Well, here you go. You want answers to your hifi equipment questions? Pay these dudes 100.00 an hour and they will chat with you over the phone about your Marantz, Pioneer, or Mcintosh...or you can come in here and bother the tech types for free....I like free better....

I'm setting up my own consultation service, for 100.00 an hour I'll answer all of your questions on drinking beer and crapping, that's me right there in the pic consulting...

:banana:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50591&item=5721808417&rd=1

There was a guy on eBay a while back selling an ass kicking. You pay him, he comes and kicks your ass. If he was still offering this service I'd buy it and send it to these "consultants."
But-that's just me! :D

Actually. I have chatted with these guys for free a couple of years ago, about 10 minutes, concerning my Pioneer receiver. At least I thought it was free, maybe they are sending me a bill? They are very competent techs, but 100.00 an hour?

I have nothing good to say about this guy he's the owner/operater of circlestereo. When I was frist bitten by the vintage audio bug I shipped two Receivers to him a Pioneer SX-1980 that had a channel out and a Sansui G and he kept them, that right just took them. Things started out fine, he seems to know his business and was pleasent to talk to, than communiction ground to a halt and I have not been able to contact him in almost a year. I tried thephone numbers I had and the one on his ebay auctions, but after his machine take the message nothing. He and a few others made my introduction to vintage audio a bad experence, until I found this board and followed the suggestions found herein I had a couple of similar experences. I not going to let him have my property, I have a substantial investment in the stuff he has, trouble is he's in Dripping Springs Tx. and I'm in Chicago. I posted about this problem before, but didn't use any names hoping dispite the evidence against that hope that we could conclude our business.

That a real shame. This shop should come clean with your gear and right away !!

unbelievable..I mean I believe you...they are probably 4 hours from me...I'll go break in and get your stuff....but I might keep the SX-1980..

Maybe you should tell them that you are leaving several meassages here about what they did, and that you have already cost them business...of course, they might have all the business they need anyway...heck, I'll send them an email and say I was thinking about buying one of their high dollar restorations on ebay until I came in here and heard about what happened to you.....

I'm setting up my own consultation service, for 100.00 an hour I'll answer all of your questions on drinking beer and crapping, that's me right there in the pic consulting...



HAHAA thanks for the laugh. I like the addition to the avatar. :thmbsp:

real pretty area, gateway to the hill country in Texas..Willie Nelson lives near there..or smokes near there

http://www.drippingspringstx.com/

I like VintageNut's approach, however, cops these days are willingly going after internet theft. Worth a try to contact his area's PD.

-Ed

blohrd3,

That happened to me once. This local guy took my SX1050, failed to fix it, accidentally dropped it from 6 ft height, and refused to compensate. After calling him 5 times without anwers I decided to list his phone, home, and name on warning list on the Web. He is out of business now. :yes: And I make sure if his ad shows up my warning will immediately follows :naughty:

You should keep a log as to your attempts to contact him with dates and responses. Also, send a certified letter requesting he either return your property along with the date shipped, models and serial numbers and a copy of any paperwork you have. Give a resonalbe time, say 30 days, for a response. Then contact the local authorities and request to file a criminal charge. The state may say it is a civil matter but in many jurisdictions an investigator will pay a visit and do a preliminary inquiry and suggest the matter be resolved asap or the state may have no choice but to file. This usually is enought to scare the person into resolving the matter. Works better in small thinly populated areas than say NYC.

Thanks you guys, great suggestion. I'm going to go for the criminal charge, contacted an attorney and I'm waiting for a return call and whatever he decides.


It rasp the soul to allow someone to f**k you over with out a fight
Robert Howard

You should also determine the unit's monetary value as this will determine the severity of the criminal charge. There's always a value point that once exceeded changes the theft to grand larceny....scarier for the bad guys! This exact price level varies by jurisdiction so ask your lawyer and then get an appraisal from a source that will be recognized by the court.

Anthony

I spoke to an law firm pretty prestigious group they pop up on tv from time to time,this is a service provided thru by my union, he didn't seem very interested in the case I guess from his point of view he dosen't see bushel of buck raining down on him I estimated my loss at $2500 in this state thefts of $300 and overare considered felonies , got an appointment to meet with him 07 Jan 05 and he'll take a look at it . :thmbsp:

I think you'll find that a strongly worded dunning letter from a lawyer will be all that you need to get your gear back......or at worse a contact from the local district attorney should suffice.

Anthony

I think you'll find that a strongly worded dunning letter from a lawyer will be all that you need to get your gear back......or at worse a contact from the local district attorney should suffice.

