George Roland Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 I am interested in auditioning a pair of Welborne SET amps with my K-horns. If anyone in NW PA/Pittsburgh, Cleveland, OH area or Buffalo, NY area is willing to bring them by and let me audition them, I'd be most grateful. Beer's on me! George Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrPyro Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I don't have a pair of Welborn SETs, but i will shortly have a pair of Juicy Music pCATs. I realize they are different flavors, but who knows.... I'm in the buffalo area... -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJbob Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 If your contemplating a purchase, I have to let you know of the reputation of the company. From everyone involved they all say they are great amps. Now here comes the rest. Their are constant problems getting orders filled, shipped with correct parts and poor to no customer service once you gave your credit card. Do a search on the SET forum in Audio Asylum. This way you know what your getting into.... My personal experience was an incomplete parts order on a project I was working on, No response to my email and the back ordered 4 coupling capacitor showed up a month later. Needless to say that held up my project and I purchased them elseware (cheap lessson) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 If your contemplating a purchase, I have to let you know of the reputation of the company. From everyone involved they all say they are great amps. Now here comes the rest. Their are constant problems getting orders filled, shipped with correct parts and poor to no customer service once you gave your credit card. Do a search on the SET forum in Audio Asylum. This way you know what your getting into.... My personal experience was an incomplete parts order on a project I was working on, No response to my email and the back ordered 4 coupling capacitor showed up a month later. Needless to say that held up my project and I purchased them elseware (cheap lessson) I would agree that if you are looking for the efficiency of a large company with many employees then do not order from Welborne. As far as I know you are dealing with 1 person with a few flaws, but in the end Ron Welborne will get you your order eventually. Not speedy, not with the best communication. But in the end you will have a quality product at a great price. If you know that going into it, you won't be disappointed. I have 4 kits from Welborne and am very satisfied with the end product and the price on all of them. To me it's worth the wait. I have some parts on backorder now as a matter of fact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 FWIW I currently have 1 of 2 boxes from a Star Chief order I placed with Ron (and paid for) in November. [:@] It might be worth the wait, but it is no way to run a business. I am not one to let my Welborne rah-rah feelings excuse a well documented history of lousy customer service. It is what it is. Great product, crappy service. Best of luck to you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Roland Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Hi Dave, I have Deneen's Blueberry Xtreme preamp, and I like it a lot. I'm certainly interested in his pCAT amps too. What speakers are you using? Please let me know after you get the pCats what you think of them. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markgod Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 I don't have a pair of Welborn SETs, but i will shortly have a pair of Juicy Music pCATs. I realize they are different flavors, but who knows.... I'm in the buffalo area... -Dave Hey Guy, Long wait on those, you still thinking about a get together ,some time? How you been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 FWIW I currently have 1 of 2 boxes from a Star Chief order I placed with Ron (and paid for) in November. [:@] It might be worth the wait, but it is no way to run a business. I am not one to let my Welborne rah-rah feelings excuse a well documented history of lousy customer service. It is what it is. Great product, crappy service. Best of luck to you... Yup, like I said before if great customer service (meaning great communication, speedy shipments etc. etc.) is very important to you don't order from Welborne. If you want a good product at a great price and are willing to wait longer than usual, not hear updates etc. etc - Welborne might be for you. Ron Welborne can choose to run his business his way. If he likes it that way it will probably continue that way. I was a Customer Service Mgr for a software company and our CEO wanted great customer service, unfortunately he was not willing to pay for it! - People often think great customer service is free! - Far from it! - It costs money and is passed on to the consumer. Every Customer Service seminar will tell you that and business today will cut customer service faster than anything. Welborne would probably have to hire a person or two to improve his customer service and to make the same amount on his product, he'd have to raise his prices. Personally, I'd rather have the cheaper prices and not have someone answer e-mails about 'when is my amp coming'. He would also have to stock a large inventory of possibly obsolete parts to turn orders around quickly and not be at the mercy of his suppliers. - This costs a lot of money also. Where Ron exceeds in customer service is when you have a technical problem building your kit, you can usually get him on the phone and he will try to help you through it. He has even helped me solve via e-mails some problems I had with ground loops which had nothing to do with his gear. So I'll summarize. It may very well be Welborne's business plan to have lousy customer service, have a great product at a low price. The airlines had everyone complaining about lousy food back in the 70's. - They solved the problem - They took away the food! