Audiophile preamp repair video triggers YouTube copyright takedown war!
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Friday December 13, 2024
David Mellor
David Mellor is CEO and Course Director of Audio Masterclass. David has designed courses in audio education and training since 1986 and is the publisher and principal writer of Adventures In Audio.
@huntandrew4409: Tantalum capacitors are junk and are very prone to going short circuit
@gilescrawford845: MM's original footage was re-posted by several other channels.
@latouristviva: lol
@philshifley4731: I saw the piss poor quality of the build. So did everybody else. Tom Evans is a hack. I hope "Fix It Fred" copyrights his service manual then posts it on HiFi Engine. Another thing that bugs me is when some nobody mods a classic designs and puts his name on the chassis while calling it by the original name. Think Dynaco. It just sleazy.
@shitmandood: What is that thumbnail a picture of? Does it exist? Where is the affiliate link? God, it's beautiful, some kind of baroque architecture with tubes and all..
@AudioMasterclass replies to @shitmandood: It's an AI interpretation of what many audiophiles would like their equipment to look like.
@graemeaudion: This is quite a debate, but what everybody seems to be bypassing is in actual fact the greed of dealers and distributors in the high end world.. All dealers want a minimum of 50 points profit, some even 60 points.. thats over 100% for the dealer alone, that makes the $30k product suddenly $15k, the distributor suddenly wants the same bringing the product down to $7.5k or less.. Take into account that the manufacturer is buying small quantities and hence paying more than larger manufacturers..
Interestingly some high end manufacturers work on very small profits, despite the distributors and dealers doubling their money.
It would be interesting for someone to show the other side of the coin..
@zonavarbondagoo4074: TEA and the MG pre-amp lol
@Wised1000: Another, shout out to Mc Intosh! Their block circuit diagram are printed right on the top of the unit! There are no secrets on what is old, yet thoroughly relevant and second to none circuit designs. If any other company wants to make a virtual copy (or can do so for anything close, it's price), name it Mc Donald's and garland it with some flaky blue meters they welcome it! In 75 years, no one has😂
@longrolstral: Louis Rossman, another electronics repair man, just comes out with it. He does use occasional choice words. Enjoy his thoughts and the entire repair video: https://youtu.be/6hVe_spuJQI?feature=shared
@barlow2976: I would never be in the market for ridiculously overpriced audio gear, and think those willing to spend such sums deserve to be ripped off. It's obscene.
@laespiraldelsilencio9876: I saw that Fred was very shocked by the construction, the price and the technical flaws of the Amp, specifically the way it was mounted internally. I think that the whole black box was a scam, and I think it is a good thing that it is being reported.
@RodSnocking350: Wow, whoever is running the PR department at Mason Vet is clearly ready to move up to the big game at Bud Light.
@garealtours: It's truly sad that "Fred" doesn't live in U.S. state of California where Fred could sue the company using an anti-SLAPP suit.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @garealtours: SLAPP is something I've learned about recently. In the UK (NAL) we have 'vexatious litigation' which seems to cover similar ground.
@microlatinamicrocontrol1240: IMHO, it is very different to sell "high-end exclusive" audio devices to electronics experts, technicians, engineers, etc. or to nerdy audiophiles. I have seen and heard many of these guys paying huge amounts for a certain type of capacitor that would bring 10 or 13 more musicians to the orchestra, hand-made by an old man living alone on a mountain. This same idiotic behavior applies to gold wires and platinum switches, wooden magnetic cartridges, matched pairs of UHF transistors and similar things. So I don't think the price of these products is something that merits discussion, as long as there is someone willing to pay the price. This is very common and normal among audiophiles, where every sensation produced by the sounds people hear is of such a level of subjectivity that it leaves enough room for big business to flourish. That space is comparable to the one left by the UFO phenomenon and the moon landing hoax. As far as I know, the excellent reverse engineering done at this level of equipment repair and the delicate comment on the value of one of them manufactured with dubious and questionable techniques, very far from the state of the art, constitute nothing but a waste of time, expenses for taxpayers and an unusual kick back for the plaintiff in the lawsuit, disabling any future intention of offering its brand with credible arguments. As always, we have all learned something in this case.
