I don’t know much about Halcro, but I did notice a concern on the Audiogon forum about a problem with a DM10 preamp. Apparently the owner was not able to have it repaired in the U.S. The problem occurred at a time when Halcro was not actively doing business (before it was reborn) so the preamp owner decided not to go through the hassle of trying to arrange a repair in Australia. I have no way of knowing how accurate this complaint was, but it does make me think that Halcro products fall a bit short of being perfect - like most things in life.
My information came to me from Halcro. If a customer did have a problem with a dm10, and Halcro was out of business at the time, then obviously the new Halcro owners wouldn’t know about that today. Halcro still stand fast that they have never had a repair - in or out of warranty - on any of those products mentioned, anywhere in the world.
If a customer did have one break down, and chose not to have it repaired, then the statistic remains blemish free.
In my world, and I’ve owned many Halcro products, probably more than any other person in the world, the dm series are perfect. Now they are making them even better (and they asked me to be a beta tester, and offered me a very generous discount on MSRP if I decided to buy their new Eclipse mono power amp). I did have a Halcro lyrus module fail in a MC70 amplifier, but that is not a reference series product.
I had a very different experience with PS Audio. My first P20 had issues and they worked with me on the phone for a short period of time, and then sent me a return shipping label, an rma number, and a new P20. I dealt with many people including Paul. I could not be more impressed with how well they took care of me.
I am happy for you and for others who have been much more fortunate than my friends and myself!
Strange as this might seem to you and possibly to some forum members I have no driven agenda against P S Audio. My posts are borne out of sheer frustration and reflect that. I just speak the truth, and speak my mind, regarding my hellish experience with faulty PSA equipment. When I buy from P S Audio – I just expect what I thought I’d paid for, perfectly - functioning, pristine, top-class: - Quality equipment: - I’d expect the same from any manufacturer, no more, no less. I’ve invested heavily in P S Audio taking on ownership of their equipment. With no dealership in Scotland, I was the one who made the effort to track down and BUY PSA products. And through me doing so family & friends also bought PSA equipment. All the products I have purchased, bar one, they’ve all been problematic one way or the other.! 1 trouble free out of 13 products. “Not 99% but 100% true”. It is just a ridiculous situation…!
I bought 2 x P-10s, PWT, DMP, 2 x DS-DACS, 2 x BHK preamps, 2 x BHK250s, BHK300 mono blocks and a Dectet… I bought the first product a DS in January 2015: I haven’t bought for over a year so in 3 years I’ve spent close to £75K pounds sterling - roughly $100K U.S. on equipment that arrived either broken, faulty and/or missing accessories/sundries: One DS-DAC problem free out of my shopping list of PSA equipment: Then there’s the sheer hassle of trying to get resolution.
DOA, Damaged, Poorly assembled, Hardware issues (gash screws, etc. lying inside the equipment) Missing accessories & sundries. QC sheets ticked & initialled - accessories ticked off as present and correct - but not in the box - just the QC check-lists in the box…!! PSA have contacted me by email, apologised, and offered assistance. “Intimated that it is just my ‘bad-luck’ that it will be better” but it hasn’t, because my BHK250 has just required a new input board – hence more aggro and added expense!
This is more than Bad-Luck…
Some of it is BAD WORKING PRACTICE… “Screws rattling around inside the BHK preamp.” “Transformer tightened down hard on a ribbon cable which shorted out and blew up the preamp microprocessor” “Volume knob insecurely fitted” “The damaged front panel, so badly marked, I could see the damage from the other side of the room”… This is just some of the issues!
All said problems easily avoidable - and they should have been picked up at QC inspections – “or then what is the point of offering quality control”…?!
As you well know I use omni-directional Shahinian Diapason speakers: I have owned a few pairs of Diapasons over a quarter of a century: I also own Shahinian Super-elfs, Larcs, Arcs, Obelisks…I’ve never had one single problem in over 26 years of Shahinian ownership. Not even a blemish to a speaker cabinet. The standard of craftmanship is on another level! That’s what “I expected” when I bought PSA - after watching Paul’s videos, etc. acclaiming them the “worlds best”…!
And, it’s not just me, I have friends who own PSA equipment - who seldom contribute on the forum - but follow regularly (the very members who you said were like my late mom – or some other crass thing you inferred)
When I vented my spleen on the forum about the damaged / wrong front panel fitted to my newest BHK250: I said to Paul that questions should be raised and asked to find out how it had happened - he fired back at me testily “how do you know nothing has been done, etc, etc”. I only made a suggestion. I was the aggrieved party. The man who had spent the equivalent of $10.5K U.S. on a faulty product, which incidentally I had to repair myself, at my expense, but Paul’s response was to attack me because I deigned to venture an opinion on why my new amplifier arrived in such a shabby condition. SSW entered the thread to placate the situation - making excuses, Paul hadn’t had his morning coffee, blah - blah… Absolute disgrace. The whole thing was/is an unmitigated shambles.
I fully agree with Brodric ! He is Bang-On ! If a new member arrives on the forum asking questions - mentioning something regarding faults / QC issues with their new PSA product, where we’ve possibly suffered the same fate then, of course, I will speak out.
What I have endured would upset anybody…! I have spent more in 3 years than some have spent on a house paying it on a mortgage. This is hard cash upfront with no trade-in scheme.
P S Audio should think themselves damn lucky they still have me here.
I see…if I experienced this, I’d be no less frustrated…that doesn’t sound good and is something for PSA to clarify, I can give no valuable input.
