morphsci Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 wait, I'm here for the love connections as well.
Fitz Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 I did the same in a thread on Balanced v unbalanced, referencing Dreadhead's work. It illicited two notes from Jude. Not at all unreasonable, but, someday, won't The Wall come down? Not that I really care - just another site to link to, especially when the relevant info already exists. I just hate dual threading, with all the different fucking rules. I just don't see it ever coming down, considering that now even making a statement to the effect that other audio forums exist is enough to get moderated and warned for "promoting Head-Case."
Genetic Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 wait, I'm here for the love connections as well. Amicalement
Currawong Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 I just don't see it ever coming down, considering that now even making a statement to the effect that other audio forums exist is enough to get moderated and warned for "promoting Head-Case." This reads to me like someone is making a nice profit from their forum, and doesn't want to disturb their nice first place on Google for just about any headphone-related search.
archosman Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Only time I've ever been moderated on HF was when I posted a link over to here. That warranted a personal letter from Jude, and he was none too pleased. Somehow somewhere someday he's going to have to acknowledge this site. Might as well try to get along instead of be at each others throats. Unless it's some sort of money issue...
Sherwood Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Whatever. Let him be a baby. Greater popularity here would only result in more server load, more Westone 3 threads, more dissent and less quality. Head-fi is the front lines for filtering all the folks who just want to: A) be asshats, Find out what one pair of headphones will allow them never to have to think about headphones again, or C) Compare every iteration of every portable amp extant with every IEM. Things are pretty good right now, in large part because Jude has his world the way he wants it.
Fitz Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 That certainly is true. The Head-Case Welcoming Party also does a good job keeping the riff-raff out when they happen to stumble upon the site (although I did manage to slip in).
Icarium Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Mmm.. not sure how I'm feeling about receiving my amp next week. On the first I sent Mikhail an email to see how we were doing about the deadline which was first week of January (Next week). Mikhail. It is deadline week coming up. You promised you could get it out after christmas. I made the choice to give you an extra week which you shouldn't have needed. This is the time to start packaging it up and let me know when the ship date is. You really can't ask more of me at this point... I have given you months. Come through for me please. He sent me a prompt reply of this: Dan, No problem. I do need to have the rest of the balance paid by tomorrow. This would expedite the shipping process much faster so I can place it ahead of the rest of the items and marked paid in full. Do you need another set of the headbands? The original agreement from as soon as he told me the total of the invoice was that since it was much higher than anticipated that he would let me pay it off in installments and was also subject to how much I like the finished product. So I responded with this: I had thought that given that the balance was greater than first anticipated you had agreed to let me pay it off over time. I can do another 500 upon receiving tracking #s and then 500 the start of next month and 250 the month after. I understand that there may be items ahead of it but given that we had agreed on this shipping time (After many missed deadlines) and that I would pay you in installments... has the situation changed? And he responded with this: Dan, We can do the $1000 payment and then the $250 later, but I need to put through since it's hard for me to get approval for shipment of items not paid in full. It is just that I do not handle the accounts payable, so I have to get approval for this. That's the reason for quicker shipment. I'll have it ready to ship by Monday. And so I replied with this: Sorry I simply cannot afford to do a 1000 dollar payment at this point in time and I certainly am unwilling to make a payment until I have some legit tracking #s. Perhaps I can talk to your accounts payable person? Sorry, but this is ridiculous that this comes out now when you could have mentioned this when we decided on a deadline in the first place. I don't know what's changed between now and then, but I insist on having the original terms we agreed upon followed. If this requires me to explain the situation in detail to your accounts payable person then so be it. Please give me their name and contact information asap and I'll try to have this sorted out. Maybe what he is requesting is reasonable. I don't really think so though. With his track record I am not sending any money towards him without something either in my hands or some reliable looking tracking #s. I am absolutely not satisfied with the headband he sent me which I paid 500 dollars of the invoice to receive and if the amp comes back to me with the same sort of work ethic as that headband there is no way I am paying another 1250 for that. I dunno who this accounts payable person is... perhaps his wife, but... Agh. Totally ruins my holiday vacation. Totally don't want to deal anymore. If he had hit a home run with the headband it might have been a different story, but it is incredibly hard for me to trust him at all right now. And him not being a shady pain in the ass with this transaction would go a long way towards repairing our relationship and that trust.
xand1x Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 That really sucks Dan..sorry to hear that things aren't going smoothly with Mikhail. I would probably act in the same way and refuse to send any sort of money until tracking was provided or upon acceptance of the amp. You should try and get him on the phone if possible and say that you will pay him when the amp arrives so that you aren't out $1000+..i'm not sure how he could expect you to pay everything before you get anything given his track record. What baffles me even more is that he knows that you're not out to scam him out of any money so I don't see why shipping the amp, without the full balanced paid, would be an issue.
