Edgewound / Upland Loudspeaker MIA?

[Maxwelhse]

I just thought I'd reach out to the forum to see if anyone may have a personal relationship with Ken that might be able to reach out to him. I sent him some speakers to have some work done awhile back, and as of a month ago, he stopped returning my calls (emails were always a little hit and miss, but no response there either).

I'd appreciate any update anyone can provide. Hopefully there is some random communication error going on and he's not in the hospital or something.

[jblwolf]

I believe Ken and his wife had about with COVID-19. Sorry I don't have any more information.

[Maxwelhse]

I believe Ken and his wife had about with COVID-19. Sorry I don't have any more information.

He told me that himself. They both recovered awhile ago unless they both got it again. They're both fully vaccinated...

Without dragging a private affair any further into the public, I'll share that he attempted to call me pretty late last night and I missed it (he left no message) so he's at least that healthy. Attempts to return his call since then have failed.

I'd be willing and happy to work things out with Ken and get things straightened out if that's what he wants to do. The first time we spoke we chatted for what had to have been almost 2 hours. He seemed like a good guy.

Anyhow... I would like a forum moderator to PM me so we can discuss the situation in private so I know what is acceptable to post regarding this matter. I'm not a regular here so I don't want to be seen as some guy blowing into town just to throw rocks.

Also, thank you to those of you who have reached out privately.

[jblwolf]

Just for your information he has a YouTube channel and that's how I found out about it.

[Maxwelhse]

Just for your information he has a YouTube channel and that's how I found out about it.

Then he probably just had it that once back in July. A breakthrough-breakthrough would be pretty rare. I don't know when his wife got it, but she had recovered the last we spoke.

[Ian Mackenzie]

I think Ken does such a good job he is over run with business.

It will be well worth the wait.

[spkrman57]

I've had nothing but good service dealing with Ken.
Regards, RON

[Maxwelhse]

I have been patient. I didn't contact Ken at all after informing him I shipped the drivers until the original expected return date had passed. I mailed them off and left him alone for 10-12 weeks. That's what he quoted so I respected it.

He has now had the drivers for over 18 weeks, which is approaching double the estimate that was quoted in writing, and a month beyond a second verbal agreement, and Ken continues to refuse to contact me. Last we spoke, having not yet even unboxed the drivers, he promised delivery by the end of November. In an effort to try to be extra patient and understanding with him (he cited some personal issues), I told him that was fine but there would be problems if they were not returned by Christmas. Well, it's 9 hours until Christmas and there are problems.

The only sign of life I've gotten since early November was that one missed call after beginning this thread. I'm still holding some hope that maybe next week after the holiday he'll reach out and we'll get this all ironed out. I don't know if he's embarassed that the timing got so out of line that he doesn't want to provide any news until it's good news, or angry with me for some reason(?), but there's nothing that has happened up until this point that can't be fixed with a conversation and some follow-through.

Anyhow, that's the purpose of this thread and it's served the purpose. I'm confident that he's aware I'd like to speak with him and that he's healthy enough to be spoken with. I'll either start another thread on the experience if needed or update my original thread on the L300s when the speakers are playing again.

[edgewound]

I have been patient. I didn't contact Ken at all after informing him I shipped the drivers until the original expected return date had passed. I mailed them off and left him alone for 10-12 weeks. That's what he quoted so I respected it.

He has now had the drivers for over 18 weeks, which is approaching double the estimate that was quoted in writing, and a month beyond a second verbal agreement, and Ken continues to refuse to contact me. Last we spoke, having not yet even unboxed the drivers, he promised delivery by the end of November. In an effort to try to be extra patient and understanding with him (he cited some personal issues), I told him that was fine but there would be problems if they were not returned by Christmas. Well, it's 9 hours until Christmas and there are problems.

The only sign of life I've gotten since early November was that one missed call after beginning this thread. I'm still holding some hope that maybe next week after the holiday he'll reach out and we'll get this all ironed out. I don't know if he's embarassed that the timing got so out of line that he doesn't want to provide any news until it's good news, or angry with me for some reason(?), but there's nothing that has happened up until this point that can't be fixed with a conversation and some follow-through.

Anyhow, that's the purpose of this thread and it's served the purpose. I'm confident that he's aware I'd like to speak with him and that he's healthy enough to be spoken with. I'll either start another thread on the experience if needed or update my original thread on the L300s when the speakers are playing again.

The best I can do is apologize for my lack of expeditious turn arounds and lack of timely communications.

The last several months have been fraught with obstacles...both personally, and operationally...that have made life a challenge. I'm confident I'm not alone with this scenario in these Covid pandemic times. I've lost several friends and family members from this scourge, as well as some supply chain issues that have caused delays. I feel out of sync with the world by working some strange, inconsistent hours.

The individual that was providing my magnet recharge service was suddenly unable to provide the service any longer. On the bright side...from the severance of this arrangement...I was able to secure a magnetizing machine for my own in-shop capability.

