[Silent One]

No, Sid-Fi. WooAudio is usually pretty good regarding communication. These amps are hand-crafted and like many small boutiques, suppliers and demand matter. I ordered my beloved amp 2 May expecting a four week delivery. Received it on 9 July, due in part to strong demand, parts and WA having to close down to attend an out-of-town trade show. 
 
Though anxious, I was patient - they were upfront in their communications with me. Generally, people won't mind waiting if they're kept up-to-date. Hope any or all of this helps. 

 

[hodgjy]

It's been my experience, and also some other members here, that Woo is very good at communicating when they want to communicate with you.  Jack's been know to ignore emails, which can be very frustrating.  Also, build times are only estimates; they can, and do, change.  As long as they are up front and let you know about changes to the estimate, then that's ok.  The problem is they don't send out emails about changes to estimates.  We have to email them and hope we actually get a response.
 
Quote:

So it's been a month since I ordered my WA22. I emailed Jack to ask for an update and he replied that my WA22 would ship no later than the week of April 2 even though it's already been a month. This would push the lead time out to 6 weeks compared to the quoted 3 weeks.
 
This is definitely a little frustrating. I feel like I am dealing with Audio-gd all over again, which is not what I expected when jumping to the $2,000 mark. Is this pretty unusual from Woo Audio?
 
Dave

 

 

[Sid-Fi]

I think you hit the nail on the head at least in my case. If the lead time is suggested at 3 weeks upon purchase, I would expect a proactive communication letting me know it might be double that. At least that is what I would expect for "excellent customer service". Instead, a month goes by without any communication at all and I have to inquire about it. Then I am casually told it might be significantly later with a one sentence email. This just isn't the experience I expected based on the rave reviews everywhere of their service. It also makes me wonder if the 3 weeks was ever a realistic expectation at all or just extra bait incentive to get orders in. This might not be the case, but it the thought crossed my mind at least.
 
I'm not going to comment on this anymore as I don't want to drag this on and be negative. I'm sure I'll be floored with the WA22 and enthusiastically posting about for a long time to come. However, I think it is significant enough that others should be aware to take the 3 weeks with a grain of salt if timing is important to them.

 
Quote:

It's been my experience, and also some other members here, that Woo is very good at communicating when they want to communicate with you.  Jack's been know to ignore emails, which can be very frustrating.  Also, build times are only estimates; they can, and do, change.  As long as they are up front and let you know about changes to the estimate, then that's ok.  The problem is they don't send out emails about changes to estimates.  We have to email them and hope we actually get a response.
 


 

 

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

So it's been a month since I ordered my WA22. I emailed Jack to ask for an update and he replied that my WA22 would ship no later than the week of April 2 even though it's already been a month. This would push the lead time out to 6 weeks compared to the quoted 3 weeks.
 
This is definitely a little frustrating. I feel like I am dealing with Audio-gd all over again, which is not what I expected when jumping to the $2,000 mark. Is this pretty unusual from Woo Audio?
 
Dave

This isn't too unusual, I was quoted about 4 weeks took 6-7 (for my WA6SE), hopefully it'll be worth the wait
 

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

It's been my experience, and also some other members here, that Woo is very good at communicating when they want to communicate with you.  Jack's been know to ignore emails, which can be very frustrating.  Also, build times are only estimates; they can, and do, change.  As long as they are up front and let you know about changes to the estimate, then that's ok.  The problem is they don't send out emails about changes to estimates.  We have to email them and hope we actually get a response.
 


 

yea +1 I've had several ignored e-mails (which was frustrating at the time) it almost seems like Jack is running a one man show out there cause I think he's the one replying to all the emails and building all the amps..
 

 

[hodgjy]

I doubt that they give intentionally bad estimates. Part availabilities change, quality control issues pop up, people get sick, etc. As on example, they hand wind their own transformers, which has to be extremely time consuming. If that person needs a sick day (it is flu season), you can see how things can fall behind. I have no problem with changing estimates. I just wish we were told when changes are made.

You will be floored with your amp. I was with mine, and the delay was worth it.

I think you hit the nail on the head at least in my case. If the lead time is suggested at 3 weeks upon purchase, I would expect a proactive communication letting me know it might be double that. At least that is what I would expect for "excellent customer service". Instead, a month goes by without any communication at all and I have to inquire about it. Then I am casually told it might be significantly later with a one sentence email. This just isn't the experience I expected based on the rave reviews everywhere of their service. It also makes me wonder if the 3 weeks was ever a realistic expectation at all or just extra bait incentive to get orders in. This might not be the case, but it the thought crossed my mind at least.
 
I'm not going to comment on this anymore as I don't want to drag this on and be negative. I'm sure I'll be floored with the WA22 and enthusiastically posting about for a long time to come. However, I think it is significant enough that others should be aware to take the 3 weeks with a grain of salt if timing is important to them.

 


 

 

[San Raal]

Quote:

yea +1 I've had several ignored e-mails (which was frustrating at the time) it almost seems like Jack is running a one man show out there cause I think he's the one replying to all the emails and building all the amps..
 

