travisc Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 thats my point!!! you made it everyones business including mine by posting it in the forum. Ignorance??? It looks to me that I was correct in my assumption. Joessportster you are welcome to post anything you want, its your life. I stopped subscribing to the victim mentality a long time ago. Fry away bud I'll say one thing, Mark is a better man than I you ain't got a leg to stand on ps, I am happy it worked out for you. lets move on Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 "Interesting thread - but we are comparing apples and oranges here. Almost invariably new equipment will not look like good value for money next to 2nd hand - which I assume is how Neo bought his. For example: A brand new Klipsch Horn is excellent value for money in comparison to any other high end speaker out there, new. Next to a 2nd hand unit, at often less than a 1/3rd of the price it is not such good value. At $2-3000 Mark's preamp looks good value against some of its competition which retails for upto $10,000 - although I have not heard it." You're wrong, Max! At $500 my AES AE1 (almost new with factory-wired and NOS tubes) is an excellent value against Mark's preamp. Even a used or refurbished BlueBerry is still expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olorin Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 So? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Dude, you have got to be kidding me! You think everything you buy comes with a price guarantee, man welcome to the REAL world. If I went to my buddy that is part owner in an audio store and bought say a B&K Ref 50 S2 for $2500, and the following week or shortly after the price dropped to $1500, which does happen by the way quite often in this business. Do you think I would be back there asking if I could have that deal instead, and wanting my $1K back. Uh, I think not.Prices drop, things go on sale, business directions change, get used to it! I have budget to work with too! So do most of the people on this forum. I think that it was in very poor taste to do what you did and to those who suggested that you do it. You have absolutely no class whatsoever, period. I for one think that you took advantage of Mark with what you did! What you weren't happy with the performance of the unit, you saw that there was something better now available on the website and started to regret the purchase to some degree. A class act would have contacted Mark behind the scenes and inquired about the new product and expressed his concern about the newer unit and the price difference. Judging by Mark's character I am certain that he would have worked something out with you. How low can some of you jokers stoop - really! May a litter of mice infest your bass bins! Bunch of Troglodytes.Waaaaaaaah I didn't get the best deal possible, wahhhhhh I'm tired of hearing about Mark's products. I think all you whiners need to get on your bikes and pedal your ugly asses out of here! Before I call the whaaaaaaaaammmbulance for you. What a sad state of affairs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 I have no complain against you, Mark! Simply put, my opinion about values differs from others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I did not really like the AES preamp I heard, I was never too keen on the "cary sound". I little veiled and not too extended I felt. but preamp choice is one that is totally system dependent, swap any component in your system and you may very well need to swap preamps. re: value, well this is most subjective thing there is...certainly DIY, vintage, kit and cheap pres like the Grounded Grid, some chinese pres, the AES unit peg the meter in value. but among new, mid-priced (again that term is TOTALLY subjective) pres, anything that sounds great under $1,500 is a great value. when I start to think about upgrading to my "last" pre, most candidates start at $4-5k. given the history of units mark has produced it is reasonable to expect his preamps to compete with the best stuff out there, when I saw he was pricing most everything below $2k I was amazed! looking at he merlin and hearing comments about the level of satisfaction people have with his equipment, past and present, I feel confident that a merlin IS a good value. neo you have every right to you opinion, thanks for stating it, I think you are right you have a great value system there. that is not to say that my willingness to spend $2k or $3k on a preamp means that my system will not be a great value as well. nothing could be more subjective. regards, tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigma Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I have kept quite to this point about the dealing I had with joesportster, several months ago, on a trade for a reel to reel. It was a piece of crap! which he described as excellent with very low hours, when in reality it had badly worn heads with thousands of hours use. Of course "it was damaged in shipping" His excuse for not following through with his agreement was he lost his job! Since then I have seen him portray himself as the victim needing sympathy too many times. Grow up and say what you will do and do what you say and live with the choices you make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Ouch, that'll leave a mark..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I have kept quite to this point about the dealing I had with joesportster, several months ago, on a trade for a reel to reel. It was a piece of crap! which he described as excellent with very low hours, when in reality it had badly worn heads with thousands of hours use. Of course "it was damaged in shipping" His excuse for not following through with his agreement was he lost his job! Since then I have seen him portray himself as the victim needing sympathy too many times. Grow up and say what you will do and do what you say and live with the choices you make. Incoming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I have kept quite to this point about the dealing I had with joesportster, several months ago, on a trade for a reel to reel. It was a piece of crap! which he described as excellent with very low hours, when in reality it had badly worn heads with thousands of hours use. Of course "it was damaged in shipping" His excuse for not following through with his agreement was he lost his job! Since then I have seen him portray himself as the victim needing sympathy too many times. Grow up and say what you will do and do what you say and live with the choices you make. Uh oh. Incoming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazytubepower Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Piranha, I just noticed you lived in laguna beach, my good friend lives their. Maybe the next time I over their I can stop buy for a listen. Pm me your contact info If you would be intrested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Jeeesh you guys are still peeign all over each other over what brand of preamp/amp you like? Might I suggest the following: http://www.midol.com/index.