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Apollon Audio complaints

roberto.cagnazzi said:
I think @tmtomh comment above offers a very sensible perspective. I agree that Apollon Audio should be approached with the right expectations, given the nature of a boutique operation.
At the same time, those expectations are not necessarily obvious to a first-time customer. In my case, I only became aware of them after reading discussions like this on Audio Science Review. For that reason, I see threads like this as useful rather than problematic—they help align expectations with reality.

On the communication point, just to be precise: the chat reply I received happened only because I explicitly reached out through that channel. It was a quick, reactive confirmation, not part of any structured post-purchase communication.
Without that step, there would have been no update via email during that time. So while a reply did exist, it required an additional action on my side and came through a separate channel.
I believe that distinction matters.

More broadly, I don’t see sharing experiences like this as pointless complaining. This thread exists for a reason, and these are simply real-world data points about aspects that can be improved.
If these situations did not occur, there would be nothing to report. Sharing them is not about attacking the company, but about documenting what works and what doesn’t, so that expectations are clearer for future customers and, potentially, areas for improvement become visible.
As mentioned in the previous comment, part of this also comes down to how clearly expectations are set upfront. Without that transparency, it’s inevitable that discussions like this will continue to appear.
If communication becomes more structured over time, threads like this will naturally fade away. Until then, they serve a purpose.

My two cents:
If someone is not interested in reading these kinds of experiences, the easiest solution is simply to skip the thread. Or perhaps start a separate one dedicated only to positive experiences—although that would likely not reflect the full picture.
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Roberto,

I understand your perspective regarding communication and expectations.

However, there is still one fundamental issue that needs to be addressed clearly.

Your initial post described a situation of “complete silence,” being “left in the dark,” and having no confirmation of payment or production status for an extended period. That description does not reflect what actually happened.

You received confirmation of payment and production status via live chat on 24 April, within a few days of placing the order. That is a matter of record.

It is also important to add context: your question regarding cables was directed specifically to me during a national holiday period, when I was out of the office. Like anyone else, I also take time off, and I have a family including four young daughters, who I dedicate that time to.

During that period, support was still available through our team and live chat, which you used and received an immediate response from. So while you may prefer email communication, it is not accurate to describe the situation as a complete lack of communication.

That distinction matters, especially in a public thread where others rely on these descriptions to form an opinion.

Constructive feedback is always welcome. But it needs to reflect the actual sequence of events as they occurred.
 
Golfx said:
As usual a well written reply.

Just checked your website. Still offers same timelines.

Also regarding my earliest feedback from my order i stated i wanted your company to continue and succeed: I did suggest changing your website wording to reflect possible longer timelines, also double boxing like say Denon has and mentioning no power cords are supplied.
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Golfx,

You’re mixing two different things here.

Yes, more than a year ago this thread included discussions about delays. Those issues were acknowledged and addressed, and since then we have significantly improved production flow and delivery times.

The recent comment from Roberto in this thread is not about lead times at all.

This entire discussion was triggered by a short delay in replying to an email during a national holiday period, nothing to do with production delays or missed timelines.

So bringing up lead times again and again does not reflect the current situation, nor what this specific case is about.

I appreciate your earlier suggestions, but it’s important that the discussion stays aligned with what is actually happening now, not what was the case over a year ago.
 
tmtomh said:
but the overall product is, as noted by many others above, a hand-built, boutique product and should be approached, purchased, and understood within that mental framework, as one would a boutique speaker or a custom auto or motorcycle shop.
Click to expand...

Right on the money. Not sure if people are aware, if you wanted a B&W Nautilus (not that I think they are good speakers, just using them as an example), there is up to a year of lead time. If you want a Rolex, there is now an average of a 6 to 18 month of lead time. If you want a Ferrari, there is a 6 month to 3 years of lead time.

Folks, that's just how it is with boutique, low volume luxury goods. And YES, Apollon is indeed a luxury product offering when you compare it to the market. And it's not like Tibor is intentionally trying to suppress supply, he wants to do it right and that take deliberate time, as Tibor already explain why.

In terms of the latest complaint on communication, looks like the issue is explained, there is an online chat that offers faster response time.