I'm slowly getting caught up with my backlog. My mission is to do the best quality repair work in the business, and some feedback I've received recently from personnel inside Harman/JBL confirms that I'm succeeding at that. My one-man operation is obviously limited by the capacity of what a one-man operation can achieve, especially when speaking with customers around the globe on a regular basis. I want you to enjoy the quality of work that I've learned to do over the last 33+ years without worrying if it's been done right. From what I can see of other's previous work that comes in, I'm doing a damn good job of maintaining the legacy of Lansing quality. I'm even working on techniques to make these products last longer by developing kits that do not rot. I've got a recone kit for the 136A and all of it's equivalents and successors that uses a cloth surround cone from a JBL model. I can do the same thing with a 2245H, also. I will be posting some measurements that a customer in the film industry is doing with lab a quality measurement system with my "2236H" recone kit installed in a 2225H frame. His early comments in preliminary measurements included the word "perfect". Nice feedback to hear. Several customer that have agreed to this improvement are thrilled with the results. No more rotten foam surrounds, nor debris screens over the pole piece vent hole...and they sound fabulous...if not better than the originals, all with "blueprinted" moving mass adjustments that adhere to the factory Engineering Standards.

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season.

Season's Greetings!

[Mr. Widget]

The best I can do is apologize for my lack of expeditious turn arounds and lack of timely communications.Glad to hear you’re still with us!

Merry Christmas!

May next year be less dramatic for you and the rest of us!



Widget

[Maxwelhse]

The best I can do is apologize for my lack of expeditious turn arounds and lack of timely communications.


Ken, you grabbed the olive branch and I accept your apology. Resuming private communications would sure be nice though. The only communication you've sent to me on this matter has been a Paypal invoice that just came in. I paid it in full immediately. I also left you a voicemail, text message, and email to that effect.

At the moment it seems the open forum is the only way we've managed to establish any dialog, so please let me know when I can expect to see the drivers shipped. Since the invoice is paid, my father is expecting that to happen pretty much immediately. I suspect UPS is open normal hours on the 27th. Or if there is some other problem that makes that impossible, contact me personally and we'll figure it out.

I look forward to hearing them playing.

[Maxwelhse]

To round things out, Ken called me a few minutes ago and we discussed all that needed discussed.

[Shlobeck]

Here’s another “satisfied” customer of Ken’s 2236H upgrade. He completely restored my 4340s to perfection. The 2231s are at another level, I can’t stop listening to them. Here’s a look at his craftsmanship and expertise, thank you again Ken,
Tony, San Diego.
90040

[rusty jefferson]

We need to find some (or a) youngin(s) to learn this craft from Ken before it's too late.:) It's not unlike the lost knowledge of making vacuum tubes.

[Ian Mackenzie]

I caught up with Ken in LA at his shop about 18 months ago.

Ken is a delightful and genuine guy. I knocked a few times for an update on a job. Ken’s work is above and beyond.

Like everyone life and personal events gets in the way of our best laid plans. Who would have predicted the last 18 months. Be patient and keep in touch is my advice.

[edgewound]

I caught up with Ken in LA at his shop about 18 months ago.

Ken is a delightful and genuine guy. I knocked a few times for an update on a job. Ken’s work is above and beyond.

Like everyone life and personal events gets in the way of our best laid plans. Who would have predicted the last 18 months. Be patient and keep in touch is my advice.

Hey Ian! Thanks very much for the nice comments. I hope we can catch up again in person, soon.

Hey Mr. Widget! Thanks for the holiday wishes. Hope you're well, also, too!

Hey Ron! Thank you!

Hey Tony! Thanks so much for the review! I'm so happy that you're happy with my work. Be careful out there!

Randy's dad's 136As have been resuspended with a Full Service Teardown/Cleaning/Recharge, and are in the hands of FedEx.

I hope everyone is staying safe from this latest Omicron wave. I've got a dear friend in UCLA Medical Center being cared for because he couldn't breathe. He seems to be recovering, but is in guarded condition. I've had way too many losses this last couple of years...Please be well!

[Wespence]

Hey Ken- Happy New Year!
Pleased and relieved to see you here and healthy!
I'd also gotten concerned, but our friend Don pointed me here, where I should've thought to check.
A couple of the emails awaiting you were from me.

Once you have a feel for your pace, I'd appreciate an eta for completing my
2x D-130 that reached you in July and hopefully were on-deck before illness.
Cheers,
Wes

[Titanium Dome]

Hey, Ken. You don't have anything of mine to work on, and I'm not seeking your assistance at this time, so I simply am grateful to see you coming up on the forum! Truly, 2020 and 2021 were years many of us would gladly put behind us, but old relationships are things we want to keep, so good to see you!

As Curtis Mayfield encouraged us, "We just keep on keeping on."

[DerekTheGreat]

Hi Ken, glad to hear you and your wife have recovered from the 'vid. I also had it and survived, yay.

..How's my lone 128H doing? If I remember right, come February, you'll have had it a year.. ;)

[BMWCCA]

Glad to hear from Ken again. And I just tested positive for Covid in a home-test last night even though I'm three-time Moderna vaccinated.

I'm hoping when they need it, I can pack my 2245s into my car and drive cross-country to visit my daughter in LA with a side trip to Upland! Beats packing them for shipping! Ken, do you take walk-ins? ;)

[Ian Mackenzie]

Hi Phil,

Great to hear from you. Take care and hope it passes quickly.

Ian
.

[rusty jefferson]

Glad to hear from Ken again. And I just tested positive for Covid in a home-test last night even though I'm three-time Moderna vaccinated...

Yeah, that was some bad marketing. They're really more similar to the flu shot, designed to give our bodies a heads up and produce some antibodies in reaction to the shot(s) so if we come into contact with the virus we'll still host it, but it shouldn't cause a life threatening reaction. The idea of having a force-field around us that Covid couldn't penetrate was kind of how it was interpreted. Hope your symptoms are mild and you have a quick recovery.