Icarium Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Just got another reply from him he said: Dan, Let me talk to them and explain everything. I don't handle the transactions and the accounting, and it's a good thing, I have plenty to do. I'll call him tomorrow morning. I replied with this: Thank you Mikhail. I'm just tired of having to deal with this whole mess. Explain to him that I'm good for the money and I will pay you. I just want to make sure that 1. I have it back in my hands 2. That it is something I am satisfied with. Yes I will need new headband reinforcement bars since the current ones are not satisfactory to me as I have indicated for obvious reasons which you have the pictures of. I am also still interested in the AD1 tubes, but if money is going to be an issue for you to get things out to me then do not worry about them at this point in time. I will check back with you when I have the current invoice paid off and I have the money for them. The most important thing is having an amp I can be happy and proud of for me atm. This entire experience has been very draining for me and probably for you as well. I don't know how much more fighting/back and forth I can take regarding this item. I think this latest roadblock is the last I am willing to take. If there is anymore ridiculousness I will insist that he buy the amp from me and wash my hands of this affair and simultaneously doing some research as far as what legal recourse I have (I cannot imagine that there is any that is worthwhile to take, but I might as well do due diligence and ensure that is the case) as if money is a key issue for his business at this time he may not have the bones to even pay me what I paid for it which is a lot less than he initially received for it new.
n_maher Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Posted January 3, 2009 I am starting to have a greater deal of trouble with the way that he is conducting business. This whole over-upgrading and increasing the price thing is downright ridiculous. As if there isn't enough margin in some of those upgrades anyway.
penger Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 At least you're getting him to respond to you. He hasn't responded to me once since the first week of December.
Fitz Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Something about it doesn't sound quite right to me... he can't ship it out if there's an outstanding balance without someone else's approval, but is allowed to regularly add upgrades / increase prices on his own and thus increase the amount of said balance without the customer's or anyone else's approval?
Icarium Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 At least you're getting him to respond to you. He hasn't responded to me once since the first week of December. Yeah all those replies to me were today. He has been on the ball with communication. Of course that doesn't excuse anything.. not in my case.
purk Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Dan, I hope everything will work out for you man. I went through this same road too many times.
tyrion Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Dan, there is nothing reasonable about what he is doing but I am at a loss to know what to do at this point. If I were you, I would do whatever I can to get my amp. Criminal, no, scam, getting there, dishonest, already there. If he is having money trouble, my fear is a bankruptcy which would put all the amps in limbo (not a bankruptcy attorney) for a period of time. I know nothing that indicates that bankruptcy is a possibility but it is something I would have in the back of my mind if I had a dog in this fight. Even if his amps could give you a happy ending, they wouldn't be worth all this aggravation, imo.
Icarium Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Yeah it's a pretty nutty situation. Buyer beware and all that.
purk Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 How about fly to Colorado and pay him a visit and stay until he gets your amp finished.
Asr Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Keep at it Dan, at least you seem to be making some progress with Mikhail. I'm sure you'll get things sorted out. And when you have your stuff, I agree you should just wash your hands of the situation. It's not worth dealing with Mikhail (I have some personal experience I could add to this thread that came from co-organizing the Colorado July meet, but won't, since it's not really related to the purpose of this thread). Isnt the moderating over at HF one of the biggest reasons people are here? Kinda like ASR. I might as well set the record straight on why I'm not posting at HF anymore, since the last post I made there really wasn't in-depth at all as to my motivations. I saw 3 posts in a certain thread get deleted that were perfectly legitimate and had no other reason to be deleted than from overzealousness by a moderator (I don't know which moderator but it's not relevant) for the probable reason of protecting the RSA brand from hard questions. I was also one of the people who saw the thread disappear from the Amps forums and then later re-emerge. Those moderating and admin decisions (because Jude later admitted himself that the thread was moved) showed me without a doubt the corrupt system on HF - I'd had suspicions before but this time I saw them actually happen. I did not want to continue contributing posts to a site that I saw was corrupt. There is absolutely no reason to delete posts like the ones I saw and no reason to move a thread to a hidden area for pruning on any forum - I understand HF is a private forum but that doesn't make it any less of a cloak & dagger attempt of hiding what's going on. There's no other way to put it, HF is a corrupt system run by the whims of Jude and a few sniveling moderators that do his bidding, and the way he PMs people who commit offenses against him or the site (as far as he's concerned) is also despicable - as if he has the right to control the opinions of others and what they can and cannot post. I'm not going to mince my words here, and I don't care if he reads this either, or whoever else reads it. There's no way I'm ever again supporting anything that has to do with HF.... ...which actually has an extended implication I just realized yesterday, which is too bad but I guess that's how it'll have to be. Not really into gear much anymore anyway, so not much of a loss.
