Denafrips offer to replace my faulty Pontus 15th, for a replacement fee?

First off, what is percentage of faulty Denafrips equipment? In perusing the web I see faulty/defective products from manufacturers based all around the world. Furthermore, see bad servicing, support of these products. So I'm supposed to write off purchasing these products based on some finite set of dissatisfied customers. 

OP,

I think you were wise to be realistic regarding the limited choices you had, best of luck getting a good price selling it. Congrats on winning the last round with them. It's no way to run a business, but they don't seem to care it seems.

After Vinshine/Alvin stopped being the distributors for Denafrips, I wouldn't touch that brand with a 50 foot pole. OP’s experience further solidified my resolve. 

If they confirmed the 3 year warranty, it is indeed a poor offer. The replacement should be free. You should only need to pay return shipping for the faulty unit. Yikes. 
 

Some of the cheap Toppings sound better than Denafrips anyway. Good riddance. 

Yup will not be doing business with this company. OP you should forward to Denafrips this thread so they might understand what their actions might do to the company.

Sounds like an awful company,

Good to hear it’s over. With this kind of approach to customer service they won’t be around too long. 

Just thought I’d update on this. I tried unsuccessfully to argue the point that I shouldn’t have to pay $400 to receive a replacement, as the original unit developed a fault which Denafrips were unable to solve as they had no facilities in the EU to do so.

However, Denafrips held all the cards; I could either pay the replacement fee, or go without the DAC.

I did pay it in the end and received my replacement Pontus yesterday.

This in itself wasn’t without further wrangling though; even though they originally stated they would send me the replacement for $400 with free shipping, the invoice to pay came through, with shipping and taxes added on.

I went back with a copy & paste of the original email exchange, from a different person who handled the matter. Denafrips relented on this eventually, but not without trying to upsell with a discount on the Denafrips remote control 🤔. I politely declined 

I don’t bear Denafrips any ill will and hold no animosity toward them, but having dealt with Alvin and his team at Vinshine when they were partnered with Denafrips, I do feel Denafrips customer service has taken turn not for the better 

Moral of the story for me is not to make this kind of overseas purchase again, where there are no EU or UK repair facilities, or online/bricks and mortar retailer I can return an item to.

I still rate Denafrips products, but the logistics inherent if something goes sideways are just not worth the hassle for me personally 

I'd think one may be better off with a replacement unit. You all seem to think repairs are a simple and quick thing. Do you know the waiting time for techs these days? Techs are dying out, retiring, too few, long wait times. Will it be repaired correctly another issue. So new Pontus around $2k,  OP pays $400 for brand new unit which he plans to sell. His total investment assuming he paid $2k for his original is $2400, he can probably sell this brand new Pontus, assuming it's warrantied and transferable for I'd guess around $1600, so a net expenditure of $800. Seems reasonable way to go for me. 

@audphile1 I've thought about it over the last few days, taking into consideration comments left on the thread, and I feel your take would be the "right thing" for Denafrips to do. I will be responding to them today to see what arrangement we can come to

Moving forward, I won't make this kind of purchase again, due to the lack of repair and maintenance facility within the UK/Europe area. 

@painter24 

I would attempt to bargain that deal down to not paying anything except shipping your old unit to them. But your decision to get a replacement DAC and sell it makes sense. It just shouldn’t cost you additional $400. That’s a pretty bad move by Denafrips.

I never owned any of their DACs and most likely never will. There are plenty of similarly priced DACs out there that sound at least as good from companies that offer solid customer service. 

I got a lot of heat on this forum and others  regarding this brand.     Turns out they are a POS company after all...   Same is true for Eversolo.   They treat customers the same way and will do anything to avoid after sale support / warranty repair or replacement.  

Gotta watch out for brands like these.  

If they were a reputable company I would expect them to email me shipping label to return it at their cost, and if they can't fix it I would expect them to ship me a brand new one free of charge seeing how it is under warranty. However Im not sure why the manufacturer wouldn't be able to fix it having all the parts that went in to it on hand.

Sounds like a company I wouldn't do business with if that option wasn't offered.

Paying to return ship the unit to China and pay $400 for them to send you a new one doesn't sound like decent compromise

That's not so much of a warranty,  it's you paying what it cost to manufacturer another  Pontus.  

I would expect then to honor the warranty.

DeKay

If it’s still under warranty, why would you pay more than shipping back to them to rectify the problem? 

Thanks for your thoughts guys. At the moment, I'm leaning toward taking Denafrips' offer, and selling the new unit once received (I was looking to sell the Pontus in any case). Whilst I don't have a problem with Denafrips per se, I think this issue highlights the inherent issues involved; while are European distributors, seemingly there are no facilities for repairs.

I think I'll cut and run; I have a more than enjoyable DAC in my streamer so will carry on using this. 

Thanks again 👍

If you like Denafrips as a company and the performance, go for the new one, if not buy another DAC for over $400. One that you like. If you are afraid of another warranty problem, find a reputable dealer with an honorable repair facility or repair agreement. I think most audiophiles know that buying from another country is always a risk and nowadays (at least) in the US with the new tariff problems lingering, it’s even more problematic. Not sure your situation in the UK.  For me, I like my Pontus 12th anniversary and think it’s sound is stellar.

his warranty is for 3 years.

they are not doing him a favor, but they are offering a new supposedly factory perfect unit for $400. within the confines of their ability to solve his problem/inability to fix his unit.

Your unit is guaranteed for 1 year, you said it’s over a year old ,it is out of warranty

then ,they are doing you a favor.

I'd go for the new one for $400. Perhaps you could return the existing unit to a site in your country, for smaller cost to you, let them group ship it to China with other stuff if they cannot repair it.

The warranty has been honoured for 3 years as i bought it on the cusp of the break up. I've already confirmed this with Denafrips 

The new 15th versions has a 1 year warranty, which you have exceeded. Vinshine used to cover up to 3 years, but they are not the distributor anymore. Look at the very bottom of this page; Warranty 12 months.  https://www.denafrips.com/product-page/denafrips-pontus-15th-r2r-dac

Not the best offer. 

Did you try to discuss this fee with them? What is it based on?

If your unit is under warranty you would normally cover the shipping to the manufacturer. They would then either repair it or replace it and ship it back to you at their expense.