[Frank I]

Quote:

I know Ray personally, from talking with him at meets, he is great! Yes, the fading knobs are not cool. Still what many Head-Fiers fail to realize is we are purchasing these headphone amps from small family type companies. The only reason that the companies even still exist is that there is a small profit from catering to our little community.
 
When we fail to see the smallness of the companies then we seem to think they can act like Ford Motors. Ray most likely has the knobs made in sets and does not have extra. If people really are so shallow as to now dissociate themselves from Rays products due to this little issue, they will further limit themselves as a result.
 
These products are truly some of the finest on offer at Head-Fi. I have had a nice history of listening to his products, both portable and home-set ups. Each product has military specifications and sounds incredible!

One of the best sounding home rigs I have ever heard had Ray's preamp as the heart.
 
I don't have a good answer for the OP. I only hope that when he gets his rig together that the small issue does not keep him from enjoying the wonderful piece of equipment he owns.

Your missing the point. He not honoring the warranty period plain and simple. Small family business hell he drives Lamborgini cars. Who kidding who here.

 

[silversurfer616]

The smaller the company/margins, the more you have to excell and fight for every potential customer.
Not in this case.....perhaps his products are heavily overpriced and the margins quite high so there is no need to deal with this minor issue.
 
Also,why doesn't he respond to this "****storm"?
Sitting the problem out?

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

The smaller the company/margins, the more you have to excell and fight for every potential customer.
Not in this case.....perhaps his products are heavily overpriced and the margins quite high so there is no need to deal with this minor issue.
 
Also,why doesn't he respond to this "****storm"?
Sitting the problem out?

Yeh < $1k worth of amp parts judging from that picture. the only pricey piece of component in that circuit is that balanced DACT stepped attenuator.

 

[atomiccow]

Quote:

Your missing the point. He not honoring the warranty period plain and simple. Small family business hell he drives Lamborgini cars. Who kidding who here.

 
lol.  What he drives and how he lives has nothing to do with how he conducts his business.  It's stupid both to say that he should not fix problems because he cannot afford to and to say that he should because fixing it is an insignificant amount of money for him.
 
The bottom line is that he is not honoring a warranty or, if he explicitly states cosmetic imperfections are not covered in warranty, that he provides really bad warranty in the first place.  I have had an RSA product warrantied before but I never dealt with RSA personally, the store I purchased from did the warranty for me.  Fair to say it took an excessive amount of time but in the end I did get a fixed one back.  RSA was one of the first to build high end dedicated headphone amps way before we had companies like Schiit so it is very strange to see a response like this.  Still though, looking at cases like Singlepower and Xin Feng, it's not to say trusted companies don't go bad for no apparent reason.
 

 

[Redcarmoose]

So are all the Darkstar knobs changing color? I would think that we would have had a couple more Darkstar owners posting photos on here? Why is that not the case. There are a couple Darkstar amps out there?
 
I just look at this a little different. I do not want to belittle the OP feelings in the slightest. I'm a headphone amp owner myself and would be upset too.
 
 
But........ You have to pay to play
 
I had a friend who owned an Acura NSX, in the first years they came out, the original rear tires only lasted a couple thousand miles. New clutches need to be put in often too. In the late 1990s that was considered an expensive car.
 
After one year I re-tubed my WA5 LE it was $600 in new tubes. Not to brag, but I live in a house that needs a ton of regular maintenance.I knew going in that would be the case and mentally prepared myself.
 
Please, we have a 3000K headphone amp. It's rare, it's not mass produced. Get a grip on the situation. Full retail was not paid. It could have been sent back to the original seller right? Who is to say that a cleaning chemical pulled off the anodizing.
 
You have folks here who have never heard an RSA amp posting how they would never buy one now due to this little issue. If they are so small minded they don't deserve to have this level of amp. They are fricking knobs for God's sake. We purchase this stuff in a world where these little amps melt down or they get intermittent shorts that are hard to find. We have these manufactures who go out of business and amps becoming nice door stops. But lets carry on here about how Ray is a bad business holder.
 

 
 
This OP needs to Man-up, get his knobs fixed and then tell us how much he loves the sound quality and manufacturing quality of the great amp he owns. He got a fantastic product!

 

[TheKillerPiglet]

Oh brother.
 
KP

 

[atomiccow]

Quote:

I had a friend who owned an Acura NSX, in the first years they came out, the original rear tires only lasted a couple thousand miles. New clutches need to be put in often too. In the late 1990s that was considered an expensive car.

