Opinions / experience with Audiophonics.fr?

[Alexander Gödde]

Bought a CD player there a few months back. Prompt delivery, well packaged, no issues.

 

[Baldo]

I have been a regular customer for years. I had one warranty claim (scratchy voice coil in a midwoofer that wasn't cheap), which was handled absolutely flawlessly.

By the way, I don't have the slightest understanding for Baldo's "problem". If you don't like the fact that you don't get a special treatment, then buy elsewhere ...

Meine Deutsche Freund von Hamburg, the fact that you had to make a claim under a warranty is another red flag for me. This is high End gear we are talking about, There should not be ANY claims under the warranty!!! Does not fill me with confidence about the products that they are sending out. What is their Quality Control process like? Especially as it was for an item that "Wasn't Cheap!!!"

I'm happy for you that they handled it well for YOU, BUT. MY experience so far has been far from positive. however, if they come back to me with a suitabel proposal then I am happy to give them a chance. Until then though, I will look elsewhere. ChatGPT has been very helpful in finding alternatives.

And no disrespect to you my fellow German, but Germany is not exactly known for great customer service. Go to the US or the UK and experience what it is like being treated with respect and thanks for choosing to do business with someone rather than being looked at with disdain and treated as though they are doing you a favor by selling you their products. This is Hi End Hi Fi we are talking about not Womens handbags from where you need an appointment just to go into the shop and have to put your name on a waiting list so that you can be one of the few people in the world privileged and ALLOWED to buy their product!!!! Without the Customer, a business has no reason to exist. That is Capitalism for you. This is not the former USSR!!!!

Great city BTW, pity about the weather though.

 

[kschmit2]

My pre sales experience is not good so far.

I am looking to order several thousand Euros worth of gear and I asked for a tiny sample cable. We are talking about less than €5 worth of mains cable. So not exactly a huge sum of money. I even offered to pay for the postage to Germany. So the total cost would be about €10.

They have refused saying that they do not send out samples. I am looking for althernative suppliers. I would rather spend several hours and pay more to a company that offers better customer Pre sales service.

[...]

So far I would say Stay away or you are taking a considerable risk. Buyer BEWARE. Your money Your Risk.

There is absolutely nothing in the company's response that warrants your conclusion of "Buyer BEWARE. Your money Your Risk."
Your conclusion is clearly a defamatory statement, as it is absolutely not backed by your factual representation of events (you asked for a sample cable - company responded that it doesn't send samples).

 

[Baldo]

There is absolutely nothing in the company's response that warrants your conclusion of "Buyer BEWARE. Your money Your Risk."
Your conclusion is clearly a defamatory statement, as it is absolutely not backed by your factual representation of events (you asked for a sample cable - company responded that it doesn't send samples).

I would beg to differ with your opinion, which you are clearly entitled to. I clearly have a much higher expectation of the people that I do business with than you do. I PERSONALLY do not consider my request to be unreasonable. If they dont send samples (THAT I AM PREPARE TO PAY FOR), then I will go to someone who does. Its not rocket science mate!!!

My conclusion is based upon my experience, which I am sharing. That is the purpose of FREE SPEECH. and it IS a factual representation of MY experience. (Emphasis on MY). If anyone wants to do business with a company like that, then that is your choice. Just as it is my choice to NOT do business with a company like that.

I also do NOT do business with companies that I view as treating others badly. So even if a company treated me well but I saw them treating others badly, I would think twice about whether I wanted my custom to go to them. I look at the wider picture, perhaps you only look at how someone treats you. Nothing more needs to be said.

 

[gwing]

Audiophonics get my recommendation as well. They are a helpful bunch.

 

[kschmit2]

If you are prepared to order a "sample" of a cable and pay for it, then just order it and pay for it. They do offer cables by the meter after all.
If however you want to just pay for shipping and get the "sample" for free, then you are not prepared to pay for it.

I literally have zero sympathy for your ramblings and your continuous shouting (by capitalizing words) in this thread is absolutely inappropriate.