[Riley Casey]

Hah, I did the same thing a few months after the virus hit driving a van load of gear to Texas as an excuse to deliver a drill press to my daughter in Florida. Hey, any excuse to see the grandkids.


... I can pack my 2245s into my car and drive cross-country to visit my daughter in LA with a side trip to Upland! Beats packing them for shipping... ;)

[BMWCCA]

Yeah, that was some bad marketing. They're really more similar to the flu shot, designed to give our bodies a heads up and produce some antibodies in reaction to the shot(s) so if we come into contact with the virus we'll still host it, but it shouldn't cause a life threatening reaction. The idea of having a force-field around us that Covid couldn't penetrate was kind of how it was interpreted. Hope your symptoms are mild and you have a quick recovery.Right now it feels like a bad cold but, in deference to my age and other chronic medical issues, my doctor requested the monoclonal antibody infusion which I got this morning at the local hospital. Because my test results from the PCR test haven't come back and the only positive I have is the Abbott in-home test, I couldn't do the Pfizer pills. The mAb infusion only requires a script from a doctor stating the underlying issues and age.

Came with all sorts of reading material about how it's not actually approved, etc., but I figure if it's good enough for a disgraced former President, it should be good enough for me! It is keyed exclusively for the Omicron variant now, since that's nearly 100% of infections in our area. I'm only looking not to get any sicker. Stock up on those N95s and KN95s y'all.

[Mr. Widget]

Yeah, that was some bad marketing. They're really more similar to the flu shot, designed to give our bodies a heads up and produce some antibodies in reaction to the shot(s) so if we come into contact with the virus we'll still host it, but it shouldn't cause a life threatening reaction. The idea of having a force-field around us that Covid couldn't penetrate was kind of how it was interpreted. Hope your symptoms are mild and you have a quick recovery.I guess it is more difficult than you would assume trying to communicate subtle, nuanced information to people with all levels of education, differing levels of acceptance of information from "the government", and all the baggage that this has.

On top of that, the experts are learning about this in real time. The good news is that serious effort and real money has been spent on vaccines and treatments, so even though the vaccines are less effective in being that force-field for the variants, they are definitely a seriously good thing. Everyone that I know who has been vaccinated and had a "breakthrough" infection has had a relatively mild case and been able to test negative within about a week. Whereas a colleague who is an anti-vaxer has had Covid three times in the last two years and his mother is dealing with the long haul version of the disease.

I realize this is only anecdotal, but regardless of your beliefs, please consider getting properly vaccinated if you have the opportunity.


Right now it feels like a bad cold...I hope it doesn't get worse than that and it passes quickly.


Widget

[kelossus]

Ken, there is a bloke here in Australia who pushes the removal of the foam surround on 2231/136a for the pleated type surround like in your 2236h kit.

I have seen some measurements of his speakers and the FS is now restricted to around 35hz. Is this an issue? What do yours measure like that?

Would someone have to adjust the tuning of their cabinet to suit a driver if the FS is now roughly 15hz higher than original?

[BMWCCA]

I hope it doesn't get worse than that and it passes quickly.Sorry for the OT tangent, but today (Day 5 or 4, depending) I'm no worse off. Got about 8-hrs of sleep on single dose of Alka Seltzer Nighttime cold relief and woke up with a bit of a sore throat but no real coughing, and no runny nose. Aches and pains seem to go away overnight but that could be due to a good mattress! Thanks for the support, and now back to your regular programming.

I would like to know about changes in performance using a pleated surround on the 2245. I'm sure I'll need that work someday. Hard to believe but I've owned these 4345 clones now for 13-years.

[Earl K]

Phil,

Glad to hear that your symptoms are mild.

:)

[Ian Mackenzie]

Hi Phil,

Perhaps fire up your sound system over the weekend to distract from the rather “pointless” noise from Down Under…Lol.

[BMWCCA]

Thanks to all!
Quick update: The monoclonal antibody (mAb) infusion has me symptom-free less than 24-hours after the therapy other than feeling a little tired. Now just hoping my wife's PCR test shows negative. She's not old enough to qualify for mAb.

Enjoying my expanding collection of SACDs during the time off. I'm up to two now! ;)

[edgewound]

Thanks to all!
Quick update: The monoclonal antibody (mAb) infusion has me symptom-free less than 24-hours after the therapy other than feeling a little tired. Now just hoping my wife's PCR test shows negative. She's not old enough to qualify for mAb.

Enjoying my expanding collection of SACDs during the time off. I'm up to two now! ;)

So glad to hear you're better.

Another dear friend and local musician icon just passed away this last Sunday morning in the hospital after being admitted to the ER and airlifted to UCLA Medical Center on Christmas Day. His family and community are devastated.

I would love to meet you and convert your 2245H to "2246H" no-rot standards. I'm confident you'll love it...or put it back to stock with a resuspension.

[BMWCCA]

So glad to hear you're better.

Another dear friend and local musician icon just passed away this last Sunday morning in the hospital after being admitted to the ER and airlifted to UCLA Medical Center on Christmas Day. His family and community are devastated.

I would love to meet you and convert your 2245H to "2246H" no-rot standards. I'm confident you'll love it...or put it back to stock with a resuspension.
Thanks! My wife has tested negative three-times now and will head back to work tonight. I go back tomorrow—assuming the ice-covered driveway is navigable.