@STRATMINOR: I guess someone just (re)discovered the Streisand effect
@MikeGervasi: I'll speculate. The PS5 is a nice unit. However a robust & quiet PSU costs money. So to cut costs they went cheap on the PSU and put filter caps all OVER the circuit board to compensate for noise. Guess why tons of PS5s are now failing? Shorted caps. So IF you put in a LOT of sensitive high failure rate capacitors, lets say..a Tantalum, to reduce noise WHAT is most likely to fail and fail often? Right.
@MikeGervasi: Welcome to the battle. Our friend "Fix It Fred" appreciates your support, lad ;)
@jstnxprsn: I never knew that watching somebody walking through a minefield could be so hilarious. Thanks for this. Ironically, it appears that the YT algorithm is suggesting the original vid to me. You can't make this stuff up. Well, you could, but nobody would believe it.
@chriswatt2702: I read an article online about a company that used a streaming service contract to cover themselves against a negligence claim that severely impacted a guest at a holiday resort that they operated… I suspect that they own the rights to the name that was used to protect the innocent.
@foffplease3944: Rossman has usual was hyperbolic and critical unlike Mend it Mark
@Noone-of-your-Business: This is so F***ING outrageous.
@MrAdminaras: Just say the name and manufacturer for god's sake, If you are afraid that they will take down your video for just mentioning facts, why would you even want to be here ?
@drwhave: TOM EVANS
@ralfbaechle: In the computer industry the so callled clean room approach is common. One person / team does the reverse engineering and produces documentarion. In the most paranoid cases a lawyer may weed the documentation at this stage and ensure it does not contain any information it shouldn't. Then another person or team does whatever enhancement, fixes etc which are required. This is generally considered the bulletproof approach.
There are abusers of the youtube and legal systems. The US DMCA is noteworthy. While it gives a copyright owner a powerful instrument to enforce those legitimate rightsitt at the same time leaves these powers available to abuse. The DMCA contains strong provisions to punish such abuse. Nut the expensive nature of lega proceedings especially in the US and the inherent risk make many victims of such abuse give up their legitime rights.
@b.powell3480: I believe we need to take tom evens to court!!, who sands all the numbers off of the op amps on the circuit boards!
@Legomanfred: Mark Evans shot themselves in the foot. Had they left well enough alone nobody would have been the wiser. Now you and several other channels have reloaded the video in question. Myself and numerous other prescribed to his channel. Kudos good sir for doing this. 👍
@jaaasgoed: I lolled so hard at "Fix it Fred"
@TheUncleRuckus: No it wasn't fair, as it's not a Copyright Issue what Tom Evans did was Break the Law by filing a False Copyright Claim and if it did go to court the Judge would immediately throw out the case and charge then Fine Tom Evans and make him pay for the court fees.
The problem is YouTube needs to get off their asses and Fix the Copyright System on the platform, bc as is it is way to easy to Abuse a False DMCA for nefarious reasons. You'd think theses overpaid pricks would take some of the 30 Billion they make a year off this platform to fix all the broken aspects that ppl have been complaining about for the better part of 10 years but they're too busy buying Yachts.
@mikethespike7579: Anyone can load down a circuit plan for a high quality preamp together with a list of components and the printed circuit and build his own preamp. It's not at all difficult and would cost in material maybe 300 pounds. Add another 100 for a housing and you have a preamp that some companies are charging 20 000 for.
@robh9079: Fix it Fred! Great! - I'd have gone for 'Mark it Mended'...
@halfmanhalfbearhalfpig: Just far to cryptic for me.😊I've looked all over the tube and can't find FixItFred's channel.
@mrljgibson: Anyone with reasonable knowledge and a set of probe devices can work out large scale circuits given enough effort and time.
@donhuebert9151: Wow, OK, somehow I saw this video before it was taken down. When you build something that incorporates No New Ideas or Innovation for huge money of course you have to defend your design, that's why you grind numbers off.
