Announcing the next generation: UltraCap LPS-1.2 (Now 5/7/9/12V! ; Now with parallel LT3045 regulators!)

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, auricgoldfinger said:

I've also noticed that 2-day priority mail is now regularly being delivered in 3 days regardless of where it originates in the continental U.S.  People are paying for a (non-guaranteed) service that is no longer being provided.

 

Sorry, but as someone who ships a couple of thousand packages per year via USPS Priority Mail (both domestic and international), the statistics I look at for delivery do not match up with your smaller sample-size experience.  

There are certain places in the USA where 2-day service (from our tiny town of Mariposa--to some other small town) is not possible, but we know where those are because when we print the labels for those locales it says 3-day instead of 2-day.

Of course there are exceptions, delays, and weather at times. 

 

Considering the low cost ($9 with the private insurance I buy) and general reliability (have not had a single domestic package lost in the last 26 months), I'd say our postal system is something to cheer. (And were it not for its contract with Amazon it would be even more in the red than it is.)  UPS and FedEx are far more expensive and much slower (at least for "Ground" service).

 

For international, delivery times will vary a bit, but that is mostly due to the vagaries of both overseas customs offices and the local post services that carry and deliver the parcels in-country.  Even there I find door-to-door delivery times to be remarkable.  Here is a random sampling of number of business days (only Sundays not counted) for delivery (into the buyer's hands) to a few countries in the past month:

 

Netherlands: 7 days

Russia: 10 days

France: 6 days

Vietnam: 9 days

Germany: 12 days

Japan: 6 days

Hong Kong: 7 days

Canada: 6 days

Denmark: 11 days

Taiwan: 5 days

Mainland China: 9 days

 

$34 anywhere in the world ($25 to Canada), with insurance and tracking.  (Okay, it often costs us a buck or two more than what we charge, but we absorb it.  It's nothing compared to the 4.4% PayPal fee we absorb for overseas payments.)

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone,

--Alex C.

 

P.S.  I am happy to report that, other than the 42 orders placed from February 14 onward--and which were promised to ship by the 28th--every last LPS-1.2 and ISO REGEN/LPS-1.2 order has shipped (as of yesterday). 

We still have enough boards to cover the 42 orders--I'll be testing boards over the weekend again to be sure to ship by Wednesday the 28th.  But after those we will be down to just a few.  Today is really the first day I can sit down and start hunting down parts for the next run (there are always a few--usually John's favorite Murarta capacitors--that have to get chased from far-flung suppliers)

[left channel]

24 minutes ago, coot said:

Re: Cats male/female. Stop and think for a sec. If ALL of any animal is one gender or the other, there would be no mating or reproduction now would there?! 

 

Aside from asexual reproduction of course. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's take over this thread with photos of single-celled organisms. Otherwise it's in danger of becoming all cats all the time, like the Schitt Happened thread over on head-fi. ?

[left channel]

@Superdad I got mine on time as promised. Thank you. I hope to post some impressions soon.

[Superdad]

26 minutes ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

I am on the 3-day plan.  My units shipped on Wednesday with expected delivery today, but the package hasn't even arrived in Houston.

 

Is that you Brian?  Sorry to hear your package is a bit slow.  Who knows, it might show up today after all.  Certainly by tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience.

[auricgoldfinger]

8 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Is that you Brian?  Sorry to hear your package is a bit slow.  Who knows, it might show up today after all.  Certainly by tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience.

 

Yes, it's me. 

 

I wasn't criticizing your choice of shippers.  I think you have excellent business practices and agree that USPS makes the most sense!  I was only trying to provide some consolation to @Len-ski

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, left channel said:

 

Aside from asexual reproduction of course. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's take over this thread with photos of single-celled organisms. Otherwise it's in danger of becoming all cats all the time, like the Schitt Happened thread over on head-fi. ?

 

Well fine then!    Last night we had the first low-elevation (2150 feet) snowstorm of the season here in the Sierra Foothills.  So this morning our less than 1-year old seal point siamese got to experience the wonders of snow for the very first time.  She did not stay out for long!

 

[Bamber]

Alex, thanks for sending the 5 x LPS1.2s.

 

I can't believe the detail I'm hearing from my system which wasn't there before installing the LPS1.2s.  John and yourself have delivered another product which punches way above its price point.

 

 

 

 

[Superdad]

8 minutes ago, Bamber said:

Alex, thanks for sending the 5 x LPS1.2s.

 

I can't believe the detail I'm hearing from my system which wasn't there before installing the LPS1.2s.  John and yourself have delivered another product which punches way above its price point.

 

Well heck, thanks for ordering five units! 

 

(Really helps with our kids' college tuitions. They are not going to fancy schools--just state colleges--but boy does it add up.  The dormitory room rents are more than the class tuition--but not having them here in the house anymore is priceless! )

[Len-ski]

3 hours ago, Len-ski said:

My unit shipped Tuesday and was supposed to arrive yesterday. Now tracking info just has “ Alert “ status. Awesome. USPS lost it.

Update: USPS just came and went and no package today. Tracking said it was on the truck yesterday in my town and now just says alert with no further updates. Been on hold with customer service for over 30 minutes now but am feeling great knowing I’m the only one in last 26 months with lost order ?

