[Ko Nectic Jazz]

Maybe you've already crossed this thread. I'm finally coming back to the initial choice I've made before Supermini : Portaphile V2² (maxed out, of course).

My question is anybody ever had to return an amp because it was not working right out of the box ?
This is the last time I try to buy an amp and I won't ever get in a buy that won't be 100% guaranteed. If it is not possible to get this kindda guarantee with headamps, then my quest won't last any longer.
Portaphile seems to be quiet serious, but I won't get risk.

Anyone experienced a not-working amp out of the box from Portaphile ?
If any European owners have experience with Portaphile, tell me about, good or bad.

 

[BushGuy]

I've purchased 2 amps within the last 4 months. The first was a new Xin Supermini, and last month I received a Portaphile X3 (maxxed). Both purchases were perfect - no worries, and both have been performing beautifully for me. Furthermore, my next purchase (either this month or next) will be another Portaphile - the 2^2 maxxed - this differing choice is based on location and setup. Then there will be a slight lull until I make a final decision on a more powerful amp for the k340's that are still enroute to me - that choice is tentatively between Corda Prehead, Raptor, or Dynahi....... In short, I am very happy with with both vendors from which I've already made a purchase..... and the performance of their amps.
Actually the very good performance of the maxxed X3 was somewhat of a surprise to me - I really did not anticipate the quality of its' performance. It was only a hope (and a prayer) that ultimately paid off for me.

 

[ichiro]

I purchased a portaphile v2 (pre v2^2). Everything arrived in Hawaii in excellent condition! I also sent it back to have the class A biasing done when cesar offered it as a free upgrade, and again everything arrived in perfect condition. I'd expect you to have a similar experience.

 

[RichardCory]

.

 

[justhavingfun]

Hey what you know, more people from Hawaii who loves audio as much as I do, probably more so than I am. I am just novice who enjoys everything about quality music reproducing.

Oh, I forgot to comment on to OP. Once in awhile, some equipment will arrive to your door as defective. No audio manufactures are immune to this and can give you 100% guarantee that none of their equipments are not defective but legitimate one will make sure you will be taken care of in a timely manner. Hope your next purchase will be trouble free.

 

[Ko Nectic Jazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justhavingfun Oh, I forgot to comment on to OP. Once in awhile, some equipment will arrive to your door as defective. No audio manufactures are immune to this and can give you 100% guarantee that none of their equipments are not defective

If that's so, I'll only buy where I can get the gear by myself and test it in the shop.
Twice in a row. And Post Services don't look like to be in cause, despite some sellers pretend it. Excepted for SuperMini that came in a simple letter with some bubble plastic around it. If what we say about Post Services is true, Dr.Xin is a bit irrational to send such a little amp in a letter ... for $26 with insurrance !! Now I trust Dr.Xin to not be irrational, then there must be another reason. Which is ?

But I'm looking for experience because I never saw anybody complying about Portaphile. If that's so, and since I see some of you sending them back just for an upgrade, I'll do business with Portaphile.

 

[justhavingfun]

You have right to be upset, if anybody send their amps no matter how small they are inside the "letter"

, I don't know how they are suppose to survive the regular postal delivery abuse. I would definitely question their lack of proper packing for the amps. All of my amps that I purchased packed inside the sturdy box with a bubble wraps for extra protection. Since Dr. Xin is well known for his quality service around here, I am sure he will do better job next time. Good luck.

 

[Big G]

Cesars work is outstanding, his attention to detail and customer service left me 100% satisfied with my maxxed portaphile v2^2. dont be concerned about workmanship, if there is a problem or concern, cesar will refund your money within 2 weeks of purchase, or attend to the problem. Cesar thoroughly tests all his amps before sending them.

The only reason for it not working would be damage in transit, but my amp was packaged very well, double layer of bubblewrap in a way oversized box.

I would have had no less than a dozen email questions for him before my purchase, every one answered promptly.

