Well said elnero. And given the 'known' facts, yes, some of what is said on are perfectly understandable conclustions/opinions. But, knowing what's really going on, it's amazing seeing what has been said thus far.
Some facts. Note, these are neither FOR or AGAINST Storm, just some plain simple facts.
1) The soldering: I asked Ken. He says the PCBs have circuit paths that are THROUGH the plastic board (called Plated-Through-Hole (PTH)). So joins can be made on either/both sides of the board. As such, you may see solder on one side, but it may not be very apparent on the other. Here is an example of such a PCB:
http://www.poonzub.com/shopping/admi...2548133457.gif
Just to avoid this question being raised again, I've suggested to Ken that he solder so that it not only (already) IS a good join, but so that it also LOOKS like a good join to those who don't know about PTH and might jump to conclusions on cursory inspection.
2) Packaging of the outstanding DAC orders has been arranged by a chosen date (obviously between now and the release date published on the Storm site). This is NOT speculation, it is fact. Ken bounced some ideas off me RE packing methods, but he seemed to know exactly what he wanted in the first place (and it should be very good). I've probably still got the links for the companies he was considering in my history.
3) I was ALSO against the Pandora impressions thread, reason being it would only fan flames and put more pressure on Ken when he was/is so close to shipping anyway. No point really. In case anyone is wondering why Hugz hasn't posted at all the past few days, it's because he's moving house. Not sure when he'll be done.
4) Yes, the COEM AU DACs were D02 orders, and occured well before the Head-Fi orders discussed on here. The reason Hugz currently has the DAC is because Ken decided to do a last minute upgrade: Hugz found that he has about 245V on his AC outlet, standard AC in Australia is about 240V. While the DAC works/ed perfectly fine at 240V when Ken tested, he wasn't quite 100% happy with it at 245V, apparently there is a MINISCULE mechanical hum from the transformer, which Ken decided might bother some people. Which is surprising because they were a very decent brand. So he is shipping COEM AU replacement transformers for the 2 DACs (a simple swap). They cost 3x what the original transformers cost (!) and apparently run dead silent. Ken paid 200USD just to have 30 of these new transformers shipped priority from the US to Hong Kong! Have any of you ever paid that much shipping for anything? Even my Audionote DAC only cost 150USD from US to Australia and that was SLOOOOW (plus after a month or so delay waiting for parts already). I've actually never seen a package move as fast as these transformers in all my years buying overseas lol.
See, while some of us are piddling against a wall and posting threads to try and force ppl into action (esp those not involved), others are dealing with their own problems. Granted, Ken went out on the market too early with the D02. He KNOWS this, and this is part of why the big delay - to rectify the problems. He said this in one of his posts. Also that he was over optimistic RE dates. He knows a year is too long, and from discussions with him, it's obvious he won't be doing the same ever again.
Anyway, the two Australian Pandoras are being held a few more days for this little upgrade/cherry on top. All the Pandoras to hit the states will be shipped with the final transformers inside. There will also be a very minor change to the case cover which, although minor, also provides benefits. Again, all the DACs hitting the states will have this upon receipt.
Things are on schedule for the ship/release date on Storm's site.
While this isn't a fact, I think it's an interesting point: WRT Eddy Wu rocking up to some shopfront and noone knowing who Ken is - Eddy sells products that compete with Storm, what incentive would he have to put any effort into finding Ken? Ken says he's never been visited by Eddy, and he has only moved work location once in the past year (after he was apparently visit by Mr Wu). The police found Ken easily enough, shouldn't have been hard for Eddy. But again, I was not there, and noone else here was either, so this little part is kind of moot, just worth mulling over IMO.
Right now, the situation really IS just a matter of waiting 10 days and then watching your tracking number(s). Oh, and the 28th of July (the site on the Storm site) actually falls on a Saturday in Hong Kong, and there are time differences between HK and the US. So for god's sake, don't lose your heads if you don't wake up on the 28th and don't see a tracking number in your inbox. Give him 24-48 hours lee way, we are talking international trading/shipping after all. Just remember, sometimes when you order something and get a tracking number, you actually receive the package before the tracking site is even up to date. I've received stuff before the tracking number was even recognized on the tracking site.
BTW, I'll get shirty if anyone PMs me asking for more information because I've posted ALL the FACTS I know for sure at this point in time. I know that phrase has been said on this (and other) threads before, but I think it's justified here because so far this is one of the only posts with real and useful information regarding the current state of the Pandoras. Ken has also partly assembled 30 more Pandoras. I believe the only indication of how long it takes Storm to make and ship them will be demonstrated by how quickly this NEXT batch ships. You can't count design/prototype time as 'lead-in' time for any project, Ken's only been building this bunch of Pandoras the past 4 weeks or so (as evidenced by the sudden appearance of pictures and information).
As far as Ken is concerned, he believes/hopes that those who waited will be happy with a DAC which, when compared against the current market, is probably worth about 1200USD+, for which those who were put out have only paid 500USD. Granted, this wasn't the choice of the customers with outstanding orders, but because of problems faced with the D02 manufacturing process, and what would be involved in correcting them PROPERLY (some of which couldn't be done because of the design, EG the battery residing inside the case), it was going to be quicker to just redesign the DAC. I garantee that Sony et al take longer than a year to put out any product.
And as far as Ken only 'getting into gear' after being visited by the police, this is rubbish. Ken was distraught when the cops visited because he was well into putting together prototypes and they came along and delayed him all over again by taking important papers and files. Just what he didn't need.
Anyway, I just saw that there is so much BS floating around in this lynch mob thread and one or two others, that a bit of real information was sorely needed. And if anyone's gonna get on my case about why I didn't say this stuff earlier, it's because most of what I said has only happened in the past week. Anything I've stated RE events with Ken that were said a long time were tossed aside as mere fairy tales when, really, there's not one of you who can disprove that the events ever happened.
Second to last: I haven't promoted Ken's products in ANY way, any more than anyone else who posts information about products either on sale, or soon to be. If I ever suspected Ken of being a fraud, I wouldn't have supported him for even a second.
Blitzula: I think Ken asked a very poignant question "did I kill his father????"
And finally, its RINCEwind, not RICEwind, go read a Terry Pratchett book!!!
Ergh, War and Peace Part 2... Sorry Hugz, but I DID tell you what happen in this thread if you started it.
I'll butt out now and just wait til the 28th like everyone else should. I'm sure this will be more useful than detrimental though. Information is the most useful thing in this situation right now.
Ben.