@heldercidecoelhas3055: Just for fun, I did find an article/review that a German Audio Magazine made a few years back when this was released. And according to them this was the preamp to beat 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. https://exaudio.pt/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Hoererlebnis_Tom_Evans_Mastergroove.pdf
@dennisneo1608: You don't like something? Just cancel it! Pretty common these days.
@gutsngorrrr: I do hope Youetube comes to its senses and reinstates the video, because there was no part of the video that could be claimed for copywrite. Tom Evans has just made hiself look like a complete hackass and now everyone is taking a much closer look at his product and seeing it for what it is
@TractorMonkeywithJL: And it has a crappy plastic case for the outrageous price it costs. For that price why not a durable metal case.
@stephenhall3515: I agree that LR in the USA used the Mark and Evans matter as an off-the-point link to his own agendas and to boost YT hit numbers and not inconsiderable ego.
His 'right to repair' work and masses of board level tutorials over several years are genuine achievements but a negative side of YT "fame" is that some individuals see themselves as being what are called "influencers" and seem to be compelled to comment. It becomes an itch and is of interest to psychologists.
A view from the litigious colony across the pond was mildly interesting but the Evans matter and Mark's reverse engineering are both under UK jurisdiction in the event of possible infringements of UK laws. We need no lessons from the USA, especially in the area of motives for publishing something which is truthful but might cross a legal line.
Why make the lawyers fatter than they are?
Filing off component ID marks could be seen as intent to deceive and a competent engineer can trace values and even types from data in the public domain, so maybe the action has other reasons behind it. Bose, for example, is well known for not disclosing data and still seems to be in business, presumably on the merit and utility of some products.
The 'blurb' on the Evans website is "colourful" and should be an alarm bell but, as the presenter says, some people have money to burn and are free to spend as they choose.
Mark's purely descriptive comments did not defame the vendor and we only have to look at the art market (and its prestigious auction firms) to expose the core question of establishing the money "worth" of anything. Mementos of celebrities fetch massive prices by association and the "value" of these are set by what bidders are willing to pay.
Add to that the human tendency to defend expensive purchases even when large-sample surveys expose poor build, internal design and prices of maintenance [BMW, Audi, Range Rover and Jeep come to mind] and calibrating 'fair pricing' becomes blurred.
I would imagine that the Welsh company in question will cease trading soon enough by dint of facts and practices having a suspicious odour. Perhaps misleading advertising could hasten extinction if local/national authorities took action -- incidentally at the expense of UK tax payers.
@rhodaborrocks1654: I've seen the video in question and all I'll say is that tantalum capacitors have no place in audio equipment at any price.
@FeelingLikeThatNow: How do these people not know about the Streisand effect.
@baredesigns1: Mastergroove??
What's so masterful about that damn groove?
It seems like a standard brand!
@wibblywobblyidiotvision: Oh, but you are afraid of being called into court, aren't you? You're perfectly allowed to mention the names of the parties here, which is to say @MendItMark and the Tom Evans Audio Mastergroove.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @wibblywobblyidiotvision: Says the guy who doesn’t have a name.
@wibblywobblyidiotvision replies to @wibblywobblyidiotvision: @@AudioMasterclass Oh, I have a name. Anyone looking for it in a legal sense could easily find it, because my google ID is linked to my actual email account. They could probably find my IRL address, too. Yeah, I know, old skool / naïve, but I have no delusions that my channel name gives me any sort of anonymity.
What I do have, however, is the balls to say that Tom Evans Audio are trying to bully someone who's pointed out to the world exactly how overpriced their stuff is. Like we couldn't guess. This is not to say that their stuff isn't functionally OK, it clearly is, but it's overpriced by an order of magnitude at least. And trying to shut down a channel who didn't even criticise their build quality (when that would have been justified) is absolute scumbag bullshit of the highest order. So come at me, Tom Evans Audio. You're a bunch of grifting arseholes.
As for @AudioMasterclass - grow a pair.
@Hungry_Hunter: What a load of rubbish. Pure bulldust marketing to a bunch of silly Audio dingbats.
@PurityVendetta: Mark's a decent, knowledgeable and honest guy. The only complext thing about the rather poorly put together and grossely overpriced 'modestly named' Mastergroove from Tom Evans Audio is the grinding off of part number from cheap components. 25 grand for this 250 quids worth of kit.