One of my closest friends is a surgeon and has gotten Covid twice already after being fully vaccinated. The last time was a patient they had to intubate because he wasn't getting better from Covid. Described the patient as an unvaccinated overweight 44-year-old. He wasn't healthy enough for the antibody infusion. His role was to catheterize him and that's where he suspected he caught it, probably Delta, even after an abundance of caution. The patient is not expected to make it. Prospects for beating Covid after intubation are not very good, he says. I also read that 40% of those who don't survive it are diabetic.

Be careful out there!

[polaris26]

Everything is normal; everything is fine. Carry on carrying on.

God Bless.

[Ian Mackenzie]

What’s wrong with your Altec model 19’s.

Putting it into perspective covid has been around for two years.

I understand the frustration but what would you do if the driver turned up tomorrow? Starr at it for 6 months while you wait for your RAT tests to turn up? The whole scene (the planet) is crawling at a snail’s pace at the moment. People are sick or family members need support. Supply chains have slowed right down because there are no people to do their job. People are quitting their jobs because they have given up. There are possibly dozens of people waiting for their precious drivers. But they aren’t publicly throwing their toys out of the bassinet. Is you job more important than anyone else’s?

I would unhook from bothering yourself and think about something else.

[Paul_M]

The best I can do is apologize for my lack of expeditious turn arounds and lack of timely communications.

The last several months have been fraught with obstacles...both personally, and operationally...that have made life a challenge. I'm confident I'm not alone with this scenario in these Covid pandemic times. I've lost several friends and family members from this scourge, as well as some supply chain issues that have caused delays. I feel out of sync with the world by working some strange, inconsistent hours.

The individual that was providing my magnet recharge service was suddenly unable to provide the service any longer. On the bright side...from the severance of this arrangement...I was able to secure a magnetizing machine for my own in-shop capability.

I'm slowly getting caught up with my backlog. My mission is to do the best quality repair work in the business, and some feedback I've received recently from personnel inside Harman/JBL confirms that I'm succeeding at that. My one-man operation is obviously limited by the capacity of what a one-man operation can achieve, especially when speaking with customers around the globe on a regular basis. I want you to enjoy the quality of work that I've learned to do over the last 33+ years without worrying if it's been done right. From what I can see of other's previous work that comes in, I'm doing a damn good job of maintaining the legacy of Lansing quality. I'm even working on techniques to make these products last longer by developing kits that do not rot. I've got a recone kit for the 136A and all of it's equivalents and successors that uses a cloth surround cone from a JBL model. I can do the same thing with a 2245H, also. I will be posting some measurements that a customer in the film industry is doing with lab a quality measurement system with my "2236H" recone kit installed in a 2225H frame. His early comments in preliminary measurements included the word "perfect". Nice feedback to hear. Several customer that have agreed to this improvement are thrilled with the results. No more rotten foam surrounds, nor debris screens over the pole piece vent hole...and they sound fabulous...if not better than the originals, all with "blueprinted" moving mass adjustments that adhere to the factory Engineering Standards.

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season.

Season's Greetings!

Hey Ken,

Now that you have spare time to post on here I'm guessing you are done with the 128H-1's we sent you almost a year ago? You had the paid invoice for some time now and the promises of repaired equipment have not come to fruition. Seems as you have either blacklisted my phone #, email addresses, and facebook IM's. That or you have some other agenda perhaps? Can we get the equipment returned repaired (which was paid in advance) as was promised or returned as-is w/ payment refunded?

PM

[kelossus]

Seems to be an ongoing issue with Upland Speaker and their reliability. For whatever reason no one on this forum seems to be bothered by it and accept every excuse offered by Ken. This is not a one off complaint, I suspect this has happened to to dozens of people. There is no excuse for it, none. It shows a complete disregard for your customer base and a general flaw in Ken's personality. As a small business owner communication is of the utmost importance. If you have someones money or property you bloody well communicate with them. The myriad of excuses I have seen from Ken over the years is a joke. How is this not taken seriously? I don't care how dire your circumstance is, you get your affairs in order. There is no excuse for this, maybe once or twice you get a pass but this is on going and embarrassing.

Numerous members on this site have publicly had posted their issues, members on Audiokarma even Yelp reviews. This is not an isolated incident. Everyone gets busy but just bloody answer your phone or reply to emails. It's not hard.

[edgewound]

Seems to be an ongoing issue with Upland Speaker and their reliability. For whatever reason no one on this forum seems to be bothered by it and accept every excuse offered by Ken. This is not a one off complaint, I suspect this has happened to to dozens of people. There is no excuse for it, none. It shows a complete disregard for your customer base and a general flaw in Ken's personality. As a small business owner communication is of the utmost importance. If you have someones money or property you bloody well communicate with them. The myriad of excuses I have seen from Ken over the years is a joke. How is this not taken seriously? I don't care how dire your circumstance is, you get your affairs in order. There is no excuse for this, maybe once or twice you get a pass but this is on going and embarrassing.

Numerous members on this site have publicly had posted their issues, members on Audiokarma even Yelp reviews. This is not an isolated incident. Everyone gets busy but just bloody answer your phone or reply to emails. It's not hard.

"The myriad of excuses over the years is a joke". Two more decades long friends have died in the last two weeks. This is a "joke" to you?. Paul M's speakers being completed fell in this time frame...that are just about ready to ship...that required more work than I anticipated to make them right. Adding actual Aquaplas...not "aquaplax"...to the cone. Upon some investigation, Paul M researched my personal cell phone number and sent me a cryptic message about not communicating with a customer...yet left no name as to who was communicating. Maybe I should publish Paul M's cell phone number. I'm sorry to be so f***ing embarrassing to the Lansing community. I should be ashamed of myself.

