My customer journey with Paul Hynes...

[Confused]

3 hours ago, PeterSt said:

Btw, isn't England famous for the ever so nice queuing up ?

That depends.  In the Post Office, queuing is almost an art form, controlled by loose barriers and electronic disembodied voices telling you which cashier is free next.  It is very civilised.  However, try to push in front of an Englishman at a Bar who has been waiting over 5 minutes for his next beer, you might find out what "meeting in the pub car park" means. (This has nothing to do with parking cars, in fact, you would be better off moving your car to safety before such an event occurs)

 

I think for an Englishman, waiting for audio kit is half way between queuing at the Post Office and needing that next beer, and sometimes you need that beer at lot more than at other times.....?

[mansr]

[mrmb]

Several years ago, I found quite negative and decisive information similar to the poster's recent experience.  Delivery delays and excuses from the seller abounded.  After wading through all of the information available, my conclusion was this was systemic and business as usual, as opposed to being an aberration and I elected to look elsewhere for PSU's.  So, years later, this post is anything but surprising -- it's just business as usual....  

 

 

 

[firedog]

37 minutes ago, mrmb said:

Several years ago, I found quite negative and decisive information similar to the poster's recent experience.  Delivery delays and excuses from the seller abounded.  After wading through all of the information available, my conclusion was this was systemic and business as usual, as opposed to being an aberration and I elected to look elsewhere for PSU's.  So, years later, this post is anything but surprising -- it's just business as usual....  

 

 

 

Me too. Don't care how good his products are, would never order from someone who works like this. There are alternatives. 

[auricgoldfinger]

Here's one alternative:

 

 

I hope to be comparing the Reference 1 to an SR7 later this week.

[Confused]

9 hours ago, mansr said:

The bloke in the middle with the red rucksack is thinking “damn, I wish I’d ordered it with the double regulator now”

[crenca]

1 minute ago, Confused said:

The bloke in the middle with the red rucksack is thinking “damn, I wish I’d ordered it with the double regular now”

 

I thought he was thinking that he should have left the pickle on it...

[Lobbster]

Island time MON!

 

When I enquired about PH's DR SR7 (mid-Sept), he told me the queue was minimum 200 days, and more likely 1 yr+. Consistent with reports on this board. At that time all cancelled orders had been spoken for. I felt well informed and decided to buy a JS2 instead, which had it's own delays (very minor - 2 or 3 weeks for parts restock). 

 

I may have purchased if I only was required to provide a deposit until the order is ready. I didn't have to pay for the JS2 until it was ready to ship, and because of the delay I used the 'check is in the mail' route and saved the mfg a few $$. However, PH's terms are clear - pay full in advance and wait - it is what it is. 

 

PH produces a high value bespoke product and doesn't seem to be short on buyers no matter how he runs 'his' business. Frankly I find his lifestyle choices & challenges fascinating. The delays are consistent with remote island lifestyles... 

 

Power to those who can figure out how to make the alternate lifestyle work for their family. Keep on rocking Paul, every report I read says those lucky enough to have one of your PS's is worth the wait !!

 

Best to all in 2019!

[auricgoldfinger]

I will probably (hopefully) take delivery of my SR7 around the 2-year anniversary of placing my order.  My estimate is based on 2018 production trends.

[lucretius]

18 hours ago, Lobbster said:

I may have purchased if I only was required to provide a deposit until the order is ready.

 

Having to pay in full and wait 1 to 2 years is unreasonable.  Surely, the parts are not ordered this far in advance and don't comprise 100% of the purchase price.  What happens to your money if something happens to the proprietor? I agree with Peter that this particular venture is more of a crowd funding situation than it is a business.

[your momo]

It remains root of disappointment here is even not that, neither the length of the queue, but clearly the dry throughput, especially in the recent months.

 

Based on what is posted on CA, there was zero SR7 delivery since end of August, and about 14 delivered in the first 8 months of 2018.

 

How comes "production" can be on hold during four consecutive months ? ...this is 1/3 of a year and the remaining 2/3 with less than 2 build per months was already not a fast lane.

[auricgoldfinger]

The original "conservative" plan for 2018 called for one completed SR7 build per week.  The reasons for the delays are documented in the other SR7 thread.

[your momo]

After more than two weeks since last message from Paul regarding SR7 custom build ( #504, March 1st ) and nothing from him either in my mailbox, I have to resume posting on my "customer journey" thread.
Possibly Paul has lost his e-mail password, or what else critical and unexpected happened on his computer or his Island, ...etc

 

Nevermind, I luckily still manage to get good access to my e-mail, so here are the messages we exchanged since begin of 2019
Exchange might not be the right word, since I only get one answer from Paul on January 2nd, and then a big nothing.