@pjhandle: Supporting Mark. Dislike manufacturer
@kendom33: Good on you for helping Mark
@hightttech: Moving forward, when owners of the Mason Vet Boss Furrow preamp invite their audiosnob buddies over for tea, will they be treated like they have a rubber chicken on display?? 😅
@hightttech: If not for Armstrong Horseman getting on his soapbox, i don't think that i would be aware of this story either. Thank You to the 'L. Rossmann Soapbox Company' for providing Mr Horseman the platform from which he shouted to the masses.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @hightttech: He may be a bit of a loudmouth, as may I from time to time, but he, she, and many soapboxes stand together on this. Oh sh*t.. UK libel laws, you’re in them too now.
@goggo43: The moment that Evans started grinding the markings of the integrated ciruits he branded himself a fraud. There is no defence for him.
@petergrohmuller1372: I know this amplifier from the 1960 film “The Time Machine”. The part was installed in the cockpit and you could use it to enter the year you wanted to travel to. 😊
@AudioMasterclass replies to @petergrohmuller1372: The Eloi are not the friends you think they are.
@mechanoid5739: It is obvious that you have used words in this video that are contained in the Oxford English Dictionary and as such, you may have infringed their copyright! This is about a ridiculous as the reason why "Fixit Fred's" video was taken down.
@RobSchofield: @ 7:36 - yes, this type of component has known, long-term reliability problems: however, these are these days well-characterised, and as a result (along with improved manufacturing techniques and better component quality) are used without problems in specific application areas.
What was worrying about this saga: 1) the design was not novel 2) the employed design technique was not unique 3) prior art existed (manufacturer's data sheets and application notes) 4) the failure of the component affected another part of the design, which was not fault-tolerant, causing the dagger-through-the-heart fault for an audio product - NOISE!!! Unbelievable.
As an electronics engineer of some 40+ years, this saga is unique in my experience, and is one of the most appalling demonstrations of egregious, out-and-out greed I have ever seen. For the manufacturer to put out a product of such poor build quality and design for the money he's charging, the company (which sounds like a one-man band operation anyway) should be ashamed - as I would be if I put something of this low standard in the marketplace with my name on it! 🤓
@christiangrabowski7603: The postal service finished off the part.
The technician must have balls of steel to turn it on. That's just not aerospace technology.
This is high end hi-fi, mysterious DIP switches on the back and we are in the realm of religion.
The black box was opened and secrets were revealed :-)
To be honest, the only thing that surprises me is how easily the technician gained access. I would expect screws whose key (tool) only the manufacturer has :-) But even those weren't included at 25,000 British pounds :-)
@williamsmith9561: This preamp is a classic example of the Emperor's New Clothes. The seller has exploited the placebo effect by using superlatives in the advertising. It’s a case of ‘a fool and his money soon parted.
@rupertprice5508: As a keen hobbyist i really enjoy seeing videos of products I will never own or work on . That piece of equipment reminds me of some of my early work in the 80;s . Not something I would be proud of today.
@stevejagger8602: "Fix it Fred" expressed his disdain succinctly.
"Tantalum capacitors are nothing special unless they are blessed by the Pope."
@plasmaDave: If fix it Fred needs a crowd funding for this I'd certainly find a buck or 2 to help.
@SarahJonestoo: Wow! Lovely video. Thank you
@TrevKen: You sound pathetic, like a wannabe victim. Nobody is being sued. It's just YouTube policies. No legal risks to discuss something.
@phoneticau: Class A power amp only only running 10% efficency DC power to Audio RMS output dont forget to match phono pre-amp
@johanneswerner1140: Fix it Fred was not impressed with the choice of these small components that failed, as far as I understand it these are known to fail that way - and had the designer not ground off all chip markings, the problem would have been solved pretty quickly. And FiF would not have had to reverse engineer the unit and print the manual for himself (crazy, right? then things would have been kept more secret). The bigger issue for me was the mechanical failure. Skimping on 20p per standoff at that price point is not great design. I thought the case was not too bad, if you like shiny plastic. Some people commented negatively on the use of cardboard shims in the case, but that's a valid method for me.
