NBPK402 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I finally had a chance to call Jim back regarding the repair. (snip) . We ended up agreeing on $200 out the door. (snip) I could have pushed the fact that they did not have my approval to work on the amp and thus they would not have the right to remove any parts that they put in without approval. A little frustrated but just have to chalk it up to a lesson learned. I'll just call Adam first for now on. I have to say, that was a tough call. I followed all your logic about the issues that concerned you. I would have had the same reservations, both about the "fix" and about the price. If they measured and found two caps out of specs, then replaced the caps, that has some value. I don't think it's in any way related to the problems you had going in, so if I'm thinking along with you, I'm thinking I will still need to spend some more money for a repair. If it were me, I would have just asked for the amp back as-is. What you reached with the price was a workable compromise. What that proves is that you're a nicer guy than I am. Yes he is, and i would have been like you. When I think I have been wronged I am like a Pitbull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2015 If it were me, I would have just asked for the amp back as-is. He stated several times that he didn't want to have his tech remove the parts that had been added so he didn't have any intention of leaving the parts in there unless I paid for the labor. His tech had 4 hrs labor (not really my problem). It's all good. I'll just make sure I have something in writing about the 90 day warranty on all 7 channels, not just the ones he worked on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Four hours labor and new caps, not necessarily a bad deal for $200. Ninety day is a good amount of time to see if it is working. A working amp is easier to sell If you decide not to keep it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) I finally had a chance to call Jim back regarding the repair. I shared with him that I dropped the amp off for an estimate, 3 weeks later, I get an estimate of $280. I was expecting around $150 - $175 and needed to think about it. Was out of state for a few days and upon my return, I receive a call asking what I had decided about the amp but they had already repaired the amp. We ended up agreeing on $200 out the door. Still much more than I can pay Adam to work on it but there is no sense them soldering parts onto the board, removing them and then soldering the old parts back on the board only to have Adam remove them and solder new parts back on the board. I could have pushed the fact that they did not have my approval to work on the amp and thus they would not have the right to remove any parts that they put in without approval. A little frustrated but just have to chalk it up to a lesson learned. I'll just call Adam first for now on. $200 just seems a lot better, but that's prolly just me. But I think you are wise not to have them remove the replaced parts, put in the bad ones(?) so that someone else can do it again. Why? Because you run the risk of lifting the foil on the circuit board with all this rework. Then wires have to be added to fix it and it can get real ugly from there. Edited March 5, 2015 by babadono 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2015 $200 just seems a lot better, but that's prolly just me. But I think you are wise not to have them remove the replaced parts, put in the bad ones(?) so that someone else can do it again. Why? Because you run the risk of lifting the foil on the circuit board with all this rework. Then wires have to be added to fix it and it can get real ugly from there. Agreed. I figure the less soldering, the better. I'm picking it up tomorrow so will let ya know, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I dropped my other Parasound 5 channel amp off at a repair shop this morning. It was a $100 upfront "evaluation" fee and they will call me if the repair goes over $150 more. I hate paying for something that I know nothing about. The tought of me paying a shop $250 for a $5 part and 5 minutes labor makes me nauseous. They did offer me a 90 day warranty on their work though. Oh, the amp was making a hissing sound across all 5 channels and the sound went up the more you turn up the gain on the back of the amp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2015 I understand knowledge & experience = $$$. $100 evaluation fee seems incredibly high to me. I bet they don't get too many people that say "no thanks" to the repair seeing how much they have in it out of the gate. The shop I took it to charges $30 bench fee and is credited towards the balance if you choose to have the repairs done. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 The $100 "evaluation" fee goes towards the repair, if the repair goes over another $150, $250 total, they call me. Oh, I forgot to mention the 3 week waiting list. Just couldn't throw out a $1,700 amp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 The tought of me paying a shop $250 for a $5 part and 5 minutes labor makes me nauseous. You're not. You're paying for them to find out which $5.00 part needs to be replaced. