I'm sure there's a decent builder of computers for a recording studio, but this ain't one of 'em
MR LIMPOPO REVIEWS The Good, The Bad and The Avoid At All Costs…
CARILLON Audio Computers
Of my 60 years, this is one of the most Appalling and Costly Experiences of my life. Rather than wade through all the information and Emails I think I'll just block point, and that'll maybe explain things. I'd offer only a Zero Star, but to be fair the chap was always courteous, apart that is from playing dead quite often and and so avoiding having to reply.
I asked for the best system I could get for a home studio, on a budget which took me up to and paid around £5000 including software after receiving some unexpected funding, but the receipt only showed around £3.400 having paid in full upfront which became tricky to explain to the person offering to support my cause.
Took almost 4 months to build with excuse after excuse, although I was Always polite and patiently waited.
Finding out that the unit had also been sat in a London depot for weeks as it was insufficiently labelled to get to me, which I then had to sort out myself.
No keyboard supplied, and a cheap flimsy one arrived many days later.
As I removed the computer with huge expectation from the box, it was obvious things were loose and rattling around inside. I opened the case to find 3 frame bolts loose and rolling around the several unattached bare-tipped cable ends
It took 2 of us to put the side panel back on, as the computer casing was too small for the heat sink? I believe it was called, so they'd cut out the foam from the panelling, and to this day that component pushes out the side of the panel and is permanently in touch with the metal as it bulges before me.
The SD Memory Card insert on the top of the unit only worked some of the time.
All of my newly purchased physical software was left behind with them when I like to always keep boxes, discs, and manuals together to maybe sell on later as I upgrade, especially with expensive purchases when people like things boxed neatly and complete if second hand. These were then posted on but flattened to fit in a single envelope which made them looked tatty, and the important missing 'Windows 7' install disc followed even later after I needed some numbers off it and discovered it Too was missing.
12 Months On:
The system failed, and after trying a dial-in, they sent a local engineer out to sort out what was an 'Internet Explorer' issue, but this took weeks to sort and a reluctance to want to do anything to get it sorted quickly.
3 Years On:
The system was faltering for several months and I contacted them in December, but as usual around 70% of those Emails went ignored, and the onus was put more on myself to try and sort things out.
3 months on (February) and the system finally failed and I request I send it back. The problem was a failed hard drive which had taken with it, all of the mixing files and presets of an entire 24 track debut album and all of my video editing folders for my amateur footage projects.
4 months on (May into June) I got the computer back at a cost of £550 upfront having been paid. The receipt again only showed around £320 for me to show in accounts?
I was advised to send the broken hard drive to a specialist to try and recover the lost files after they’d charged to give it go without much success. Without knowing who’d built my computer, the chap at the recovery end said that the components were "As cheap as chips" and it was disgusting anybody had charged so much to fit what was clearly cheap parts to such an expensive system. He also wondered in view of my initial request when discussing components, why they’d only fitted a single SSD hard drive for such critical work, when it was the standard cheap hard drive which had broken when they could have fitted 2 quality SSD units to minimise these issues. Either way he/they couldn't guarantee any recovery on the part I'd now sent on to them, as it was smashed beyond repair for whatever reason which they found strange, so I paid again to get the hard drive back without any usable information. Bearing in mind that for all I paid 'Carillon' they were only able to recover a few items for me. That repair bill was pretty much to fit a new hard drive I guess and convert from Windows 7 to Windows 10 which itself was pretty cheap, and even free to some at the time.
The computer when returned to me had what looked like acid splashes all down the side and front of the casing, and looked like it had been sat right next to a vault of acid which I had to spray over to make it look less tacky in my studio/office.
The SD insert had stopped working altogether, but he/S. said he'd call in when down in the area soon, but never did show.
I went to plug in my expensive 'Sony' firewire video camera to test all was well, only to find he/they'd left out the firewire card, and the rear insert panels weren’t the originals either. I enquired about this and he/they apologised and sent a cheap replacement but just wouldn't get anybody to come and fit it, so told me best how to do it after a three week wait. I'm no computer builder, and on trying unsuccessfully to upload drivers and try and install it myself on a Windows 10 which no longer supported firewire, the video camera circuitry must have blown, losing me around £800 as I had to sell it on eventually as spares only, having also sent that away to be unsuccessfully repaired at further cost. The reality being that had 'Carillon' put my firewire card back after whatever it was they were doing which required removing it, then the video camera would still be with me, and would have enabled me to complete a video project which then had to be aborted and left me uploading substandard end results.
An internal fan looks to have been disconnected and when I enquired about this - as I was concerned about overheating and cable junctions hanging down - never received a reply to two requests which was becoming normal by now. A local repairer took a peek inside and said it was not only dangerous how the cables had been left dangling, but was prepared to say as much to 'Carillon' or whomever should I need to pursue it further, particularly when he had learned just how much the unit had cost.
Now there's loads more of this and I have pages of the stuff from Emails and all, but this is pretty much the nub of the situation, and I don't particularly need to keep reliving the pain in the retelling, but because I was suffering mental health issues at the time, was unable to challenge the aforementioned as I should have liked so let it ride, but things are different now and I'm sick to death of companies like this who proudly boast across the internet what they can do, and display Wonderful looking websites, with debatable “Reviews” and “Testimonials” when experiences like mine, often go under the radar.
I'm a Great believer in customer reviews, and loath to leave any negative feedback at all, and will surely champion to the Hilt companies of high quality who deliver what they promise for the high end dollar, and just a glance across the internet for a 'Mister Limpopo Review' should be testimony to that! This experience unfortunately, will be one of those I remember each time I mention my audio computer to anybody, but for All of the wrong reasons. It irks me too, that in later years I found out that the very person who is to blame for this fiasco, is or Was, actually one of the directors of this company, so what does That Say!
It pleases me Not to have to say these things, but if this review can be of benefit to somebody else out there about to spend vast sums on an audio computer system, and only have limited knowledge like myself at the time, and it can help Them to make up their mind, then it will have served it’s Purpose.
It's a Great Shame, but as I say, I also have the Pleasure to big up the companies who serve well elsewhere, and long may that continue!
SO JUST TO RECAP: Up to around July 2016 I'd spent around £5,500 with this 'Carillon' audio computers, and my last two Emails regarding those cables and junctions hanging down from the disconnected fan?, a request to take them up on the offer of a small £20 or so refund to cover for them not being able to retrieve much from the broken hard drive, and to sort out the now unresponsive card insert have to this date gone Unanswered, and we speak now in June/July 2017...
Sincerely Yours
Mister Limpopo (Penzance, Cornwall)
UPDATE: July 15th, 2018.
I recently had a problem with the computer, which a professional looked into. No problem with that, as it is now some years old, and turned out to be a second RAM memory fault. But the technician pointed out these Additional Points.
1) Fan 2 disconnected and left with cables hanging adrift.
2) Fan 3 disconnected and left with cables hanging adrift.
3) The power unit was put in Upside Down! This meant that all of this time the fan has been blowing facing another fan coming the other way off the circuit board. And wasn't facing the outer casing where it has a vent to draw air from.
All has now been rectified, and consequently all of the unused cabling is now at the rear where it should be, and out of the way sparking off against any other live feeds or circuitry.
5 July 2017
Unprompted review