 

[pma]

Audiophonics - I bought several amplifier cases, UcD180, Topping D10s, PRE-TC10, some small equipment like signal switches, some cheap amplifier modules - never had a problem. As of mine, recommended.

 

[Baldo]

Oh man. Such a bad experience. Ordered Theiaudio IEMs. One of the pins was broken inside the shell upon delivery and the guy at Audiophonics refused to RMA instead claiming I broke it. Refused returns, refunds anything. Instead sent me the generic support email at the manufacturer!

Not a cheap product.

Really disgusting communication to be honest. Very surprised to see such good reviews online. Makes me wonder how many are fake.

Would be super careful after this experience.

This is a red flag for me.

I've made several purchases from Audiophonics and everything's went well except the last one.

They sent me a broken product with software as well as hardware problems - of which former were known to them prior shipping but not mentioned anywhere on their website. I Was offered a full refund but time will tell how it'll work out.

and another one.

Seems that there are others at TrustPilot. Did not realise that I was in an Audiophonics fan club here. I thought the post was a genuine request for experience of them. This is the first site that came up when I googled Audiophonics.fr Reviews.

 

[gwing]

Really? You were too cheap to buy a metre of cable from them and instead wanted to buy a smaller piece which they don't offer? And for just this experience you go slandering them over the internet saying "Buyer beware your money is at risk" for no reason at all ?

We aren't an Audiophonics fan club here at all, although they are pretty much the only realistic source for many components in Europe if you don't want to import them directly from China, but this also isn't a place where unjustified vitriol is generally appreciated - you need a different site for that.

 

[TheLastGerman]

Meine Deutsche Freund von Hamburg, the fact that you had to make a claim under a warranty is another red flag for me. This is high End gear we are talking about, There should not be ANY claims under the warranty!!! Does not fill me with confidence about the products that they are sending out. What is their Quality Control process like? Especially as it was for an item that "Wasn't Cheap!!!"

I'm happy for you that they handled it well for YOU, BUT. MY experience so far has been far from positive. however, if they come back to me with a suitabel proposal then I am happy to give them a chance. Until then though, I will look elsewhere. ChatGPT has been very helpful in finding alternatives.

And no disrespect to you my fellow German, but Germany is not exactly known for great customer service. Go to the US or the UK and experience what it is like being treated with respect and thanks for choosing to do business with someone rather than being looked at with disdain and treated as though they are doing you a favor by selling you their products. This is Hi End Hi Fi we are talking about not Womens handbags from where you need an appointment just to go into the shop and have to put your name on a waiting list so that you can be one of the few people in the world privileged and ALLOWED to buy their product!!!! Without the Customer, a business has no reason to exist. That is Capitalism for you. This is not the former USSR!!!!

Great city BTW, pity about the weather though.

Judging by the trouble I've had with other suppliers (and had to initiate a legal dispute - being right and getting right are two different things), Audiophonics is in a very good position. Especially in the case of a scratchy voice coil, they were able to claim that I had caused it myself.

And now imagine you get your special treatment elsewhere before you buy, then you order and pay in advance and from then on the trouble begins ...

Apparently you're only having this discussion in order to get some kind of confirmation here in the end. The deeper meaning behind it is not clear to me.

Hamburg was once a great city and is now a shithole, just like all the other once great cities in this once great country.

 

[Talisman]

Placed three orders for 500, 100 and 200 euros respectively, never a problem, fast shipping from France to Italy, clear communications.
Regarding certain statements from some users I would say that @Audiophonics dodged a bullet by not dealing with certain people

 

[Sokel]

No problems with Audiophonics so far except minor stuff,like packaging.
If the same stuff are sold by Soundimports too I prefer it though,best buying experience with various stuff.

 

[BDWoody]

So far I would say Stay away or you are taking a considerable risk. Buyer BEWARE. Your money Your Risk.

What risk is that? You asked for something they don't offer, they said no, and you feel you are now at risk somehow and need to warn the world? That's quite a stretch.

As a business owner, I consider it important to stay away from customers who are likely to be more trouble than they are worth. I think they are the ones who may have dodged a bullet.

