FAQ's

Will you declare a different value on the customs forms than what I pay for your parts?

No. You are 100% responsible for any duties, taxes or levies that your country may require.

Do you ship to all international destinations?

We try to accomodate all requests, however, we cannot or will not ship to certain destinations. If you live outside the US, please contact us and we will do out best to accomodate your request.

How do you ship internationally?

Generally for international destinations, we will ship USPS Global Express (EMS) as it is usually the safest and least expensive method. However, please be aware that once your package leaves the USA, we cannot be responsible for delivery errors, delays, or even non-delivery. Many countries do not offer a tracking or insurance option, so please be aware that there is some inherent risk. That being said, we have had only one package lost by EMS, and any delays are usually only a few days to a week.

Sometimes, if the shipment is fairly light or small, we may offer you the option of USPS Global Priority Mail. This option takes a little longer than EMS, and offers no tracking or insurance option, but is usually quite a bit less expensive. But for those who are not risk averse, this may be a good option for you!

What payment methods do you accept from international customers?

Generally, we prefer Paypal from a confirmed account, and shipped only to the confirmed address. However, if you have purchased from us in the past and we have built a relationship, we may offer you the option to pay via credit card. Please contact us with any questions.

Are your products suitable for use in my country?

Due to the recent changes to laws regarding properties and the importation of electric and electronic equipment in many countries, we make no warranty or claims for our products in any country but the USA. The onus to determine suitability is on the purchaser/end user.

Why won't you answer my e-mails?

We try to answer e-mails in a timely fashion, as most of our cutomers will attest! However, lately Earthlink and Mindspring cutomers please be aware that our e-mails are bouncing back and not getting through to you. If you get your e-mail through one of these providers and have sent us an e-mail, or ordered a product, and have not received a response, please shoot us another e-mail and we will contact you via out alternate e-mail account. Sorry for the inconvenience!

I've seen on some of the auction sites some plugs that claim to be Oyaide, but are much less expensive, what is the deal ?

Oyaide is well aware of the problem, please visit their page here: Oyaide Info! Rest assured, any Oyaide product you buy from us is guaranteed to be the genuine article as we are (and were one of the original first two in the States) an authorized Oyaide dealer.

What about "double cryo", or extra long cryo?

There are a ton of different claims on the internet for "proprietary" cryo procedures. Simply put, most of these are just marketing speak. One firm claims that they have the parts cryo'd for 168 hours! Wow! If this is truly the case, not only would this extra long process not make a difference, the cost of this process would be such that the cables would have to sell, at retail, for $1000's more dollars than they do due to simple economics Some claim to perform "double cryo"--this is a valid process, and is a good option for those who farm their cryo work out and don't intimately know or care about the details of how cryo works.

We believe that our process is the best on the market. We have spent years and a ton of money experimenting until we developed our process, which is truly proprietary and unique. We own the cryo chamber, which allows us the freedom to treat the products any way we feel offers the best performance and are not constrained by time and financial factors plaguing those who don't do their cryo treating in house. Rest assured, any part you purchase from us will be of the absolute highest quality and be treated by out truly unique process, developed to actually make a positive difference, not just designed to give some great copy for marketing to use.

For more information on our process, Click Here!

What solder do you recommend?

We like two solders. The Cardas Eutectic solder, which we send with some of our kits. The Cardas is very easy to work with and "sets" up really well. We may, if there is enough demand, beging to carry this solder in the future.

Another solder that we LOVE is the Johnson Manufacturing IA-423 Lead free, Tin-Silver-Copper, Ternary Eutecitc Solder. It is kind of a pain to work with as you have to use flux and the solder has a high melting point (so you need an iron that not only gets HOT, but can hold tip temperature), but it's one of the two the best sounding solders we've found. Order direct from them: Johnson Manufacturing, or we can special order it for you.

How can I ensure that proper feedback gets posted on the AudioGon, AudioXsell, or eBay?

We are so busy that sometimes we miss feedback. To help ensure that feedback gets posted to AudioGon or AudioXsell in a timely fashion, please include your respective user id in the comments section of the order form and we will endeavor to post feedback the same day we ship. For eBay feedback, we endeavor to automatically leave feedback the day we ship. We are behind these feedback programs 100% as it helps keep the high performance audio trading community safe! If we forget, please shoot us a reminder e-mail.

What contact cleaners do you recommend?

There are only a few that we endorse. Any Caig Labs product, GC Electronics products with Polyphenyl Ether (PPE), and plain 99% Isopropyl Alcohol that you can buy at the drugstore.

Why are some of your prices lower than some of your competitors?

That's a tough one that get's asked alot. We are either getting a better wholesale price, or by doing our cryo in-house are able to offer better pricing. We try to offer things at a fair price that allows us to pay the bills and ensure that we are around a long time, while still offering you a great deal.

How can CryoMax be any good? It doesn't cost enough.

Well...we have an in with the company that we use to manufacture CryoMax to our spec's, and they take VERY good care of us. This manufacturer is the most highly regarded cable manufacturer in the US and has the best machinery in the business, and most importantly, access to the best raw materials available. It's good to have friends! This cable would cost a LOT more to get manufactured otherwise.

Are you guys idiots, how can cryo possibly make a difference?

We get this one a lot. I don't think we are idiots, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. We are pretty jaded around here (25 plus years in this industry tends to do that), but once we heard the difference cryo could make on audio gear, and the relative bargain that it was, we knew we had to offer it to the audiophile community. If we were out to get rich, or had no conscience and were selling snake oil, we certainly wouldn't choose the audio biz to try and fleece people. Great sound is our passion and it is a WHOLE lot easier to make a living doing something else!

Aren't "hand wound" power cables better?

No. The problem with hand wound cables is variance from cable to cable, or "repeatability". A person, no matter how skilled, cannot wind a cable the same way twice. Human error, or fatigue, or whatever always comes into play. However, a machine can wind a 1000ft of cable to an exact specification, so each foot of cable that you purchase from us will measure (and sound) the same as every other foot. "Hand Wound" cables are going to vary from cable to cable. As much money, time, energy and frustration that we expended developing our cables, we want each foot to be as good as the last one was. Futhermore, "hand wound" cables cannot be UL or CSA listed. They may use UL listed materials, but the cable itself will not be UL listed. UL listing assures you that you are receiving a safe cable as long as it is used for it's intended purpose.

More to come.