darTZeel's Hervé Delétraz Responds to Rumors of the Company's Demise

the future admittedly is dicey but the company soldiers on and those who know will continue to love the unique products

Statement by Mr. Delétraz:

"For those who want to say the truth, it is quite simpler:

For several years now, the extreme High-End market has been in turmoil, with many prestigious brands closing down—fortunately, most of them have been able to restart—due to several factors, of which I will only mention a few. The uncertain global economic and political climate has drawn attention away from entertainment. But above all, the race to offer the most expensive product, claiming it’s better, while giving ever larger discounts to end users.

This extreme High-End market, whose noble and honorable purpose at its beginnings was to offer music lovers the best possible reproduction quality, has turned into a mass market, comparable to the souks of Marrakech—which I personally love, but for a different purpose—where the highest discount has become the main focus.

This trend, though not new, is now rotting the extreme High-End market and is destroying the industry.

I, Hervé Delétraz, founder and creator of the darTZeel brand, have decided that this business model no longer aligns with my vision of Extreme High End.

Not only will the darTZeel brand continue to exist, but it will also change its paradigm by focusing on new concepts, which for now will remain undisclosed for obvious reasons.

What you need to know now are the following:

1. darTZeel is more alive than ever, and legendary customer service remains unchanged.

2. Current production of the NHB, CTH, and LHC series will now be made only on demand.
(For existing customer): It is strongly advised not to sell off your darTZeel equipment on AudiogoN or elsewhere, because from now on, owning a darTZeel instrument is an investment.

3. A new line of instruments, aimed at a broader audience, is currently under study. Stay tuned!

darTZeel instruments are made in Geneva to last forever. Period."

Comments

2024-10-16 10:46:38 PM

Come on wrote:

Good communication! I wish you the best with the new concept! Your products are special in many ways, even among the best.
- 2024-10-21 05:35:59 PM
  
  Come on wrote:
  
  Yikes, I first time realized, that there is text in the overview of features, which is not on the page of the feature itself. Important insight. ;-)
  
  Otherwise we seem to have the normal discussion when expensive equipment is the matter. Some anger from reader side about that, after some anger from manufacturer side about rumors. Although I”m not buying in that price range, too, I feel for everyone who wants to make a product he’s convinced of and which is of value. The market rules out the rest. There are way more expensive products with less value which sell. How boutique high end in this price range sells at all in a normal business way, is a mystery to me anyway, given the yearly fashion kind of business I see it in.
2024-10-17 01:36:20 PM

Zaphod wrote:

It always breaks my heart when I hear of small companies shuttering their doors. So, I am glad to hear that darTZeel is still alive and adapting.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I am at an point in my life where my system is at a level that I am very content with and the chances of me ever being able to afford darTZeel is next to impossible. But I think it is important to have these companies because it gives us something to strive toward.

I have never been able to audition any darTZeel components but reviewer typically gave it high marks. However, for me personally, what I desire about darTZeel is what I have seen from images, and that is of how well made the components are. The colour scheme is divine and the attention to detail is like that of a Swiss Watch. When a company spends the time to make sure the insides of their gear is as beautiful as the outside, then you know that no short cuts or compromises were made. And then it is the clever labelling, like calling the volume knob the “Pleasure Control”, you got to love that!!!
2024-10-17 03:40:03 PM

Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

Long live one of the GREATEST audio manufacturers of ALL TIME! I am excited to see what this unique, new foray into audio is!

Man, I hate f**** Youtube tho... or at least the evil trolls that are everywhere on it.

I also read that 33% vinyl decrease drivel recently. Whatever, my record stores are packed every time I'm in them!
- 2024-10-17 04:45:27 PM
  
  Anton wrote:
  
  Fake news!
  
  Sales are great! Many people are telling me sales have never been better! Many!
  
  Vinyl sales are actually up 300%.
  
  I can't hear you!
  
  Fellas, being emotionally upset about that news blurb says more about us than anything else. Y'all sound like Hannity and Carlson.
  
  Hopefully, Taylor Swift will release a new record before January and we can all relax.
  
  On the plus side, we can now tie our jargon to a new bullshit term: Extreme High End. That's some kind of bullshit.
  - 2024-10-18 09:02:37 PM
    
    ny wrote:
    
    "Hopefully, Taylor Swift will release a new record before January and we can all relax" don't you mean taylor swift releasing a new album so we can all calm down...
  - 2024-10-23 05:49:27 AM
    
    Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:
    
    I've always hated YT and it deserves continual bile and derision. Creating lies should always get hate. Accepting YT lies and the semi-trustworthy website like Vanity spewing bullshit is cause for concern. They should have caught this sooner, pre-pub.
    