 
LOL!  And does Honda come and tell you the fried clutch is totally normal and not covered by warranty?  What we have here is a case where if your car rusted in the first year of purchase and you approached the dealer, they tell you rusting is a totally normal side effect of steel and therefor isn't covered by warranty.  Yes powerful expensive cars break down a lot, but those are the companies that drive a new one to your house when it does. 
 
And seriously, expensive cars a horrible comparison since when it comes to expensive cars, people are crazy about aesthetic details.  Unless you're telling RSA to take a chapter from the Lancia history book, I wouldn't make this comparison.
 
Quote:

This OP needs to Man-up, get his knobs fixed and then tell us how much he loves the sound quality and manufacturing quality of the great amp he owns. He got a fantastic product!

 
I guess if his Darkstar explodes too then he should just rebuild it himself and come back to tell us how great the design is and that just because there's a million shorts in it due to shoddy assembly, its still great?  Ya the majority of the price is the price of the design of the amp and not the manufacture of it but that's not to say he didn't buy a manufactured product.  If the product fails weather from the design of it or the material of it, it is the  full fault of the seller of the product. 

 

[HeatFan12]

Unacceptable, whether it was $100 or $10,000.  Warranty is warranty.  Keep ya head up Vette...
 
lol....Moose, I guess your loyalty is clouding your judgement...You, out of all people know this is unacceptable...Especially Ray's response....And you come back hating with the Chinese companies....LMAO...If it would have been a Chinese company that was made aware of this situation, the OP would have had 5 sets of knobs already brother....
 

 

[bareyb]

Quote:

So are all the Darkstar knobs changing color? I would think that we would have had a couple more Darkstar owners posting photos on here? Why is that not the case. There are a couple Darkstar amps out there?
 
Please, we have a 3000K headphone amp. It's rare, it's not mass produced. Get a grip on the situation. Full retail was not paid. It could have been sent back to the original seller right? Who is to say that a cleaning chemical pulled off the anodizing..

 
Quote: from the OP

On Monday 03-04-2013, I sent Ray of RSA an email with a picture of the amp.
My email to him-
 
quote " Hello Ray, how are you sir?
I have purchased a 10-12 month old DarkStar.  The only issue with the amp is the discoloration (purple hue) of the knobs.  Normally, the condition indicates insufficient of black dye absorption.  Is this something you will warranty?  Picture attached to email.  Can I send you the parts only to swap or do you need the amp?  Thank you. " end quote.
 
His reply-
quote "  That is normal with all of them. Cheers. " end quote.
 

 
According to RSA's customer service rep,  it is "NORMAL" for the knobs to discolor and it happens to "ALL OF THEM". So either he's lying and it rarely happens or he's telling the truth and it happens all the time and it's not covered by the warranty. Take your pick, either one sucks.... 

 

[Taowolf51]

Wow, I'm amazed a small audio company could have such horrible customer service, normally the smaller businesses have the best customer service.
BTW, $1250 for a headphone amp chassis? What the **** is it made of? If it's just anodized aluminum, my whole damn computer is made of anodized aluminum, I paid $150 for the case and it's massive. Not to mention the fact that my DAC, headphone amp, and external hard drive are all also anodized aluminum.
 
Looking at Ray's site, there is no part of the warranty stating that some parts aren't covered, or that he has the right to deny a claim.

 

[C.C.S.]

@OP: Sorry to hear about this. Such poor customer service is truly unacceptable and reflects very poorly on the way RSA does business. I'm glad that I'm done purchasing gear for now because I would hate to run into a problem like this one, especially if I decided to make the jump to something very expensive like Darkstar. I hope you get it fixed soon and can put this behind you. And I hope that Ray gets in here and reads some of this so that he realizes that (whether he answered or whether customer service representatives work the email inbox for him) his business is not being handled properly.

 

[meat01]

Quote:

BTW, $1250 for a headphone amp chassis? What the **** is it made of? If it's just anodized aluminum, my whole damn computer is made of anodized aluminum, I paid $150 for the case and it's massive. Not to mention the fact that my DAC, headphone amp, and external hard drive are all also anodized aluminum.

You can't compare mass produced computer cases with custom machined chassis' in low quantities. I doubt Ray has a huge quantity of Darkstar chassis'.  The $1250 is Ray's price to the consumer with profit.
 
It shouldn't cost the OP anything so, since it should be covered under warranty.

 

[tokendog]

Your analogies only work if the warranty states that such things are covered.  Tires are not covered in car warranties.  Preventative maintenance is not covered in home warranties.  Unless someone can show where Ray specifically says in his warranty that cosmetic damage is not covered, it should be covered AND if it is not covered, then he could at least be sympathetic and respectful enough of his customers to explain it in a professional manner rather than curt one line responses that are weighted with finality rather than constructive alternatives to one of his product's unique and isolated issues.
 
