SkyFi Audio Review

J

JamesSpud

Member
I do not know where to put this thread; since it has to do with Mcintosh gear I've put it here; please feel free to move as necessary.

I have always been one to go the extra mile in reporting when service (restaurants, online ordering, etc.) is either exceptional or the flip side of exceptional. In this case it is incumbent that I give two thumbs up and share an excellent experience I recently had with SkyFi Audio. If you are not familiar with them they buy and sell used high end gear.

I purchased a used Mcintosh MC452 from them in December; the price was market value (you do not get one of these bad boys on discount); the process was very easy. Their help in exploring options made a difference in what and from whom I purchased.

The amp arrived encased in a near pristine Mcintosh box tied down to a pallet. No question this exceptional packaging and service was included in my price but very much appreciated on my part! We have probably all paid for but not received care in packaging/ shipping.

With help (this thing is big, by huge, by large) I installed the amp into my system and started to explore its capabilities. Everything was fine but the amp started to shut itself off every few hours, seemingly at random and I could not understand why. There is a feature where the amp turns off after a period of no signal (approximately 35 minutes in my sample) but this thing was dropping off mid-signal.

I first searched these forums and tried some of the recommended 'fixes' but nothing seemed to make a difference. I next contacted SkyFi Audio and they proceeded to work with me back and forth for the better part of four weeks; probably a dozen different communications. They showed genuine care and really went the extra mile for me. In the end, with input from Mcintosh Labs, we had to let the preamp (Mcintosh C2300) control the power via an accessory power control outlet (outlet 1, 2 would not seem to do it) and we had to tweek aux. controls on the pre-amp.

The system is now working perfectly and I with to thank the good folks at SkyFi for their help and attendance to my issue; they went above and beyond. I have no connection with them other than as a happy customer who will be back for future needs/ wants. It is always good to find a seller who goes the extra mile!

James P.
 
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James:

I'm happy that you found a workaround, and I prefer to use my preamp to control amplifier power also. That is via the POWER CONTROL cable however, I do not plug my amplifier power into the preamp's switched power recepticle. This is how it should work.

There is a feature in the MC452 where you connect the POWER CONTROL OUTPUT 1 to the POWER CONTROL INPUT and it will not auto-power-down. A McIntosh dealer would have been able to tell you this, apparently SkyFi did not know. I posted this in your earlier thread.

On top of this, your MC452 is not operating correctly if it does this when there is an audio signal, did SkyFi Audio offer to repair the amplifier or just give you a work-around?
 
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For what SkyHi charges for the products they sell they better provide great after the sale customer service. They charge a premium for what they sell and that is part of the reason why. Glad to hear you are sorted out.
 
But he's not sorted out. From what SkyFi has listed "sold", he would have paid $7,000 for the amplifier, shipped, and "fully checked out and working as it should".

But according to what he posted above he has an amplifier that is not working correctly, after wasting over a month of his time going back-and-forth with the seller, who has apparently found a workaround for the defective amplifier requiring specific hookup and configuration of other gear to keep the amplifier from turning itself off, ...

I'd be pissed and demanding my money back, would buy the one in BT for a thousand less and be happy.

I am waiting to hear from the OP whether the seller is still planning to repair or othewise compensate the buyer for overpaying for a broken amplifier. However, he posted yesterday noon and hasn't been back.
 
Interesting about these SkyFi people. I have been watching one of their ads for some time for a 2002 amp with a nice wood case.

They spend alot of time in their ad write-up saying how great they are and how thoroughly they test each unit and that they will replace any defective components to meet spec.

For this piece, if they tested it, they make no effort to publish actual tested performance results. Should be no problem for them to do that. Also, they say nothing about any replaced components to repair, meet spec or refurb the amp.

And for this, you get the highest price I've seen advertised for this model which I consider way above market. Wood case aside. So it sits and sits.
 
^^^ generally that’s my point. Everything they offer for sale is at a premium. People, not me, must be willing to pay it as they have been in business for a bit. I get a weekly list of items for sale and it’s like a game to me trying trying to guess how over priced the items are. Never surprised any more. I did send an email over a year ago asking if they ever sold anything since their prices were so high. Answer was yes cause we’re that good… ok? I do like what they offer. It’s all premium stuff. They don’t sell midfi or lowfi. They have helpful videos and share plenty of information about various products.
 