At least I have now a build number for my SR7, just need to know if a builder is still available at the other end of the line ...or if I need to issue a flight ticket for a factory tour ?

---------- Forwarded message ---------

Date: lun. 25 févr. 2019 à 14:11
Subject: Re: Remaining work on SR7DRMR2XL for François

 

Hi Paul,

Could you please answer to my previous e-mail, thanks.
François

_____________
Le ven. 22 févr. 2019 à 15:22

Hi Paul,

Seven weeks now since I read a message from you regarding remaining work on my build...
From your last message last leg was planned to start on last week, so I would like to get some update on progress, please.

Kind regards, François

_____________
Le jeu. 3 janv. 2019 à 22:57

Hi Paul,

First of all thank you for your rapid answer, this is appreciated.
Also the good news is that you have all material on hand for my build, which means that aspect is safe now.

The less good news is that provided you resume your custom build work on next week :

• you propose now to move forward on my order in the week of February 11th, this is in six weeks from now
• also work steps description looks now to have become a full new build effort, 5 + 2 working days, aside shipment

Reading back again into our email exchanges from last September, your original selling pitch doesn't match well with today reality...
As a gesture of goodwill, I will not open legalist debate yet and prefer to look forward on your work to be eventually done, as agreed.

However, I would like to rise that I will not wait again and hopeless for months, Outer Hebrides is not that far, and I always wanted to visit Scotland.
So I keep trust in you to deliver, in the meantime I'm expecting to be kept informed upfront, on a regular basis, of your progress until my order get shipped.

In conclusion, may I wish you all the best in your workplace preparation and custom build endeavor...

Kind regards, François

_____________
Le mer. 2 janv. 2019 à 18:52

Hello Francois,

I am well, thank you. I can certainly do with some steadiness in my 
life. The aim of the new premises is to provide a platform to allow 
this, as there is now scope for hiring helpers to deal with the 
workload.

I understand that you were disappointed that the custom build order you 
took over did not arrive as planned for the Christmas holidays. In an 
ideal world this would not have happened, but unfortunately it has 
proved impossible to predict how the future will unfold for a queue of 
custom build orders, as there are so many variables that can affect the 
process.

When I informed you of the fresh availability of custom build number 23 
due to a customer wanting to completely reconfigure his power supply 
application I had finished build 14. After checking the build schedule I 
concluded that it would be possible to get build 23 ready to ship in 
time for delivery by 20th December assuming there were no issues along 
the way that caused delays. Unfortunately there were quite a number of 
delays mainly due to issues getting the new premises operational, and 
legally usable regarding health and safety regulations, but also 
including a number of family health issues demanding my attention.

At present I am still awaiting two three metre aluminium extrusions to 
anchor the work benches to the walls before loading them with equipment 
and stock. I am told by the local shipping forwarding agent, that these 
should be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I had assumed delivery today but 
had forgotten that the 2nd of January is a Scottish national holiday. I 
have everything ready to machine the extrusions for fitting and the 
process of fitting and loading should be finished by the end of the 
week. I am also still awaiting a solder fume extraction system 
installation but have temporarily sidestepped this delay by ordering a 
couple of bench fume absorption units that should also be delivered 
tomorrow.

I am afraid I cannot be precise with lead time estimates for reasons 
already given, but can only estimate that assuming no further delays 
beyond my control, given that I will be continuing with build 18 next 
week if all goes well, and the build you have taken over is build 23, I 
expect to start build 23 during week beginning 11th February. Allow five 
working days for build, two day soak test and admin/packing ready for 
shipment collection. Once the parcel is packed and weighed for shipment 
I can then book a shipment collection by the parcel carrier, which is 
usually within two to five working days from booking the collection. 
 From that point onwards delivery is in the hands of the parcel carrier 
and their local forwarding agents. Tracking will not proceed until the 
parcel hits a UK mainland International Hub.

Regards,
Paul

 

_____________

 Date: mer. 2 janv. 2019 à 12:05
Subject: Remaining work on SR7DRMR2XL for François

 

Hi Paul,

Hope this email finds you well on the return from a relaxing Christmas - New Year brake.
I also wish 2019 will bring steadiness in your life, less surprises, therefore more customer satisfaction in your business.

