EB Acoustic EB1

[DIB]

one off:why not ring them theyre very helpful

That's very true, I spoke to them last week and ordered a pair of EB1's. A very nice gentleman.

Can't wait to hear them in action with my new Naim Uniti which hopefully will arrive around the same time.

.

 

[Anonymous]

They are really helpful (when they actually answer).

I noticed no reviews about these speakers, so read this forum and was really expecting great speakers after I ordered a pair. They arrived a month ago. They were terrible. - I wrote a review - it wasn't pretty. I tried everything and phoned to send them back. No problem, but they spent 40 plus minutes with me go through options etc. Basically the advice was don't bi-wire - diamond wire. While following this advice I spotted that I had made major wiring error (very embarressing - one of the units polarity was reveresed). Well the results - thse are wonderful little speakers - I just love them. I hope you enjoy them as I am enjoying mine.

 

[willgaunt]

Regarding the performance to price point ratio, has anyone run a decent comparison with speakers in the £800-1000 range? I ask largely because someone mentioned the ATCs that won the next level up in Best Buys. Seriously considering the EB1, and confident enough in the 30-day trial, but any help would be much appreciated. Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Anonymous]

Hello

All I want for xmas is to get an email from Arcaydis or whoever makes EB1 s to say that mine have been shipped. (ie not that they are going to be shipped soon)

By Boxing Day I will have waited 4 months to the day.

As a bonus , I would like for nobody to reply to this message, incinuating that I am in some way being impatient or slandering.

Jonathan Davies

 

[Richard Allen]

EB Ricky can't reply to you as he has quit the forums for now.

Let's see if I can explain.

The sheer backlog of orders that EB Ricky has are overwhelming. He won't get a Christmas. He will be working. He has told me that he intends to get all EB orders ready for shipping if he can in the new year.

Please don't attack one man who is building a bespoke product. After all, take a look at Harbeth or others. All these products are made to order. I just hope I can keep up with him next year. His centre speaker, the EB3, is awesome. He says that it won't be available until February time. I don't mind coz I build the cabinets for that one!!!. He will survive and do well, despite what is said on this forum.

 

[ID.]

orangecat:
Hello

All I want for xmas is to get an email from Arcaydis or whoever makes EB1 s to say that mine have been shipped. (ie not that they are going to be shipped soon)

By Boxing Day I will have waited 4 months to the day.

As a bonus , I would like for nobody to reply to this message, incinuating that I am in some way being impatient or slandering.

Jonathan Davies

That's a long wait and I imagine it must be frustrating being left wondering, but as I recall Ricky himself mentioning on another thread, he isn't sending or replying to e-mails (Inefficient, wastes too much time, etc. which doesn't sound like a particularly modern approach to business) but the phone is several feet from his workbench, so you'll be able to get in touch with him without a problem if you try calling.

I know most of us are used to being able to order and communicate over the internet, and have certain expectations and presumptions, but as mentioned, it is a very small operation with products being made to order

 

[Anonymous]

Richard Allen:
EB Ricky can't reply to you as he has quit the forums for now.

Let's see if I can explain.

The sheer backlog of orders that EB Ricky has are overwhelming. He won't get a Christmas. He will be working. He has told me that he intends to get all EB orders ready for shipping if he can in the new year.

Please don't attack one man who is building a bespoke product. After all, take a look at Harbeth or others. All these products are made to order. I just hope I can keep up with him next year. His centre speaker, the EB3, is awesome. He says that it won't be available until February time. I don't mind coz I build the cabinets for that one!!!. He will survive and do well, despite what is said on this forum.

If the poor guy is building the speaker from scratch all by himself then he will burn himself out before the middle of next year. I can understand that the speakers are made to order, but it would be common sense to produce more cabinets, drive units etc than you need that are waiting to be fashioned into a speaker. He must be a very talented guy if he can do the whole lot himself, right up to the final spray finish.

 

[Big Nads and Woofer]

This has been Brutal Reading I must say.... I'd been looking for speakers for months and took the plunge six days ago and placed a nice order for the EB1 in Oak. Yes I've read all the stories about delays etc but I must say it hasn't put me off one bit. In fact I'm even more excited just reading this thread hahahha

I think the fact there is a company producing hand made british speakers at such a low price is amazing, because normally hand-made usually means a few extra hundred quid on labour alone and on paper sounds like it's good bang for yer buck. I think there'll be an upsurge in companies like EB Accoustics, Temple Audio and Tekton Design providing more hand made products only happy to take on the big guys and take some of the market share and about time too!!

I'm sure they'll be worth the wait and when I get them I'll get a review on here as soon as possible with some photos too..

 

[Anonymous]

Can only help used prices in future too. An exceptional product with a somewhat limited supply. Got to be worth the wait.