    Finally, if MF loves dartZeel gear, that's good enough for me. I trust him over some internet trolls. From the little I've heard at shows, he totally right- not the trolls.
    - 2024-10-23 04:26:54 PM
      
      Anton wrote:
      
      I think MF dignifying the other reviewer by wrestling in the mud with him is the bigger thing.
      
      It's the old Mark Twain saying about wrestling a pig.
      
      Truth wins out. Don't bother with that other site.
      
      _
      
      To flip the coin, as an audiophile, I will always have some bile to toss at dumbass precious things like "Extreme High End." Self aggrandizing bullshit is self-aggrandizing bullshit.
2024-10-17 04:01:28 PM

Doxycc wrote:

"spread by someone who really should know better since he is an industry veteran and his significant other is a publicist for a competing company" I am not familiar with Swiss law, but a number of countries require the filing of public documents when they go out of business, reorganize or restructure. If the Swiss require such filings, a journalist would (ya think?) do his or her diligence before making a public comment.
2024-10-17 11:09:14 PM

13th Duke of Wymbourne wrote:

If you watch the videos from MF's last two visits to darTZeel it is conspicuous that so much focuses on the casework rather than what's inside and fancy casework leads to high retail prices and high retail prices require fancier casework etc. I assume that darTZeel has just been chasing the low-volume uber end along with their competitors - wasn't there a $1M cartridge? Does Delatraz just wants to do something new or has that uber-end bubble burst? I wonder what a broader audience means - getting away from 2-channel or more reasonably priced components at, presumably, higher volumes. Challenging either way. I don't have many tears for Mr. Deletraz (wasn't there a $1M cartridge?) but I do wish the company well.
- 2024-10-20 07:26:30 PM
  
  Michael Fremer wrote:
  
  There's more to it than the fancy casework. I don't think that's a fair description but sure the casework is costly.
2024-10-18 07:51:09 PM

NLak wrote:

Not good for anyone to spread such rumors, we are talking about people’s jobs. I remember many years ago the National Enquirer posted an article that Abe Vigoda was dead. People actually thought he was dead, this was before a quick Google search, Vigoda said that spoof article did so much damage to his career that the phone stopped ringing for job offers. It took him quite a while to convince everyone he was still around. One hopes nothing so serious happens in this situation.
2024-10-19 07:19:07 AM

Jennnifer Martin wrote:

That "reviewer" really bugs me.
- 2024-10-20 01:18:40 PM
  
  Come on wrote:
  
  Can u xplain, as this was rather a forwarded statement than a review? Or did it bug you that such a statement was forwarded? Or the “reviewer” in general, independent of this forwarding?
  - 2024-10-22 04:27:05 AM
    
    Jennnifer Martin wrote:
    
    In general.
2024-10-20 12:19:53 PM

TMS wrote:

I think the takeaway here is that we should not be paying retail for these electronics. According to this there are massive discounts to be had.
- 2024-10-20 06:22:19 PM
  
  PTG wrote:
  
  When audio equipment costs more than an automobile (that has thousands of parts), I being to question its value proposition. Heck, some audio systems even costs more than a custom Rolls ROYCE !
  - 2024-10-20 07:28:46 PM
    
    Michael Fremer wrote:
    
    Swiss watches?
    - 2024-10-20 10:03:46 PM
      
      Anton wrote:
      
      That's a tough one.
      
      They don't tell better time. In fact, they are inferior to a 15 dollar Timex.
      
      The watch angle is jewelry and prestige/social flexing.
      
      I wouldn't go that direction.
      
      Maybe highest end sports cars?
      
      It's hard working out the "extreme high end" Hi Fi stuff because they claim commiserate performance, so the car connection might fit. Maybe high end dining, too, or wine!
    - 2024-10-21 11:54:54 AM
      
      PTG wrote:
      
      Good point.. but Swiss watches require rare craftsmanship that is almost impossible to replicate... and for the most part, Swiss watches do retain its value decades later... On the other hand, audio equipment is a highly depreciating asset. Not knocking anybody that is wiling to acquire these $100K+ equipment but the economics / financial ROI is just not there...
    - 2024-10-21 03:30:21 PM
      
      bwb wrote:
      
      I agree with the group who thinks you are wasting your money paying for a case that increases the price significantly without adding any performance. It is your money to waste so I have no problem with it, but putting it into the category of collectable watches where the item may increase in value is not an appropriate comparison.
      
      "This extreme High-End market, whose noble and honorable purpose at its beginnings was to offer music lovers the best possible reproduction quality, has turned into a mass market,"
      
      This is just blowing smoke .. if this was true he could have foregone the expensive casework and focused on quality and performance , lowered his price significantly, and perhaps survived. My take on it..... the manufacturer was trying to appeal to a demographic and failed. i,e, Those who have a lot of money and are willing to spend it on the prestige of ownership.
      - 2024-10-21 05:48:11 PM
        
        Anton wrote:
        
        I think that's fair.
        
