[mllm1]

Hello,
I am not sure if this is the right forum to ask this (my apologies if it isn't), but I am just writing in case anybody knows if Promitheus Audio and Mr Nicholas Chua is still in business and answering emails..I ordered a custom made preamp and paid fully more than one year ago...and lately in the last 4-5 months I dont receive any answers from the emails I send him...If anybody knows if he has changed his email address or else please let me know...
Thank you very much,
Martin

 

[nagydann]

I have the same problem, although I only ordered a pair of special Reference tranformers for my Promitheus DAC. I paid via PayPal. No answer since then. More then 14 months now....

 

[mllm1]

I got a reply from Derrick Chua...he said Nicholas is on sabbatical leave...and he is supposed to be looking for my order..but so far I haven't been told what is happening nor when they will ship it...and I keep writing to him from time to time but only getting sparse responses...I dont know what is happening, maybe they are swamped with orders. I keep insisting and I hope they will honor the order I made and paid so long ago...but I cannot hide I am really fearful they might not...Keep me posted how it is going with yours. Thank you for your response.

 

[gander]

Hello all,
 
I just exchanged a round of emails with Mr. Chua so it looks like he is back from his sabbatical.  He told me that his orders are taking 8 weeks to get out the door now.  He said pictures are out of date on his web site, but to look at his facebook account to see all the cool new stuff he is doing.  His new C-core transformers he says are head and shoulders about the standard transformers, and they are only $200 more for each set.  For example, for his EL84 tube amp it would be $400 extra to get all C-core transformers.  He said only one person ordered the EL84 standard - the rest have all been C-core orders.
 
But be very careful. There is a guy on eBay selling the TVC passive preamp and it is new and unopened, but it is a model that is two years old. He is an authorized reseller, but he got his stock two years ago. I made the mistake of ordering it because Mr. Chua has pictures that are two years out of date on his web site. However, Mr. Chua told me that there is maybe 3% difference between that unit and the current standard (non-C-core) TVC he offers.  
 
I don't know about all the claims that he never gets back to you. But with me, having never conversed with him before, we must have exchanged about a half dozen emails. And while his English is not the best, he took time to deal with me and I really appreciated that.
 
Gary

 

[mllm1]

Hello Gary, Thank you for posting your experience. I also got very pleasant emails from him, and he seemed to be willing to go the extra-mile to get the customer happy when talking about what I needed and what woudl bebest. BUt the fact remains for some reason I never got delivered the preamp nor the cables. And then I talk to Derrick Chua, since Nicholas was on sabbatical..and he told they were working on it..and that they would send me the cables first and they were almost ready..that was like 3 or 4 weeks ago..and now I don't get any answers from him (Nor Nicholas, whom I have tried to email him again now he is back from sabbatical leave), and I haven't received any cables either...IOT has been more than a yuear, probably 2 already or more, since I paid the full amount of the preamp and cables..-SO I don't knwo what is the problem. It is true that I always told him I wasn't ina hurry and he could take his time so it was convenient to him to build my preamp..but now I am really worried if I will get anything really, since to wait so long is ridiculous...Maybe there has been a mismatch in th eshipping department..since Nicholas told me he thought it had been shipped...maybe it was but he never produced any proof of shipping..nor did i receive any notification nor email saying the items had been shipped etc...SO anyway..I am writing my experience ..to let others know..and quite frankly also to put pressure on Nicholas and Derrick to see if they aren't oblivious on my predicament. I can wait..but i want to know if the items I paid for are going to be shipped or if they can give me a shipping deadline they will seriously try to comply...
THank you very much,
Martin

 

[szvencel]

Hello,
 
Any news on your order(s)?
I just wanted to contact Nicholas for a possible order but if there are problems I will not order from them.
 
Thanks and regards,
László

 

[szvencel]

Quote:

Hello all,
 
I just exchanged a round of emails with Mr. Chua so it looks like he is back from his sabbatical.  He told me that his orders are taking 8 weeks to get out the door now.  He said pictures are out of date on his web site, but to look at his facebook account to see all the cool new stuff he is doing.  His new C-core transformers he says are head and shoulders about the standard transformers, and they are only $200 more for each set.  For example, for his EL84 tube amp it would be $400 extra to get all C-core transformers.  He said only one person ordered the EL84 standard - the rest have all been C-core orders.
 