[Superdad]

31 minutes ago, Len-ski said:

Update: USPS just came and went and no package today. Tracking said it was on the truck yesterday in my town and now just says alert with no further updates. Been on hold with customer service for over 30 minutes now but am feeling great knowing I’m the only one in last 26 months with lost order ?

 

I am so sorry to hear this Leonard.  Must be very frustrating for you.  Let's keep an eye on it, and if it does show by early in the week, let's get another shipped out to you.  Contact me privately and we will take care of you in that case.

Still crossing my fingers for Saturday for you. 

[Len-ski]

4 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

I am so sorry to hear this Leonard.  Must be very frustrating for you.  Let's keep an eye on it, and if it does show by early in the week, let's get another shipped out to you.  Contact me privately and we will take care of you in that case.

Still crossing my fingers for Saturday for you. 

Just got off the phone with USPS customer service and they will have local office contact me within a few days. If they can’t find it I will contact you. Thank you for your concern. 

[rickca]

1 hour ago, Len-ski said:

Update: USPS just came and went and no package today. Tracking said it was on the truck yesterday in my town and now just says alert with no further updates. Been on hold with customer service for over 30 minutes now but am feeling great knowing I’m the only one in last 26 months with lost order ?

To give you hope ... I just had a package (coffee from a roaster) that did the same thing.  It was out for delivery and then got an alert that said the package was undeliverable.  It was delivered the next business day!  No explanation of what happened.

[austinpop]

@auricgoldfinger

 

My 2 units showed up on the 2-day plan. Yet more proof that Austin > Houston.

 

@Superdad @JohnSwenson Congratulations!

 

Even cold (ambient temps outside in the mailbox were in the 40s), I really like what I'm hearing. I'll be posting more considered impressions once these units have had a decent amount of burn in, but I think you have a real winner on your hands.

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, austinpop said:

My 2 units showed up on the 2-day plan. Yet more proof that Austin > Houston.

 

LOL.  Based on Alex's comments above, I believe there are some slackers at the Houston airport hub who aren't processing packages until 12-18 hours after their arrival, thereby adding a full day to the delivery process.

[Confused]

On ‎22‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 11:44 PM, left channel said:

 

In general tortoiseshell cats are female, while males are more likely to be all or mostly one solid color or with solid blocks of colors arranged to attract more attention and perhaps enhance perceived body size.

We've certainly found this to be the case with our cats over the years, including our current pair of sibling tabbies. The female is a "tortie tabby", while the male is mostly mono-hued with subtle stripes on his tail.

Theoretically this gives the females more camouflage for hunting and while pregnant/nursing, while the males can strut around attracting attention and fighting. YTMV of course. ("T" = tabby.)

This is Ruby, who has one ginger leg, a part ginger tail, and likes sleeping in Amazon boxes in preference to a comfy basket.  What does this all mean?

[left channel]

5 hours ago, Confused said:

What does this all mean?

 

In her last life she lived in Themiscyra.

[Superdad]

6 hours ago, left channel said:

In her last life she lived in Themiscyra.

 

Whoa!  Are you speaking of the actual ancient city of Themiscyra, or the mythical island of Wonder Woman and the Amazons?  Dudes were not allowed to set foot there, so very few audiophiles visit.

[left channel]

Yes, like that. But tougher than Gal Godot.

 

[Len-ski]

On 2/23/2018 at 2:35 PM, Len-ski said:

Update: USPS just came and went and no package today. Tracking said it was on the truck yesterday in my town and now just says alert with no further updates. Been on hold with customer service for over 30 minutes now but am feeling great knowing I’m the only one in last 26 months with lost order ?

Update: postal carrier just dropped off my package, turns out it was in a postal locker and the key was put in the wrong mailbox. Normal carrier was out last week and someone filling in made the mistake and he even forgot to scan it so it didn’t show as delivered. Now going to power my microrendu with this. All’s well that ends well ?

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, Len-ski said:

Update: postal carrier just dropped off my package, turns out it was in a postal locker and the key was put in the wrong mailbox. Normal carrier was out last week and someone filling in made the mistake and he even forgot to scan it so it didn’t show as delivered. Now going to power my microrendu with this. All’s well that ends well ?

 

You'll find it was worth the wait. 

[Len-ski]

2 hours ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

You'll find it was worth the wait. 

Your right, just sitting back and enjoying the music right now ?

 

[paulmckwan]

Hi I'm from Hong Kong, just to share I received my tracking number notification mail on 23 Feb morning (HKT), for my ISO Regen / UltraCap bundle. And I just received the package at 27 Feb morning time here.

 

I'd say it is faster than expected.

[pl_svn]

for those planning to use their LPS-1.2 with a Chord Qutest:

 

- this adapter will not work (doesn't fit Qutest's "recessed slot" where USB micro is)

- this one instead does 

[Superdad]

2 hours ago, pl_svn said:

for those planning to use their LPS-1.2 with a Chord Qutest:

 

- this adapter will not work (doesn't fit Qutest's "recessed slot" where USB micro is)

- this one instead does 

 

That's disappointing but good to know.  Thanks Paolo.

[Superdad]

12 hours ago, paulmckwan said:

Hi I'm from Hong Kong, just to share I received my tracking number notification mail on 23 Feb morning (HKT), for my ISO Regen / UltraCap bundle. And I just received the package at 27 Feb morning time here.

 

I'd say it is faster than expected.

 

Wow, 4 days.  That's crazy-fast for international Priority Mail!