        I had glossed over the 'noble and honorable' part. Once you pointed that out, the "mass market" diss became glaringly obvious. My hunch is that we will next be told we are not qualified to comment on our own hobby. ;-D
        
        2024-10-23 07:32:05 AM
        
        Come on wrote:
        
        While „mass market“ is certainly exaggerated in the usual sense, a familiar dealer who speaks openly with me, told me multiple times, that the behavior of customers not rarely seems to get logarithmically worse with available money. Not only in terms of crazy rebate negotiations in principle, but also in terms of damaging loaned equipment without taking responsibility, being rude and demanding, buying just by review results or because a brand is hyped as the hottest sh*t of the current year, flipping gear all the time without real appreciation of sound quality and he also mentioned, there are surprisingly many of them.
        
        Half of this is certainly what a dealer dreams of, but the other half not so much. He’s good in business, but also gets quite some grey hairs from such customers.
2024-10-20 07:50:24 PM

SME12A wrote:

Severely overpriced equipment with huge distribution mark-ups. Quality is nothing like many might assume. My integrated went to Herve 3 times and always came back with defects - noisy switching, face plate fit and finish - anodizing issues, among other things...another brand new unit went back for phono stage issue.....I became biased Accuphase believer BUT, similar story - 150% US mark-ups forcing purchasing directly from Japan......
2024-10-20 09:39:23 PM

The Blurred Crusade wrote:

I was able to audition the integrated CTH 8550 mk2 a couple of years ago against my eight-box Naim active system - the prices were commensurate against each other, but I wished to have less boxes and a different sound. The darTZeel was certainly an expensive product (instrument) but any prospective buyer has to understand that they are paying for a premium product built in Geneva with no compromises - Herve could outsource it to China and settle for less fancy casework and the product would be cheaper. He could also have less stringent sales conditions and poor customer support. He could also have importers sell his products with discounts, but they might not be in business the following year, causing a headache for his company. It all adds up, but now people want something for nothing and this has caused darTZeel problems that I hope can be resolved without comprising his ideals. My audition of the integrated amp involved the distributor (Absolute Sounds) flying the product in from Portugal and a dealer who has sold the brand since it’s inception, drive 100-miles to my house. It then went back to Geneva to have a MC phono board fitted before it was returned again in-person by the dealer. In the end, I felt the amp bettered my Naim combo in some areas but the Naim won out in others, so Idid not purchase it. I gave the dealer £250 for his time and superb customer service. The whole chain of the darTZeel/distributor/dealer was exemplary and this doesn’t come cheap. Are darTZeel products (instruments) expensive and overpriced? Of course they are, but as I’ve said, you are BUYING into his ethos when you purchase a darTZeel. As for this one million Swiss euros cartridge - was this an example of Herve’s legendary Swiss humour!
- 2024-10-21 12:00:26 PM
  
  PTG wrote:
  
  Glad to hear that you see value in it. Needless to say, it is a very very niche product that probably has less than 0.000001% share of the audio market... I am guessing they realize it is so niche that they can not grow (I am assuming they want to grow)... Hence, they have to make adjustments to their product portfolio and pricing models.
- 2024-10-24 10:08:28 PM
  
  jeff kleinberg wrote:
  
  This comment helped quell my upgrade dreams. I run a 52/500DR with Chord Music all around. Dartzeel integrated was on my dream list with Soulution and CH P. Curious to hear the contrasts though I do have passive Vivid Giya's.
2024-10-21 03:04:53 PM

Zaphod wrote:

I am curious to know what extreme high end brands have closed up shop recently. I know Audio Research had a hiccup, but what others have done the same?
2024-10-21 04:37:09 PM

Kevin Vail wrote:

At least Jay does real A and B Evals of gear and doesn’t just fawn over every brand like most paid audiophile reviewers. He’s more a journalist than most posers that write in useless audio journals . How many reviews do you ever see that are critical. And Jay did a service by announcing that Dartzeel was in trouble , what if I had bought certain monos that were recently on sale to only later find out that production of said amps has stopped (no lie there, even Herve admits that).
- 2024-10-21 05:45:00 PM
  
  Anton wrote:
  
  I do wonder if people who buy at this price level give You Tube reviewers any consideration. I tend to think not, but you never know.
2024-10-22 11:57:08 PM

Paul Faughnan wrote:

Pass Labs fills this niche! There are other choices.
2024-10-23 08:46:49 PM

bwb wrote:

https://www.hifistatement.net/feuilleton/item/3923-interview-with-monsieur-deletraz-aka-dartzeel-part-1?start=2

here is an interview from last month where it looks like everything is business as usual