How slow is SinglePower?

[Elephas]

I've read some comments about very slow build times and delayed delivery dates, sometimes as much as several months.

I realize SinglePower is a small company and customization takes time.

I don't mind waiting several months. I've waited months for headphone cables, so waiting for an amp isn't a problem.

I'm just wondering what to expect.

[mjg]

Mikhail is a great guy, and cool as hell, but yea, he takes forever to do almost anything, take any time he says and multiply it * 3. Yet, I think he's worth dealing with, and never left me unhappy with any work, always takes the extra step to make things cool. I've had him doing work on my extreme, and had to send it back and forth (twice) because a tube socket was messed up in shipping, he always takes care of stuff for u.

[n_maher]

*paging Salt Peanuts, paging Salt Peanuts*

If it's anything custom I'd plan on a wait time of approximately 12 months.

[tkam]

Yeah if it's a custom job, like that ES-1 you mentioned in another thread I would honestly expect about a year wait. Mikhail will quote you a much shorter time period I'm sure but it won't be realistic at all.

[hirsch]

The general rule is: the more customization, the longer it takes. An ES1 with any of Mikhail's standard options in a standard chassis should be relatively painless (which doesn't mean that it will be less than 4-6 months). The really long wait times occur when Mikhail is putting in options that he hasn't done before. At that point, he's quite literally designing as he builds, and he seriously underestimates how long an option that he's worked out theoretically will take to put into an actual amp, and then work out the unexpected bugs etc.

I've got the longest outstanding special order of anything Mikhail is working on. In fairness to him, I told him that is was not urgent to me, and to get orders out to his other customers before spending too much time on mine. However, in terms of time from order to delivery, I suspect that I'm going to set a record that's going to be hard to beat.

[Icarium]

For upgrades if you stay on him then it should be better (Maybe 2-3 months worst case maybe less). It depends on how work load. He just got several highly customzied amps (Voltron's/Neilvg's/a few others) out the door so his life should be a little bit easier now, but of course he may have already accepted more orders (Though hopefully he finally decides to take less custom orders at a time).

[Salt Peanuts]

*paging Salt Peanuts, paging Salt Peanuts*

If it's anything custom I'd plan on a wait time of approximately 12 months.

LOL.

Yeah, for a custom work, it'll probably be around a year wait or so - my order's not there yet. Of course, having had an amp built by him before, I knew of the potential for long wait, especially with ordering something that is probably pretty close to being one-off.

[purk]

It is a long wait ...but his work really is worth the wait.

[boomana]

The wait is long, the communication spotty and unreliable as far as dates go (but always friendly), but soooo worth it.

[mjg]

well like, i sent him an email a week ago, he responds sometimes. U can always call and hear the phone rign for awhile, or get lucky and he answers ; ).

[Icarium]

I've had pretty good luck with phone calls 85-90 percent success rate (Only missed him like 2-4 times in 25-30 calls). But I also haven't put a real non-tube order yet (Though I own 3 of his amps... well 2 now bye electrostatic rig ).

[909]

i know a SP customer that waited around six months for an extreme and a few others with not over the top customized orders that averaged around a four to six month wait and some longer. unfortunately, after waiting so very long doesn't guarantee the amp will arrive functioning properly. this seems such a common occurrence so either they aren't packaged well enough or something is going on during the build process that makes them susceptible to issues during shipment or potentially it shipped with something not quite right or a combo. if ones calls and complains usually they get free upgrades to appease them through one missed deadline or issue and so on. without question, Mikhail is a very nice guy, good at appeasing customers just enough as not to lose them and usually ensures they're happy in the end, but after all this time he knows exactly what he is doing by giving these misleadingly short build times. imho, stuff like this reflects poorly on ones' integrity because if their word means nothing, it makes me question everything such as most importantly what's inside each locked SP chassis and would it actually conform to each customers' order. Mikhail should just be forthright about the wait time. and if i ordered something i'd open it up right away and check that every upgrade had been done and that it looked up to snuff to remove all questionability from my mind.

[Icarium]

How are his chassis locked? Is there a proprietary tool/key needed to open them? I've heard it mentioned before and I'm not doubting it, but I'm curious bout the method.

[Icarium]

Oh locked made it sound a lot more sinister. Yeah I haven't opened up my amps before but after hearing the condition my Rudistor was in from my buyer when he opened it up.... maybe I should start. I've looked inside Neil's amp and Voltron's amp when Mikhail was in the process of repairing them and they both tidy as far as I could gather, though I am not a DIYer, with all the identifiable items... black gates/audio note caps (Handsome looking caps). I've kinda been telling myself that the issues that his amps ship with sometimes are related to the slightly more fragile nature of point to point + shipping... but maybe really well done point to point is as sturdy as pcb based stuff... I have no idea.

[909]

How are his chassis locked? Is there a proprietary tool/key needed to open them? I've heard it mentioned before and I'm not doubting it, but I'm curious bout the method.

i am no expert, but the mpx3 had a ton of rivet looking things that required a specialized tool to remove them. locked because it needs some sort of key tool to open it and generally speaking nearly all other amps and sources i've encountered can easily be opened with a common screw driver or a philip head.