I am very tempted to make a video of my Apollon to show the precision, the quality, the craftsmanship and the beauty so that folks have an idea what they are waiting for. You are not waiting for some Topping amp, you are not waiting for a machine stamp steel chassis amp, you are not waiting for an amp with parts sourced from mass suppliers.

For those who don't want to wait, I am half seriously considering selling my Hypex NCx500 Lux Dual Mono in anodized silver as I am now itching to upgrade to the Purifi Eigentakt 1ET9040BA DM Lux Dual because I like a lot of power that I won't be using :). PM me, if anyone is interested.
 
PristineSound said:
I am very tempted to make a video of my Apollon to show the precision, the quality, the craftsmanship and the beauty so that folks have an idea what they are waiting for. You are not waiting for some Topping amp, you are not waiting for a machine stamp steel chassis amp, you are not waiting for an amp with parts sourced from mass suppliers.
Click to expand...
Do it :cool:
 
Apollon Audio said:
You received confirmation of payment and production status via live chat on 24 April, within a few days of placing the order. That is a matter of record.
Click to expand...
Having to chase up that a bank transfer has been received isn't a great customer experience but it all depends on what was agreed when that means of payment was discussed. I fully appreciate that at @Apollon Audio's end they have to match the payment into their account to the order so it's not an automatic process.
 
huw said:
Having to chase up that a bank transfer has been received isn't a great customer experience but it all depends on what was agreed when that means of payment was discussed. I fully appreciate that at @Apollon Audio's end they have to match the payment into their account to the order so it's not an automatic process.
Click to expand...
I think there’s some confusion here, so let me clarify the actual sequence of events.

Before placing the order, Roberto and I exchanged several emails, including discussion of payment method (bank transfer). He placed the order on 20. April and received an automatic order confirmation from our system.

We received the payment on 22. April and started production.

On 23. April, he sent an email asking for confirmation of payment and production status, along with two additional questions about cables. As this email was not answered the same day, he contacted our live chat on 24 April.

During that chat:
  • Our team confirmed that payment was received
  • Confirmed that the order was already in production
  • Offered further assistance
At that point, he was fully informed about both payment and order status.

He chose not to ask his remaining questions (about cables) in the live chat, even though he was already in direct contact with our team and was offered help. Instead, he decided to wait for a reply to his email, which had been directed specifically to me.

Those two cable-related questions remained unanswered for a few days due to the holiday period and my absence from the office.

That is the full context of the situation.
 
Okay, this is getting silly. I know I'm going to regret this, but let's try to sort this out for the benefit of anyone still reading this who still cares.

Below are @Apollon Audio 's latest comment, summarizing the timeline of @roberto.cagnazzi 's order, followed by Roberto's initial post in this thread (and at ASR in general, I believe), which is the post that kicked off this current branch of the discussion.

Apollon states the following:
  • Confirmation of order (automated email): Same-day or next-day after order placed
  • Confirmation of payment received and in-production status: 2 days after payment made; 1 day after email sent requesting payment confirmation and production status

Roberto states the following:
  • "After submitting and paying for the order... communication dropped off completely"
  • "I did receive an order confirmation status (with a significant delay ≈8 days after payment) stating that the order "is now being processed"
  • "no direct confirmation of payment matching, no indication that the unit is actually in production..."
  • "complete lack of communication after payment"
  • "I still have zero visibility on actual production status"

This is a perfect example of how and why internet discussion can be so messed up and can actually make things less clear as more information gets added and piles up.

The only way both Apollon's and Roberto's timelines and factual claims can both be true is if there's a hidden set of assumptions beneath Roberto's account - and based on the subsequent comments in this thread, I believe that's the case here.

"communication dropped off completely" does not actually mean that Apollon ceased communicating with Roberto. It means something more specific: it means that communication directly from Tibor, and specifically via email, dropped off - note that Roberto says he had "responsive" communication with "Tibor" (not "Apollon reps" or "Tibor and other Apollon reps") prior to placing his order. This is an important distinction because it completely changes the meaning of Roberto's statement and, I suspect, how most readers would interpret it.

So the hidden argument/claim there is that communication from Apollon does not "count," is not sufficient or "official," unless it comes via email - and while I am guessing he would dispute this part, it also seems based on what he's written that he expects (or at least strongly prefers) such communication to come specifically from Tibor.

