Tomahawk or XIN Super micro
Mar 19, 2007 at 12:06 PM Post #31 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by aluren /img/forum/go_quote.gif
how much was that???
evil_smiley.gif



If I tell you I'll have to kill you!
 
Mar 19, 2007 at 1:02 PM Post #32 of 68
Call me crazy...which some will oblige.
I kinda like this wait for my Supermicro. It gives me plenty of time to pick out what I want to go with it...such as sources and headphones.
As for his email responses, I read all over this forum that when you ask Xin when it'll be here, he just says "soon" or something like that and it never is...so I just don't get my hopes up and think my order is going to be any different than anyone elses around here. I know it'll get here, so I'm just going to sit and wait for my amp...and appreciate it when it gets here. With Xin, I know what I'm getting.

As for Ray's "superior" customer service, I haven't found that. I know this will ruffle a lot of people's feathers, but he wasn't that responsive to my emails. He rarely answered them in a timely manner (3-4 days), or didn't answer my email at all...this was when I was asking questions about his product because I was interested in buying one. Everyone brags about how great his customer service is, but I was a bit let down by that. I know I'm not alone on this feeling, because I had to contact another head-fi member to find out how to purchase an amp from Ray...he felt the same way as me.
Maybe I'm just spoiled because I mostly deal with Ken (ALO) and Vinnie (RWA)...those two are great at answering my questions.

***Disclaimer - After I did purchase an amp from Ray, he did answer all his emails****
 
Mar 19, 2007 at 6:08 PM Post #34 of 68
I think it is great to have such great choices in quality amps. This wasn't quite so true a couple of years ago. With the hard work of Xin, Ray and many others, we reap the reward.
 
Mar 19, 2007 at 6:24 PM Post #35 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by nickknutson /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Call me crazy...which some will oblige.
I kinda like this wait for my Supermicro. It gives me plenty of time to pick out what I want to go with it...such as sources and headphones.
As for his email responses, I read all over this forum that when you ask Xin when it'll be here, he just says "soon" or something like that and it never is...so I just don't get my hopes up and think my order is going to be any different than anyone elses around here. I know it'll get here, so I'm just going to sit and wait for my amp...and appreciate it when it gets here. With Xin, I know what I'm getting.

As for Ray's "superior" customer service, I haven't found that. I know this will ruffle a lot of people's feathers, but he wasn't that responsive to my emails. He rarely answered them in a timely manner (3-4 days), or didn't answer my email at all...this was when I was asking questions about his product because I was interested in buying one. Everyone brags about how great his customer service is, but I was a bit let down by that. I know I'm not alone on this feeling, because I had to contact another head-fi member to find out how to purchase an amp from Ray...he felt the same way as me.
Maybe I'm just spoiled because I mostly deal with Ken (ALO) and Vinnie (RWA)...those two are great at answering my questions.

***Disclaimer - After I did purchase an amp from Ray, he did answer all his emails****


I had similar (although Ray didn't always answer my emails post-purchase) experiences.

I would say this - RSA: better build quality by FAR. Sound/features - XIN wins. CS - they're both about equal. Price? Xin is cheaper (notice I didn't say better value). micro IV is ~$180. TH ~ $300. Xin's amps can be a little Grado-ish in their build look and a little cheap on the quality (parts like jacks and volume knobs, etc.) In the end, if you don't care about buying both and selling the loser off, go for it. I still love my SMIV above all other amps, but in the end, I wish Xin would have charged me an extra $50 for the amp and made it look/feel like an SR-71...
 
Mar 19, 2007 at 7:34 PM Post #36 of 68
Perhaps I'll add my own experiences regarding Ray & Xin:

I agree with the point that Ray does not always answer emails promptly, he never replied to an email I sent him in January. And he took 4 days to reply to my latest one.

Xin much to my surprise did answer my 2nd email, he took 4 days as well. He did ignore the 1st one I sent him 2 weeks prior.

Yes Ken (ALO) & Vinnie (RWA) reply so much faster.

However I must say one thing about Xin:

He refunded me in less than 3 hrs from when I sent the email!!!
 
Mar 19, 2007 at 7:39 PM Post #37 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by aluren /img/forum/go_quote.gif
yeah it's like the bass just came out of nowhere!! so what should i expect out of my th in the 350-450 hour range?



Imaging, "air" and dimension improve, HFs get cleaner (smoother edges), low-level dynamics get clearer, more controlled & more refined (similar to SR-71). There may be more but I don't recall just now and don't have notes here.

Cheers!
Peter
 
Mar 20, 2007 at 4:49 PM Post #40 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatDane /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I once had Xin reply to an e-mail within around 3 hours! I was in shock.

If Xin could put his Mini and Micro in an aluminum case that would be sweet.
etysmile.gif



actually, from my experience, xin replies pretty quick when it's a question about sales... emails about ordering status? you can pretty much forget about that...
 
Mar 20, 2007 at 10:05 PM Post #41 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by aluren /img/forum/go_quote.gif
actually, from my experience, xin replies pretty quick when it's a question about sales... emails about ordering status? you can pretty much forget about that...


lol

Actually, I think it was when I asked if I could upgrade to a Macro from Mini when I'd sent it back for upgrades...he said yes but I decided not to in the end. I haven't exchanged a lot of e-mails with Xin but most were returned in 2 to 4 days.
 
Mar 20, 2007 at 11:36 PM Post #42 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by aluren /img/forum/go_quote.gif
actually, from my experience, xin replies pretty quick when it's a question about sales... emails about ordering status? you can pretty much forget about that...


That's been my experience too. My emails to Xin regarding sales were replied to within 24-hours which is great considering the timezone differences. One email regarding shipping wasn't replied to for 4-5 days but that was when Xin was at his busiest after the generation IV amp release so I'm happy to cut him some slack for that one. I don't think there's any chance Xin or Ray are going to run off with anyone's money.
 
Mar 21, 2007 at 1:01 AM Post #43 of 68
Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
That's been my experience too. My emails to Xin regarding sales were replied to within 24-hours which is great considering the timezone differences. One email regarding shipping wasn't replied to for 4-5 days but that was when Xin was at his busiest after the generation IV amp release so I'm happy to cut him some slack for that one. I don't think there's any chance Xin or Ray are going to run off with anyone's money.


I'm going on 9 days now with no response. Mine had to do with sales.
 
Mar 21, 2007 at 5:56 PM Post #44 of 68
I owned a Hornet, and a Raptor. Both bought used.

I also owned SuperMarcoIIIv6, Mini III, Micro III, and SuperMacro IV. The III's were bought direct from Xin, and the IV bought used.

I dealt with both Ray and Xin. On after sales service, I never enjoyed the degree of customer service from Ray that many have praised about. My Hornet has a loose screw (due to poor tapping of the threads) which one can never tighten up. My Raptor PSU never sits square on a flat surface after the super PSU upgrade. I asked for an extended DC power cord which was never done. Although there were two way communications, at the end I was not satisfied - because I still have to live with a PSU that does not sit right, and I have to order a new rig just to make room to accommodate the Raptor without a longer DC cord.

My emails to Xin were seldom promptly responded - be it pre-sales or after sales. Yes, it did not feel good either. But at the end, Xin did what I asked him to do - more often well above my expectations / original requests. I think this is where the bottom line is - to me, Xin delivered, period. And I think this is most important.

I would say both are honest persons, but different attitude, different approach to their customers. In my cases, Xin delivered more.

Sonically, I prefer the SMini III and SuperMacro IV to the Hornet. May be this is because of my musical tastes.

F. Lo
 
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