In the end, the OP is a customer and one customers opinion may not matter to the next customer; but it most definitely SHOULD matter to the business owner who, as such, should want future business and positive word of mouth.  A business can be so successful or "successful" enough that the owner can turn a blind eye to the isolated disappointments, right or wrong, but it's still loss revenue.  I, as a customer, have my own subjective definition of good customer service and while it may differ from yours, it is my choice as it is others whether or not they find it acceptable how Ray is handling and whether or not they would like to spend their hard earned cash with his business or else where.  If you can not appreciate that, then what concern of that is mine?  I'm not trying to win your approval but I am going to point out to a business when I believe they have handled a situation poorly.  If nothing comes of it, so be it, but at least I still have my money and RSA doesn't.
 
Quote:

So are all the Darkstar knobs changing color? I would think that we would have had a couple more Darkstar owners posting photos on here? Why is that not the case. There are a couple Darkstar amps out there?
 
I just look at this a little different. I do not want to belittle the OP feelings in the slightest. I'm a headphone amp owner myself and would be upset too.
 
 
But........ You have to pay to play
 
I had a friend who owned an Acura NSX, in the first years they came out, the original rear tires only lasted a couple thousand miles. New clutches need to be put in often too. In the late 1990s that was considered an expensive car.
 
After one year I re-tubed my WA5 LE it was $600 in new tubes. Not to brag, but I live in a house that needs a ton of regular maintenance.I knew going in that would be the case and mentally prepared myself.
 
Please, we have a 3000K headphone amp. It's rare, it's not mass produced. Get a grip on the situation. Full retail was not paid. It could have been sent back to the original seller right? Who is to say that a cleaning chemical pulled off the anodizing.
 
You have folks here who have never heard an RSA amp posting how they would never buy one now due to this little issue. If they are so small minded they don't deserve to have this level of amp. They are fricking knobs for God's sake. We purchase this stuff in a world where these little amps melt down or they get intermittent shorts that are hard to find. We have these manufactures who go out of business and amps becoming nice door stops. But lets carry on here about how Ray is a bad business holder.
 

 
 
This OP needs to Man-up, get his knobs fixed and then tell us how much he loves the sound quality and manufacturing quality of the great amp he owns. He got a fantastic product!

 

[Redcarmoose]

Quote:

 
LOL!  And does Honda come and tell you the fried clutch is totally normal and not covered by warranty?  What we have here is a case where if your car rusted in the first year of purchase and you approached the dealer, they tell you rusting is a totally normal side effect of steel and therefor isn't covered by warranty.  Yes powerful expensive cars break down a lot, but those are the companies that drive a new one to your house when it does. 
 
And seriously, expensive cars a horrible comparison since when it comes to expensive cars, people are crazy about aesthetic details.  Unless you're telling RSA to take a chapter from the Lancia history book, I wouldn't make this comparison.
 
 
I guess if his Darkstar explodes too then he should just rebuild it himself and come back to tell us how great the design is and that just because there's a million shorts in it due to shoddy assembly, its still great?  Ya the majority of the price is the price of the design of the amp and not the manufacture of it but that's not to say he didn't buy a manufactured product.  If the product fails weather from the design of it or the material of it, it is the  full fault of the seller of the product. 

Thank-you, that is the point I'm making, the amp works fine and will continue to do so. There is no thread on Head-Fi discussing poor manufacturing. Just these little knob finishes.
 
Quote:

Unacceptable, whether it was $100 or $10,000.  Warranty is warranty.  Keep ya head up Vette...
 
lol....Moose, I guess your loyalty is clouding your judgement...You, out of all people know this is unacceptable...Especially Ray's response....And you come back hating with the Chinese companies....LMAO...If it would have been a Chinese company that was made aware of this situation, the OP would have had 5 sets of knobs already brother....
 

Thanks for the input here guys. I don't hate the China gear. I 'm just saying that someday the quality may get fantastic, but we all know it is what it is at the present time. I'm pretty sure my case was extruded in China. So I guess my amp is half China-Gear.

 

[Taowolf51]

Quote:

You can't compare mass produced computer cases with custom machined chassis' in low quantities. I doubt Ray has a huge quantity of Darkstar chassis'.  The $1250 is Ray's price to the consumer with profit.
 
It shouldn't cost the OP anything so, since it should be covered under warranty.

 
JDSLabs custom makes their own chassis (with the exception of the Cmoy BB and Objective 2) out of anodized aluminum. The stuff they make with those chassis doesn't break $200, which includes the product itself.