orkney
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2004
- Posts
- 1,571
- Likes
- 141
I'm pretty squarely in the "if it sounds good and is otherwise defect-free then WTH" camp. I just had a book come out with a major publisher. It went through FIVE stages of proofing, and then a production gremlin meant that a few pages of the MS reverted to an earlier version. Twenty-odd errors, three of them significant, in the first hard-cover print run. And when I pointed it out I was told "that's what reprints are for."
So I don't get the vitriol here. I get the irritation, even the disappointment, that a product we'd like to be perfect isn't. But that's what a vendor, and a 30-day guarantee, are for. I can't see that any owners genuinely believe that they'll be forced to keep an HP they can't live with for a legitimate QC or other reason.
High-end audio is a curious pursuit. Until fairly recently, it was a collection of boutique operations servicing the needs of a sympathetic, if critical, constituency of enthusiasts, and cosmetics were way down the list of desiderata/expectations (cf. early Naim/Linn/Arcam) gear, etc). Now we expect perfection across the line, from cottage industry ops onward. I've owned about 8 Grados from RS1 on down and none of have been cosmetically perfect and none have sounded any the less for that. For me, it's part of the house style: handmade, sometimes oddly.
Anyone owning or queuing for an HF2 is covered in three ways: by the vendor's 30-day guarantee, by Grado's 1-year warranty and then by TTVJ's justly renowned service. Given that, as well as the rational belief that Grado and TTVJ will sort these problems out, it's time to move on. Really.
o
So I don't get the vitriol here. I get the irritation, even the disappointment, that a product we'd like to be perfect isn't. But that's what a vendor, and a 30-day guarantee, are for. I can't see that any owners genuinely believe that they'll be forced to keep an HP they can't live with for a legitimate QC or other reason.
High-end audio is a curious pursuit. Until fairly recently, it was a collection of boutique operations servicing the needs of a sympathetic, if critical, constituency of enthusiasts, and cosmetics were way down the list of desiderata/expectations (cf. early Naim/Linn/Arcam) gear, etc). Now we expect perfection across the line, from cottage industry ops onward. I've owned about 8 Grados from RS1 on down and none of have been cosmetically perfect and none have sounded any the less for that. For me, it's part of the house style: handmade, sometimes oddly.
Anyone owning or queuing for an HF2 is covered in three ways: by the vendor's 30-day guarantee, by Grado's 1-year warranty and then by TTVJ's justly renowned service. Given that, as well as the rational belief that Grado and TTVJ will sort these problems out, it's time to move on. Really.
o
