One Thing Audio
Quad
General: Loudspeaker rebuilds, Your Questions
Answered
This general information sheet is addressed primarily to customers who have placed orders with us, or are considering placing orders with us, for total rebuilds of ESL 57s/63s.
Announcement September 2007
For over a year now our famous OTEC panel has been in short supply and we have had to restrict its sale to our own "in-house" rebuilds. But arrangements with our suppliers during the summer and a substancially increased turnover commitment has meant that the panel is not only again readily available, but a more affordable price will be announced VERY SHORTLY.
Q: How long is it likely to take?
A: This will be govemed entirely by the amount of work we have at the time of your enquiry. We endeavour to be democratic about work schedules, and deal with work in strict rotation. But there are only 12 working hours in the day: if seven people are before you, you will be seventh in line before your speakers are attended to. We will endeavour, though, to give you an estimate of the sort of time involved -and if we can't accept your work at the present time we will, if you desire, 'book in' the work -in other words, place the work on our Work Rota and phone or em ail you when we are able to take in the work.
Q: Why don't you reduce waiting times by employing more staff?
A: We have recently done just that. The HFW review of our 57 rebuilds states it takes '6 weeks' to entirely rebuild an ESL57. There are approximately 70 man-hours involved in a ~ loudspeaker rebuild. And remember it is 6 weeks to build ONE PAIR of ESL57s. So 10 pairs would normally take 60 weeks. Happily, someone is going to be at the beginning, but regrettably many will be in the middle and someone has got to be at the end! But, by 'farming out' an awful lot of the less critical and demanding work to other parties, we have currently managed to reduce the rebuild time to approximately 2 weeks. But the majority of the work is still carried out by two highly skilled and specialised people: and this work cannot be rushed. A rushed job is a bad job. This is NOT mechanised production, but highly skilled and labour-intensive work with a high level of quality control. It takes time.Q: Is there any way I can 'get in earlier' if there's a long queue?
A: Regrettably not This would only offend customers who were in the queue before you. However, if anyone cancels, our Work Rota will be compressed accordingly, and this will reduce the total waiting time.Q: What can I do if I find the waiting time unacceptable?
A: You are totally within your rights to cancel at any time if we have not yet commenced work on your speakers and you are not prepared to wait. You will always be notified beforehand when work on your speakers is about to commence.Q: Can I phone in and make progress reports?
A: No. We try to be as accurate as is humanly possible in estimating the time your work will take. If because of unforeseen circumstances we are not 'on target' we will notify you with an appropriate apology and offer you a revised time. We can add nothing to that. The persons talking to you on the telephone are the same people attempting to complete your work. You are delaying them.Thank you all, in advance, for your patience and understanding. And remember: all the best things in life are worth waiting for!
