ALO Audio » ALO FAQ

ALO FAQ

POLICIES • INFO • Q & A – PLEASE READ ALL, IMPORTANT

We offer a large range of options and want you to place an order where you are well informed.

ORDERING

PayPal Processing Problems – If you have a paypal verified account this will make ordering go much smoother. If your account is not verified sometimes it can take a day for your order to ship. If you have problems ordering please call me 503-232-9184.

IMPORTANT: if your address does not match there will be a delay in shipping your item, if your address us unconfirmed your order will be delayed in shipping. This is to confirm the payment is not fraudulent.

SHIPPING

The cost of shipping, and shipping supplies is determined by the price of the item you order. I currently have USPS and FedEx as shipping options. The shipping charge is based on the weight of the package, where it is being shipped to and how fast of a shipping method you choose. FedEx rounds UP the weight of any item under one pound. Thus a ipod cable that normally weighs about 4oz will be charged at 1 pound. This is just how FedEx operates. Please also provide a real phone number if you choose FedEx. If you want to know how much shipping will cost you can check this right before you check out.

Orders and when they ship

We typically package up all the orders that accumulate for the day that evening and then are shipped out the following day. We do not ship the same day, and there may be times when an order will not be shipped out for as many as 2 days. Also depending on build times, custom orders and modified headphones the ship time will be longer. Email me for time sensitive orders.

How do I order and can I pay with a Credit Card, bank check, money order or wire transfer?

Yes follow the instruction from the website and you can pay with Paypal or a credit card via paypal. If you do not want to do the paypal route please email me to make arrangements for a bankcheck, wire transfer or I can run your credit card but need some information. If you do not want to order from the check out cart you can make a payment from

http://www.ALOaudio.com/payment/

Do I ship internationally? Yes, all the time. If you choose FedEx or Express Mail you will get a tracking number, any other method will not come with a tracking number. PLEASE ORDER WITH CARE! We have had a rash of people ordering something only to email us a few hours later saying that they have changed their mind and want to now order something else. This is difficult on our small business as we are only a few people. We dont check the email to see if you have changed your mind, sorry. If you place a order and want to change it after we have spent the time to package it up your order will be delayed.

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS

How do I order if I live overseas? Easy, follow the instruction from the website and you can pay with Paypal or a credit card via paypal. If you do not want to do the paypal route please email me to make arrangements for a bankcheck, wire transfer or I can run your credit card but need some information.

Dear international customers – PLEASE do not email us 2 days after ordering your cable saying, “Hey man did you send my cable?” INTERNATIONAL Express Mail is typically 5 to 10 business days but can be longer. Also customs can delay your order.

Will the Line Out Dock (LOD) fit my iPod? The LOD will fit all ipods and the Nano, except the shuffle, iPhone and 2 generation iTouch – The ALO SXC Cryo and ALO UPOCC line out dock cables work for all ipods as well as the iPhone and 2 generation iTouch. The connectors I use are not “made for iPod” approved, however are a clone and will work just fine with your ipod device.

Standard length of our ipod cables are ~ 5.5 inches and will fit most small amps with you have your ipod “sandwiched” on top of the amp. If you need a longer cable see custom lengths below. Note any custom or odd ball lengths will be a minimum of $20 and usually much more.

Headphone Re-Cable size – I have been getting a number of inquires about the 22AWG and 18AWG headphone cables I am making. I want folks to be informed when deciding on the 2 types. Here is a photo of the 22AWG and 18AWG wired cables to give you a idea of the size difference. Both terminated to a mini plug. Also the larger 18AWG if you want a mini plug termination your only option is the Canare F12 mini plug. Sorry but the cable is just too fat to fit into any other mini plug. The Canare has a wide barrel and even the we have to lathe out the collar of the plug to accommodate the girth of the 4 wires.

DISCLAIMER - Please note that the cables seen on the web page may vary slightly from the actual cable you will receive. For instance if you count 5 braids in a cable seen on the web site and the one you get has 4 or perhaps 6 braids thats just the way hand made cables are. They all have some variances and we do not use any robots. Some cables on the web page are seen with black heat shrink and some of the new cables we make today have a clear heatshrink with a logo label underneath.