But be very careful. There is a guy on eBay selling the TVC passive preamp and it is new and unopened, but it is a model that is two years old. He is an authorized reseller, but he got his stock two years ago. I made the mistake of ordering it because Mr. Chua has pictures that are two years out of date on his web site. However, Mr. Chua told me that there is maybe 3% difference between that unit and the current standard (non-C-core) TVC he offers.  
 
I don't know about all the claims that he never gets back to you. But with me, having never conversed with him before, we must have exchanged about a half dozen emails. And while his English is not the best, he took time to deal with me and I really appreciated that.
 
Gary

May I ask what is his facebook account?

 

[mllm1]

Hi, I received just two days ago the cables, after much insisting...but I am still waiting for the preamp...they say they are building it....but it has been for more than a year that i am waiting...I hope some day they will send it to me...i keep insisting and writing emails to them regularly...
Let me know how your experience goes if you decide to buy from them...
Thank you, 
Martin

 

[gander]

I have had another issue with Nicholas since last June 2012.  It is now February 2013 - 9 months so far. I ordered one of his el84 tube amps big-ass version, with his huge transformers - at least 80 pounds.  The amp arrived very damaged, with one of the transformers completely broken off from the metal case. Some DHL gorilla dropped it HARD. The transformers are not anchored down with strong enough screws.  Also, the underside metal plate was completely bent.  I sent pictures to Nicholas and he admitted in email that it was a total loss and told me he reported this to the insurance company in Malaysia.  I have doubts about this, since DHL as never come to inspect the unit.  I told Nicholas to just refund my money and have DHL pick it up and he refused, told me that he would not refund me until the insurance paid up, which is complete crap.  A seller would never do that in the US. I contacted PayPal and they said try to work it out with the buyer, which I did. I have no idea how many times I emailed Nicholas about this. I should have known this, but PayPal has a 45-day cutoff for filing a claim, so that they can put the money back into your account and then go after the seller for the amount.  I didn't realize the 45 days expired so PayPal wouldn't deal with a claim, and I'm sure that Nicholas knows that.  
 
I finally gave up after I have no idea how many emails, and told him if he put $200 into my PayPal account to help cover repairs I would forget the claim and keep the amp, and he agreed.  I still have not seen his money in my PayPal account.
 
Just be aware that if there is damage on anything he ships from Malaysia, you are stuck and it is very doubtful he will take care of you.  I was left twisting in the wind.

 

[gander]

Nicholas Chu just put the money into into my PayPal account (less 3% of course), so he was good to his word about that.  However, if you order anything from him, just know 1) he may make it sound like he is doing you a favor by insuring it (I have that in writing that he said that), and 2) if you want to return it because it is damaged (and have him/DHL pay for the shipping), good luck to you.  I will NEVER order anything from long distance again like this, unless I have good reason to trust the situation.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Nicholas Chu just put the money into into my PayPal account (less 3% of course), so he was good to his word about that.  However, if you order anything from him, just know 1) he may make it sound like he is doing you a favor by insuring it (I have that in writing that he said that), and 2) if you want to return it because it is damaged (and have him/DHL pay for the shipping), good luck to you.  I will NEVER order anything from long distance again like this, unless I have good reason to trust the situation.

 
 
Having just received a TOTALLY trashed darkvoice 337 form a Candian seller I have also come to this conclusion.
 
I do not blame the HF seller / member.  He took the time to pack the amp and tubes well enough with foam, bubble wrap and wadded newspaper.  He bubble wrapped the tubes in a separate taped box, and everything should have been fine.
 
It is US CUSTOMS who is at fault.  They tore into everything and just threw it back into the box very carelessly.  Two of the tubes were not bubble wrapped!!!  Just semi-lose flopping around glass-against-glass in the smaller box.  The center tube cage was smashed inwards on both sides, crushed into a trapezoid, and two of its metal mounting pins sheared off and were lose inside the amp chassis.
 