Embarrasing? What's most emabarrassing is the crap I get shipped to me for repair that people have actually paid for previous repairs. What's emabarrassing? Factory recones from a company that sent manufacturing south of the border to manufacture parts that aren't even useable, nor within legacy factory spec...then calls to said factory go unanswered by either a consumer or pro division rep that have no clue how to answer a question about legacy products. I know of three individuals still at Harman/JBL that actually know something about legacy products...and they refer them to me. Emabarrassing? People that send their prized JBL drivers to me for repair by reputable referral from previously satisfied customers during a pandemic that hasn't happened for 100 years...then bitch that I'm taking too long, don't communicate to their beck and call...and assume that I'm never going to send their speakers back for whatever reason...maybe because it's less risky for me to collect referral drivers, repair them and sell them to other enthusiasts around the globe at an increased profit margin so I can retire to Belize. WT actual F?

Maybe I'll institute a new policy that says don't contact me while I'm repairing your speakers, talking to new customers on the phone for half the day, while I spend the other 16 hours repairing stuff that is in way worse condition that I so naively thought would not not have been basically ruined by another "reconer"...or salvaged from underwater on the Gulf Coast that filled with rust...Yes...this has actually happened more than once.

Has Maxellhouse chimed in that he received his finicky, elderly father's 136As back from a resuspension and Full Service Teardown/Cleaning/Recharge to his satisfaction? Not yet. He should report back on the quality of the repair...but I won't be holding my breath. He actually asked me if I keep accepting new business when I have a backlog. Every business that wants new business accepts new business. Ask Boeing how that works. How about Yelp? Yelp is a fraud in and of itself by creating fake reviews if you agree to buy advertising on their platform. They've actually been sued for this extortionist practice on multiple occassions.

Other on-line sellers of "recone kits"...loose speaker parts for you to assemble, then recommend an adhesive package at extra charge...have actually been referring their prospective customers to me, because they no longer do actual hands-on repairs. Maybe it's more difficult to do it correctly than advertised. I've had numerous customers attempt these repair more than once before cutting their losses and sending it to me for an actual as-new restoration. And...NO ONE globally uses the identical material known as Aquaplas that JBL had used for decades to make specific drivers. I do. It has become more of a challenge to acquire in California as it has been banned to ship into the state due to Prop 68 restrictions, as of 2021.

My continued apologies that a relative few disgruntled customers over 34 years in business feel the need to air their grievances here rather than privately resolve them. I doubt they will respond upon receiving their excellent repair work. I do not apologize for keeping the high bar of Lansing workmanship...and even longevity improvements...alive.

I continue to give my thanks to those members that have supported my efforts over the last 20, or so, years. Where has the time gone? I constantly think of those members that have left this plane that I considered friends, and those that I've had the pleasure to interact with, personally, and continue such.

Ken Haerr
"edgewound"
UplandLoudspeaker.com
RepairSpeakers.com
909-946-5944
[email protected]

[BMWCCA]

I hope I live long enough to be able to send my prized JBLs to Ken for his expert repair.

There are few true craftsmen left in this world. What Ken does will soon be referred to as a lost art.

What's embarrassing to me as a member here is the way people with no skin in the game willingly besmirch the reputation of another member with whom they've never had any interaction.

:o:

[DerekTheGreat]

I too, have a lone 128H that's been with Ken for over a year now.

Originally, both of my 128H's from my beloved L150A's went to Ken after recommendations here and horror stories from local reconers- JBL Judy. I began to hate my L150A's and was on the verge of selling them until they came back from Ken. He fully reconed both with factory JBL recone kits. I think turn around on those was 4 - 6 months, which was totally fine by me. They were never better and I had zero complaints with them and couldn't have been happier with Ken's workmanship and attention to detail. But, due to equipment failure I blew up one of those freshly done 128H's. I called Ken, told him what happened and told him I had a JBL 128H recone kit in my closet from 1999 or 2001. I mentioned that because I wanted the 128H's to match, and the recone kit I had was never opened before me and was mighty close. Ken said he'd want to first take a look at what happened, that he might be able to salvage the voice coil and keep the cone so we' have the same appearance as I desired. Ok, so I shipped the injured 128H out to Ken minus the recone kit. About a month or so went by and I hadn't heard from him so I sent an email. I was told that the voice coil was decimated and that he couldn't salvage the cone- the Aquaplas was flaking off. I didn't believe the story about the Aquaplas as that was a new factory recone kit- the cone and the coating was fine when I shipped it, but whatever, he's Ken the Man. If he said it was no good, it was no good... So we discussed options and came back to the recone kit I had on hand, which I then shipped out to him. His concern was the surround- that it might not be good any more. I told him that's valid and replace it if it's not. I think I waited six months before calling him again. I think I talked to him a total of two or three times before this email. Every time I got a hold of him, we ended up talking for over a half hour. Great guy to talk to, really knows his stuff. But, every time I talked to him, I was always told my lone woofer would be done soon. Now that it's been over a year with no woofer, which only seemed to need a recone with a kit I provided, I wonder if I'll ever see it again. Perhaps he sent my woofer off to someone else instead, and was waiting for another to send me? No idea. But I've seriously contemplated just selling the L150A's and cutting my loses. If Ken at least provided an update every month after the first three or four have gone by, I'd feel better about this experience.

