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Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
But saying that Ray Samuels can't compete with HeadAmp is insane. There's a reason that you never see a B-52 for sale, and that is because it's one of the best there is.
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There are two flaws with your argument here. One has already been pointed out, not that many B-52 amps have been made and off the top of my head I can think only of three owners on Head-Fi, you being one of them.
Second, just because something is among the best of its kind doesn't make it invulnerable to selling. I've seen ultra high-end Singlepower amps, HeadAmp Aristaeus and KGSS/KGBH amps, RSA Apache amps, expensive RudiStor amps, Pass Labs amps, et al, in the FS Amps forum. Headphones like the R10, L3000, Qualia 010, PS-1, HP-2/HP-1000, and K1000 have shown up in the FS Headphones forum more than once, and yet, those headphones are among the best in their category.
Your logic does not follow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The long wait times are actually fairly unique, coming in second (based on the complaints I've read on this site) only to SinglePower. Ray Samuels is only one guy and he doesn't have these problems.
As to prices... my Blue Hawaii SE (had I not cancelled) would have been over $4K, so it's actually higher than many electrostatic amps. Given that it's a public domain design, there were no R&D expenses on Justin's behalf, so the lower prices comment doesn't really hold water.
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RSA is primarily Ray Samuels himself but as he'll tell anyone who meets him, plus the fact that his wife has attended large meets with him, his wife is a big supporter of his business, and I've personally witnessed her taking at least 1 phone call for him. I'm sure that helps him quite a bit.
Also, how do you know Justin didn't invest any R&D into the Blue Hawaii SE? The "Blue Hawaii" is an open-source Gilmore design, yes, but the Special Edition is HeadAmp's work, and I'd be surprised if Justin didn't invest additional time and research into refining it, along with development & design for its chassis.