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan611 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 The tought of me paying a shop $250 for a $5 part and 5 minutes labor makes me nauseous. You're not. You're paying for them to find out which $5.00 part needs to be replaced. Yeah that's the costly part, diagnosis. I've got a busted Adcom GFA 555 that I've been putting off fixing. The only shop in the twin cities has a $50 upfront fee - which isn't bad. I just have no use for the amp as I don't run my SVS cylinders anymore. It's a tough call fixing a busted amp. I admire you Youth for working out a deal, I don't know if I could have. A shop fixing something without my authorization is wrong. They're putting you in an unfair position. It's pretty crappy really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2015 I just picked up the unit. I asked them to put the 90 days warranty on all channels it in writing and they added "Cover Entire Unit For 90 Days". Good enough for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2015 The tought of me paying a shop $250 for a $5 part and 5 minutes labor makes me nauseous. You're not. You're paying for them to find out which $5.00 part needs to be replaced. Very well said. I admire you Youth for working out a deal, I don't know if I could have. First of all....I absolutely hate conflict. I was so nervous before calling them because I wanted to make sure I said the right thing and my brain was trying to figure out what they might say and then what I was going to say if they said this or said that. I knew I wasn't going to get anything accomplished unless I made the call. I have learned over the years that you typically get more accomplished if you can keep calm, yet firm. Yelling, threatening typically get you anywhere plus it's just not in my nature to act in that manner. I don't mind standing my ground when needed but I just believe there is a civil way of doing it without having to resort to bloodshed. A shop fixing something without my authorization is wrong. They're putting you in an unfair position. It's pretty crappy really. I chose to give them the benefit of the doubt....a mistake happened. The owner did not attempt to hide the fact that they goofed. He was willing to compromise by lowering the cost from $280 to $200. He also provided a 90 day complete warranty on the amp so I think that is pretty fair. Now if I get it home and channels aren't powering on again, I will not be a happy camper because that's another 50min one way and will need to make (4) of those 50 min trips to have it fixed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I hope the amp is back to working at full capacity Youthman. Other than the road trip I think it ended up prety fair. Like I said earlier, play the hell out of it for the 90 days to make sure nothing else is going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 5, 2015 Thanks teaman. I'm hoping to have some time tonight to compare the internal amp of the Onkyo 5008 and the Sherborn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Michael, I am glad the outcome of this "event" worked out for both of you. You handled the situation with grace and integrity and it seems the other party did so also. Humility more more often than not wins in the end. I'm hoping to have some time tonight to compare the internal amp of the Onkyo 5008 and the Sherborn Enjoy the head to head contest. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 6, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 6, 2015 Enjoy the head to head contest. Looks like I'll have to compare the Onkyo to the Onkyo + Sherbourn over the weekend. The wife was exhausted and went to bed at 7:30pm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 7, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) I just finished hooking up the Sherbourn to the Onkyo and I went through the test tones and could not believe it.....when I switch to the Front Right, no sound. On the back of the amp, I switched the speaker wire for the center and front right and then switched from Center to FR on the receiver and the center played sound but still no sound out of the FR. Say huh? I put everything back the way it was and went through the test tones again and found the STRANGEST thing.....when I play the Center test tone, sound comes out of the Center AND the Front Right! Are you kidding me? To make matters worse, after about 6 times of turning on / off the amp, the 4th channel did not power up and when I switched to that channel's test tone, no sound was heard from that speaker. I called the repair center and neither the owner nor the tech is there. I left a message with the receptionist. I'm going to unhook all of the Pre-Outs and speaker cables except for the Pre-outs for the Center channel and I'll only have the speaker wire connected for both the Center and Right speakers. If I get sound out of both speaker, the amp is jacked up. Edited March 7, 2015 by Youthman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan611 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Really sorry Youth! I hope you can get it all worked out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I just finished hooking up the Sherbourn to the Onkyo and I went through the test tones and could not believe it.....when I switch to the Front Right, no sound. On the back of the amp, I switched the speaker wire for the center and front right and then switched from Center to FR on the receiver and the center played sound but still no sound out of the FR. Say huh? I put everything back the way it was and went through the test tones again and found the STRANGEST thing.....when I play the Center test tone, sound comes out of the Center AND the Front Right! Are you kidding me? To make matters worse, after about 6 times of turning on / off the amp, the 4th channel did not power up and when I switched to that channel's test tone, no sound was heard from that speaker. I called the repair center and neither the owner nor the tech is there. I left a message with the receptionist. I'm going to unhook all of the Pre-Outs and speaker cables except for the Pre-outs for the Center channel and I'll only have the speaker wire connected for both the Center and Right speakers. If I get sound out of both speaker, the amp is jacked up. Did you pay with your credit card... If so you could call them and have them stop payment. You can tell the Credit Card that you don't trust their work and are taking it elsewhere to have it fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 7, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 7, 2015 Thx Rowan. Ellis, I paid with my debit card. I don't own a credit card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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