[immtbiker]

I know that this is pouring more salt into the wound, but at a mini-meet at Bozebutton's yesterday, his ES-1 left channel bias voltage was changing on it's own, and even after adjusting it, the left channel was fuzzy sounding and the amp couldn't be used (it has all of the upgrades possible at the time).
What does one do in this situation knowing that repairs are talking a long time to get back.
Without threads like this, an unsuspecting Singlepower customer might send their amp or power supply back to Colorado (at a seriously costly shipping expense) and wait an unacceptable amount of time for a repair that may or may not work.
Tom is a very patient man who fortunately has other equipment to tide him over, but this is part of the pattern being discussed here.

How many ES-1's have gone out without needing a repair or multiple repairs.
It seems to be the norm. He waited more than a year for this unit and had some false delivery expectations and promises, and now, it is unusable.

 

[panyncor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hankins /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also the reason I might do bussiness with Mikhail again, is because of all the products from almost all the headphone and preamp builders here and in the speaker forums. His have once again proved to be the ones i like the most. If I do order again, i will set up some different rules that will have to be met both by Mikhail and myself.

I'm not contemplating any new purchases -- can't afford any

-- but I wouldn't buy anything else from Singlepower (nothing big, at least) without confidence that the recent problems have been solved. I feel I've gotten an amazing piece of a equipment that is one of a kind (for now; see below). However, buying deluxe gear should be a joy not a hassle, and that's what Mikhail desperately needs to fix. I'm happy with what I have but not happy with what I had to endure in order to have it.

I had a good talk with Mikhail at the end of the week, and he wasn't merely apologetic but genuinely self-critical, indicating that he really has seen the light. He has a lot of people on staff now but more important is an apparent dedication to exercise true business discipline. He's putting his R&D work on hiatus, is limiting custom builds for the time being, and will be setting up standard "off-the-shelf" product lines. The Harmony XLR will be one of those product lines, and it will be offered with a finite number of option sets (similar, I think, to what he's done with the Extreme).

 

[takezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know that this is pouring more salt into the wound, but at a mini-meet at Bozebutton's yesterday, his ES-1 left channel bias voltage was changing on it's own, and even after adjusting it, the left channel was fuzzy sounding ...

it sounds like a classic case of an input cap gone bad... can't hold a charge and
results in hum from voltage overload in that channel... simple replacement fix as
long as one can pinpoint the cap(s) involved... do-able for any decent electrician
experienced in audio.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panyncor /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had a good talk with Mikhail at the end of the week, and he wasn't merely apologetic but genuinely self-critical, indicating that he really has seen the light. He has a lot of people on staff now but more important is an apparent dedication to exercise true business discipline. He's putting his R&D work on hiatus, is limiting custom builds for the time being, and will be setting up standard "off-the-shelf" product lines. The Harmony XLR will be one of those product lines, and it will be offered with a finite number of option sets (similar, I think, to what he's done with the Extreme).

that's interesting. we'll see if any of it really happens. plus even if it does, mikhail's reputation has been severely damaged, imo. that's not going to be easy to repair.

 

[panyncor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif How many ES-1's have gone out without needing a repair or multiple repairs. It seems to be the norm. He waited more than a year for this unit and had some false delivery expectations and promises, and now, it is unusable.

Yeah, that's really no good. In many cases, I think it's best to ask for the cross-shipment of a replacement unit rather than surrendering a defective unit for repair by some uncertain date. With highly customized gear, though, that becomes difficult.

 

[panyncor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's interesting. we'll see if any of it really happens. plus even if it does, mikhail's reputation has been severely damaged, imo. that's not going to be easy to repair.

Yep, I agree.

 

[Afrikane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know that this is pouring more salt into the wound, but at a mini-meet at Bozebutton's yesterday, his ES-1 left channel bias voltage was changing on it's own, and even after adjusting it, the left channel was fuzzy sounding and the amp couldn't be used (it has all of the upgrades possible at the time). Snip How many ES-1's have gone out without needing a repair or multiple repairs. It seems to be the norm. He waited more than a year for this unit and had some false delivery expectations and promises, and now, it is unusable.

This is pretty much what happened to mine with the old biasing system. I then sent it to SP to "upgrade" to the new biasing system and to correct the cross wired HE90 jack. About six or seven months later I got the amp back and it worked for while but two months ago serious bias drift reared its head again on all channels. In the end it got bad enough to render the amp unusable. Fried a few 3D21As, EL34s and a pair of 5687s too.
I was going to sell the amp but had to can that plan when the problems started; I will most likely give the amp to a local DIYer to gut for parts. I am permanently done with the so called high end from SP.

 

[mikeymad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif How many ES-1's have gone out without needing a repair or multiple repairs.

This could be an entirely new thread. Mine went completely silent recently, and without doing a 'self repair' it would be either still dead or in the blackhole of repair (and a lot of shipping charges).

I guess the other side of the question would be: Has there been any ES-1's or ES-2's that have had no issues?

I don't know of any.

cheers,

 

[blubliss]

Oh no

. I may have a bias problem too on my ES-2. It started when I put in a set of Mullard XF2 and one channel would not bias. I moved tubes and it followed the tube so i thought it was a bad tube??

After that, i put my fat boys back in and all was well until i tried to put 6SN7s in the middles stage instead of the 6BL7s i had in there. Same bias craziness on one channel. So, i went back to the 6BL7s and all seemed well.