jp11801 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 (edited) It never fails to amaze me the utter paranoia of people and you ASR when RSA in concerned. While Ray and I have had our differences the use of the word corrupt clearly accuses Headfi namely Jude of financial gain from RS in a way that is not above board. Quite frankly Steve that is just insane and a bit immature, there are plenty of ways RSA could pay Jude and or Headfi that would not be cloak and dagger like maybe a sponsor forum or banner ads has that thought ever crossed your mind. While I do not agree with the rule of no mention of HC on HF and I told Jude so I recognize his right to run the forum he started and financed his way. Personally I could give a crap that you don't post over there hey I'd love it if some of the other review crazed members took your same pledge as well. While HF is not always the place I wish it would be my complaint is not with the Mods or Jude but with the mindless members that follow pied piper pseudo reviewers you that claim to be all about adding to the community without ever admitting that they love the ass sucking they receive for their wordy reviews from members that lack experience that often fail to say all that much of merit. rant off. Edited January 3, 2009 by jp11801
jp11801 Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Yeah all those replies to me were today. He has been on the ball with communication. Of course that doesn't excuse anything.. not in my case. Dan here's to hoping that you get your amp and it is what you expected. I hate to say it but at this point you should be keeping all options open and start to begin to exercise them like a complaint to the Colorado Better Business Bureau for starters. I like the guy in person but this theory that he can add additional shit to a repair job and them expect the customer to pay the bill when it was never approved is insane.
Jeepster Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 Keep at it Dan, at least you seem to be making some progress with Mikhail. I'm sure you'll get things sorted out. And when you have your stuff, I agree you should just wash your hands of the situation. It's not worth dealing with Mikhail (I have some personal experience I could add to this thread that came from co-organizing the Colorado July meet, but won't, since it's not really related to the purpose of this thread). I might as well set the record straight on why I'm not posting at HF anymore, since the last post I made there really wasn't in-depth at all as to my motivations. I saw 3 posts in a certain thread get deleted that were perfectly legitimate and had no other reason to be deleted than from overzealousness by a moderator (I don't know which moderator but it's not relevant) for the probable reason of protecting the RSA brand from hard questions. I was also one of the people who saw the thread disappear from the Amps forums and then later re-emerge. Those moderating and admin decisions (because Jude later admitted himself that the thread was moved) showed me without a doubt the corrupt system on HF - I'd had suspicions before but this time I saw them actually happen. I did not want to continue contributing posts to a site that I saw was corrupt. There is absolutely no reason to delete posts like the ones I saw and no reason to move a thread to a hidden area for pruning on any forum - I understand HF is a private forum but that doesn't make it any less of a cloak & dagger attempt of hiding what's going on. There's no other way to put it, HF is a corrupt system run by the whims of Jude and a few sniveling moderators that do his bidding, and the way he PMs people who commit offenses against him or the site (as far as he's concerned) is also despicable - as if he has the right to control the opinions of others and what they can and cannot post. I'm not going to mince my words here, and I don't care if he reads this either, or whoever else reads it. There's no way I'm ever again supporting anything that has to do with HF.... ...which actually has an extended implication I just realized yesterday, which is too bad but I guess that's how it'll have to be. Not really into gear much anymore anyway, so not much of a loss. He is right about the way Jude and the mods treat people. There are 2 sets of rules over there, one is posted on the website and one is ever changing according to the mods and it gets very personal. "Hey, im a mod and your my friend so im not going to make you follow the rules but since I disagree with so and so im going to mod his motherfucking ass even if so and so is following the rules". Bunch of childish horse shit. If a moderator resents having to moderate then maybe that person should quit and just become a normal member. Why do something you hate to do? It isnt about Ray or Mikhail or anyone specific, its about the way things are handled over there. Sorry to get off topic. I have nothing more to say.
tom_hankins Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 I think hes broke. We will be lucky to get whatever we get. My amp is having problems already. I am either going to fly out there or have him come here, and I guess i will have to stand over his shoulder until every thing is done to my satisfaction. Mikhail says he will cover my airfare either way we do it. i am not holding my breath on that one.
Beefy Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 but with the mindless members that follow pied piper pseudo reviewers you that claim to be all about adding to the community without ever admitting that they love the ass sucking they receive for their wordy reviews from members that lack experience that often fail to say all that much of merit. Quoted for truth. (Though it is pretty hypocritical of me to say so...... I've taken a lot more from the DIY community than I could ever possibly give back. But I am trying.) Oh, and the pathetic, weak and insecure sonovabitch who complained about, and thus forced me to get rid of, my Buddy Jesus avatar.
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