 

[plastic penguin]

Richard Allen:

EB Ricky can't reply to you as he has quit the forums for now.

Let's see if I can explain.

The sheer backlog of orders that EB Ricky has are overwhelming. He won't get a Christmas. He will be working. He has told me that he intends to get all EB orders ready for shipping if he can in the new year.

Please don't attack one man who is building a bespoke product. After all, take a look at Harbeth or others. All these products are made to order. I just hope I can keep up with him next year. His centre speaker, the EB3, is awesome. He says that it won't be available until February time. I don't mind coz I build the cabinets for that one!!!. He will survive and do well, despite what is said on this forum.

Wonder whether you can help. I'm trying to get my head around the bespoke thing: Are these EB speakers taylored to individual requirements?

You've heard the term "supply and demand", and given the reviews of both EB1s and 2s, is it not the case you've (sorry, EB Acoustics) underestimated the volume? the quality isn't doubted just by the reviews alone. Any company, regardless of size, can only survive if you have the tools or capacity in place to supply within a reasonable time-scale or within the quoted time. I'm asking because I've short-listed the EB2s (amongst a couple of others) later next year to replace my RS6s. TBH, I would be loathed to wait 4 months + - I wouldn't wait 4 months for a car, let alone a hi-fi speaker.

So, are you planning or have you already implimented a plan to increase production/despatch times?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Big Nads and Woofer:Brutal Reading

Isn't that the working title for Cemetery Junction 2?

 

[Messiah]

plastic penguin: I've short-listed the EB2s (amongst a couple of others) later next year to replace my RS6s. TBH, I would be loathed to wait 4 months + - I wouldn't wait 4 months for a car, let alone a hi-fi speaker.

Simples. Order them now and they will be ready when you want them next year.

I can understand the frustration over the wait but EB Ricky has made it pretty clear that he is working hard to resolve this and is just a phone call away. Personally I could handle the wait if the product is worth it.

'All good things come to those who wait'.

 

[wireman]

plastic penguin:TBH, I would be loathed to wait 4 months + - I wouldn't wait 4 months for a car, let alone a hi-fi speaker.
If there's high demand for a product, especially one made by a small company with limited manufacturing capacity, and it's a product you really do want, you just have to get in the queue and wait for it. I had to wait 5 months for my amplifiers to be (hand) made, and 4 months for my car... just because they were in demand and Mercedes couldn't knock them out quick enough. I was quoted a 9 month wait for a poxy Audi A3 when they were first launched such was the demand, and at least a 6 month wait for a Naim CDS3 player when they were first launched too. That's the trouble with successful products...

 

[Big Nads and Woofer]

Ahhh I see Andrew consult's for film magazines too then...

 

[Anonymous]

Remeber though, the whole point with the EB range - since there are no dealers - is to AUDITION the speakers at home. Waiting 4 months then sending them back within 30 days seems a bit long winded to me (!)

 

[Andrew Everard]

Big Nads and Woofer:Ahhh I see Andrew consult's for film magazines too then...

Also have a night job with the apostrophe police.

 

[Anonymous]

plastic penguin:
I'm trying to get my head around the bespoke thing: Are these EB speakers taylored to individual requirements?

You've heard the term "supply and demand", and given the reviews of both EB1s and 2s, is it not the case you've (sorry, EB Acoustics) underestimated the volume? the quality isn't doubted just by the reviews alone. Any company, regardless of size, can only survive if you have the tools or capacity in place to supply within a reasonable time-scale or within the quoted time. I'm asking because I've short-listed the EB2s (amongst a couple of others) later next year to replace my RS6s. TBH, I would be loathed to wait 4 months + - I wouldn't wait 4 months for a car, let alone a hi-fi speaker.

So, are you planning or have you already implimented a plan to increase production/despatch times?

EBAcoustics and Arcaydis are not so much tailored as built to order - and they will still build to order speakers from their early years for those who have a fondness for them.

Companies survive if they (a) make a profit and (b) maintain a positive cashflow. Certainly they could make more money by scaling up their operation, and certainly some people are completely caught up in the me me me now now now culture. But the guys over in Kidderminster (who I met yesterday when collecting my EB2s) are not making things for immediate consumption. They're making speakers for people who appreciate the sound that comes out of them; secondly they're trying to hand make them using high quality British made components, which occasionally are in short supply or having delivery issues (like the North Welsh-made capacitors).

If you are buying speakers so that you can replace them in a year or so, or if you currently don't have any speakers, I guess an 8-12 week wait is pretty long. If you keep speakers as long or longer than a car e.g. years rather than months, 8-12 weeks seems perfectly reasonable!

