[Amps] Status of Alpha

[Mike Dishop]

  So, anyone with a keyboard can say whatever they like about me or my companies here, and yet if I exercise my free speech and  present facts to back up my claims and do it calmly without insulting anyone or  knocking anyone's head in, that is a rant?   Trust me, you have NEVER seen me rant. 

I would think that the people on the amps reflector would want to here the facts straight from the guy who is in the know better than anyone else.  If you do not care to hear the truth just don't read further.

The DX2400 IMD is far better than -30 dB PEP.  It is better than -30 dBc.  It is even better than the A9500.  We simply don't publish it as such. 

Let me clear up the misunderstanding about the 87A.  That unit was designed and released previous to 1987 and is a pretty good example of state of the art technology for 1984.  Some of you know I come from the appliance industry. In the appliance industry we made specific provisions that a microprocessor would be supported 20 years before incorporating it into a control.  talk about pulling teeth!  How many microprocessor iterations have occurred since the 8080 /  Z80 / RCA 6502 technology of 1984?  286, 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium2,3 ...Core 2,core 3, i5,i7... can anyone even name them all?  Can you buy a brand new 286 today?  Or get one repaired easily and cheaply?

Here is the point. Manufacturers obsolete critical parts well before 20 years.  The 87A technology is now roughly 35 years old!   The 87 itself is 30 years old this year!  

What is your thirty year old Chevy worth that you drove every day?  Can you still get EVERY single part for it brand new?  We are not nearly as big as GM.  We are a specialty manufacturer like maybe Lamborghini.  Can you get a speedometer needle for a 1984 Muria if you need one?  

Like it or not, there comes a time when things go obsolete.  The previous owners said they were not going to support the 87A and that ignited such a backlash of a firestorm that they recanted.  I have made the policy very clear at Alpha.  I will state it again so there will be no misunderstanding:

WE WILL REPAIR AT OUR DISCRESSION ANY AMPLIFIER WE MANUFACTURED, IF (and that is a huge capitol "IF")  WE CAN GET THE PARTS.   We are happy to do it. We want you on the air with our products. We support you every way we possibly can.  I personally get great happiness in my life when I put out a product that makes someone happy.  Life can be a real pain sometimes and it is really refreshing to know that you can go home, flip the switch and depend on something.  It is comforting to know that if something does go wrong the experts who made it are right here, speak your language and are willing to help you.  How many times has Glenn answered people on the weekend on his own time and tried to get someone on the air?  It happens all the time.  Who else does that?  We try to go above and beyond consistently each and every time. Why would you want to buy anything else from anyone else?  You have the best safety net in the business with a almost fifty year record of backing you up.  That is why I'm working with Alpha. That is the experience I want you to have when you deal with us.  I don't want to be the biggest fish in the pond. I just want to be the best fish in the pond. Everything I do is controlled by that one single goal.

Yes, the 87A is obsolete. Sometimes we get one in which is not repairable.  If the owner junks it we try to pull any parts out that might help someone else.  There is just no way around this.  Other companies selling you amps haven't even been around thirty years.  Yes, it IS time to upgrade to a 9500.  We will keep supporting your 87A the best we can but sometimes we just can't fix them or it would cost more than purchasing a new amp.  Let's be realistic. If you've been driving that car for thirty years, it isn't REASONABLE to expect it to have any resale value.  You've had it, you've enjoyed it, you've gotten your money's worth out of it.  What is there to complain about?  And, considering how good it has been to you, why would you not buy another one from us that is current production that we can support?


Regarding the website issues it appears that the rules have changed this month about SSL security or some such thing.  The younger generation who understands such things is looking into it.  I believe they may have it sorted out soon I hope.

I hope this is not considered a "rant". I have replied to some questions asked in the threads.  I have double spaced this and it looks fine from yahoo.  I may need to rejoin amps from my personal email if this comes up looking screwy again.  I noticed the previous post all periods were replaced by question marks and it was all run together.

73 DE N8WFF