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Esoteric A100 Service Nightmare

My Esoteric A100 which has been stuck in a safety circuit mode after an electrical surge.  I have contacted the Esoteric Service department and the unit was shipped to TAP electronics in Buena Park CA.  I was contacted by the service department that the A100s cannot be serviced in the US and must be shipped to Japan due to a required tool that is only available in Japan.  What???  I was quoted a shipping charge in the thousands $ and that there is no guarantee that the unit is even salvageable.  The interaction with TAP electronics was a nightmare but its not relevant here.   A100 has essentially become an expensive paper weight.  I am disappointed and puzzled by the lack of adequate service support for a unit that sold for over $18,000.  Any thoughts or recommendation on addressing this unit?  I am ready to consider the unit dead and move on.  This is unfortunately a last resort plea before I drop this unit to recycling.


Regards

Frank

kimf70
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,215 posts
 
I'm gonna' sound completely unsympathetic, but this thread sounds a little like someone complaining about the upkeep costs on their mega-buck Ferrari.  Every review I came across described the A100 as the most complex KT88 amplifier ever made.  The amp cannot even be retubed by the user.  To have that done it must be sent to a qualified dealer.  Esoteric intended the amp to be a state of the art, reference quality product and according to the reviews they succeeded.
I have no idea whether TAP is treating you with respect or whether the shipping cost is reasonable, but your obvious frustration comes across.  From other posts it seems you've had the amp since at least 2011 and you state that it sounds wonderful.  Maybe a better way to look at this is to spread the repair cost over the life of the amplifier and accept that wonderful sounding state of the art performance really does cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per year in upkeep costs.
Please let us know the outcome.

68pete
1,001 posts
 
I Hope this can help 
scott.sefton@integrahometheater.com    1-201-785-2646
I believe he is the NorthAmerica sales rep
kimf70 OP
6 posts
 
Onhwy61.....   if I came across as complaining of the cost, I may not have been clear.  The thread is not to whine but to seek the opinions of the fellow enthusiasts. And thank you to many forum users with constructive comments.   I just want the unit fixed. My extent of the effort has been reaching out to the authorized vendor, the US distributor and the authorized repair (TAP electronics).  This thread/post is the last effort.  I’m ready to move on from Esoteric.  And no, I do not complain about the cost of the luxury goods that I own.  But I do address the services or at least the lack of genuine effort that fall short of fulfilling the consumers expectations.  
Regards 
Frank 
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,381 posts
 
@stringreen  ………………………….

I always try to buy American when I can as well, but do not ever forget that al LOT of American high end company's have closed or gone bankrupt over the years.    In this mans case, if it absolutely must go to Japan to be repaired, Esoteric being the large company that it is could afford to pay for shipping one way and the customer pay for the other.  I think that seems fair.
mickeyb
572 posts
 
What a horrible experience. Feel for you man. 
I hope you can get it fixed for under a g. 
If you can’t, shop it to me and I’ll pay for the shipping. 
Good luck. 
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