Where is my telephone number? 503-232-9184 Please leave a message because I often can not pick up. Also please try email first before calling unless it is urgent. I would rather be making cables instead of on the phone Email is not a perfect way to communicate, they get lost, end up in my spam box or often I just flat out miss emails. So call if you have not gotten a email back from me. My customers are VERY important to me, the last thing I want to do is miss a email.

Will it fit with my case? As long as the case you are using has a opening for a dock it will work fine. The “thin” connector is no smaller than the regular so called “thicker” connectors. Both “thin” and “thick” are 8mm at the connection terminal, the same.

Will you make a cable that will fit my case/bag? Yes and No. We try not to get into the business of tailor making cable to fit such and such bag. Please do not email us saying I have a such and such bag and have a such and such amp… please make or recommend a length and cable. If you need a certain length cable simply tell us.

How long the cables needs to be, either the cable length or including the length of the connectors otherwise known as “tip to tip”
What to terminate the cable with on BOTH ends, ie what plugs do you need.

Better yet if you can provide me with a drawing of what you need and lengths we can better serve you. Here is a excellent example of drawing provided by a customer. The drawing does not have to be this fancy but gets the idea through.

What do you recommend for the length? I make the length for use with the amp sandwiched on top of your iPod. I use Velcro to adhere my amp to my iPod, as seen in a few photos. I make them to fit this configuration with a little slack to allow you to insert the mini with out any excessive strain. The Stock cables are NOT meant to be used in a “side by side” orientation as they will be too short. I can make this length longer, just ask!

Custom Cables: If you have an idea or need for a custom cable by all means email me and I will make it. Remember that custom cables are a cable that is not a stock item as seen on the web page and once you buy a custom cable it is yours so please do not ask to have it longer, sorter, a different color or ask to return it.

Custom Cable lengths will be a MINIMUM of $20 extra usually more. I am trying to cut down on odd ball cable lengths and configurations. Sorry but I want to concentrate on the things that most people order and Headphone mods.

HEADROOM BITHEAD and AIRHEAD amps - A word about these amps. Some of these amps have a design where the input is off to the side but most all the stock cables I make will be too short to fit these amps. Please do not buy a stock cable for this amp. I have made some cable for a bunch of people and often after I make them to the customers specifications I get a email saying its too short or too long so take great care in measuring as I will not give you a refund of alter the cable for free. If you have one of these amp please do the above to try and determine the proper length for your system. Keep in mind that this will be a custom cable and are subject to the above.

WIRE CARE

IMPORTANT- If you order a solid silver cable please remember that it is a solid wire and must be treated with care and not bent at extreme angles or bent back and fourth repeatedly. Stranded wire is stronger but sounds crappy IMO. I had a customer bend and put his silk dock in his pocket and this broke 2 of the conductors. All high quality silver audio conductors are like this. If your cable breaks from bending or impact damage I will not be able to cover a replacement. With normal care your cable will last a life time, please treat it gently when bending.

ALO Cryo SXC, Solid Silver Wire, Cryo Jena Wire, Jumbo Cryo Jena Wire The question I get the most is around Silver VS Copper. I always say the same thing, its a personal preference. One is not any better than the other. We sell only the finest Copper wire you can find in our ALO Cryo SXC, Vampire Wire’d Cables and the Cryoed Jena Ultra Wire.

The big gain is inherent to the design of my LineOutDock. It is a direct line out signal from your ipod. I eliminate the mini connection you would normally need with a, Sikdin, SendStation dock or the like. I have these docks and side by side my LineOutDock blows them away, and I do not know why someone would settle for these mass marketed devices. Not only are they not a Hi-Fi device but you have to by a Mini to Mini cable in addition to the dock! With my LOD you are all set.

ALO Cryo SXC Wire - Developed to my specification specifically for our highest audiophile desires in a audio grade wire the ALO Cryo SXC is our wire dream. We start with a extremely fine stranded mono crystal Ohno continuous cast high purity copper , then we have the manufacturer silver plate each strand. This not only protects the sensitive copper from future discoloration but also give the wire extra top end detail. We then jacket the stands in a clear PE jacket. The physical properties of this jacket are superb, ultra flexible and soft. The cable appears to be pure silver but it is silver coated copper. We then have all our ALO SXC wire Cryo’ed at www.Cryo-Parts.com

Cryo Copper Jena Wire - Made especially for Jena Tech for treatment in their Cryo lab. This stuff is the best kept secret in the interconnect world. I sat and bent 3 of these wires back a fourth for a hour, not only did they not break but there was zero stress or strain. Awesome stuff.