[tkam]

The SP chassis are typically secured w/ a 1/16th Hex screw. So while it's not exactly the most common size in the world it certainly doesn't require a special tool. A quck trip to any hardware store and about a $1 willl get you a 1/16th hex or $3-4 for a hex set that includes a 1/16th.

[909]

i don't think the one i got was either a torx or a hex, but i could be mistaken since it's been a while. but in comparsion the mpx3 had like 20 secure points to remove whereas my ec2a3 has like 4 or 6, which is much closer to the norm imo.

[Icarium]

Whatever they are they are way more secure than my Rudistor amp's screws which were ALWAYS coming loose as was the 1/4th inch out's hex socket thing.

[909]

that sucks, i've never had a problem with screws coming loose on my audio equipment.

[Icarium]

Yeah I dunno. I remember asking Mikhail about just purchasing a Maestro chassis by itself for a DIY project I'm commissioning... and he said that it had some tech (I forget the name, maybe he just meant really precise machining no idea) where basically once the screws are screwed into it, it would behave as a single solid mass and would have better vibration characteristics. I don't know if that's voodoo or BS, but it sounded pretty cool and like there was some thought into the chassis build/screw selection... but not 2000 dollars cool so I had to pass on that particular chassis ;p

[Icarium]

that sucks, i've never had a problem with screws coming loose on my audio equipment.

Yeah I was annoyed at the buyer because he didn't let me know that it had arrived or say a single word to me after a week of arrival (I checked the tracking thing) so I wrote him up and asked him about the condition also wondering if he was going to help out with paying for shipping which ended up costing 3x more than i had anticipated and he had said that after receiving it he'd consider throwing in a bit more to compensate.

When he finally replied, said he had been in the midst of handling remodeling, he said it sounded a rung better than anything he'd heard (Good), but when he took it out of the packing (Was well packed I supervised it at a Fedex/Kinkos many boxes were sacrificed to create form fitted support essentially double box + more support/lots of bubble wrapped used) a big ass screw fell off of it and when he opened it up the transformer it was holding down was sliding around a bit and there was a pcb board missing a screw and was vaguely adhered to the chassis with some sort of silicon glue. I was like uhhhh... jesus.

He didn't offer to throw in anything for shipping ;p I didn't complain ;p

[hirsch]

it makes me question everything such as most importantly what's inside each locked SP chassis and would it actually conform to each customers' order.

Singlepower chasses are not locked, so you might as well stop passing around false information as fact. All you need is the correct hex wrench. Any hardware store has them. However, the screws can be tight, and sometimes difficult to remove. You can strip a screw and have to drill it out (or have Mikhail do it), particularly if you use the wrong size wrench (This is usually due to small variances in outsourced chasses. which is something that Mikhail has very little control over. If he has the chasses remade, it's another four months on the wait..) I've been inside all of my amps, and what's in them is exactly what was supposed to be there. That said, there are potentially lethal voltages inside the amp, and some of the capacitors will hold a charge for long periods of time even if the amp is unplugged. Somebody who does not know how to work around high voltage should not open one of those amps. Tube gear should only be opened by someone who knows what they're doing. Anyone who can't figure out a hex wrench does not qualify.

[909]

Singlepower chasses are not locked, so you might as well stop passing around false information as fact.... However, the screws can be tight, and sometimes difficult to remove. You can strip a screw and have to drill it out (or have Mikhail do it), particularly if you use the wrong size wrench (This is usually due to small variances in outsourced chasses. which is something that Mikhail has very little control over.

it's not really false information, but my use of a word for lack of a better one. in fact, every amp is locked shut usually with normal screws that anyone can open without much effort or difficulty. What differentiates SP is that it doesn't use common household screws, many more fasteners than necessary and much tighter than necessary and some might even had been secured with additional rivets. so when i say locked i mean is requires a specialized tool key to open. every amp i've encounted are relatively easy to open up. the SP ones, on the other hand, are more locked up for lack of a better term and as you duly noted can be extremely difficult to open.

I've been inside all of my amps, and what's in them is exactly what was supposed to be there.

that's good to know, but it doesn't clear up his misleading customers as to delivery dates and calls into question his word.

That said, there are potentially lethal voltages inside the amp, and some of the capacitors will hold a charge for long periods of time even if the amp is unplugged. Somebody who does not know how to work around high voltage should not open one of those amps. Tube gear should only be opened by someone who knows what they're doing. Anyone who can't figure out a hex wrench does not qualify.

this is true about any amp, but Mikhail makes it exceedingly cumbersome to open. and the amp i received was also riveted shut. i've opened nearly everything i've purchased to see what it looks like inside.

[grawk]

Not to mention a 2mm allen wrench is hardly a rare tool.

[postjack]

909, I really enjoy reading all your posts, and have enjoyed having you around headcase, and I do respect you and your opinion, so take what I'm about to ask gently. Whats your beef with Mikhail and/or Singlepower?