One of the toggle on/off switches broke off completely.  The impact was hard enough to completely destroy the inner workings of the switch, so I didn't even have a "nub" left to power cycle the circuit.
 
I should have taken before / after pics, but  I was too PISSED OFF (!!) at US CUSTOMS to photo document the situation.  I was able to repair it myself and it runs great.  I even modded the stock switches more to my liking with MUCH smaller ones.  But sadly, I too will not be purchasing anything that has to go through US customs again.

 

[gander]

I feel your pain, but my issue is not with the damage.  It is with how the seller handled it.  Things get broken in transit sometimes.
 
The seller should always take care of the buyer, and deal with the other stuff on his end. Nicholas said it was insured (as all sellers should/must insure such things), AND HE REFUSED TO REFUND MY MONEY AND HAVE DHL TAKE IT BACK until the insurance paid him. He claimed he made an insurance claim, BUT DHL NEVER CALLED ME OR CAME TO INSPECT.  I called DHL US about the damage as soon as it happened, and they told me it was out of their hands, and that DHL Malaysia and the insurance company there was handling it. DHL USA WOULD ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE THE ONES WHO DELIVERED IT, AND THERE WAS CLEAR DAMAGE ON THE BOX. Even the corner of the faceplate was bent, and the underside was buckled! 
1) Nicholas did NOT package it properly. He should have put padding over each transformer and at least zip-tied each one down securely.
2) He did not build the amp properly. I requested a metal case, not wooden, and he had to have a case made - he had never done that before apparently, and the metal of the case is probably fine for regular-sized transformers, but not the the c-core transformers and extra large power tranformers I ordered. The top and the underside should have been much heavier than it is.
3) Nicholas should have said, "I'm so sorry that happened. I will contact DHL immediately, have them come inspect the unit, put the money back into your PayPal account right away after that.". But no.  PayPal said to try to work with him BUT EVEN PAYPAL FAILED TO MENTION I HAD ONLY 45 DAYS TO FILE A CLAIM, where they would assess the situation and if warranted they would put the money back into my account and then go after the seller.  Nicholas would take two weeks to reply to an email.  Only when I threatened a claim with PayPal did he respond right away, and of course he had no problems with anything after the 45 days.  Once a piece of equipment is out of his hands, YOU are out of his hands.
 
Sellers in other countries go by completely different rules than we do in the US.  Buyer beware, especially from him.
 
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
Quote:

 
 
 
Having just received a TOTALLY trashed darkvoice 337 form a Candian seller I have also come to this conclusion.
 
I do not blame the HF seller / member.  He took the time to pack the amp and tubes well enough with foam, bubble wrap and wadded newspaper.  He bubble wrapped the tubes in a separate taped box, and everything should have been fine.
 
It is US CUSTOMS who is at fault.  They tore into everything and just threw it back into the box very carelessly.  Two of the tubes were not bubble wrapped!!!  Just semi-lose flopping around glass-against-glass in the smaller box.  The center tube cage was smashed inwards on both sides, crushed into a trapezoid, and two of its metal mounting pins sheared off and were lose inside the amp chassis.
 
One of the toggle on/off switches broke off completely.  The impact was hard enough to completely destroy the inner workings of the switch, so I didn't even have a "nub" left to power cycle the circuit.
 
I should have taken before / after pics, but  I was too PISSED OFF (!!) at US CUSTOMS to photo document the situation.  I was able to repair it myself and it runs great.  I even modded the stock switches more to my liking with MUCH smaller ones.  But sadly, I too will not be purchasing anything that has to go through US customs again.

 

[NaranKPatel]

I realize this is an older thread but I'm having a problem with responses from Nicholas too, I've been waiting for response for a month now, he appeared responsive at first and sent updates and pictures of the build not that long ago and now all that has just stopped, it's been 4 months since the order was placed, so way over of 45 PayPal limit, so it appears the majority of his orders, if not off the shelf ready to ship are buyer beware risks?
 
He had said 6-8 weeks, it's double that so its way over the estimate. I find it difficult to believe PayPal transactions where a seller goes over all his regular contract period i.e. 45 should be allowed?
 
Anyone else experience long delays with Promitheus Audio lately?
 
Regards,
Naran

 

[mhamam]

yes