[Aleksandar R.]

Why non-transferrable on the 5-year warranty?

Several things are in play...

If the 2nd hand owner comes with a warranty claim, we won't be able to track history of use (what amp, what music, what level, etc.), and that info helps a lot with future development of product reliability.

Dealers and I, we work hard to win a client. Good-will relationships with our clients is how we win them and why they return to us, keeping our businesses alive by paying premium, plus waiting a good amount of time to get the new product.

2nd hand owners did not build relationship with us and supported our businesses or waited to get the product, so we don't owe them the same loyalty.

If 2nd hand owners buy a perfectly functioning unit, good for them, saved a lot.
If they buy a malfunctioning unit, or the unit gets broken after a while, they get to call us and give us a chance to build a relationship.
That'll cost them some, but much less than buying new, but more importantly for us, we get to show them how we do business, hoping that the next time they will buy new.

Basically, there are no loosers in that scheme of things.

 

[Roasty]

the local dealer for Raal and SAEQ, Sean @ SLT Tech dropped these off today! freshly delivered to him, and kindly loaned to me for a trial run.

was looking thru the SAEQ website earlier today and noticed they had a catalog of interconnects. hit up Sean to ask if he could bring them in, and was pleasantly surprised when he told. me he was already sending a set of rca and xlr cables along with the amp.

he did mention that Dragan at SAEQ preferred rca connection into the amp, so I'll be testing both out and will see which I like more.

The Armageddon has a nice weight and heft for its size. not the usual full chassis dimensions, but just above half the depth and maybe 80 percent width of usual components. I'm still not entirely sold on the aesthetics; the gold accents, knob and grilles seem a bit much for me for now..

My Wavedream dac is still with a friend, so hooked it up to the Meitner MA3. well, first impressions in my own system, I am really liking what I'm hearing. the guys at SAEQ really know what makes a good sounding amp. the low end and mids on this thing are glorious. there is a lot of weight/density going around.

still early but anyways I think I have a fair bit of time to spend with this amp. I really want to pit it against my pre/power combo and wa33. also, waiting to compare with a Riviera AIC-10 which my friend will be lending to me soon.

 

[Doug2507]

Very nice, few weeks out for mine to arrive. Planning on using Envy as pre so good to know SE is Dragans preferred input as I'm away to order a new IC. Would you mind seeing how the Cary sounds into it?

 

[byrdparis]

the local dealer for Raal and SAEQ, Sean @ SLT Tech dropped these off today! freshly delivered to him, and kindly loaned to me for a trial run.



was looking thru the SAEQ website earlier today and noticed they had a catalog of interconnects. hit up Sean to ask if he could bring them in, and was pleasantly surprised when he told. me he was already sending a set of rca and xlr cables along with the amp.




he did mention that Dragan at SAEQ preferred rca connection into the amp, so I'll be testing both out and will see which I like more.




The Armageddon has a nice weight and heft for its size. not the usual full chassis dimensions, but just above half the depth and maybe 80 percent width of usual components. I'm still not entirely sold on the aesthetics; the gold accents, knob and grilles seem a bit much for me for now..



My Wavedream dac is still with a friend, so hooked it up to the Meitner MA3. well, first impressions in my own system, I am really liking what I'm hearing. the guys at SAEQ really know what makes a good sounding amp. the low end and mids on this thing are glorious. there is a lot of weight/density going around.

still early but anyways I think I have a fair bit of time to spend with this amp. I really want to pit it against my pre/power combo and wa33. also, waiting to compare with a Riviera AIC-10 which my friend will be lending to me soon.

SAEQ are very good, amps and People!
im redy to try the Armagedon in Munich also... to see how much better it is from the Hyperion.

 

[byrdparis]

I'll also be listening to it today on this very new Auris 300b

Very excited to hear your thoughts on Auris new 300B beast with RAAL and other Hp's

 

[FiGuY1017]

A cheap surprise with this little Burson Soloist 3xp into Ca1a, has really blown me away for how it's made the Ca1a very full and 3dimensional, punchy dynamic sound. Really sounds like a new headphone. Full bodied, just a thicker sound that is very exciting to experience. Bought as a second system amp but this thing has some kind of voodoo synergy, stars aligned who knows but I've been really enjoying this for the last couple weeks.

 

[chrisnyc75]

Several things are in play...

If the 2nd hand owner comes with a warranty claim, we won't be able to track history of use (what amp, what music, what level, etc.), and that info helps a lot with future development of product reliability.

Dealers and I, we work hard to win a client. Good-will relationships with our clients is how we win them and why they return to us, keeping our businesses alive by paying premium, plus waiting a good amount of time to get the new product.

2nd hand owners did not build relationship with us and supported our businesses or waited to get the product, so we don't owe them the same loyalty.

If 2nd hand owners buy a perfectly functioning unit, good for them, saved a lot.
If they buy a malfunctioning unit, or the unit gets broken after a while, they get to call us and give us a chance to build a relationship.
That'll cost them some, but much less than buying new, but more importantly for us, we get to show them how we do business, hoping that the next time they will buy new.

Basically, there are no loosers in that scheme of things.

All excellent points, but I would gently & respectfully push back that a non-transferable warranty inevitably reduces residual value for the original buyer. A transferable warranty gives second-hand buyers confidence in buying at a premium, which in turn gives the original buyer more confidence spending a premium up front. Just food for thought.

 

[FiGuY1017]

All excellent points, but I would gently & respectfully push back that a non-transferable warranty inevitably reduces residual value for the original buyer. A transferable warranty gives second-hand buyers confidence in buying at a premium, which in turn gives the original buyer more confidence spending a premium up front. Just food for thought.

