Resonessence Labs Out of Business?

[eagle3333]

IME when folks leave companies they're happy to have the info in their bio but, other than that, they've moved on and don't want to be haunted or hunted by the past. Can't blame him, really. Management might have taken a more considerate approach with their customers, though..

[Noodle]

Cant blame him ? If that’s the case then he shouldn’t be trying to drum up business for his newly developed  audio products by  boasting of his previous connection to a company that left hundreds of their hard working customers high and dry. 
I invested $1000.00 with Resonessence to have my Invicta DAC upgraded . After receiving it back the upgrade was faulty . 
I contacted them immediately only to discover that after taking my $1000.00 for a faulty upgrade they had closed down  . 
HL is the  CEO and head designer for his new company( Infigo )  that produces  a new DAC based on the Resonessence Invicta DAC . He advertises this fact . 

He is a person person who was heavily involved with Resonessence in the development of my Invicta DAC - surely  it’s not asking too much of him to simply direct me and others to someone who can do the repair for a fee  ? Or  at the very least  have the decency to respond to my inquiries. it’s just common  courtesy and good business practice . 
Enough said 

[eagle3333]

Well, I largely agree with your sentiments but I don't know what was his level of involvement with the company. Personally, I would take a closer aim at the directors. That to one side, with a new Business he wants to promote, one might have thought he'd get a revenue stream servicing units from the previous company as well as a potential bunch of customers for his new products. So p'raps a bit shortsighted, there. But there may be valid reasons for not doing so; legal, tehcincal, whatever. Whichever way you look at it, it's a bummer. My unit will stay in the loft in the hope of salvation, one day. As for common courtesy and decency - I fear these are in short supply across the board, today.  

[Norton]

16 hours ago, Noodle said:

surely  it’s not asking too much of him to simply direct me and others to someone who can do the repair for a fee  ?

 

4 hours ago, eagle3333 said:

he'd get a revenue stream servicing units from the previous company as well as a potential bunch of customers for his new products

You both make good points here.  I’m sure that there are a number of professionals who could fix a hardware fault with a Mirus, if we just knew who.  And given sunk investment involved, likely a decent revenue stream from this. My biggest concern though would  be corrupted firmware.  The least that the company could have done before shutting up shop would have been to provide a download of the ‘pro” and other firmware and details of how to reflash  or suchlike. AFAIK, the latest pro firmware was never available for download.

 

The problem of the company shutdown has been compounded by reports of the subsequent and surprising failure rate of the products. @Noodle yours though is about the worst case  I have heard from this whole sorry situation.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Does anyone know what the problem is with these units? Finding someone to fix them shouldn’t be too hard if the problem is somewhat normal. If it’s a custom firmware issue, that’s another story. 

[charlesphoto]

If it's firmware and/or a matter of unreleased schematics, they'll be doorstops, unfortunately. Happened a couple years back with my $10k Imacon scanner. No more motherboards available from Hasselblad, and no schematics for somebody to trace a problem on it and/or flash new firmware if need be. Used ones still go for a pretty penny, and there's nothing else like them, but once bitten, twice shy.

 

That's why I would wary in the future of buying any $$ niche electronics (though my Imacon served me well and paid for itself over and over). If I was the users above, no matter the sound sought, I wouldn't buy into yet another boutique brand. Just look at that review in Stereophile where four of the $55k amps from the same designer had issues. Not worth it, not even close. Life's too short. 

[Noodle]

That’s very  good advice charlesphoto  . I’ve learned the hard way a couple of times .When purchasing boutique audio gear from small obscure audio manufacturers you are really rolling the dice in regard to them being around for the long term to repair their often complex finicky designs built with hard to find parts,  or parts that are no longer manufactured.

After many attempts I did finally hear from the ex Resonessence consultant who had a big hand in the design of their DAC - Hans Looman . Unfortunately he says  he does not own the tools required to repair Resonessence gear . Time to move on 

[Noodle]

On 9/2/2023 at 12:16 PM, Noodle said:

That’s very  good advice charlesphoto  . I’ve learned the hard way a couple of times .When purchasing boutique audio gear from small obscure audio manufacturers you are really rolling the dice in regard to them being around for the long term to repair their often complex finicky designs built with hard to find parts,  or parts that are no longer manufactured.

After many attempts I did finally hear from the ex Resonessence consultant who had a big hand in the design of their DAC - Hans Looman . Unfortunately he says  he does not own the tools required to repair Resonessence gear . Time to move on 

For any Reasonesence DAC owners out there - here is a surprising update on my long frustrating quest to repair broken Resonessence Mirus DAC .

 
Sigma electronic repair in Edmonton , Alberta has been able to track down a replacement part in Japan  for the broken display screen ( it went blank )  on my Mirus DAC . Sigma will order the parts and they think they can do the repair for me ? Time will tell . Fingers crossed 

Apparently , some of the parts Reasonesence used to build the Mirus are still available from a manufacturer in Japan . 
I’ll follow up on this subject in the coming weeks on the outcome - good or bad 

 

[Noodle]

Update for any Reasonsense Lab Mirus DAC owners with broken units  .

Sigma  Electronics in Edmonton, Alberta  was able to replace the broken display screen on my Mirus DAC .

I’m had  given up on ever repairing the Mirus DAC as the parts required   for the repair  were no longer available in North America -  but Sigma Electronics was able to track down the parts from a distributor in Japan . After being inoperable for over  a year my Reasonsense Mirus DAC  is sounding fabulous and functioning perfectly .

I originally paid $6000.00 for the Mirus  new 10 years ago   - so I’m very happy that it’s working again and no longer gathering dust my closet .
The 10 year old Mirus sounds as good or better then many of the current  new breed of DACs I’ve auditioned  costing many many thousands more . Fingers crossed this  repair stands the test of time 

[Norton]

19 hours ago, Noodle said:

Sigma Electronics was able to track down the parts from a distributor in Japan

 

Great news on your DAC.  Perhaps asking too much, but It would be good if Sigma were able to share the parts and sources for Resonessence owners who might be looking to get a repair done outside  of N America.

 

My Mirus has not needed attention so far (fingers crossed) but is back in my system and sounding fabulous.  Definitely worth trying to keep these units alive.

[Noodle]

I didn’t really deal with Sigma directly . I’m not really a technical person . The dealer  who I originally purchased my Mirus from brand new , took care of shipping my damaged Mirus out to Sigma and facilitating the repair work . 
For those interested , it would probably be  best to contact Sigma Electronics ( Edmonton ) directly via email through their website with any technical questions. 

Sigma seems to have a very good reputation .
My dealer likes using Sigma because they are one the few in this area that have the  expertise required to repair  complex electronics . 
I believe they are a fairly small operation though. Consequently they are  very busy and it did take some time  to get my repaired unit back . So far - well worth the wait . 
 

[Noodle]

Received my repaired Reasonesence Invicta Mirus Pro DAC back from Sigma Electronics a couple months ago .
Sigma  repaired my Invicta’s cracked display screen  .The cracked screen had rendered my  Invicta inoperable for many months .

After the repair , my Mirus now works perfectly and sounds amazing . Phew ! I had almost forgot what an amazing sounding DAC the Invicta Pro is . Thank you Sigma Electronics