And yes, totally agree with your analysis of the AH video. I wanted to comment on these issues there, but a crowd of people had already done that.
(nice praeteritio by the way, "and I'm not going to say, that...")
@AudioMasterclass replies to @johanneswerner1140: Hey, I learned a new word today. Win!
@johanneswerner1140: You rock!
I have a good hearing (in terms of intonation), but like very expensive wine I stop at a certain point with audio equipment... so I think I won't subscribe, sorry for that bit. But I'm sure you'll crop up in my recommendation list from now on 😀
I love your delivery, nice dry humour. Boss Furrow? More like Buzzzzzzz furrow!
@AudioMasterclass replies to @johanneswerner1140: I can appreciate up to £40/bottle wine. Beyond that it’s just the alcohol percentage.
@k-notes5904: Really don't have to go changing names when you're just telling people what is happening currently in world events lol.
@yc-tai: Everyone has an opinion... This is free speech......
@vprosperi: Well done.
@PhartYeOlde: I have to keep reminding myself that the presenter is not, in fact, Sir Paul McCartney. Still reminds me of him, though....
@techobaz55: Jost love following this stupid copyright thing, all I can say is GO MARK, your a legend !
@axle.student: From what I could tell (If it is the video that I am thinking of (Mend It Mark). Not Linked.) It was taken down for non compliance with audio copyright requirements. So nothing to do with the repair.
@ronniepirtlejr2606: It was a fantastic video!
The gentlemens quality of work in this video was exquisite!
I like his sense of humor 😉
I liked the video so much that I had to watch it again on Mr Rosman's Channel👍
@echnaton192: The video is back, with permission from the OP. And the guy uploading is fearless and has a track record to deal with anything legal they throw at him. Wo relax.
@markd6777: Tantalum caps almost always fail and 99% of the time they fail dead short.
This is why most people don't use them anymore.
@CrippleX89: The original video is up on the channel of Louis Rossmann (anonymized as A.H. in this video)
@vinylrulesok8470: Tom Evans always had a good reputation in the world of audio.... what on earth went wrong???
@professorbellorum: I am really happy to see someone specifically addressing Armstrong's disparaging comments. You're presenting the full extent of logically supported interpretations. Obviously the copyright claim issue is the prevailing one and the fact that it's the wrong way to handle this does not affect the veracity of any audio quality claims.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @professorbellorum: I was careful in all three of my videos on this topic not to seem to criticise the audio quality of this device, simply because I don’t know. Maybe it’s fabulous but no-one that owns one has yet popped up in the comments.
@nixxonnor: This is not really regarding the "Fix It Fred" video, is it. The story seems identical to the real story by "Mend It Mark" :D
@AudioMasterclass replies to @nixxonnor: Oh sh*t. When the case comes to court, you’re on the witness list.
@-HustleUnion-: The unit isn't up to snuff to sell at a dollar general
@Geekeric: I can think of a smartphone company, let's call it "Crapple" who make it difficult if not impossible to fix their product, even taking legal action against those who publicly fix it. I respond by buying a smart phone made by, say, Bamsung. I think as consumers we really need to consider carefully how cheaply and easily things can be repaired before we buy them, especially if you fork out 25,000.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @Geekeric: Commenters have also mentioned Ron Beer.
@sbelyo: The Boss Furrow lol! I would never pay 25K pound for a preamp let alone one like that
@donalfinn4205: It’s the last Amp that I’d consider now, and still I wouldn’t buy it because of his actions.
@LowsHand: The only thing that shocked us is the incredible price for so much junk in one case...
@straxx99: Get to the point it's about Tom Evans, are you afraid of a low suit too.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @straxx99: Of course. There’s nothing worse than when my suit hangs low.
@conceptSde: I am always in doubt about so-called audiophile gear. Mostly it looks more or less like audio esoterics to me.
@kavehvahedipour2089: This is better than the original.
@RR1976: Tantalum caps are known to act very nasty when they go bad much more so than electrolytic or film caps.