I understand personal loss, I do. However, as someone who has dealt with it myself, I was made absurdly aware that life doesn't seem to give a shiit. The bills keep coming, your employer doesn't expect any less of you (despite whatever they say) or unless you go on temporary medical leave and worst of all, life's problems don't stop coming either. So yeah, I can understand going dim for a little while, but complete darkness except for certain clients? I know Ken must be kicking out business here and there, the Facebook page or whatever continues to update. So of course people like me are going to see that and wonder why our trivial projects can't also get some time. So Ken, how about that 128H? I've got other stuff I'd like to send if you aren't too backlogged..

[Paul_M]

"The myriad of excuses over the years is a joke". Two more decades long friends have died in the last two weeks. This is a "joke" to you?. Paul M's speakers being completed fell in this time frame...that are just about ready to ship...that required more work than I anticipated to make them right. Adding actual Aquaplas...not "aquaplax"...to the cone. Upon some investigation, Paul M researched my personal cell phone number and sent me a cryptic message about not communicating with a customer...yet left no name as to who was communicating. Maybe I should publish Paul M's cell phone number. I'm sorry to be so f***ing embarrassing to the Lansing community. I should be ashamed of myself.

Embarrasing? What's most emabarrassing is the crap I get shipped to me for repair that people have actually paid for previous repairs. What's emabarrassing? Factory recones from a company that sent manufacturing south of the border to manufacture parts that aren't even useable, nor within legacy factory spec...then calls to said factory go unanswered by either a consumer or pro division rep that have no clue how to answer a question about legacy products. I know of three individuals still at Harman/JBL that actually know something about legacy products...and they refer them to me. Emabarrassing? People that send their prized JBL drivers to me for repair by reputable referral from previously satisfied customers during a pandemic that hasn't happened for 100 years...then bitch that I'm taking too long, don't communicate to their beck and call...and assume that I'm never going to send their speakers back for whatever reason...maybe because it's less risky for me to collect referral drivers, repair them and sell them to other enthusiasts around the globe at an increased profit margin so I can retire to Belize. WT actual F?

Maybe I'll institute a new policy that says don't contact me while I'm repairing your speakers, talking to new customers on the phone for half the day, while I spend the other 16 hours repairing stuff that is in way worse condition that I so naively thought would not not have been basically ruined by another "reconer"...or salvaged from underwater on the Gulf Coast that filled with rust...Yes...this has actually happened more than once.

Has Maxellhouse chimed in that he received his finicky, elderly father's 136As back from a resuspension and Full Service Teardown/Cleaning/Recharge to his satisfaction? Not yet. He should report back on the quality of the repair...but I won't be holding my breath. He actually asked me if I keep accepting new business when I have a backlog. Every business that wants new business accepts new business. Ask Boeing how that works. How about Yelp? Yelp is a fraud in and of itself by creating fake reviews if you agree to buy advertising on their platform. They've actually been sued for this extortionist practice on multiple occassions.

Other on-line sellers of "recone kits"...loose speaker parts for you to assemble, then recommend an adhesive package at extra charge...have actually been referring their prospective customers to me, because they no longer do actual hands-on repairs. Maybe it's more difficult to do it correctly than advertised. I've had numerous customers attempt these repair more than once before cutting their losses and sending it to me for an actual as-new restoration. And...NO ONE globally uses the identical material known as Aquaplas that JBL had used for decades to make specific drivers. I do. It has become more of a challenge to acquire in California as it has been banned to ship into the state due to Prop 68 restrictions, as of 2021.

My continued apologies that a relative few disgruntled customers over 34 years in business feel the need to air their grievances here rather than privately resolve them. I doubt they will respond upon receiving their excellent repair work. I do not apologize for keeping the high bar of Lansing workmanship...and even longevity improvements...alive.

I continue to give my thanks to those members that have supported my efforts over the last 20, or so, years. Where has the time gone? I constantly think of those members that have left this plane that I considered friends, and those that I've had the pleasure to interact with, personally, and continue such.

Ken Haerr
"edgewound"
UplandLoudspeaker.com
RepairSpeakers.com
909-946-5944
[email protected]

Glad to hear there's been apparent progress made but what, exactly, does "about ready to ship" mean? Anyway to obtain a slightly less nebulous actual commitment on a ship date? As a customer I don't think that's too much to ask. PM if needed.

[mark214]

We are lucky that Ken is servicing JBL gear, If I didn't live 1500 miles from his location I would see if I could help out, sweep floors run for burgers.
By the way, where is my stuff....:D

[Paul_M]

Glad to hear there's been apparent progress made but what, exactly, does "about ready to ship" mean? Anyway to obtain a slightly less nebulous actual commitment on a ship date? As a customer I don't think that's too much to ask. PM if needed.

Update:

Equipment on the way according to fedex folks.

[BMWCCA]

Update:

Equipment on the way according to fedex folks.
I hope this works out well for everyone involved.

The behavior in this thread is depressing me. I always thought of everyone here as a friend.

:banghead:

[mark214]

I hope this works out well for everyone involved.

The behavior in this thread is depressing me. I always thought of everyone here as a friend.

:banghead:
+1

IMHO, One on one for business issues, not in public forums.