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 "You're wrong, Max! At $500 my AES AE1 (almost new with factory-wired and NOS tubes) is an excellent value against Mark's preamp. Even a used or refurbished BlueBerry is still expensive!" As neither of us has heard Mark's Preamp and I have not heard yours either that is a somewhat unverifiable statement at this stage. At $500 your pre appears to be a staggeringly good deal - does it have a phono stage? I had thought my DECWARE ZTPRE was good value at $1000 even though it does not include a phono but with Mark now producing his introductory level pre-amp at something around $600 (Merlin?) I guess I need to re-visit "value" - afterall - that is what I paid (almost) for just the external phono stage - which some will say was good value in and of itself. These arguments are entirely circular - one person's assessment of value does not match another's - but this is a forum and we are here to share our opinions. (Note: It is worth bearing in mind that I also think my turntable setup is good value for money - and you dont want to know how much that cost! Break it down over the expected life of the unit, however and it looks fine to me.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I haven't ever said anything about this on the board before, but after reading this thread, I have to state my dealings with Mark. I tried a Blueberry long before many members did, and Mark was a gentleman and always expressed patience with my stupid questions. Unfortunately, the amp was slightly damaged in shipping (the mono switch being the worst hit) and although he was on vacation, he helped me thru the crisis. I listened, and I think my only complaint was no tone controls ..and that's probably because (A) my room maybe..my posts show some complaints there or ( maybe some more damage was done in shipping than meets the eye..at any rate, my point is..Mark was most forthcoming in taking the unit back, and refunding me after I auditioned it. Most people won't let customers audition, especially by mail order! Maybe they won't get it back! Maybe parts have been traded. Mark is a class act, and although the preamp wasn't what I was looking for (again, the tone controls..that's me) Mark made everything more than right. And that's a helluva lot more than most companies will do for you! Regards, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I have kept quite to this point about the dealing I had with joesportster, several months ago, on a trade for a reel to reel. It was a piece of crap! which he described as excellent with very low hours, when in reality it had badly worn heads with thousands of hours use. Of course "it was damaged in shipping" His excuse for not following through with his agreement was he lost his job! Since then I have seen him portray himself as the victim needing sympathy too many times. Grow up and say what you will do and do what you say and live with the choices you make. oh boy another attack well im up for the task of calling a spade a spade here also, first the trade that i might add you offered. you traded me 2 marantz m500 mono blocks and 1 scott lc21 tube pre and you said they were all in excellent shape when in reality the marantz had bad speaker terminals on one and the scott looked as though it had been thru a war the face was bent, scratched, the cover was corroded, aand had permanent marker writing all over it and there was a hum present (dont have to beleive me ask craig as he has it now) only differance is i described it accurately to him. now on to the deck i used the deck myself several times here before i offered to sell it and traded you i packed it and shipped it to you properly a fact that was proven when the insurance paid for the damage. i offered to trade you your CRAP back for the deck but you wanted to come out ahead on the deasl i suggested having it looked at to see what the problem was and it was found by your tech to have been dropped and a board cracked and i paid for the repair(i recooped the $ from the ins as you well know) sounds to me like you are trying to cry as a victim so here we go again in black and whitesend me the deck with all the accessories you received and i will give you the 700.00. lets not forget about all the tapes and reels included i have since sold the crap i got from you a testament to how good it really was ill bet you still have the deck though!!!!!!!!!! i dont pretend to be a victim on here quite the contrary. i state facts i wont try to control what you or anyone else thinks or writes but if you want to bring up a subject and try to fry someone be sure to include all the facts not just what makes you look like a martyre. fact is you traded off some old crap you had lying around for a deck that you wanted, that deck was damaged in shipping and fact is i paid the repair bill, so what do you have to cry about???????Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 ...if you feel like taking the manly way about it, my phone number is 707-786-9736. I answer it even on Sunday evenings. So, Guy, Neo, whomever, feel free to ring me up and direct your beef to ME. Love to hear your complaint. mdeneen Way to go, Mark. I don't think you'll get any calls... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 "Would you please post pictures of it?" Soon, I promise. I've been waiting more than a year, Neo. Where are the pics? [sn] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 He has to go in and retrieve them from The Matrix it may be awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 "I didn't want new members to the board and to higher end audio, to think that the only equipment worth having was that which was sold by our board members." Most of us have been through a lot of gear, and many of us have found the best sound coming from things built by those who know and understand what works best with these horns. I'm sure anyone coming to this forum, or new to audio fully realizes that there are other things out there worth having. So, tell me quick -- how many choke loaded, fixed bias, tube rectified push-pull monoblocks are out there? How about anywhere near the price NOSvalves builds them for? How about tube rectified full function preamps and linestages with more power supply filtering than most amps have. Where do you go if you want a new network or are having a problem with one? How about a bad driver? Want a new kick *** horn that will actually fit without modding half the speaker? I think it's great that people are happy with the goods and services offered through this forum, and every thread or post is simply the testimony of a satisfied customer. Dean; Please quit trying to defend against what was NOT said. Please read my post in total and in context. There is no need to defend anyone or any gear from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted September 1, 2005 Author Share Posted September 1, 2005 "He has to go in and retrieve them from The Matrix it may be awhile." LOL. Hahaha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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