So when Roberto then writes that he didn't receive an order confirmation status until about 8 days after payment, that's not actually true - he got an order confirmation email within 1 day of placing the order, and he got live-chat confirmation of payment and production status 2 days after payment. What he apparently didn't get until later was something much more specific: an order confirmation notice that came after he'd made payment, and also was communicated specifically via the medium of email. That is not at all the same thing as "no order confirmation status until about 8 days after payment." Again, everyone would agree you should get prompt order confirmation. But everyone would not necessarily agree that you should get prompt manually emailed order confirmation after you have already gotten prompt automatically emailed and manual live-chat confirmation.

Similarly, "complete lack of communication after payment" is by any reasonable appraisal false - that's "complete lack of communication specifically from Tibor and specifically via email after payment."

And regarding "no direct confirmation of payment matching," it appears the word "direct" is being asked to do a lot of heavy lifting in that statement beyond what most people would reasonably assume - "direct" seems to mean, "live chat doesn't count" and/or "I haven't been told directly by Tibor."

Finally, "I still have zero visibility on actual production status," means, "They told me it's in production but I have my doubts or else I expect a status update of where exactly my amp is in the production chain/process whenever I ask." Now, that might be reasonable, and we could discuss or debate whether they should provide that degree of ongoing updates - but that is not the same thing as what the statement strongly implies in the context of Roberto's post - rather, it implies that after all that time since placing his order and making payment, he still had "zero" information about the production status of his amp. That simply wasn't true - he'd long ago gotten live-chat confirmation from a real human being at Apollon that his amp was in production; and he'd also gotten an email less than a week after that, reconfirming his amp was in production.

I appreciate that Roberto's comments have been civil and thoughtful - but people need to be accountable for what they write, and when you "bake in" certain unstated personal preferences, assumptions, or expectations to your factual claims, it can create real problems, as we see here.



Apollon Audio said:
I think there’s some confusion here, so let me clarify the actual sequence of events.

Before placing the order, Roberto and I exchanged several emails, including discussion of payment method (bank transfer). He placed the order on 20. April and received an automatic order confirmation from our system.

We received the payment on 22. April and started production.

On 23. April, he sent an email asking for confirmation of payment and production status, along with two additional questions about cables. As this email was not answered the same day, he contacted our live chat on 24 April.

During that chat:
  • Our team confirmed that payment was received
  • Confirmed that the order was already in production
  • Offered further assistance
At that point, he was fully informed about both payment and order status.

He chose not to ask his remaining questions (about cables) in the live chat, even though he was already in direct contact with our team and was offered help. Instead, he decided to wait for a reply to his email, which had been directed specifically to me.

Those two cable-related questions remained unanswered for a few days due to the holiday period and my absence from the office.

That is the full context of the situation.
Click to expand...

roberto.cagnazzi said:
Hi everyone, first post on the forum.

I’m sorry to report this, as I would much prefer to share a fully positive experience. Based on both my initial interactions and the technical feedback available online, I do believe that the person behind Apollon Audio is very competent and professional from an engineering standpoint. However, I hope this feedback can serve as a constructive signal that the commercial and communication side clearly needs improvement.

I’d like to add a recent datapoint, as my experience seems to align with the communication issues already discussed here regarding Apollon Audio.

I placed an order for a Purifi Eigentakt 1ET6525SA Multichannel Apollon Audio Amplifier (3 Channel) with Sonic Imagery 994.
  • Pre-order phase:
    Communication with Tibor was responsive and helpful. All initial questions were answered clearly.
  • After placing the order:
    After submitting and paying for the order (bank transfer), communication dropped off completely.
  • Current status:
    • I did receive an order confirmation email (with a significant delay, ~8 days after payment), stating that the order is “now being processed”
    • However, I have received no direct confirmation of payment matching, no indication that the unit is actually in production, and no replies to multiple follow-up emails
    • My questions (power cable, RCA recommendations, shipping/logistics) remain unanswered
  • Timing / expectations:
    I am now roughly halfway through the originally indicated lead time, but I still have zero visibility on actual production status or estimated completion.

