[spritzer]

That is indeed the problem, while the whole point of the KGSSHV was to bring ultra high end amp design to the masses this is by no means an easy amp to build.  The devil is in the details and if you get those wrong then there is no hope it will ever work right. 

 

[TruBrew]

Quote:

legally in the UK, deposits are non-refundable.
however if this was me and he was always in the UK, I would send some acquitances to his house and get my money back there and then.
 
he sounds like a keyboard warrior, who would cry if he got a knock on the door
 
do you know his address?

 
I have his address and phone number. 
 
Quote:

 
Lack of education.  If someone told you they'd build you a new Ford Mustang for $15k, nobody would take them up on the offer.  For some reason, people want to regard these amps by a much lower standard.  They're not Lego kits.

 
You are right to some degree. I am uneducated when it comes to this field. I did not make my decision based on his word alone. I thought I had vetted him well enough, but I was wrong.
 
It was a lesson learned, and I am glad it was only $500. By no means is $500 spare change to me, but it could have been worse. I would honestly be a lot more pissed if I was in Erico's position. He put out a ton more than me. He does have something to show for it, but I would guess his overall monetary loss is more than $500. 

 

[ecclesand]

Under no circumstances should anyone EVER send money to someone else via Paypal gift unless it is truly a gift.  To the OP...I hope you get your money back.

 

[n3rdling]

Hennyo seemed like a cool guy at first but after reading that thread, seeing his ridiculous flip of a poorly built onboard kgsshv into a SR-009, seeing his messages to sachu in order to flip the SR-009 for money, and now reading this thread I don't trust the guy at all.  I'm glad you put this thread up so the word can get out about these bad seeds in the community.  Having dealt with one or two now myself I can understand your frustration.  I'll try to link to this thread from time to time so I can 'put him out of business'.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

This thread should be in a more visible place.

 

[Elysian]

That's unfortunate that things turned out this way.  Hennyo seemed like a nice guy, so I'm a bit surprised that you guys can't work something mutually agreeable out.
 
I hope you two can compromise on the $500, as life's too short to get upset over money and hobbies.
 
It still amazes me that people continue to use Paypal gift, despite the clear warnings across Head-Fi not to do that.  It's not worth saving a few bucks at the risk of losing it all.

 

[KimChee]

Good post, thanks for the warning

 

[Radio_head]

Originally Posted by Elysian /img/forum/go_quote.gif

"Seemed like a nice guy"

That's what the neighbors say about serial killers.  Being an honest guy is the hard bit.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Hennyo seemed like a cool guy at first but after reading that thread, seeing his ridiculous flip of a poorly built onboard kgsshv into a SR-009, seeing his messages to sachu in order to flip the SR-009 for money, and now reading this thread I don't trust the guy at all.  I'm glad you put this thread up so the word can get out about these bad seeds in the community.  Having dealt with one or two now myself I can understand your frustration.  I'll try to link to this thread from time to time so I can 'put him out of business'.

 
This tale reminds me of another tale out of Riverside last year. There was a cat modifying DACs (Ram Electronics or something) and one of our fellow members got dragged through the mud by the amateur working @ mom's dining room table for some $5k-$7k.
 
Wasn't that long ago, so it's painful to look up yet again and see another valued member get bamboozled, cheated........... and taunted. Yes, this is a very trusting hobby, so it's good everyone is communicating.

 

[sml1226]

There was a case not too long ago about custom Marantz amps (casework, re-capping, improving, etc) where users were out $5K+ in every instance. I seem to remember the guy working on his mom's table as well... may be the same case.

It seems to be that you should not be the guinea pig for any startup business, only trust established builders for work on nearly anything.



Off topic... I tend to look at the poster after I read the message. Reading "Silent One" right after "it's good everyone is communicating" was a little funny. Completely irrelevant, but I felt the need to laugh at it.

 

[Radio_head]

This is the thread you're thinking of:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/566728/warning-about-kyle-of-reference-audio-mods
 
Common denominators: both do nice casework, shoddy internals, and have a demagnetized moral compass.

 

[sml1226]

That was quick... and yeah, that's the one. The power supply work is the most obviously bad to have to deal with. When you leave mains stuff wide open like that (and for all I know about the amp here, HV could have been exposed in a similar manner somewhere) it's quite dangerous to be dealing with the equipment and it's, in general, a fire waiting to happen.

 

[The Monkey]

I think Head-Fi can and should do more to keep this stuff from happening.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

I think Head-Fi can and should do more to keep this stuff from happening.

 
Such as? I don't think any measure is ultimately going to 100% stop stupidity and maliciousness any more than running as fast as you can in the direction of rotation would stop the world going around. The best that can be done is to put up warnings (which I've already done about using Paypal Gift) but I still get people complaining that they were scammed after using it to try and save money.

 

[Radio_head]

When soliciting and commissioning builds the onus is on the buyer to vet the builder (and pay him in ways he can dispute in the future.)  Short of banning WTB ads for any DIY job that would make a profit, there's not much preventative work to do on Head-Fi's part.
 
What Head-Fi can and should do is contain the issue once it occurs - quickly sort out the offending party, IP ban them, and try to keep an eye out for recurring shady characters.