I'll write a "proper" review once I've bedded the EB2s in properly, but so far (8 hours of music in) I'd say the reviews were mostly accurate and the wait is entirely worth it. Where I disagree with some of the reviews is that I think they are attractive, beautifully made in a classic style; other make look more modern, or "cooler", but frankly speakers should sound good, last well, and preferably not look too out of place. Everything else is neither here or nor there.

 

[The_Lhc]

putt1ck:Companies survive if they (a) make a profit and (b) maintain a positive cashflow.

Helped by (c) a good public image. Ignoring emails is not the right way to go about that, regardless of how "inefficient" they might feel it to be. Judging by some of the ill-feeling on this thread I'd suggest that's something EB ignore at their peril, it's not helping their reputation at all, from what I can see.

I am not an EB customer (yet), I have no stake in anything connected to them or any of their rivals, so I have no axe to grind, this is just my personal opinion, I think it's an unwise stance they're taking wrt to their communications, especially in this day and age.

EDIT: Describing legitimate customer complaints as "attacks" isn't particularly sensible either, just explain the situation, tell people what they need to know and move on. You aren't Ryanair, you can't afford to speak to your customer base in that fashion.

 

[Big Nads and Woofer]

Off the subject again hahahha this is a good thread.

I'll have to pull rank, as I'm an undercover Comma cop and you sir! Have too many commas in your "Bio"

Shouldn't there be an "and" between Audio Editor, Gramophone in your bio? LOL

You're going to have to go in the book son hahaha

 

[Ajani]

jules153:Remeber though, the whole point with the EB range - since there are no dealers - is to AUDITION the speakers at home. Waiting 4 months then sending them back within 30 days seems a bit long winded to me (!)

Exactly the point I was planning to make! (had I not been too lazy to post last night)

While I'm sure the EB1/2 are both quality products, we must consider that speakers are a very personal choice in HiFi... So no matter how good the speakers are, you may not like them...

So what happens if you wait for 4-5 months to get a pair of EBs, then audition for 1 month and decide to return them since you don't like the sound? Then you've basically wasted half a year...

IMO, the wait time is way too long... It would be somewhat different if you had already auditioned the speakers and decided they are the only one for you, then you maybe willing to wait 4-5 months... But 4-5 months just for an audition is extreme...

 

[The_Lhc]

Big Nads and Woofer:Shouldn't there be an "and" between Audio Editor, Gramophone in your bio? LOL

"Audio Editor and Gramophone"? Don't be ridiculous...

 

[Andrew Everard]

Big Nads and Woofer:Shouldn't there be an "and" between Audio Editor, Gramophone in your bio?

Erm, no.

However, thanks for the liberal use of the equivalent of canned laughter in that last post - 'hahahha', 'LOL', 'hahaha' -, without which I wouldn't have known where we were supposed to find it funny.

 

[Anonymous]

Ajani:
jules153:Remeber though, the whole point with the EB range - since there are no dealers - is to AUDITION the speakers at home. Waiting 4 months then sending them back within 30 days seems a bit long winded to me (!)

Exactly the point I was planning to make! (had I not been too lazy to post last night)

While I'm sure the EB1/2 are both quality products, we must consider that speakers are a very personal choice in HiFi... So no matter how good the speakers are, you may not like them...

So what happens if you wait for 4-5 months to get a pair of EBs, then audition for 1 month and decide to return them since you don't like the sound? Then you've basically wasted half a year...

IMO, the wait time is way too long... It would be somewhat different if you had already auditioned the speakers and decided they are the only one for you, then you maybe willing to wait 4-5 months... But 4-5 months just for an audition is extreme...

Indeed. Morgan cars have a 12 month waiting list but you can test drive one at short notice then decide wether you want to order one.

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/technical/faq.phtml

As a possible EB2 customer I'll have to say that 4 months to wait for a home audition is impractical.

jules.

 

[Anonymous]

jules153:

Indeed. Morgan cars have a 12 month waiting list but you can test drive one at short notice then decide wether you want to order one.

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/technical/faq.phtml

As a possible EB2 customer I'll have to say that 4 months to wait for a home audition is impractical.

jules.

If you have no other speakers, sure.

If there weren't any positive reviews around, maybe. That would be buying blind, although the money back return thing is 30 days of testing.

If there was a bunch of the pairs of EB1s and 2s passing through Ebay it might make you have doubts about whether people like them. Or if there was a ready supply of ex-demo ones that people have returned.

Sure speakers are personal, as are all bits of a hifi to some degree - but whether your amp can drive your speakers is a bigger issue i.e. how often do you get to hear speakers at this price level auditioned with your kit? I can say they are worth the wait. In fact even if you currently have no speakers, buy something like the Mordaunt Shorts 902i or whatever What Hifi "best budget speaker" currently is and wait. When you swap them in you'll have no doubts it was an upgrade, and over the next 10 hours of listening you'll be ever more convinced the wait was worth it.