[lithium1085]

The official price on the icon audio site is 600 pounds. Subtracting 20% EU VAT the price is 480 pounds,i.e, 729 USD. The music direct price being 999 USD, I feel that this is a little unjustifiable to hike the price by almost 271$. Since I am calculating it is an increase of 37.2% over the european price.

 

[Spakka]

Remember shipping of such a heavy amp will be high + additional cost of any warranty issues etc.
 
In the UK we pay about 50-100% more for identical items when they originate from the US. Works both ways 

 

[lithium1085]

Quote:

Remember shipping of such a heavy amp will be high + additional cost of any warranty issues etc.
 
In the UK we pay about 50-100% more for identical items when they originate from the US. Works both ways 

100% !! I find it astonishing that people are ready to pay 100% more ......well I guess I need more money thats all....I just feel that shipping plus some warranty issues don't justify this hike as music direct probably pays less per amp than the average customer. This probably means that the markup is even higher than the general maximum retail prices that I have used for the calculation. 

 

[lithium1085]

also they definitely don't ship it one amp at a time, which means shipping costs per amp will be much lower.

 

[donlin]

Quote:

also they definitely don't ship it one amp at a time, which means shipping costs per amp will be much lower.

I'm not so sure about that.  Music Direct listed it as "ships today"  the day I bought it and since then it shows availability in "4 to 6 weeks".

 

[lithium1085]

Quote:

I'm not so sure about that.  Music Direct listed it as "ships today"  the day I bought it and since then it shows availability in "4 to 6 weeks".

I feel if they shipped one amp at a time they would have ship it from UK to you. If you received your amp from UK then I guess they are shipping them one at a time. Otherwise, they probably order them in consignments. Anyway perhaps I have made this too much of an issue.

 

[Spakka]

The thing is as parts are handmade they are made to order (at least if you order one from the UK), and very few places keep one in stock for auditions etc. 
 
But yeah it sucks paying more for things because they aren't 'local-ish'. 
 
Imo it's a very nice amp and worth considering at least. 

 

[lithium1085]

What other output transformer coupled amps should I consider in the under 1000$ region?

 

[lithium1085]

Quote:

The thing is as parts are handmade they are made to order (at least if you order one from the UK), and very few places keep one in stock for auditions etc. 
 
But yeah it sucks paying more for things because they aren't 'local-ish'. 
 
Imo it's a very nice amp and worth considering at least. 

 
I am sure considering all the reviews that it must be a really good amp. It's just difficult to keep things in perspective as I (and probably most people) cannot audition a amp before buying it...

 

[Spakka]

Oh I agree being unable to audition most things sucks. 
 
I was lucky in that I got mine 2nd hand on the back of not seeing many reviews, and happened to be very pleased with my luck! 

 

[lithium1085]

Does anyone have any experience with the ten year old consonance cyber-20?

 

[Tony1110]

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the Icon Audio HP8 to drive my T1's. I'm in the UK and it seems like a viable alternative to the Woo amps without having to go through the hassle of customs/expensive delivery charges etc. I'm yet to read anything negative about the amp and everything points to it being a superb match with the T1.

 

[lithium1085]

Quote:

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the Icon Audio HP8 to drive my T1's. I'm in the UK and it seems like a viable alternative to the Woo amps without having to go through the hassle of customs/expensive delivery charges etc. I'm yet to read anything negative about the amp and everything points to it being a superb match with the T1.

according to project86's comparisons it is better than the WA-6 SE and significantly cheaper since you are in the UK

 

[Tony1110]

Yeah, it certainly seems to have the power and the characteristics to be a good match with the T1. The only thing that's keeping me back is that it's a bit of an unknown quantity and nobody seems to have heard it.

 

[Painterspal]

I wouldn't say no one has heard it, there are a few impressions out there.
 
Whereabouts are you in the UK?