (just the amp, no power supply at their request)

-Received May 24. Was told he would start looking at it the following week.

-I pinged him for an update on Jun 7 and then was told he was working to finish up a power supply to begin testing

-Jun 19 was told he had just started to look at my amp but needed to complete testing on power supply. Hoped to have initial thoughts by Jun 21

-on Jun 20 I ask “wouldn’t it be easier and quicker for me to send my power supply” since it’s already built and tested

-Jun 25 I receive a response to Jun 20 question, that if I want to ship my power supply it would be ok with him. The power supply he was building to test my amp was taken out by another amp he was testing it with He would have to wait until the other partially built power supply was ready as the other option. I elect to send my power supply since that’s what I wanted to do when I sent him my amp.

-power supply mailed on Jun 26

-power supply received on Jun 30

-testing started Jul 2

Why not have me send my entire 2 boxes back initially? I can’t say for certain as it would only be speculation on my part.

 

[oneguy]

It's certainly not fun to have issues with anything you paid good money for. And while it does take its time to get stuff repaired, he has always come through for me. For reference, a friend of mine has been waiting 3 years and counting on the repairs of his T2 from another reputable builder (already mentioned in this thread). It can get worse

3 years? Ouch!

Yes I am certain Kerry will come through in the end. As you mentioned, it could always be worse.

 

[paradoxper]

3 years? Ouch!

Yes I am certain Kerry will come through in the end. As you mentioned, it could always be worse.

Kerry is one of the best engineers in this industry. You are in very capable hands. Just hang in there.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Yea.... I'd be careful on naming builders in this thread and "quoted"/"estimated" times. I promise you it gets really ugly and far worse than what Eksonic fulfills.

Also to be very fair, I don't really have much to say in that regard as it's mostly due to part sourcing and pandemic related supply issues.

Every single manufacturer no matter how reputable, has a scenario where they've failed the customer. And that's doubly true for the smaller operations. It's not an excuse, but just a fact to consider. I also know first hand how dealing with long waits or issue after a product with a long wait can be stressful, so I feel for the customers as well and hopefully everyone waiting for delivery/fixes gets them fulfilled soon.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Kerry is one of the best engineers in this industry. You are in very capable hands. Just hang in there.

+1.

 

[all2ofme]

+1 here also. Kerry is a total honey, and an incredible builder.