Preamp Deal of the Century

Throw a little red meat on the ground and watch the dogs run in.

As a business owner myself, I can tell you horror stories about customers who completely make up stories to support their own self-interest. Just last night we had dinner with another couple who also own a local business and we were telling war stories about customers we have had to deal with. It is truly unbelievable to hear what human beings are capable of when it comes to the truth. Prior to owning a business, I would have never believed half the stories I have heard from other business owners if it weren't for the fact that I have experienced mind-boggling whoppers in my business.

At this point we know nothing but Maril555's side of the story. From personal experience, I can guarantee you that there is another side that may possibly paint a very different picture.

The truth is that there are many, many happy Supratek owners who have had nothing but glowing experiences with Mick and the sound of his preamps. More often than not, I tend to go with the odds and in this case, the odds are over-whelming in Mick's favor based on the entirety of this thread. Does that mean that Maril555 is lying? No, but until a few others chime in here to offset the over-whelming numbers of satisfied owners, I'm going to give Mick the benefit of the doubt.

And to the Asylum thread knocking the internal layout of Micks preamp, I would venture to guess a good percentage of them have never heard a Supratek. Just look at their comments about how a Supratek couldn't possibly survive shipping or about how noisy a Supratek would have to be. Well, they are clearly wrong on both counts, but the facts don't matter to them. The only thing that matters is their own self-interest (read: manufacturers whose products got their clocks cleaned by Suprateks) or the others who blather-about online because, like Zack Mayo, they have "no place to go".

Maril, This is the quote that made me think you were spoiling for a fight:

This whole "Preamp of the century" thread makes me to re- think value of A-gon posts and integrity of some of it's members.

You went from complaining about Mick, which is your right, to implying that A'gon members who post positive things about Supratek somehow lack integrity. I for one was insulted.

I actually didn't expect anything less, but a repetition on the same theme- majority is always right.
Just to answer some specifics-
Tvad- I did return the amps immediately. I have contacted Mick the very next day, I took delivery of the amps, and sent them back a few days after.
I do believe, Mick filed a claim with FedEx, and I'm pretty sure (no confirmation), that FedEx did pay, since there was a pretty obvious damage to the boxes.
Upon receiving amps, Mick admitted, that they looked, like they were mishandled, and also stated, they "fixed them-up".
I do not know, if the amps were sold to someone else afterwards.
The point is- he agrred to refund my money, got the amps back, fixed them, maybe even resold them, and still didn't pay me.
Fiddler- your whole post is nothing more, than a series of assumptions, base on your less, than positive experience with your customers. I'm having difficult time to understand, what is the relevance in this particular case.
Theris no "other sides" to the story. Mick did admit to shipping damage after visually inspecting the units, after getting them back, and agreed to a refund.
You somehow implying, that I got perfect amps, dropped it down from my second story window, and made up the story to cheat Mick out of his hard- earned cash.
I don't think I ever asked anyone in this thread to vote to neither mine, nor Mick's favor, I just simply shared my experience.
Again, the argument about majority vs. Minority bears no relevance, nor it matters anything to me, or is capable of changing MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
As to the comments about "about how a Supratek couldn't possibly survive shipping "- I would like somebody to make honest claim to a quality and adequacy of Supratek packaging.
It is unquestionably far below standards. Even cheapest of equipment, purchase someplace else, has far more reliable packaging. And, that Supratek is exactly cheap- the amps were $6500

i'd say the supratek packaging is good to mediocre. i've seen better and i've seen worse. the saving grace is typically the shipment method and the speed of delivery. from australia to the usa in 3 days is amazing.

i've received a chardonnay, malbecs and cabernet dual all in perfect condition. i've shipped the chardonnay to puerto rico and the malbecs to new york in the original supratek packaging and they arrived without incident.

Maril555,
Come now, with all due respect you did not "simply tell your story." You questioned the integrity of Supratek owners whose experience differs from yours, and you made a snarky remark when members did not immediately post in support of your comments. You may well have been wronged, but attacking the integrity and credibility of other members does little to advance your cause.