Hi all! This is my first post, so here goes...
I'm from South Africa and it's been about a year since the car audio bug has bitten me - I'm rather addicted now! I might sound stupid, but I've always been a loyal Kenwood follower. Their products just sound right to me.
Well, after having been exploited rather grossly (don't want to go into details, but let's just say that I paid more than $500 for an entry-level 640W 4-channel amp, 800W SVC sub and a pair of tweeters), I decided to do some window shopping on the net. I thought South African prices were over the top - take a look at British prices! Those poor, poor Pommies...
Then I discovered US prices. It was like hitting an oil field. Do you guys realise how amazingly cheap your products are? After refining my searches, the cheapest online store that shipped internationally, was woofersetc.com. I see many of you guys had a few comments about them. I dealt with Julian (no surname given). Apart from the time difference of about eight hours, his correspondence was great. He answered my questions straight to the point. I ordered a top-of-the-line head unit for $265 (would've paid more than $570 here) and mono-amp for $175 (here about $260). Even with $125 shipping fees, I saved about $160. I was very impressed!
But then the waiting started. Julian assured me that my order had been shipped about four days after I did the wire transfer (no PayPal, unfortunately). I only received my order about two months later. I noticed on my receipt from them that USPS only collected the parcel ten days prior to arriving in South Africa. You do the math. I was very disappointed, but luckily my order arrived - battered - but in tact.
Recently I discovered Indo Audio on
eBay...I think I might be stepping on a few nerves here. Now they had amazing offers! $85 for a Kenwood KAC-8452 4-channel amp, that's a bargain! In my terms, that's a saving of about $100, shipping fees included. I immediately bought it through PayPal.
Oh boy, but then the headaches really started. John Hearn replied promptly to all my emails, but never answered ANY of the questions I asked him. It seemed to me as though he was avoiding the issues I raised, of which the main problem was shipping my order to a PO box. I have two weeks' correspondence in my inbox. In hindsight, it's actually hilarious. Does this John Hearn even understand the English language properly?
Now here's the best part. On day 16 of our correspondence of still trying to figure out a shipping address, my amp arrived, in perfect condition. It was as though John hadn't even once checked to see if my order had been processed. Nevertheless, two weeks delivery time to South Africa is quite amazing, I must say - even with the pathetic responses I received from Indo Audio.
I think next time I'll buy from them again, I'll just not correspond with them at all - I'll just wait patiently.
Oh, and here's my system so far (don't laugh, it's not the best, but it sounds great in my 1985 W123 Benz):
Head unit: Kenwood KDC-X889 (I see many of you like this one)
Stereo amp: Kenwood KAC-8452 800W 4-channel amp
Mono amp: Kenwood KAC-8152D 1100W mono amp
Front Stage: Kenwood KFC-P403 (only 4"ers fit in my dash, but at least they're rated at 50W RMS at a HP crossover of 150 Hz)
Rear Fill: Kenwood KFC-6909 6x9 (who bothers about rear fill anyway?)
Bass: 2 Kenwood KFC-W3009 800W SVC subs in a 2 cubic foot sealed box which I built myself from 3/4" MDF (the thing weighs a ton, but I think I now have the ideal weight distribution in my car...)
Frans Conradie
Pretoria, South Africa