 

[Colonel7]

You seem to want them to be an audiophile dealer (it’s all negotiable with special service) rather than an online retailer with a very large selection at competitive prices.

 

[Snoopy]

Great shop. Never had a issue there.

 

[GoDawgs]

I consider it a "considerable risk" because i am looking to spend several thousand € with them and if their service is like this even before I have bought anything from them then I am not going to buy anything from them. I will not take the risk.

How do they know you will not just keep the cable and say you are not interested in doing business? You are claiming that if they give you a free item you might buy something. Let me guess, you believe that you are entitled to this meter of cable to inspect.

If they come back and want me as a customer, I am happy to listen

You are not a customer, you are a simple beggar. How much is the cable? Maybe I will send your tightwad butt money so you can buy a meter of cable. Especially if you quit your bitchin'.

 

[mglobe]

I purchased a pair of their monoblock amps from them. Had a couple of questions pre-order that were promptly answered. Order arrived promptly, was carefully packed, and has been functioning great ever since. I’d happily buy more from Audiophonics, and regularly check their website to see what is new.

 

[Baldo]

What risk is that? You asked for something they don't offer, they said no, and you feel you are now at risk somehow and need to warn the world? That's quite a stretch.

Well I do feel I have to put on my cape and do my duty to save people!!!!. The risk is there with any online business. The worst cost is not money but time wasted.

As a business owner, I consider it important to stay away from customers who are likely to be more trouble than they are worth.

As a business owner myself, I provide my customers with such a good service and experience that they say to themselves, "Wow. I would be crazy to do business with anyone else because this business not only meets my needs but exceeds them". Do I always suceed? No, there are always customers that I cannot service but I make sure that my business has done its best to help. As I said, different business customer service expectations. That is why most small businesses fail and the good ones go on to dominate the market.

Also as an aside, did you hear the one about the Artist who had his Guitar damaged by an Airline and when he asked for compensation to buy a new one they refused. He went on and wrote a song about his experience which went viral, made him loads of $$$ in the process and resulting in the stock price of the airline tanking costing them several millions.
I am just amazed that in this age of free information everywhere that companies are still around adopting business practices from the 1970s. And then they wonder why companies like Amazon come along and just decimate their markets. In a way it is quite sad to see because these smaller businesses can provide a valuable service to the economy but when they behave like this, they make it so easy for upstarts like the Amazons of this world to take their customers. Sad, very Sad indeed.

Research shows that if a customer has a great experience they will tell a few of their friends, but if you provide a bad experience, they will tell everyone they know. It's just bad PR whichever way you look at it. Its worth going that little bit extra. the was a shop in London in the Pro Music space that started treating their customers badly but it was the only one around. However, in the internet Amazon age they were shot out of the water and are no longer in business. Thankfully.

Anyway, I really don't need to say any more and I am sure this is not the place, seeing as how the thread has gone. If the Admins want to move this thread or lock it I am sure they are free to do so.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your input and experiences. That is the benefit of communication and discussion. If I am wrong I will gladly put my hands up and admit as much. We all make mistakes and I am not married to one way of thinking.

Sorry hear that Hamburg is now a Shithole, come to sunny Munich where we have Sun and rain and snow and Blitz und Donner. And of course there is Oktovberfest when the whole world decides to come here, get drunk, get laid and throw up everywhere, not necessarily in that order!!!

 

[AdamG]

whole world decides to come here, get drunk, get laid and throw up everywhere, not necessarily in that order!!!

I feel like that’s exactly what you just did here in this thread. You admitted that you haven’t even bought a product from them and you rant on about something that they don’t make but didn’t sell to you? I am failing to find any logic in your continued assault on this company. So you have had ample room to make your point (13 separate posts) and I think you’re done here.

 

[mglobe]

I feel like that’s exactly what you just did here in this thread. You admitted that you haven’t even bought a product from them and you rant on about something that they don’t make but didn’t sell to you? I am failing to find any logic in your continued assault on this company. So you have had ample room to make your point (13 separate posts) and I think you’re done here.

Great post. Dude wins the coveted ignore award.