At this point, the issue is not a minor delay but a complete lack of communication after payment, despite multiple attempts over a period of about two weeks.

For a purchase in the several-thousand-euro range, this level of silence is, frankly, not acceptable.

I’m still hoping this is a temporary backlog rather than standard practice, but I believe it’s important to report this experience for transparency.

I’ll gladly share any positive updates if the situation improves, and I genuinely hope to do so soon.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I'm inclined to agree.

It reminds me of a famous chef who said, "My work is fantastic despite some customers." Businesses aren't there to manage the existential anxieties of certain customers. Nor are they there to chat with enthusiasts desperate for communication. You see them everywhere in stores, everywhere at hi-fi shows, and as a journalist, you could spend all day on the phone, there are so many people wanting to talk to the boss... Excuse my bluntness, but reading all these exchanges has exasperated me.
 
AudioJester said:
Tibor should just cancel the order and refund Roberto.
There was another dealer on this forum who did that when he realised the customer would never be satisfied.
Click to expand...
Indeed!

I admire Tibor for his patience and resilience in his replies here.

In hindsight, I also regret having written in this thread at all that there is “room for improvement” in Apollon’s communication:

For me, it really was just a minor issue:
The announced “approx 30 working days” had passed and I needed an update on the expected delivery date – the amps to be replaced were due to be sold and I didn’t want to be left “without” a hi-fi system – which didn’t happen at first.

I must admit, however, that I didn’t use the chat service offered by Apollon, but had only enquired via email.

The delivery time, which was significantly longer than planned, was never a problem for me, though; that’s something you simply have to accept when ordering a custom-made product.
 
JensA said:
Indeed!

I admire Tibor for his patience and resilience in his replies here.

In hindsight, I also regret having written in this thread at all that there is “room for improvement” in Apollon’s communication:

For me, it really was just a minor issue:
The announced “approx 30 working days” had passed and I needed an update on the expected delivery date – the amps to be replaced were due to be sold and I didn’t want to be left “without” a hi-fi system – which didn’t happen at first.

I must admit, however, that I didn’t use the chat service offered by Apollon, but had only enquired via email.

The delivery time, which was significantly longer than planned, was never a problem for me, though; that’s something you simply have to accept when ordering a custom-made product.
Click to expand...

Why? If someone says thirty days, then thirty days it should be.

Significantly longer? Why would that ever be ok?
 
Paul7777x said:
Why? If someone says thirty days, then thirty days it should be.

Significantly longer? Why would that ever be ok?
Click to expand...
Without going into details: It would be unfair to blame Apollon for delays that aren’t their fault at all and totally beyond their control like in my case, wouldn’t it?

BTW Apollon did not say "thirty days" but

"Estimated lead time is 14 working days for stereo amplifiers/monoblocks, 21 days for multichannel amplifiers and 30 working days for all Premium amplifiers. Please note that weekends and public holidays do not count as working days."

This statement is unlikely to constitute a kind of ‘guarantee’, but rather serves as an indication of the planned production timeframe.
 
Last edited:
Haskil said:
I'm inclined to agree.

It reminds me of a famous chef who said, "My work is fantastic despite some customers." Businesses aren't there to manage the existential anxieties of certain customers. Nor are they there to chat with enthusiasts desperate for communication. You see them everywhere in stores, everywhere at hi-fi shows, and as a journalist, you could spend all day on the phone, there are so many people wanting to talk to the boss... Excuse my bluntness, but reading all these exchanges has exasperated me.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
JensA said:
Without going into details: It would be unfair to blame Apollon for delays that aren’t their fault at all and totally beyond their control like in my case, wouldn’t it?

BTW Apollon did not say "thirty days" but

"Estimated lead time is 14 working days for stereo amplifiers/monoblocks, 21 days for multichannel amplifiers and 30 working days for all Premium amplifiers. Please note that weekends and public holidays do not count as working days."

This statement is unlikely to constitute a kind of ‘guarantee’, but rather serves as an indication of the planned production timeframe.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure that the use of math would allow accurate timelines. I do not read any fuzzy times there.
 
tmtomh said:
Math, plus knowledge of the dates of Slovenian holidays, plus understanding of the word “estimated.”
Click to expand...
I used the word estimate.
 
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