I have always difficulties to imagine how DOA or mechanical problems of such kinds can happen more than in very rare exceptions. Would be interesting to hear about experiences of distributors. I think in this thread we will see if we talk about exceptions or rules…but I admit that in your case you’re well over bad luck.
Whatever they’ve done hasn’t worked. The problems you’ve described have been evident for years, and continue to this day. And I’ve been a PS Audio owner for 18 years.
I might have a full PS Audio flagship rig in-front of me right now, like many others here do, but I don’t. I can afford it, so that’s not stopping me from owning it. What I can’t afford is the constant drama of PS Audio stuff not working properly, or not working at all. It impinges on my enjoyment of this hobby. What crystallizes the reality even more is nothing else here is breaking down, everything else non-PS Audio functions as intended, but the PS Audio stuff sticks out like a sore thumb of constant problems. OK, when I say nothing else is breaking down, I’ve had one Halcro malfunction and one Kaleidescape malfunction in almost 15 years. That’s it. And that Kaleidescape stuff is on 24/7, works hard for years and years, and by my calculations 500,000+ hours of HDD use for one failure. Oh, and I had one speaker malfunction but I don’t count that because my PS DAC blew it up.
The fundamental difference between my experience and @Dirk is that I’m not much out of pocket for owning PS Audio stuff. Sure, I pay for the gear (I get a good price), I pay for shipping, I pay local taxes on it, I pay for some repairs, but I have the capacity to move it on for a good price once whatever has broken down has been repaired. And that is what I do. When it breaks down, I get it fixed, and then I sell it in good conscience.
I won’t be an early adopter buyer for any future PS Audio products. I will continue to monitor what they’re producing, and what owners report on those products. If something appeals to me, and only after extensive distribution in the 240V markets without any adverse owner findings, I’d consider buying it.
I’m left bewildered time and time again. Take for example one of the Bridge2 software updates (early last year?)…they rolled it out and immediately the DS Senior DAC owners were reporting their previously working album art covers were now broken. You know what PS Audio said about it? Let me remind you…Sorry, we only tested the Bridge2 software update on the DS Junior, we didn’t test it on DS Senior. I mean, seriously??? They released a software update for a product without actually testing it on that product??? Who else in the consumer electronics manufacturing universe do that? Keystone Cops stuff.
And more recently, Paul flippantly remarking publicly at AXPONA, viz…our next disc spinner will be the best in the world, if we can get it to work. Well, their last disc spinner was supposed to be all that. But it didn’t work properly, but they still sold it, and continued to sell it after realizing the fix would be more difficult and more time consuming than originally anticipated. And here we are today, that product has gone end of life (after a fire-sale) and it still doesn’t work properly.
As I’ve said before, and at risk of the PS fanbois disciples foaming at the mouth and wanting their pound of flesh: too many problems, with too many products, for too many years.
Guys, PS fanboi disciples et al.. Keep writing about whatever you find. Good, bad, or indifferent. I won’t beguile anybody for their reasonably held opinions. I hope you enjoy your hobby as much as I do.
Mr. B. That would come to 57 years if my math correct…
@Brodric And how much did you pay for those infinitely reliable Esoteric products? How many multiples of the PSA prices did you pay?
I noticed that too! one zero too many! I presumed he meant 50, 000 hours
I’ve had to return a DSD that arrived DOA, P12 that developed a short, DMP that wouldn’t initialize, and a BHK300 that stopped powering up after 100 hours or so of use. Aside from that, no problems.
I have never had to send back a single component from the various other brands I have used over the last 25 years.
I should also say, the SQ I am enjoying now, is better than any I’ve had at home, ever. ( significantly better than all the ultra reliable equipment I’ve owned in the past). As long as PSA stands behind their products, I will keep coming back.
Just to be clear, I’m not flying in my audio equipment, so not so serious!
Definitely more problems than with other brands.
My PWT was a nightmare, my DMP is ok but still refuses to start once in a while.
I have had broken rca connectors on my ds senior twice, and a board had to be replaced so that it could see the dmp and play sacds . And bridge 2 to this day is still ticking on dsd files (this has been going on for years now and still no news a solution) and almost killed my tweeters with loud bursts of static. I am looking at other streaming/server solutions (Lumin, Innuos).
My only trouble free products were the P5 and P20 so far.
BUT
- the after sale service from my dealer in Belgium and from PS Audio are fantastic
- the SQ at this price level is unbeatable IMO
Retry the maths. Four HDD spinning continuously for 15 years, gives you the total number of HDD operating hours. You need to count 4 HDD operating hours per earthly hour, because the thing has 4 separate HDD constantly spinning.
No I didn’t. 500,000+ HDD operating hours is correct.
As I’ve mentioned before. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $25 toaster or a $35,000 disc spinner, it should work as intended, irrespective of price.
So by my measure, it’s not OK then. Just like if one of the engines in my helicopter refuses to start once in a while, even though the other engine starts perfectly every time, that is also not OK.
Oh dear no!! We’d miss you, buddy…
But just in case, who gets your $35,000 disk spinner?
Boris, my dealer, has been tasked to liquidate the lot on word of my untimely and unfortunate demise. That is, if the kids don’t have a change of mind.
Kind of makes you want to go out and freshen the points and plugs, huh?
I will take you on your word. But 500, 000 hours is a “long time” but, possibly, it’s only a mere blink off the eye on your planet…
I have a turbo diesel. No points or plugs. hehehe.
Yeah. I get what you’re saying.