To Hans Wetzel,
I just discovered your columns a few weeks ago and have enjoyed them. Do you know if SoundStage! Access has plans to review the Billie Amp from Heaven 11 Audio? I took a chance and funded the Kickstarter, and have been waiting a while. They are close to shipping (over a year late -- boo!) and I’m curious how it will stack up. Does SoundStage! Access have a policy or an opinion on Kickstarter hi-fi attempts, perhaps encouraging attempts to innovate, or have you found the products from crowdfunding sites lacking in quality? I’d be interested either way.
Ron Hamann
United States
This is an interesting question, Ron. As a general rule, we don’t review products that exist only on Kickstarter. The product, and potentially the entire “company” behind it, may or may not exist within a year or two after the Kickstarter project ends. Furthermore, how can we be sure that there is infrastructure and support in case something goes wrong with a product like this? It could well be that a first run of products gets shipped to consumers and then the company folds -- what then for the guy who just shelled out quite a bit of money?
In the instant case, I just did a quick online search for the cofounders, Itai Azerad and Andre Keilani, to see what I came up with. According to LinkedIn, the former has a bachelor’s degree in environmental design, while the latter describes himself as an “object & interior designer.” While they may be “[A]ward-winning product designers with a lifelong passion for music,” as the Kickstarter listing mentions, it doesn’t appear on the surface that either has any background in electronics.
It’s certainly possible that the Billie Amp, if and when it ships, will be a very good component. Class-D power married to a tubed preamp and an ESS Technology DAC definitely sounds interesting. Until a working amp makes it into the hands of each and every backer, however, the Billie Amp is not a product that we would consider reviewing on any of our SoundStage! Network websites. There is already too much reputable gear out there that we do not have the bandwidth to review, so reviewing potential vaporware simply isn’t very high on our to-do list. . . . Hans Wetzel