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrPyro Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 George- Sorry for the slow reply, i was out of town.... I hate to admit it, but right now my main speakers are Dynaudio Confidence C1s. I was running some RF-3s, but they are sitting in the corner ever since I got the C1s. I'm not sure how the tubes are going to pair with the C1s, as they LOVE big powerful amps, nor do I know what i'm going to do with the RF-3s. I will be trying both sets of speakers with the pCATs as soon as I get them... Mark- It has been a long wait, but seeing the quality of the Blueberry pre/pros, I'm sure these amps will be outstanding. As for the Western NY get together, I really haven't looked much at my schedule.... How about sometime in May or something? Cheers -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 FWIW I currently have 1 of 2 boxes from a Star Chief order I placed with Ron (and paid for) in November. [:@] It might be worth the wait, but it is no way to run a business. I am not one to let my Welborne rah-rah feelings excuse a well documented history of lousy customer service. It is what it is. Great product, crappy service. Best of luck to you... Yup, like I said before if great customer service (meaning great communication, speedy shipments etc. etc.) is very important to you don't order from Welborne. If you want a good product at a great price and are willing to wait longer than usual, not hear updates etc. etc - Welborne might be for you. Ron Welborne can choose to run his business his way. If he likes it that way it will probably continue that way. I was a Customer Service Mgr for a software company and our CEO wanted great customer service, unfortunately he was not willing to pay for it! - People often think great customer service is free! - Far from it! - It costs money and is passed on to the consumer. Every Customer Service seminar will tell you that and business today will cut customer service faster than anything. Welborne would probably have to hire a person or two to improve his customer service and to make the same amount on his product, he'd have to raise his prices. Personally, I'd rather have the cheaper prices and not have someone answer e-mails about 'when is my amp coming'. He would also have to stock a large inventory of possibly obsolete parts to turn orders around quickly and not be at the mercy of his suppliers. - This costs a lot of money also. Where Ron exceeds in customer service is when you have a technical problem building your kit, you can usually get him on the phone and he will try to help you through it. He has even helped me solve via e-mails some problems I had with ground loops which had nothing to do with his gear. So I'll summarize. It may very well be Welborne's business plan to have lousy customer service, have a great product at a low price. The airlines had everyone complaining about lousy food back in the 70's. - They solved the problem - They took away the food! You know, I just wanted to update this thread because over the last week and a half or so I've come to realize I just can't disagree with you more. My original email was a bit off the cuff - I didn't check my order specifics. My order was paid for on September 25, 2006. It has still not been filled. I have one of two boxes for the Star Chief order and am unable to begin building. Since I last posted on this 7 or 8 emails to two different email accounts for Welborne have gone unanswered as has a phone call. So, with all due respect, the sentence, "Personally, I'd rather have the cheaper prices and not have someone answer e-mails about 'when is my amp coming" makes light of the instant matter. Not following through in over 6 months on an $1850 order (for which my credit card was immediately charged) isn't an ill conceived "business plan," it is, at best, negligence. I'm not looking for "great communication" or "speedy" shipments. I'm prepared to suffer a bit with the cottage industry type folks in order to get a great product at a great price. I get it. More people for better service = higher price. Right. I can deal with a reasonable delay. I'll admit that "reasonable" can be subjective, but in this case we have moved into the territory of the objectively unreasonable. I'm just looking for a shipment, or, in lieu of that, any communication. You say Ron can choose to run his business this way and I say No, he cannot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Makes me glad I bought mine already built. I sure would want my money back considering the time frame of this. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J M O N Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Sounds like it's time to get your money back. I wouldn't be willing to wait six months for an order (unless I knew in advance it was expected to take that long) and then not have any communication about it when it's way past due. I'd see if the credit card company would give you a refund -- maybe that would wake him up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Makes me glad I bought mine already built. I sure would want my money back considering the time frame of this. Bruce Rub it in Bruce - Your Moondogs used to be mine!!![] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 I know Kevin, I didn't want to mention that. I love them, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 I know Kevin, I didn't want to mention that. I love them, too. Well...I AM happy to hear that![Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 I had never heard all of the problems with Ron and his deliveries. If I hadn't been blessed with the Merlin, I may very well have bought one of his preamps. I hope you can get this all resolved to your satisfaction (seems unlikely given how long it's been already). [8-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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