I'll just add one more point that is especially relevant to myself. Sometimes for example I have to buy used simply because I can't afford to buy new

That was definitely the case with Susvara, and I'd argue that through the years I've cemented myself as a loyal customer from the multiple positive post I've gushed on about in public forums like headfi and many others as well.

Ive done the same for my Ca1a of course of which I bought direct.. however I bought it as B-Stock because my discretionary limit was well..limited

 

[nfandi]

All excellent points, but I would gently & respectfully push back that a non-transferable warranty inevitably reduces residual value for the original buyer. A transferable warranty gives second-hand buyers confidence in buying at a premium, which in turn gives the original buyer more confidence spending a premium up front. Just food for thought.

I read Alex’s comments earlier and I thought ‘yes, that makes sense’. But now with your very lovely “gently & respectfully” comments I think I agree with your thoughts. If I remember correctly in the early days of the SR-1a there were reports of a few individuals who ‘abused’ the capabilities of the ribbon drivers by overpowering with bass EQ. I don’t think that will happen with those of us who decide to purchase Immanis or Magna. I’m also thinking of the ‘journey’ of the Utopia, which you I think will know more about than myself, in that they went from something like a one year non-transferable warranty to a 5-year transferable warranty, based on feedback from customers. My understanding so far is that the Raal products have had very few failures and that means that Alex should feel confident to make the warranty transferable.

 

[Doug2507]

Transferable warranty is a huge plus IMO. I've not long bought Envy, been looking into 300b's and obviously WE have been a focus. You see many for sale, most advertising X amount of warranty left but when you look at WE T&C, warranty is not transferable. Instantly put me off buying a pair of re-issues used. I whole heatedly support warranty under those conditions for any gear I sell and will do it upon behalf of the new owner but I guess this is far and few between, especially in this game where gear changes ownership multiple times. IMO transferable warranty gives a lot of confidence to the quality of the product, an insight into the manufacturer standing by their product and peace of mind for any down the line buyer, which also inspires buyer confidence in the brand, not just the product.

 

[Kiats]

the local dealer for Raal and SAEQ, Sean @ SLT Tech dropped these off today! freshly delivered to him, and kindly loaned to me for a trial run.



was looking thru the SAEQ website earlier today and noticed they had a catalog of interconnects. hit up Sean to ask if he could bring them in, and was pleasantly surprised when he told. me he was already sending a set of rca and xlr cables along with the amp.




he did mention that Dragan at SAEQ preferred rca connection into the amp, so I'll be testing both out and will see which I like more.




The Armageddon has a nice weight and heft for its size. not the usual full chassis dimensions, but just above half the depth and maybe 80 percent width of usual components. I'm still not entirely sold on the aesthetics; the gold accents, knob and grilles seem a bit much for me for now..



My Wavedream dac is still with a friend, so hooked it up to the Meitner MA3. well, first impressions in my own system, I am really liking what I'm hearing. the guys at SAEQ really know what makes a good sounding amp. the low end and mids on this thing are glorious. there is a lot of weight/density going around.

still early but anyways I think I have a fair bit of time to spend with this amp. I really want to pit it against my pre/power combo and wa33. also, waiting to compare with a Riviera AIC-10 which my friend will be lending to me soon.

look forward to hearing what you think of Black Magic. I do like the Silver Blade RCA IC with the Hyperion Ge.

 

[Roasty]

look forward to hearing what you think of Black Magic. I do like the Silver Blade RCA IC with the Hyperion Ge.

haven't tried the black magic xlr yet. I did try the rca interconnects, but i didn't really like what I heard. on low gain, it sounds stringent and strained and feels thinned out. things improve with low gain, filling in nicely, but overall I think xlr into the amp is the better option.

I will hopefully get to do some more listening today and will run in the amp a bit more. so far, it's extremely addictive with the Abyss. it sounds even more "tubey" than my wa33. it does lose somewhat on staging/width and front back depth and layering but still very good for what essentially is an SS hybrid speaker/headphone amp.

If I have time, I'll try it out with the speaker tap outs to Abyss, and also the Utopia/Solitaire-P as well as the sr1b/ca1a using the ti1b interface.

 

[nwavesailor]

If I was considering using an EQ with a Raal hp, would '0' be the amount of bass permitted or am I mistaken?

 

[Aleksandar R.]

About warranty...

There are pro's and con's from the manufacturer's perspective and from the buyers perspective.

Someone mentioned quality and manufacturers standing behind their product, but actually talking about reliability...
Sound quality and reliability are two opposing requirements.
I can thicken the ribbons, tighten them up and give a lifetime warranty, but the sound quality would not be as it is.

Until now, we were offering 5 years - non transferable... On paper.
In practice, we have never charged a repair or replacement to 1st or 2nd hand owners, and a couple of cables that we have replaced at no charge were, frankly, abused.
A couple of times we never got the old headphones or cables back, as we shipped out immediately upon first notice. And most of the time, we took the shipping cost both ways.

That was the practice so far, basically same as transferable with no questions asked.
If what actually matters in public perception is what's written on paper, then the paper also says that the the product should first return to the factory and if the failure has been caused by misuse, neglect, accident or abnormal operating conditions, repairs will be billed at the normal shop rate...

If strictly following what's written is better, I'm all for it, but then all of us should follow it and act accordingly, fair and square.
It'll make users care more about the product, it'll reduce the failure rate and it will increase the confidence into the brand.
It will also increase the repair times, increase the cost of shipping, decrease the need for communication between us and the client...

It wouldn't be the same any more, but I guess that's what happens when the company grows...

 

[Aleksandar R.]

If I was considering using an EQ with a Raal hp, would '0' be the amount of bass permitted or am I mistaken?

It only depends oh how loud you're listening, that's all.
Of you don't hear any clicking, rattling or buzzing noises, you're good.

For people that tend to listen loud, the general advice is to restrain themselves from bass EQ-ing.