Regarding our arrangement, based on your email from last September 26 the only missing part for my SR7DRMR2XL build was the transformer.
This part ordering has been confirmed done by you on October 2nd and is now in your hands.
Remaining work on this build are:

• Mounting/wiring the transformer
• Modifications/adjustment on the regulator modules to get 12V DR configuration
• Assembly of two DC6FSXL cables – 0.5m no terminal plugs
• Soak test and final touch up
• Packing and shipment

Would you please confirm my understanding is correct and provide me a clear deadline for each of those steps.
Thanks in advance for you reply.

Kind regards, François

[Shadders]

Hi,

I am intrigued by this thread. I searched on the SR7 and there is another audiophilestyle thread :

 

You do seem to be paying a lot of money for what is, just a regulated power supply. Why not claim you money back, or purchase from another source, a similar power supply. From the internal pictures, the PSU does not look difficult to build.

 

Maybe use the DIYAudio forum to request that someone builds a bespoke PSU with same specification - will probably be same cost.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

 

[your momo]

The other SR7 thread was initially thought for collecting SR7 user impression and feedback, i don't want to pollute it with all the journey it unfortunately takes to reach that point.

 

Sure other power supply manufacturer exist, it's fortunate too as if all the world would have to wait on Paul's power it would be in short supply (pun intended).

Main reason I queue in was the good feedback from AS users fortunate to lively enjoy one of those famous Paul Hynes SR builds, also this article and finally the fact an SR7 build was made available...

 

Factually I'm five working days close to my SR7, the only problems is that the builder had many excuses to procrastinate this work in the last six months, and still today is nowhere responsive.

In short, I don't queue for money but for supply...

[NOMBEDES]

I blame BREXIT!

[your momo]

...sure it's next good excuse for delays

[your momo]

Good new, there will be no Brexit on March 29, may this help SR7 custom builds eventually progress...

[sima66]

 

Even when I thought that my long "costumer journey with Paul Hynes" finally ended, it actually started even worst "journey"!

Soon as SR7 arrived, the 5V 3A rail fried my SSD. Then another, and another, until I finally catched the temporary spike to 17V!

In November 2018 was my last SSD fried and after contacting Paul he offered to fix my PS, or to send me another reg, both free of charge!

To avoid another unnecessary wait, I choose the reg and I will try to replace it myself (of find someone)!

That was November and now is April, still nothing from Paul......no reg and no email!!!

 

Another problem and scare evolved after reading this Paul statement (#496 in "The Paul Hynes SR7" thread) :

"There have been several regulator module failures on the Multirail power supplies this last year, usually the 3A modules. The failure mode has been a short between the input and output terminals of the regulator output device. The cause appears to be over dissipation (too much heat generation) in the output device. When I introduced the 10v adjustment range on the regulator modules I stated in the information sheet that it was necessary to de-rate the regulator output current specification when setting the output voltage at the lower end of the range. This is very important as the regulator input voltage remains the same when set to any voltage in the range. This means that at lower voltage settings there is a higher voltage across the regulator output device and this increases the heat generated within the device for a given output current. If you already have an SR5 or SR7 power supply with 3A modules, make sure you stay within the rail ratings and de-rate the output current for lower voltage settings as specified in the SR information sheet and all should be fine."

 

As I emailed Paul, in my case, the reg that failed, has never supplied anything else then ONE SSD at the time!

Since that reg failed with no reason, on my remaining two 3A rails I had to ad LT3045's, just in case that another voltage spike happens and to protect my equipment!

Really!!!! That's why I waited so much and paid so much money, to be afraid to press the ON button?!?!

But, like it was already pointed here, the thing that hurts the most is the ignorance and not replaying to the already EXISTING costumers!

 

Personally, I would never go into something like this.....ever! Not wort the stress and the troubles!!!!

 

 

 

[your momo]

Sad to read about all this lack of customer support, issue can always happen, but accounting the price of kit and the wait, it deserves a minimum of close follow-up.
For my point of view this is priority one to address, regardless of premise, weather, holidays or what else excuses that could come to mind, this is question of reputation and credibility...

[paulhynes]

sima66

 

Hello Adam,

 

As you have decided to discuss this power supply issue in public a second time after having your vexatious flaming attack removed from the SR7 thread, and being told to handle the issue in private, I will answer in public.

 

Firstly after so much down time over the Autumn/Winter period I have been very busy catching up with the lost time. This was never going to happen overnight, as there is so much work to do to catch up. Having received over 21000 e-mails over the last year there was also no way I would be keeping up with e-mail in real time through this period. Do the maths yourself if you doubt this. Many of the e-mails are highly technical and demand much time to formulate an answer.