Now, last week i put in the 6SN7 again and all is well. This is crazy.

I have had a problem with 2C51 in front. Almost all tubes i use create a hum. I have found a few quiet pairs. Mikhail said it was all a tube problem.

Now i wonder if there is something else wrong, bad caps, etc. I am lost in this arena. Any ideas from the more knowledgeable?

This amp is certainly not going back for now.

 

[bozebuttons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know that this is pouring more salt into the wound, but at a mini-meet at Bozebutton's yesterday, his ES-1 left channel bias voltage was changing on it's own, and even after adjusting it, the left channel was fuzzy sounding and the amp couldn't be used (it has all of the upgrades possible at the time).

I checked out the problem withthe ES1 today before packing it up,turned out the culprit was one of the 5687 tube adapters.
I put in a pair of VT231s in the driver position,problem solved.Listened for a hour with the OIIs .sounds good as ever.
To be honest I find drifting bias problems are usually tube related.
I Really havent had to many problems with setting the Bias on the amp,with good tubes it seems to hold up after the initial 2 times of adjusting it,first when I put the tubes in & recheck it after a couple of hours.

 

[Kang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bozebuttons /img/forum/go_quote.gif I checked out the problem withthe ES1 today before packing it up,turned out the culprit was one of the 5687 tube adapters. I put in a pair of VT231s in the driver position,problem solved.Listened for a hour with the OIIs .sounds good as ever. To be honest I find drifting bias problems are usually tube related. I Really havent had to many problems with setting the Bias on the amp,with good tubes it seems to hold up after the initial 2 times of adjusting it,first when I put the tubes in & recheck it after a couple of hours.

Good detective work. I'm glad that the problem was simple to remedy, and that your amp is singing again. Thanks for the info.

Bill

 

[takezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blubliss /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh no . I may have a bias problem too on my ES-2. It started when I put in a set of Mullard XF2 and one channel would not bias. I moved tubes and it followed the tube so i thought it was a bad tube?? After that, i put my fat boys back in and all was well until i tried to put 6SN7s in the middles stage instead of the 6BL7s i had in there. Same bias craziness on one channel. So, i went back to the 6BL7s and all seemed well. Now, last week i put in the 6SN7 again and all is well. This is crazy. I have had a problem with 2C51 in front. Almost all tubes i use create a hum. I have found a few quiet pairs. Mikhail said it was all a tube problem. Now i wonder if there is something else wrong, bad caps, etc. I am lost in this arena. Any ideas from the more knowledgeable? This amp is certainly not going back for now.

bias voltage drift following a tube sounds like a tube issue, like mentioned
above by another poster...
but in your case, it may be pin related. the socket housing may be loose and
not make good contact with all tube pins being inserted, which may explain
why a tube works one day and not another... cleaning and straightening the
tube pins may help too. de-oxit is pretty popular as a cleaning solvent.

the 2c51 requires an adapter, correct? sounds like the adapter is the issue
here as well. i have many 2c51/396a/6385 tubes and not a single tube
has humming issue with my mpx3slamse. mikhail replaces these adapters
if you can manage to contact him. good luck.

 

[blubliss]

Takezo,

Thanks for the help. I will try cleaning.

On the adapter issue, i have used the same adapter and it only makes noise with some tubes. I actually have four adapters, two for each amp. I will do some more experimenting.

 

[neilvg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DemonicLemming /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah...there was a Xin thread, I forget which one, where I made a pretty in-depth and detailed post as to how the whole thing with manufacturers disappearing, and how their clients as a community treat them, as seen be a relative "outsider". It just boggles me as to how someone can spend thousands of dollars, go months without any contact whatsoever, and become increasingly angry and adamant that they'll never have anything to do with the company again - until their stuff shows up. Then they can't think of enough words to praise the equipment - which, ok, I can understand - but they also seem to completely gloss over the fact that for the past few months, they were close to removing the amp builder's liver with a fork. Not talking any specific members or companies, just the general feeling I get. It makes me wonder if, at some point in the future, those people will order from the same manufacturer and have the same thing happen.....will they react the same? If so, what would they say if you showed them what they said at the end of their ordeal the last time they ordered something? Just all those psychology classes I took in college kicking in, I guess.

first of all - there was maybe one individual who had this perspective. I got my amp a while back and I have still been verbal - but, less so, not because I am now satiated and happy with this manufacturer - but because I no longer have a direct and open gripe. Is there still an issue with this company causing many to go through unreasonable pains after having paid large sums for an amp they have not received? Yes. This thread is meant to give a voice to those who are in this situation, so that it might be more quickly resolved.

Neil

 

[neilvg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeymad /img/forum/go_quote.gif This could be an entirely new thread. Mine went completely silent recently, and without doing a 'self repair' it would be either still dead or in the blackhole of repair (and a lot of shipping charges). I guess the other side of the question would be: Has there been any ES-1's or ES-2's that have had no issues? I don't know of any. cheers,

Sadly - My ES-2 was sent back precisely because of this bias problem. It became unusable on one channel. I was fixed before, but happened again, and this is what spurred the recent wait (which I have now gotten back with no issues so far).

Bluebliss - actually the problem you might be having may have something to do with the current he has setup the circuit with. I'm not totally sure on exactly what was done, but my original es-2 has this exact issue with XF-2's and Mikhail lowered the current to allow the bias to be more steady. But it didn't sound as good, and now I am somwhere in between, but XF2's work.

Neil