frequently asked questions
Q: Why upgrade old equipment - surely it's better to buy newer, fresher designs?
A: There's an old saying - "there's nothing new under the sun" and never more true than in audio. The so called "new" designs are often recycled 'old' designs wrapped in slightly different clothing. When buying new equipment you're buying many things like new cases and packaging, new operating controls, new colours perhaps but NOT necessarily, new sound improvements. The trick here is to "short circuit" the designer's work and bring an existing design up to scratch without the attendant expense of manufacturer profit, dealer profit, taxes etc.
If this prospect intrigues you as a paying consumer, please read on:-
Q: Why do you claim that you can improve some very well regarded equipment - surely it's made to an extremely high specification already?
A: Thomas Edison once remarked "Anything that can be manufactured, can be improved" - a tenet proven time and time again. The equipment we operate upon, in common with all manufactured commodities, was produced within price constraints. Over many years of performing 'surgery' on many brands of audio equipment, the solid evidence has emerged that all designs have built-in compromises. Naim kit is no exception to this rule so once the weak areas, where the expenditure has been deliberately limited, have been identified - it's a simple matter to retrace the steps and build in the extra quality left out by the manufacturer. The components we use undoubtedly represent the best value for money available and after much searching, we're confident that although you could buy differently, you couldn't buy better.
Q: Will your upgrade void service obligations by the original manufacturer?
A: WARNING - almost certainly yes - However, after conversion, we offer a liberal, four-year parts and labour guarantee (12 months for CD players) and thereafter, our workshop service is at your disposal at very reasonable rates.
Q: Will your upgrades reduce the second-hand resale value of my equipment?
A: From the point of view that the performance, once converted will continue to outstrip the competition for many years to come, it's unlikely that the need to change will ever arise. On the rare occasion that a piece of modified equipment appears in the second-hand columns, you will find that the name of Avondale Audio is invariably used as a positive selling point. However, if you are considering upgrading your equipment merely to resell it, then our advice is always to carefully consider whether our service might not be appropriate for your requirements.
Q: How do you justify your charges to upgrade a piece of equipment?
A: It's helpful to realise that your amplifier will be dismantled and rebuilt by enthusiastic experts using high specification components, attention to detail and unique skills just not found in factories employing mass production techniques. By comparison, the very high cost of buying the next manufacturers model make our upgrade charges look to be a most realistic alternative.
Q: I've read that the original manufacturers decry your services and claim that the sound quality is not as good as the original. Indeed, one manufacturer asserts that they have had requests - (too many to list or so they say..!!), to revert converted amplifiers back to factory standard - can you comment?
A: Many hundreds of delighted customers - some going back over twenty years, can't all be wrong - Avondale would have been buried under a mountain of bad press complaints and out of business years ago if the manufacturers claims had any substance. Over the years, the cries for my head have gradually susbsided and the service we provide - to very few it must be said, has become almost the only option for those wishing to move upwards in sound experience without the high cost associated with visiting a dealership. As it is, recommendations from our delighted clients ensure a steady stream of business. Incidentally, the Ford Motor Company used to vilify a certain Keith Duckworth for modifying their products until they saw the potential and began to make the world famous Cosworth. Can you imagine anyone buying such a famous high performance machine and then asking Ford to convert it back into an ordinary family saloon.!!
Q: If you're so good at modifying other equipment, why don't you manufacture your own?
A: The results of all the 'midnight oil burning' has resulted in a range of products designed to have all the attributes of the items we work upon but taking the principles a stride or two further. In upgrading the already excellent products of other manufacturers, we've been able to have an occasional glimpse of "that which is possible", a rare insight into the far regions of musical reproduction denied to most consumers. Having so much experience in upgrading means we can take hitherto non-viable projects and turn them into reality.
Q: Why is Avondale's upgraded equipment rarely reviewed in the magazines?
A: This one is a bit of a hot potato, the major manufacturers would soon be up in arms if any magazine dared to suggest that our upgrades overshadowed their latest model. Instead, our business has had to be built on the solid foundation of customer satisfaction, with little or no help from the magazines. We are content to remain quite independent of the magazine publishers and regard the goodwill of our clients to be much more important than the plaudits of some career minded journalist. It has not been necessary to expend the many thousands of pounds on the constant magazine advertising we all know is necessary to guarantee good reviews. This of course means lower costs to you, the customer.
Q: How can I be sure I'll like the sound of the equipment once converted?
A: Our Charter: Your complete satisfaction is our goal - we take the utmost care to ensure that you have it. Where practical, we offer on loan similar if not identical pieces for you to evaluate the sound improvement. It is crucially important that you, our customers, are delighted with our well proven work. Should the unthinkable happen and you consider that the sound quality is not all that you had hoped for and, providing there are sufficiently strong reasons, we will either restore your equipment to standard or provide an equivalent item in exchange at our discretion along with a full refund.
Q: There are accusations that you threaten firms with legal action if anything is said against you and this is how you ensure only positive feedback……..
A: Wouldn't that be wonderful..?? - to have enough financial clout to sue a major manufacturer. If true, I'd be sunning myself on some far flung beach at the moment - sipping a Bacardi and Coke perhaps - I wouldn't be subsidising lawyers I can tell you..!!
Q: Do you have any written testimonials for your work from your clients.?
A: Please feel free to ask - copies are available with pleasure. We also include many testimonial clips on the website.
"After 8 years I am still enjoying the superior transformation you wrought on my old 32.5!" TG England