 

I have been reading back through our communication history and I believe I have made every effort to resolve the issue of your failing SSD drives even though remote diagnosis can be difficult. I have a copy of all our communications so I would suggest you refrain from quoting out of context.

 

I have also checked your original order specification and it included 3 off DC3FS all terminated with both a 2.1mm DC plug and a Sata power connector. Were you powering more than one item of equipment per rail?

 

Of significance is that your second SSD drive was working on the 5v rail properly after the first drive failed which would lead me to conclude that the supply rail was operating correctly at that time and not the cause of the first drive failing, as drives do fail of their own accord occasionally. I know this from experience. When the second drive failed I advised you not to connect another drive to the suspect rail until we had a proper diagnosis of the cause of the failure. You agreed with this suggestion at the time but then you proceeded to connect a third drive to the supply rail before diagnosis. Why on earth did you do this? This is gross negligence on your part and in direct contradiction of my advice.

 

I have offered to either have your power supply collected for repair, or to supply you with a replacement regulator module. In retrospect I should be insisting that you either return the power supply or the regulator module for diagnosis to assess whether there are any signs of abuse on the failed rail. In the interest of assessing why the 3A rail failed I want you to return the damaged module to me. I will refund your shipping cost so you are not out of pocket and I will still send you the replacement 3A regulator module, which I have just upgraded to the 6A output stage with a powerful 380W IXYS device. This module was modified just before the sewage contamination incident at the premises this last week but has not yet been through soak test, as I had to close the premises for health and safety reasons. As soon as the premises are cleared for occupation again I will get the module through soak test and have it shipped out to you. I will also include the two additional DC3FS DC leads I offered to you free of charge as compensation for your SSD drive loss, although I fail to see why I should be so generous after your flaming attack on the SR7 thread and the uncertainty of the failure mode.

 

For your information, I have never in all my time testing the power supply modules using this regulator topology, measured a spiking over voltage either during switch-on or during normal operation. Indeed I have four of these 3A modules still running happily providing power to my class A power amplifiers. They have been running at 3.5A continuous (Class A standing current) for 12 years and in use daily for family entertainment. That’s a lot of on/off switching and a lot of on time without failure.

 

Of course it is possible for any product to fail and I cannot claim exception to the rule, but failure of my products is a very small percentage of the number made, as I use rugged components from known sources and soak test to weed out any weak components.

 

 

 

 

[Ralf11]

Paul - I dunno if you advise buyers about the 'variance in timeliness' of a small operation, but it might help.  See my comments re similar problems in other areas, above.

[your momo]

Little maths:

• 52 weeks - 5 weeks holidays - 2 weeks bank holidays: remains 45 weeks of work
• 45 x 5 means 225 days of yearly work
• 21'000 e-mails / 225 means about 93 e-mails per working day

This amount of e-mails is nothing exceptional in 2019, I have to deal with that too on top of doing my job and timely delivering what I engage on. Possibly the fact I'm working more than 7 hours per day allows me to deliver more ?

 

Little statistics:

• Number of e-mails sent last September to conclude my SR7 deal = 10
• Number of e-mail received from Paul at that time = 10
• Response rate 100%
   
• Number of e-mail sent by me after SR7 payment was confirmed till today = 13
• Number of e-mail received from Paul during that period  = 2
• Response rate 15%

Based on above we can observe that responsiveness is way better before payment then after.
Possibly among the 21'000 e-mails there are 2/3 of them that could be avoided if follow-up would be existing.

Let's not blow this out of proportion, total number of SR7 build delivered so far is less than 20, and remaining is also less than 20 - so this should not generate 21'000 "important" e-mails to handle.

 

Also there should be a differentiation of priority between, customers - the one that have already paid and prospect - the one that might engage on something. In fact e-mail response rate should be exact opposite as what is observed in the above statistic.

Last but not least, delivered customer suffering a problem while warranty period should be treated with highest priority - this just to save reputation.

[sima66]

19 hours ago, paulhynes said:

sima66

 

Hello Adam,

 

As you have decided to discuss this power supply issue in public a second time after having your vexatious flaming attack removed from the SR7 thread, and being told to handle the issue in private, I will answer in public.

 

Firstly after so much down time over the Autumn/Winter period I have been very busy catching up with the lost time. This was never going to happen overnight, as there is so much work to do to catch up. Having received over 21000 e-mails over the last year there was also no way I would be keeping up with e-mail in real time through this period. Do the maths yourself if you doubt this. Many of the e-mails are highly technical and demand much time to formulate an answer.