@__Dude_: Now that is british understatement at its finest!
Almost touching the level of Monty Python.
I am still ROFL
@AudioMasterclass replies to @__Dude_: Well I was intending mild amusement but I seem to have excelled myself.
@rs7349: Not the brightest action bussineswise I guess, to get the repairvideo down. Allthough they say there is no such thing as bad publicity, I doubt that in this case. The building quality of the amp was at amateur level at best if you ask me but that might be overlooked by nontechnical audiophiles. Also there are a lot of audiophiles who are convinced quality is allways related to price. They can really hear the difference! Who am I to question what they perceive to hear ?
@garfieldsmith332: Well said sir. I saw the original video and wondered why part numbers would be ground off. To me it would mean that the parts are low end or substandard. It would seem to me to be like filing off the serial number from a product.
@douglasnewman4163: Yeah… The Corporate Globalist Billionaire Wealth Class "elite" dickheads are INTENT on OWNING EVERYTHING and We, The People NOTHING. ** Please see: World Economic Forum’s "Great Reset”.
@jamesmeader6539: Just hot air indeed. Come on man, tell the truth, state the facts without innuendo and obfuscation and shame the devil. Otherwise you are just attempting to get in on the situation for some views.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @jamesmeader6539: Oh dear, you didn’t get the ridicule in my video. Must have been too subtle for you.
@jamesmeader6539 replies to @jamesmeader6539: @@AudioMasterclass Oh I got the ridicule, but this whole situation was already so ludicrous, why not just come out and say it? I think Tom Evans deserves whatever he gets for trying to step on Mend It Mark, no need to be subtle. Being circumspect when YouTube is complacent in abuse like this won't help to change their behavior.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @jamesmeader6539: Thing is I make my videos the way I want. There’s no why or why not. People can like or dislike them as they please. Honestly it’s the best way rather than try and pander to an audience.
@HannekeStorm: I'am gonna tell Mark you are caling him names 🤣😂
@HannekeStorm: In the Netherlands we have van-medevoort-audio. They grind off the part number to (in the past)
@johnsmith2076: Mend-It-Mark had a video about something just like this. It was a Tom Evans preamp for £25,000. Obviously not the events you're talking about because Mend-It-Mark's video about Tom Evans Audio involved the "mastergroove sr mkiii".
@leandrogerardo9521: What is the model of the Yamahas in the background please, and any reviews.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @leandrogerardo9521: Yamaha NS-10M Studio. You’ll find reviews all over the web.
@migry: I'm completely flummoxed about what product or what manufacturer you are going on about. Unsubscribed 🙂
@AudioMasterclass replies to @migry: That’s wise. Anyone who is easily flummoxed isn’t likely to understand my videos.
@SeanChYT: I love the internet!
@UseUsernameNotInUse: Absolutely agree! Copyright is not applicable in this case. The claim is spurious and born of spite. Long live Fixit!!!
@andypandy955: The maker of this amp should have kept his mouth shut he has done more himself to damage his company by focusing people to his equipment. If you watch the video as I have it is very apparent that the build quality is less than satisfactory for the price. Mutton dressed as lamb could be a fair analogy to some. Free speech attacked once again what is happening to the world. Just a little thing it was the owner of the company who sent the amp to the guy to be repaired which begs the question if the company is so amazing why didn't they repair it? In fact they told the guy it couldn't be repaired WHAT! was it a set up?
@zadzwon112: The culture is changing so much. I have on my bench a Panasonic RX-1950 portable cassette recorder from 1982. A manufacturer's Service Manual is so detailed that you could build one from scratch without ever see the original item before. In modern devices there is hardly anything inside - usually a bunch of ready-made modules attached to a microcontroller, but all is a big, big secret! And forget about service manuals! Or even servicing - this is not considered to be an option anymore. The modern (reducing waste, saving the planet apparently?) concept is to buy a new one.
@stephendriver1814: The thing is, they're out right lying on the website, misleading customers out of thousands of pounds, it doesn't matter if the customer has more money than sense.
They're just out right fraudsters and it was only a matter of time until they was caught.