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[OM] OT Rant: No more $$ to Europe!

Subject: [OM] OT Rant: No more $$ to Europe!
From: hiwayman@xxxxxxx (Walt Wayman)
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 16:21:34 +0000
It will be a cold day in hell before I buy another piece of audio gear made 
anywhere in Europe.  About 18 months ago, I replaced a failing Meridian 
(British) D/A converter and ailing Meridian (British again) CD transport with a 
do-everything Philips (Dutch) 1000 SACD/DVD player.  This thing originally sold 
for $2000.  I hope no one bought one at that price.  I paid $999 at 
model-change time.  The POS gradually died.  First, it wouldn't do this, then 
it wouldn't do that, and soon it wouldn't do a ****ing thing.  In my opinion, a 
slow and lingering death is just what it deserved.

There's a Philips repair center not far from me.  Since the thing is out of 
worthless warranty now, I may drive by and either see if they can fix it for a 
reasonable amount or maybe just throw the thing through their window.

In the last five years, I have had three European-made pieces of audio gear 
crap out, each one slowly, a bit at a time, never with the decency to go all of 
a sudden, with a bang and a puff of smoke, like they should.  Except for an 
easily replaced fuse or tube on a few occasions, I have never had a piece of 
American-made audio gear fail, not ever, not in 40 years, and only one made in 
Japan, and that was my fault, but that's another story.  No more from "over 
there," not ever!

I have replaced the Philips with a $600 Denon (Japanese) which is twice as good 
as the Philips ever was.  Now, except for the Denon, a Rega (British) RB-300 
tonearm on my AR ES-1 turntable, and a Tandberg (Norwegian) FM tuner, both my  
audio set-ups are all American, if not by manufacture, at least by name and, 
hopefully, design: Acoustic Research, Adcom, Ampex, Conrad-Johnson, Dyna, 
McCormack, P.S. Audio, Vandersteen, V.P.I., et al.

I should have known better anyhow by virtue of experience.  I've owned an MG 
and a Jaguar, and I'm putting an old TR-6 back together for the second time.  
Cars, I can fix.  Dead audio gear goes to the landfill.  Why I continue to 
punish myself with old British sports cars, I'll never know.  It's kind of like 
this OM thing, I suppose.  I love them both, maybe less for what they are than 
for what they are not.

Still, I can't help but wonder, is there some lack of understanding of the 
fundamental principles of electricity over there?  Do American electrons commit 
unnatural acts on European devices?

Walt

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