MRL_Audio said:
^^^ generally that’s my point. Everything they offer for sale is at a premium. People, not me, must be willing to pay it as they have been in business for a bit. I get a weekly list of items for sale and it’s like a game to me trying trying to guess how over priced the items are. Never surprised any more. I did send an email over a year ago asking if they ever sold anything since their prices were so high. Answer was yes cause we’re that good… ok? I do like what they offer. It’s all premium stuff. They don’t sell midfi or lowfi. They have helpful videos and share plenty of information about various products.
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IMHO above premium. I would never buy from sky high audio no matter what we needed. Our Mc 2205 is sick I found out today and no matter the cost we are replacing it from Audio Classics.
 
stereocuuple said:
IMHO above premium. I would never buy from sky high audio no matter what we needed. Our Mc 2205 is sick I found out today and no matter the cost we are replacing it from Audio Classics.
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Agreed. I have seen some stuff that I'd buy. But good grief, the prices are through the roof at SkyFi. A great example is an Audio Research LS16 (220 volt) that has been listed for months at $2,500. How about a McIntosh MX130 for $2,700. :crazy:
 
They are terribly over priced and always have been. When my MCD 550 arrived damaged from Audio Classics and Steve was out to lunch I spoke to Ryan and another one was on the way that after noon. The damaged one I repacked repacked and the UPS driver showed up the next day with call tag to pick up the unit. The New Unit arrived in a few days before the damaged one arrived at Audio Classics. The guys at Audio Classics are the best. This isn't the first time they have bent over backwards to help me. Even while working for a Mac dealer in the early 80's if Mcintosh didn't have a part for an older tube amp Audio Classics usually did and we would procure the part from them. They have access to the designer of the MR-77 and 78 and if your tuner needs help he will fix it and update for you if wish. He repaired my MR-80 and did some custom updates and it sounds better than new. After almost 14 years it's still operating at 100%. So is my older MR-78 which he tuned up. When I bought my MC 830's I had them double boxed and set on a pallet as it was winter time. They will be a year old in a few weeks. They look different too. Here they are on IMG_0211.jpg display At Audio Classics
 
He’s asking $6k with everything original, includes extra power cord, not-smoker, ... in VA. I’d be buying it if I didn’t already have one and I’d rather see someone here get it than have it go to some global bidding site. I don’t know why I care, but I do.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/mcintosh-mc452-stereo-amplifier.984236/

Not a steal, but around average or a touch below. However it looks like a nice unit for the money, and IIRC the S/N being a 26xx should be late 2015 shipped or later.

Getting the boxes and stuff from the original owner is big to me when I buy used.
 
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Yeah AC will at least make a counter offer if they reject yours. Example: we need to make money so for us to take your MC75s in trade for a 252 we need an additional 500$ plus shipping.

Skyfi: We dont do straight up swaps as that never allows us to generate revenue. The last pair of 75s we had here we sold for exactly what we are asking for the 252 (5200$).
... I can only scratch my head. The 5200$ has to be hugely marked up from what they paid for it--and so--- what, they may have put in an hour going over it..... They would be generating revenue in a swap I am certain of that.
Unless they are getting a check written to them though so to say, they are not interested.
The other 252s by the way that were in the same shape were priced at 4200 (AC) and 3750 (ScottWalker). Vast price differences abound.

Even the AC deal wasn't good for me. 500$ and probably another 400$ in shipping costs. Even they would have made plenty profit on a straight swap---but again I think all stores are looking for immediate revenue.

I guess not to blame them.... but be reasonable. Just the fact that Skyfi never made a counter offer leads me to believe I would have been lucky to have even been offered 3,000 for the 75s.
And I guess AC would have profited the initial 500 and sounds like a grand or more when they would have eventually sold the 75s.

And AC is not perfect---I bought a B1 McIntosh CD player from them as part of a receiver/ CD player combo pricing package---that obviously the drawer had issues from day 1 opening very grindingly and with much hesitation.
A few months later it just died. When I looked up the model number I found that the model is considered very inferior to other Mc branded players. So my fault for not researching. I took that one as my fault. The MAC4100 however is still going strong.
 
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I don't understand your fascination with that 252 - it's an application product designed to fit into a rack with less depth than would accommodate a traditional size Mc amp.

Find a nice MC2500 and call it a day.
 
I like these guys! I have personally found Fernando to be a very nice guy with great intentions, running a cool business! If you take a look at their store (via their website) you'll see that it is very clean, well appointed, and equipped and, as a result, has a relatively high overhead. So sure, their prices might be at the top end of the scale versus others. They have acquired a reputation for selling very cool vintage (and newer) gear which I'm sure helps them in their quest (obtainment) to offer such gear. We all love Audio Classics, no doubt, who have a wonderful reputation. They are also a couple hours away via car. I think it is great that a retailer like SkyFi exists in the metro NYC/northern NJ area.
 
armyslowrdr said:
Skyfi: We dont do straight up swaps as that never allows us to generate revenue.
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As a car dealer, not only have I done even swaps for a traded vehicle, I've also done deals where there was cash back to the customer. If the numbers work to the satisfaction of all parties involved I cannot conceive of any reason why a businessman in his right mind would object. I seriously doubt they could be that foolish.
 
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