Anthony
That is exactlly where the attorney had planned to began he'd said that the first action would be to contact the Attorney General office in Austin, but get this I awoke this morning to discover that I had an email from the gentleman and I'm expecting a call to arrange shipping of both recievers back to me. He stated that the looooooong delay was due to his not being able to find output transistor

Who would of thunk it. after many emails and phone calls I mention it on AudioKarma voila!. :thmbsp:

I still say we should break his legs.....after you get your gear back of course!

Anthony

i have heard off and on about that guy in dripping springs for several years. he has a reputation of taking forever on certain jobs. but i don't think i have ever heard of him being an out and out felon. just painfully slow.

as far as the consultation service goes, if you're willing to pay, then go for it, dude. and if you're not, don't ....

shrinkboy

2 years ago, Round-object Stereo had my brothers popular Japanese brand receiver for over 4 months before my brother finally got unhappy. Then it got fixed in a couple of days.

BTW, I had a Technics 5550 (?) receiver (one of those Armed Forces Stereo Club type specials) that I bought in Germany in 1976. There was some problem about 1994 or so and I called Round-object Stereo about it. He advised me to junk it, it would be too hard to fix. After starting to get back into "vintage" stereo, I'm finding most items are very repairable. I'm feeling now that he just didn't want to do the work.

I trusted the guy since I'd had him do several jobs back in the 70's - 80's and he did good fast work.

You mention him in Austin now and people give you the funny look like "do you know what you're getting into?".

I'm not trying to trash the guy, I'm sure he can still give good advise and do good work but I'm not having him work on anything of mine now.

but get this I awoke this morning to discover that I had an email from the gentleman and I'm expecting a call to arrange shipping of both recievers back to me. He stated that the looooooong delay was due to his not being able to find output transistorAlways wanted a dead 1980 to convert to 'normal' TO-3 output devices...I'd bet that even if I had to pay a machine shop big bucks to redrill the heatsinks for me that it would end up cheaper than trying to find those feckin' 1980 output devices (whatever they were).

Glad to hear they are on the way back (supposedly). What's the damage? ($$?)

I have also had similar problems with certain companys who only
want to take your money but provide shoddy products or services
in return. Twice I got results by filing complaints with the Attorney
Generals Office. Goodluck blohrd3!

Now wait a minute, I'm the dude that started this thread, and the result is the probable return of 2 high dollar receivers for a fellow member, and that's great. But, I think I deserve something out of this, like a cold beer...or maybe a enclosure for my toilet....

I do not know if I can be of any help here. But I will tell you I am about a 45 to 60 minute drive from Dripping Springs. I am not exactly sure where the shop is located there now. I used to deal with Circle Stereo when he resided on Gaudalupe street here. I now deal with Mike at Austin Stereo Service on Burnet road. This guy is way quick with turnaround, knows his stuff and has gone over and beyond to help me out with repairs for me.
I won't really rag or dog out the other place here. But you can PM me and I will tell you my experiences with that shop and owner. :worried:

Now wait a minute, I'm the dude that started this thread, and the result is the probable return of 2 high dollar receivers for a fellow member, and that's great. But, I think I deserve something out of this, like a cold beer...or maybe a enclosure for my toilet....

Hey, VintageNut, good work. Damn straight you deserve an enclosure for your toilet, at least for our sakes.

I think I still have the old 360* shower curtain, from the cast iron bathtub. you know, where the curtain goes all the way around, turing it into a shower. The rod fastens to the wall, behind the fixture, and the other end will need to be supported, either from above or below, so that...


Oh, wait, that thing didn't survive the last close encounter of the marital kind, before the renovation. :naughty: Sorry.

Want a fridge box, instead?

Always wanted a dead 1980 to convert to 'normal' TO-3 output devices...I'd bet that even if I had to pay a machine shop big bucks to redrill the heatsinks for me that it would end up cheaper than trying to find those feckin' 1980 output devices (whatever they were).

Glad to hear they are on the way back (supposedly). What's the damage? ($$?)
So far the bill itemized, one SX-1980 purchased on ebay about two years ago with a channel out was 550.00 + shipping, six output trans from partsolver.com sent to him March/04 at $46.50 each #2SD746A and 2SB706A+ shipping the shop reported that they recieved six #2SD746A which can't be used. Sansui Gxxxx purchased on ebay stuck in protect mode (I'd have to check Paypal for exact amount) about 65.00 shipped directly to him. Bulls**ting and farting around, priceless. After looking over the 1980 I was quoted a price near 500.00 for the work and was told that the Sansui is unrepairable due to someones earlier attmpt to repair it. In my attempt to recover these recievers I talked to a two other people who have done business with this shop and both report that he does professional work, and one hinted that the guy was having some domestic problems., both also stated that he takes his own sweet time. Just waiting for his call. EchoWars might I have the 1980 shipped to you and converted it to "normal " TO-3 whatever that means. PM me :yes:

TO-3 are the normal metal cased transistors, like on the SX-1250, and many others. The SX-1980 uses the weirdo outputs, I think made by Darlington? and so does the SX-1280, the SX-980, and the entire Pioneer 80 series if I remember right. The more I think about vintage, the more I think I want all discrete components in my vintage stuff. No ICs, no funky epoxy embedded outputs, no one of a kind dual power capacitors like in the Marantz 2285B, it sure would make parts replacement much easier. For exmple, the old Marantz model 19 receiver was all discrete, but please correct me if I’m wrong. Check out the guy selling SX-1980 outputs for 249.00 opening bid, just for the outputs.


http://bigdaddy-enterprises.com/electronics/e-2n3055.jpg

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50596&item=5742011570&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Now wait a minute, I'm the dude that started this thread, and the result is the probable return of 2 high dollar receivers for a fellow member, and that's great. But, I think I deserve something out of this, like a cold beer...or maybe a enclosure for my toilet....

U shore dew deserve some sumpthin, how abowt some used terlet payper? I gots a endless sewply of it!

Anthony

Parts Solver and Pacific Coast Parts both still list the output devices for the 1980. I'd think that since the 1980's are/were so popular, that if they weren't available they should say so. Odd.

The design of the output is called a triple-Darlington...it's not a device (although there are Darlington output packs and Darlington transistors...not a manufacturer, but a type of device). IIRC the 1280 and 980 use standard TO-3 devices: although some of the lower numbered Pioneer's of this era do use Darlington modules, the ones closer to the TOTL use discretes.

Didn't Parts Solver take the parts back? I'm confused...if he got six of the devices, either:

a) The three incorrect ones go back, and the three correct ones get ordered, or...
b) All of them go back (which suggests that he simply threw up his hands in frustration and said 'screw it') and you don't get charged for chit.

Also I find it odd that he thinks (or thought) that it needs a complete set for one channel. Odd for one entire channel set to fry...usually one pair goes, the fuse blows, the amp shuts down. Takes too long to blow them all...but I guess it can happen.

PCP wants like $37 each for the parts. If they are still available, that would be the way to go. These are 200V, 10A, 200W devices, which is not too hard to get with a good On-Semi part, but their unity-gain frequency is something like 14MHz, which is damn fast for a high-power output transistor, and probably about two to three times the speed of the On-Semi MJ21193/94 pair that I use. Would it make a difference in sound? Probably not...

The auction for the parts that Vintagenut posted is not out of line...too bad he doesn't have 6 of each, which would give a spare channel set for the unit.

Now wait a minute, I'm the dude that started this thread, and the result is the probable return of 2 high dollar receivers for a fellow member, and that's great. But, I think I deserve something out of this, like a cold beer...or maybe a enclosure for my toilet....



Hey Villagenut

We'll meet you at the AK fest in April we'll tip a few there :yes:

I'll bring my new fangled high quality super comfort porta potty ( ya know the new ones that are red plastic and say Folgers on the side) so we'll both feel right at home :stupid: :lmao:

Second thought I'll bring two, I don't care to share :lmao: :lmao:

From one bullshitter to another...Just shit'in ya ! :yes:

Cheers
Army

Now talk to me like I'm ignant, and you won't be wrong This part,On-Semi MJ21193/94, will replace the oem out puts and you have used them in your own work?.


To clear up the confusion by the time he notified me that these were not the correct parts 30 days had past and Partsolver would not issue a refund neither do thy have the correct outputs and do not expect to stock any. At this time he proposed a solution He could repair the reciever using parts of a like voltage and he would send the six to me to do with as I would, at this point I'm a bit P.O.ed, but maintaining civility I countered that he keep them and deduct the cost from the final bill at this point he cut all communication and this is the first I've heard from him since

Time for a new thread... (http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=253322#post253322) ;)

I have nothing good to say about this guy he's the owner/operater of circlestereo. When I was frist bitten by the vintage audio bug I shipped two Receivers to him a Pioneer SX-1980 that had a channel out and a Sansui G and he kept them, that right just took them. Things started out fine, he seems to know his business and was pleasent to talk to, than communiction ground to a halt and I have not been able to contact him in almost a year. I tried thephone numbers I had and the one on his ebay auctions, but after his machine take the message nothing. He and a few others made my introduction to vintage audio a bad experence, until I found this board and followed the suggestions found herein I had a couple of similar experences. I not going to let him have my property, I have a substantial investment in the stuff he has, trouble is he's in Dripping Springs Tx. and I'm in Chicago. I posted about this problem before, but didn't use any names hoping dispite the evidence against that hope that we could conclude our business.


Damn what ever happened ?

Follow the thread links...