My Jena Labs Wire is discolored whats up? - Pretty much all bare copper stranded wire in a clear jacket that is handled very often is going to discolor. We have not experienced any adverse sonic effects of this discoloring. I understand it might not look very attractive to some. IMPORTANT!! If the thought of the copper turning dark or patina color over time please do not purchase a JenaLabs cable. Go with another cable wire type like the ALO SXC Cryo wire. Because we feel that the coloring is not effecting the sound signature we will not be exchanging or doing any kind of refund if you should encounter this phenomena.

Silver Wire Break in time? My Silver cables will be sounding sweet right out of the box, its performance continues to improve throughout approximately the first 100-200 hours of break in time. An easy way to break in the cables is to simply hook them up to a tuner or other line level component and let them run continuously for several days. The Jena Cryo wire has a shorter burn in time of about 50 hours.

But Won’t your fancy silver wires tarnish?

ALO SXC wire should not tarnish or discolor, bear silver in Teflon can over time darken. Oxidation, Some correspondents have expressed concerns about the silver wire oxidizing inside the Teflon tubing. However, Prof. Alan J. Ardell of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA writes, “silver doesn’t oxidize at room temperature. The culprit is sulfur, which reacts with silver to form the tarnish that silver polish removes. Yes, there will be air between tubing of any kind and the wire, but to cause serious problems a fresh and ready supply of air is needed. Otherwise sulfidation will cease as soon as the local supply is used up. How much air flow is there likely to be between wire and tubing? Problems might arise from extra contact resistance of sulfurized silver in regions of contact with other conductors in the chain, but a thin layer of sulfide on the surface of silver wire won’t cause any harm, at least to the conductivity of the wire.”

In addition, Dr. Arthur Loesch, well known audio designer and Professor of Atmospheric Dynamics at the State University of New York, maintains that fears of silver oxide contaminating the sound are completely unfounded. As he puts it, “Silver oxide is still silver and it all sounds the same.”

My personal experience is that after more than 10 years of service, there is no evidence of silver oxidation within the Teflon jacket, although it does appear on the exposed ends. Silver will oxidize, but the oxide of silver is conductive, so oxidized silver will still make a good signal path. Don’t confuse this effect with copper oxide, which is definitely a bad conductor.

Excerpts from – Joseph Levy

Why cant you ship what I want right away? While most orders can be shipped immediately, some of you will have a couple days wait on build time. This is because I offer a huge variety of configurations and most need to be made to order. I could never make all the configurations people want and have them laying ready to ship. The standard models are almost always ready to go however.

Again if you have ANY question please email me. —> Audiolineout@gmail.com

RETURN / EXCHANGE POLICY

We have a 1 year warranty on all the cables we make and will repair or replace any cable that has a problem providing the cable was not abused. Please contact me if you have any difficulty with something. These are hand built cables and while it is very unlikely, things can go wrong with them. I have a liberal policy when it comes to takeing care of customers. PLEASE DO NOT run off to a forum like Head-Fi.org and immediately post your problem or issue with a cable you bought from me with out contacting me first. I almost always take care of the problem. Abuse of a cable is impact damage excessive pulling on the wires, cutting of the wires, cables that were run over by a car or truck, burned in a fire or eaten by wild yaks. Cables with a ipod connector are not indestructible they can and will break if you abuse it. Also the pins are fragile, do not, repeat do not pull on the cable as doing so hard might cause problems that I will not cover in a refund or fix for free. I will determine if your cable has been abused and I have the final say when whether it has been abused or not. We also will not exchange or trade up or down on cables, once you buy them they are yours. We suggest you sell them on www.Head-fi.org/forum for sale section. For us to take back used cables will make it very hard for me to stay in business and I do not want to sell used items. iMod sales are final, imod service will be preformed by Red Wine Audio. Please contact me if you have any issues with your imod.

RETURNS / I CHANGED MY MIND:

If the items us unused and unopened we will accept the return. However you will have the 3% paypal fee will not be refunded. Your return will be the total cost of the item minus shipping and handling and a 3% for the total transaction. Any items that were opened and or used are not returnable.

INSTRUCTIONS: Please ship the unused unopened item to:

ALOaudio
4803 SE Woodstock Blvd Suite #159
Portland, Oregon 97206