I will never buy another portable amp, this thing is awesome (constantly suprises me with its depth and layering, detail retreival). plenty of power on tap, I doubt you will need one with more power, so it will save you another purchase

sounds blissfull with the hf-1

 

[HypnoLobster]

I have a Portaphile V2^2 maxed, and I love the thing. No problems, and he is an EXCELLENT guy to work with.

Make sure you get the wallwart adapter, it cranskt eh power from the usual 9volt battery to 24 volts, and it makes an impressive sound difference.

 

[RichardCory]

.

 

[tezzla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardCory I had placed an order for the maxxed V2^2, but I cancelled because I did not like the company that Cesar recommended for purchasing the Elpac wall-wart. They do not list how much it costs to ship the adapter. How ridiculous! Every single professional company on the Internet lists how much shipping costs; but when I called them up, I was told that they would not know how much it would cost until they were ready to ship it (at which point I assume they would just go ahead and charge me whatever exorbitant amount of money they wanted, and not confirm with me ahead of time). So I didn't want to deal with that kind of incompetence, and I would rather just buy an amp that already comes with an adapter.

Mate, no offence but you dont have to buy the elpac from the specific company Cesar recommended. Im sure there are many companies which sell that wall-wart.

More importantly, i dont see how this has anything to do with the original question - namely, have you had trouble with the Portaphile. Your post says nothing about the amp itself, nor how it is shipped, nor Cesar's customer service. It just seems like a gripe/paranoia about a totally different company which you feel is going to try to rip you off in shipping charges for an elpac power supply.

Sorry, but thats how it comes across.

 

[BushGuy]

ditto tezzla. In addition I also bought the Elpac wallwart from Allied. Cesar does not in any way push you to buy from Allied, but simply points you to the sort of wallwart that should be sought for best DC use. One difference in Allied from most webpages is they give you an unusually large number of shipping options - which would make providing ship. cost info a bit more problematic. There was NO scheme afoot to pad shipping costs as suspected by Richard Cory (above posting).

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardCory I had placed an order for the maxxed V2^2, but I cancelled because I did not like the company that Cesar recommended for purchasing the Elpac wall-wart. They do not list how much it costs to ship the adapter. How ridiculous! Every single professional company on the Internet lists how much shipping costs; but when I called them up, I was told that they would not know how much it would cost until they were ready to ship it (at which point I assume they would just go ahead and charge me whatever exorbitant amount of money they wanted, and not confirm with me ahead of time). So I didn't want to deal with that kind of incompetence, and I would rather just buy an amp that already comes with an adapter.

Allied is a good company, but they seem to be set up for B2B sales and not consumer sales so they have some quirks about their ordering process. They probably do that to accomodate the large order sizes they typically get and charge actual shipping cost. This is why they can't tell you what it costs for shipping until they ship. Also in the traditional of B2B sales they let you use your own Fedex or UPS account for shipping so you know that they don't jack up their profits with obscene shipping prices.

I was charged around $8 for shipping my wall wart.

I don't how that reflects on Cesar's incompetence. The ELPAC linear regulated power supplies are now discontinued and Allied is the only place I saw that still had a few in stock. They won't be for long either. After those are gone, you'll have to deal with switching power supplies unless you drop $80+ on a linear supply from another company.

Probably, you expected him to have supplies in stock to include or sell with the amp, but his business is selling battery powered portable amps with an option for AC power. He probably recommended a particular model and seller as a courtesy, but you could just as well go to Radio Shack and buy whatever they have there for the needed voltage.


BTW, I have never done business with Cesar or Portaphile or have any affiliation with them. I just think that getting a good headphone amp generally isn't a typical consumer purchase as the high cost/quality suppliers are individuals who don't have the resources to keep auxillary items in stock and to adhere to megastore-like logistics and integration.

If you still feel the way you do then maybe Headroom is better place for your business. However in terms of sheer parts cost, you will get a good amount less for what you spend, though I think their R&D and exceptional service makes up for that as an amp is not the sum of its parts.

 

[Jahn]

So it looks like a general consensus at ths point that, no, no one has had an issue with Portaphile. Question Answered!

 

[RichardCory]

.