+2
I've had one or more unanswered emails from Woo as well, they're usually very good and respond quickly most of the time. Sometimes a little nudge is needed to get an answer. Agree its likely the smaller business thing.

 

[Silent One]

So... how does a small operation best allocate its resources? Each time Jack receives a flurry of emails - a few specific but most general in nature - you are pulling him and his staff away from completing my Black WA5 Tri-Amp build. 

 Ok, a little latitude on the day dreaming, please... 

 but you get the point. 
 
I need not be in Queens looking at incoming inquiries to guess that majority of those answers can be found in either the FAQs or one of the forums on HF. Admittedly, many (very) will be "Status updates." Perhaps, they can figure out a better way to handle this angle of it. I've personally received replies from Jack via Twitter & Email @ Noon/Midnight, 3pm/3am, /6pm/6am and 9am/9pm. You cannot tell me this cat ain't burnin' up candles.
 
It'd be too easy to suggest they higher someone just to answer email inquiries; invest in automated Customer Service Software for email inquiries. If it were your money, how would you best allocate your resources? Please keep in mind, I am not ranting, but rather having a civil exchange... with a delicate green tea no less, while waiting for some more NCAA hoops!

 
 

 

[Austin Morrow]

Does anybody have the WA5 Maxed out and the HD800? I'm thinking that will be my final setup in a  year or so.

 

[hodgjy]

Great thinking/talking point!

It's a tough call. You want to keep prices down while keeping customers happy. The fact is that Woo is expanding their product line and has even established dealer networks overseas. So, production has gone up, but prices have not gone down. According to simple business models, this means there is liquid capital to reinvest into the business. They could hire one person for customer service to relieve Jack from doing almost everything.

Of course, no one here knows anything of the inner workings of Woo, so take all of our opinions with a grain of salt!

 

[Sid-Fi]

No, but I have heard an Eddie Current Balancing Act with EML 300B tubes and HD 800. It was the best audio experience I have had so far. In particular, it had incredible dynamics and impact and was very moving. It felt like the percussion instruments were in the room with you and impacting you physically instead of just through your ears. I was very impressed with it. It was also very transparent, had precise imaging, and very good detail. All of the impressions I have read on the WA5 seem very similar to how I would describe what I heard with the BA, so I would think the WA5 would provide a lot of the same benefits.
 
Quote:

Does anybody have the WA5 Maxed out and the HD800? I'm thinking that will be my final setup in a  year or so.

 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Great thinking/talking point!
It's a tough call. You want to keep prices down while keeping customers happy. The fact is that Woo is expanding their product line and has even established dealer networks overseas. So, production has gone up, but prices have not gone down. According to simple business models, this means there is liquid capital to reinvest into the business. They could hire one person for customer service to relieve Jack from doing almost everything.
Of course, no one here knows anything of the inner workings of Woo, so take all of our opinions with a grain of salt!

Finance 101 - My Prof was fond of telling the class "Either you eat well, or sleep well, but you cannot do both." In my view, having worked in Home Audio (retail); Car Audio (manufacturing), WooAudio could very well be proceeding with caution. Consumer Electronics in general is a fickle beast - the economy is its playmate. Sometimes, the play is fun and entertaining... good times! Periodically, the play turns rough with many in the industry getting hurt... badly!
 
Certainly, popularity and growth have to be dealt with, all while trying to get those Black WA5's out the door to the Silent One's of the audio world. 

 

[Sid-Fi]

Silent One, was your major in finance? I majored in finance and am finishing up an MBA with an emphasis in finance as well. I'm a little too burned out from breaking down business case studies for the last two years to get into here :O.
 
Quote:

Finance 101 - My Prof was fond of telling the class "Either you eat well, or sleep well, but you cannot do both." In my view, having worked in Home Audio (retail); Car Audio (manufacturing), WooAudio could very well be proceeding with caution. Consumer Electronics in general is a fickle beast - the economy is its playmate. Sometimes, the play is fun and entertaining... good times! Periodically, the play turns rough with many in the industry getting hurt... badly!
 
Certainly, popularity and growth have to be dealt with, all while trying to get those Black WA5's out the door to the Silent One's of the audio world. 

 

 

[Sid-Fi]

I'm wondering how many Woo owners are using a computer as source. If so, what sdpif converters are you using and how do you like it?
 
I'm using an Audiophilleo2 with an Aqvox low-noise power supply, and have been really pleased with it. It has made my listening sessions extremely more enjoyable and has brought my laptop and FLAC library to similar levels as nice CD transports. I have been very pleased to get a high quality source with the convenience of my entire library without comprising sound quality (foobar with wasapi plug-in). Just wondering if any of you have found this type of converter to be a big help with your own systems.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Silent One, was your major in finance? I majored in finance and am finishing up an MBA with an emphasis in finance as well. I'm a little too burned out from breaking down business case studies for the last two years to get into here :O.
 

 Yeah... but if I had Sid-Fi's motivation and money 

 I'd be marching toward an MBA. I applaud and congratulate you.