[Ducatista47]

Ken, your quest to make qualified accordion replacements for foam surrounds sounds fantastic. As an amateur user of JBL professional gear, foam has been a pain in my audio ass since forever. I have always been curious why JBL never addressed this, unless it was a Gillette 'razor and blade' business model. I am sure their superb engineers could have developed other parts that met the same specs and did not self destruct just sitting there in a box. I have a pair of great sounding non JBL twelve inch speakers with accordion surrounds and sleep better knowing that they do. I seem to remember - an uncertain event at my age - that in recent years JBL has toyed with butyl rubber surrounds. Historically late to the party, IMO.

Thank you for the fantastic work you do.

[kelossus]

+1

IMHO, One on one for business issues, not in public forums.

You've missed the point. There is no communication in return, what are they meant to do?

Why does everyone gloss over this? I want to withdraw from the thread but it's frustrating to see no one address this. Even in Ken's spiel he didn't once take ownership and just offered again, a myriad of excuses.

[DerekTheGreat]

I hope this works out well for everyone involved.

The behavior in this thread is depressing me. I always thought of everyone here as a friend.

:banghead:

I consider myself to be a friend of Ken's. But like kelossus said, no communication is a bit concerning. Especially when you consider he's had my lone woofer with supplied parts for over a year now and that every time I've asked him when it would be returned, all I heard was "soon." I'm just poking him with my finger, not a hot iron. Without that woofer, I've got two very pretty walnut coffins in my living room. Maybe I should just take the drivers out & set up 'em face up in the backyard to play cornhole? LoL. Triple points for those who can get their bag in the tweeter hole!


You've missed the point. There is no communication in return, what are they meant to do?

Why does everyone gloss over this? I want to withdraw from the thread but it's frustrating to see no one address this. Even in Ken's spiel he didn't once take ownership and just offered again, a myriad of excuses.

As a fellow affected member, I understand how you feel and it is definitely frustrating.

[BMWCCA]

You've missed the point. There is no communication in return, what are they meant to do?

Why does everyone gloss over this? I want to withdraw from the thread but it's frustrating to see no one address this. Even in Ken's spiel he didn't once take ownership and just offered again, a myriad of excuses.Many forums I frequent have a "rate the vendor" section where members can air their opinions of goods and services. This normally doesn't include piling-on from those who have no personal experiences from which they can formulate their "rating". Members here letting us know of their impatience with scheduled repairs from Upland are useful to those considering using Ken's services in the future. Indignant contributions from those without personal contact with a vendor is really just "me-too" behavior that provides nothing of value to anyone. If you are seeking more drama in your life, just turn on Lifetime on your cable TV.
:cheers:

[SaturationPt]

As an outsider, I see several complaints here about a lack of communication from a business, several more on another forum, about longer than expected repair times and no response to calls and emails. This is usually a "red flag", poor to non-existent customer service.

The response, finally, from this business is a long rant full of excuses and blaming everyone else from customers wasting his time calling about their service, to companies that produce in another country. It should have been a gracious apology to the customer base as a whole and some quick follow-up to each customer who is waiting for service or at least personal replies.

More than a red flag, this flag's on fire.

I don't care how good the product is if/when speakers make it home, after his rant below I wouldn't sent him anything. Shame on him for not taking ownership of his lack of replies, for blaming everything else in the world, for not outlining a recovery plan for his business that includes proper communication. Based on the rant below I suspect that he has no intention on making things right. This was an opportunity to move forward and improve communications and apparently he doesn't feel that he is doing anything wrong. Burning red flag.

Not evey service tech is a good businessman.

[PoulM]

As an outsider, I see several complaints here about a lack of communication from a business, several more on another forum, about longer than expected repair times and no response to calls and emails. This is usually a "red flag", poor to non-existent customer service.

The response, finally, from this business is a long rant full of excuses and blaming everyone else from customers wasting his time calling about their service, to companies that produce in another country. It should have been a gracious apology to the customer base as a whole and some quick follow-up to each customer who is waiting for service or at least personal replies.

More than a red flag, this flag's on fire.

I don't care how good the product is if/when speakers make it home, after his rant below I wouldn't sent him anything. Shame on him for not taking ownership of his lack of replies, for blaming everything else in the world, for not outlining a recovery plan for his business that includes proper communication. Based on the rant below I suspect that he has no intention on making things right. This was an opportunity to move forward and improve communications and apparently he doesn't feel that he is doing anything wrong. Burning red flag.

Not evey service tech is a good businessman.
I agree completely and cannot believe anyone here chooses to defend business practice like that from Herr Haer. Or maybe even worse, try to conceal the very obvious and indisputable facts in PM s
I am an audio professional man for over 40 years and I recognize a rat when I see one..

[kelossus]

Many forums I frequent have a "rate the vendor" section where members can air their opinions of goods and services. This normally doesn't include piling-on from those who have no personal experiences from which they can formulate their "rating". Members here letting us know of their impatience with scheduled repairs from Upland are useful to those considering using Ken's services in the future. Indignant contributions from those without personal contact with a vendor is really just "me-too" behavior that provides nothing of value to anyone. If you are seeking more drama in your life, just turn on Lifetime on your cable TV.
:cheers:

So I need to have personally have dealt with Ken to be able to comment?

It's posts like this that made me feel the need to say something in the first place. A whole bunch of long time members like yourself accept whatever excuse Ken has. It's frustrating when someone who clearly has a character flaw is excused by few at every opportunity.

[BMWCCA]

It's frustrating when someone who clearly has a character flaw is excused by few at every opportunity.I'm almost certain there is an amateur psychiatric forum somewhere holding their collective breath for your next cogent contribution. :rotfl:

I have not personally dealt with Ken, either. But neither am I besmirching his character in a public forum . . . or making apologies for him.

