"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]