What the hell are you guys smoking. This is my second Melos preamp and I've never had a problem w/ either of them. As a matter of fact I sent in my SHA Gold in April for the reference upgrade and had it modofied and retuned in under 12 days!!!This is a fantastic preamp, extremely versitile and built like a tank.
The reference upgrade is well worth the money and if past history is any indicator ,I doubt I will have any future problems. As far as their service is concerned , for me it was no problem. And to cut down the future flame from some at this site , NO I DO NOT WORK FOR MELOS NOR DO I HAVE ANY CONECTIONS W/ MELOS. I normally would rate this product a 4 - 4.5 but it seems only fair to give it a 5 to counteract the BS .

Suggestion on how to deal with Melos service department. Casually mention during your conversation them that you are the Chief Investigator in the Consumer Fraud Division of your local police department. Good luck!! They suck!!

You'll all be happy to know I may have just gotten bitten by this love for theMelos products. While I still maintain that the SHA Gold Reference is the
best sounding preamp I have ever heard (not to mention the headphone stage)
I may end up having to deal with Melos after all... and those guys ARE bastards.
I bought the unit used and have a good hi-fi repair shop so I assumed I
could avoid ever dealing with Melos themselves (which if you can... I still
maintain this is a great bargain for a preamp) but now it seems that my
system with a few changes has become too loud and I need the gain of the
preamp adjusted for my high efficiency system. I'm looking around for someone
who can do this without dealing with Melos since I just talked with them
on the phone and they are ridiculous. So I don't know what to say... I'll give
10 stars for the product and -6 for the service... lets say. (I still say
that as a feat of engineering, this preamp is REMARKABLE!)
If you can avoid dealing with Melos, buy these used, the market for them is
depreciated due to the bad service; however... I must agree with everyone else here: IF YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH MELOS it's not worth the hastle.) Though I'm not sure what would be better if
you want a headphone stage and preamp in one box (please e-mail suggestions to
grossi@fas.harvard.edu) Thanks.

Right on S. Gorski! Melos products are great when they work but when you need service Melos is the 'used car' company of high end audio!! This makes owning a Melos product a risky investment. Been there. Done That. Won't do it again.

Transparent / Detailed

Service

Had a SHA Gold in 1996 for just over a year. Had to send it in twice during that time under warranty to resolve a low level hum problem in one channel. Each time it took over a month. Reading most of these reviews I guess my experience was not unique. Loved the sound but switched to an Audible Illusions 3a. Betters the Melos in every way and hasn't needed service!! Melos gets 4 stars for sound and 1 star for service for an overall of 2.5.

Similar Products Used:

ARC / Audible Illusions

I love my Melos SHA Gold preamp, but I have to agree with the rest of the reviewers here that Melos provides awful service. I once had to send the preamp in for a minor repair, and was told it would take 2 weeks. Well, it was gone for over 6 weeks, and probably would have been longer if not for my frequent calls to the company. Even though upgrading to Reference standard is tempting, I'm afraid to go through that experience again. I give the preamp four stars for performance, as I'm sure the Reference would be five stars in comparison. Service, on the other hand, rates a fat zero.

I had originally purchased the SHA GOLD based on the class B rating in Stereophile. I recently upgraded to the REFERENCE and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I immediately noticed the rich full sound associated with tubes that I hadn't heard in the SHA GOLD...mind you they are both tubed.The soundstage widened,the bass was fuller and deeper and the dynamics blew me away! It needed about 50 hours of break in but once burned in; it disappeared and allowed the full glory of my other components to shine through. If you're in the market for a preamp you must audition the REFERENCE.Compare it to more expensive gear and decide for yourself. An easy 5 stars

Super headphone out

horrible service

Five start product, but the service... To fixed a small problem, I had to make numerous calls and wait a couple of months. No wonder they moved from NJ to Las Vegas.

If you need any Melos stuff to repair, upgrade, etc. check out the listings for above email on eBay or visit
http://www.computerjournal.com/melos/melos.html for
a MELOS Audio Liquidation

hurry up - going on now!

Everything is up for grabs:
Amps, pre-amps, chassis, caps, tubes, schematics, etc.

Similar Products Used:

MELOS,

Tube Sound

Terrible Service

Like J. Biardo's experience, I had a lot of problems from Melos' service. Finally, I decided to trade in my Melos' Reference (Actually, it is not a reference pre-amp.), and purchase an Audio Research LS15. ARC LS15 is a better sounding pre-amp, and ARC people provide excellent service.

If you own a Melos pre-amp and know how to fix it by yourself, it is fine for you to stick on it. Otherwise, trade it in as soon as possible, and purchase one from outstanding companies, e.g., ARC and C-J.

Similar Products Used:

C-J 12AL