 

I have been reading back through our communication history and I believe I have made every effort to resolve the issue of your failing SSD drives even though remote diagnosis can be difficult. I have a copy of all our communications so I would suggest you refrain from quoting out of context.

 

I have also checked your original order specification and it included 3 off DC3FS all terminated with both a 2.1mm DC plug and a Sata power connector. Were you powering more than one item of equipment per rail?

 

Of significance is that your second SSD drive was working on the 5v rail properly after the first drive failed which would lead me to conclude that the supply rail was operating correctly at that time and not the cause of the first drive failing, as drives do fail of their own accord occasionally. I know this from experience. When the second drive failed I advised you not to connect another drive to the suspect rail until we had a proper diagnosis of the cause of the failure. You agreed with this suggestion at the time but then you proceeded to connect a third drive to the supply rail before diagnosis. Why on earth did you do this? This is gross negligence on your part and in direct contradiction of my advice.

 

I have offered to either have your power supply collected for repair, or to supply you with a replacement regulator module. In retrospect I should be insisting that you either return the power supply or the regulator module for diagnosis to assess whether there are any signs of abuse on the failed rail. In the interest of assessing why the 3A rail failed I want you to return the damaged module to me. I will refund your shipping cost so you are not out of pocket and I will still send you the replacement 3A regulator module, which I have just upgraded to the 6A output stage with a powerful 380W IXYS device. This module was modified just before the sewage contamination incident at the premises this last week but has not yet been through soak test, as I had to close the premises for health and safety reasons. As soon as the premises are cleared for occupation again I will get the module through soak test and have it shipped out to you. I will also include the two additional DC3FS DC leads I offered to you free of charge as compensation for your SSD drive loss, although I fail to see why I should be so generous after your flaming attack on the SR7 thread and the uncertainty of the failure mode.

 

For your information, I have never in all my time testing the power supply modules using this regulator topology, measured a spiking over voltage either during switch-on or during normal operation. Indeed I have four of these 3A modules still running happily providing power to my class A power amplifiers. They have been running at 3.5A continuous (Class A standing current) for 12 years and in use daily for family entertainment. That’s a lot of on/off switching and a lot of on time without failure.

 

Of course it is possible for any product to fail and I cannot claim exception to the rule, but failure of my products is a very small percentage of the number made, as I use rugged components from known sources and soak test to weed out any weak components.

 

 

 

 

Hi Paul,

 

I'm not happy to take the dirty laundry in the public, but, since the emails "doesn't work" this is the only way to get your attention and respond to my questions! For the last 3.5 months, you never bother with one small reply to my question!

Specially after my fear when I read your post about the more failures of the 3A rails and asked you how safe are the remaining two of 3A modules! Since no answer from you, in the end I raised the voltage to 5,8V and ad LT3045 on each DC lead!

 

Just a minor corrections to my journey with my module failure:

The few months old SSD failed after day or two, after connecting to SR7 and when I contacted you! You responded immediately. When I measured the output voltage it was as it should be at 5V.

Then you told me not to connect anything else until "we solve the issue"!  Month or two passed, never heard from you!

In the mean time, I borrowed one old SSD from a friend (ready to sacrifice) and connected to the same rail. For few weeks SSD worked without any problem. After that I connected my second SSD (3 years old) which worked for maybe 5-6 months with no problems. One day that SSD just "disapeard" and THEN I maid my mistake and connected my backup SSD, which died instantly! Output voltage was 17V!!! I just assumed that the second SSD died of "old age"!

I immediately contacted you and you responded with those to offers, either to send my PS to you or you will send me the replacement module with the instructions. Both free of charge to me. I was very impressed!

But, I never heard from you since January!!! I already made my peace that I will not receive this module for this winter, but the most I was worried (still am) about my OTHER two modules! Are they safe?

If this module died with ONLY one SSD connected, what can I expect from the other two?!

This is the reason why I'm writing this here! I just needed one little assurance, or explanation from you! After all this troubles and cost, I believe that I deserve that much!

Also, for your record, the 17V voltage went down (on her own) after a week or so, to the previously adjusted 5V and it's at 5V every time I'm measuring, even if nothing is connected to it!!

 

I'm glad that you didn't lost my emails with the other 21,000! 

I have them also, that's how I know the details and dates.

Please feel free to correct me if I put something wrong.....or out of context!

 

Best,

Adam

[Summit]

So many excuses and so few SR7 completed.