This member answered my want ad for a VPI XLR junction box. He indicated that he had the Valhalla wired upgraded unit, a 100 dollar upgrade. When I told him that I only use Paypal, he asked that I use the Friends and Family mode. First red flag. Glad I didnt. I sent payment and sent several emails asking for confirmation of receipt. It wasn't until I emailed him through Paypal that I heard back. Second red flag. I should add that the name on the email didn't match the name attached to paypal.

He got back to me later that day with a tracking number. OK, things feel a bit better. When the unit arrived, it was wired with standard colored wires, clearly not Valhalla, which is all silver colored. He even sent me a pic of a Valhalla wired unit, so I assumed he understood. After an entire day of back and forth emails( apparently from two different people-some in broken English and some with perfect grammar) about what Valhalla wiring is, he said its actually the new Nordost reference wire, which is colored. But no way to prove it, short of desoldering and stripping. I sent a pic to VPI, and Marc said he thought it looks like the standard Discovery wire.

At this point, he told me to send the unit back to him and he would take it to his dealer and exchange it for a Valhalla wired unit. No way am I sending anything back before being refunded. At the end of the day, I didnt get what I paid for. Use caution.