[Mr. Widget]

This thread has been verging on the edge of civility for some time. That said, I do think it has been instructive and hopefully illuminating to those who can look past the personalities.

It is certainly unfortunate that Edgewound has been unable to deliver his services in a timely fashion and the apparent fact that his communication can be poor or virtually nonexistent hasn't helped.

On the one hand his work is very good. I've seen examples of his work and it is positively top drawer. Unfortunately I have also heard numerous tales of disappointment that delivery dates were missed and reaching out proved difficult. In a world where Amazon and others have raised the bar to set our expectations to receive goods hours after placing orders and shipping and tracking info verges on becoming spam, this "old world" model of the artist working at a high level but on his own schedule is a hard one to swallow for many.

Personally if I had a driver that needed repair I would likely still send it to Ken knowing that it might be a long time before it returned. If it was something that I needed right away, I would probably reach out to others. Leonardo da Vinci, didn't finish many of his commissions and really pissed off most of his patrons. He was a terrible business person, but a genius artist. I'm not saying that Ken is a modern day Leonardo, but there appear to be some similarities.


Widget

[Robh3606]

Before the OP opened this thread he asked me if it would be OK and I asked him to keep it civil. He did just that and has accepted Ken's apology. Anyone who hasn't directly had issues with Ken and is just throwing gasoline on a fire has the right to simply not use his services. Beyond that this is becoming far from civil and it's from people with no real skin in the game. I am glad it helped others make contact and there issues will be resolved as well. The purpose of this thread was to assist the OP in a resolution. Since that has been achieved there is no longer any reason to keep it open.

I will be shortly closing the thread but not deleting it.

Rob :)

[edgewound]

Before the OP opened this thread he asked me if it would be OK and I asked him to keep it civil. He did just that and has accepted Ken's apology. Anyone who hasn't directly had issues with Ken and is just throwing gasoline on a fire has the right to simply not use his services. Beyond that this is becoming far from civil and it's from people with no real skin in the game. I am glad it helped others make contact and there issues will be resolved as well. The purpose of this thread was to assist the OP in a resolution. Since that has been achieved there is no longer any reason to keep it open.

I will be shortly closing the thread but not deleting it.

Rob :)

Firstly...Thank you, Rob, Widget, Clark, BMW, Ian, and all that have so kindly chimed in on my behalf. It means more than I can express here.

Secondly...My global apology to those that I've neglected...purely without malice. I have my reasons, excuses, whatever...no one really cares to hear it. I'm a work in progress, and trying to get through some trying times. I'm busier than I have been in 15 years and, for that... I'm grateful.

Thirdly...There a few here that seem to have an agenda like Mrs. Gladys Kravitz. Sticking your nose into other peoples' business, and actually writing libelous statements about it on a global forum can come with it's own consequences. Those that engage in this practice might want to reassess your actions.

Fourthly...I'm going to post a video that I did a couple years ago on the reasons why some repairs take so long. This is when the pandemic started hitting hard...and too many people in my personal orbit started to die. It's also come to my attention recently that one of the historical founders of this site is not doing well. He's in my prayers, and the reason why I've had the absolute honor of becoming friends with three generations of James B. Lansing's family, the first of whom is his daughter.

The examples of the repair work that people actually pay for and receive is an absolute travesty. The attention that I pay to every driver on my bench is a sign of respect to The Lansing Heritage. Slapping a fresh foam surround on a 2235H is easy. I don't do easy. I do it complete. No compromises. My DNA is on it. The video is an example of why I do what I do. I've been a working musician, as well for 45 years, and I've experienced really bad workmanship. You get what you pay for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-cMf8fACdw

As for being a business man? Maybe I'll quit and find a way to make more money...again. I tried it 10 years ago, and it didn't go so well...I'm not above trying it again...but somehow I think this business picked me. Maybe I'm just dellusional and arrogant and take my workmanship more seriously than most in this line of work.

Thanks again...Have a fine day.

[Don C]

Don't we all have a character flaw or two? Cut some slack.


So I need to have personally have dealt with Ken to be able to comment?

It's posts like this that made me feel the need to say something in the first place. A whole bunch of long time members like yourself accept whatever excuse Ken has. It's frustrating when someone who clearly has a character flaw is excused by few at every opportunity.

[kelossus]

I'm almost certain there is an amateur psychiatric forum somewhere holding their collective breath for your next cogent contribution. :rotfl:

I have not personally dealt with Ken, either. But neither am I besmirching his character in a public forum . . . or making apologies for him.

With posts like "I hope I live long enough to be able to send my prized JBLs to Ken for his expert repair. "

You clearly have a bias and just as I have been critical towards him, for good reason, you have been the opposite. For someone who has no skin in the game you are making your thoughts loud and clear, just as I am.

And yes, it's a clear character flaw. I don't have to be psychiatrist to draw that conclusion.

Beating a dead horse now so I'll leave it at that.


Don't we all have a character flaw or two? Cut some slack.

Not when you have someones property and ghost them. You may have an excuse for it once or twice, but not repetitive.

[BMWCCA]

And yes, it's a clear character flaw. I don't have to be psychiatrist to draw that conclusion.

Beating a dead horse now so I'll leave it at that.No axe to grind, but that doesn't stop you from spinning that grindstone anyway. Maybe some self-analysis would be in order.

Go do something fun. Your outlook on life may improve. Save a koala.
:confused:

[Mr. Widget]

Save a koala.

.