I believe it's spelled a$$whole. |
Weird, but the moral of the story is, send it to Parasound to get it fixed, especially any Halo gear. |
I hate sending gear in, whether audio gear or guitars or even taking your car to a repair shop. Not everyone understands the obsession with cosmetic perfection unfortunately :^ / |
This is why I buy gear that you don't have to ever send anywhere, McIntosh , Dynaudio, REGA, ect... |
Or see good therapist who can help you get past that anal-retentive perfectionism???? |
I purchased a demo Parasound CD1 from Audio Advisor about six months ago.One day I turn it on and there is no right channel.Of course I am more than a little upset and disappointed,but I am cool and call AA and ask them about the warranty and they instruct me to call Parasound.I called and spoke to someone and supplied my information and the nature of the failure.I was not sure what to expect and had read the conditions of the warranty where they can have you send the unit to an authorized repair facility of their choice.During the course of a pleasant and professional conversation I was instructed to send it to San Francisco,i then asked if they could supply a "call tag" for FedEx to pick up the box and I was told they would email a label and I could drop it off at a FedEx desk at Staples and that I did.
Much to my surprise,less than a week after I shipped the box,it arrives back,repaired and sounding as great as it did before the failure.Funny that the second day I had the unit back and up and running it would not eject a CD.I called and spoke to the same tech and he told me how to dislodge the stuck CD.I had the opportunity to thank him for the incredibly quick turnaround time on the repair,the fastest ever from any Audio company I had ever dealt with,and this includes some much smaller companies with great reputations and far less traffic.Parasound got it right for me in record time and they deserve some praise! |
It's true, Parasound takes customer service very seriously. I've read many reports of people who have called Parasound and been passed to the president of the company, who has also personally answered emails to the company on the weekend.
I've got 2 Parasound pieces, and I've never had any issues, they just sound really great. |
Glue? That must be real crap! I can't blame you for being pissed off! |
Just curious, did the repair shop glue the ON/OFF switch back on? If that's all they did for $175 I'd be pissed off, too. |
Thanks! for sharing -All.
it is imperative to post both positive & negative experiences when dealing w/ these Audio companies. IME, the customer service does not concede after a sale (of any kind). Keep me posted and Happy Listening! |
I assumed the power button was broken and needed a new part . If parasound would have told me the glue fell off I would have tried to glue it myself . Trust me i'm not the only one with this problem . |
Keep in mind that the Parasound is a mass produced product made in Taiwan. Is that bad? Not for business, but there's certainly some cost cutting and other compromises that lead to shortcomings there.
If you want a full balls-to-the-wall high end product, you get McIntosh, Luxman, Accuphase, Pass Labs, etc. Yes, much more expensive, but you get what you pay for for the most part. |
When I bought the halo gear at 1/2 price I could have got McIntosh for 1/2 price as well . Live and learn . |
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Magnum44, exactly, and just about every audiophile has been burned by an inferior product or products. At least you know not to buy any more Parasound stuff! |
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I don't think just because a little glue may be used here and there necessarily affects the sound quality, which should be the determining factor anyway. Parasound makes some very nice sounding amps at a fraction of the cost of some of those mentioned. Some of you need to get down from your high horses :^ / |
Wow, looks like this has turned into Parasound bashing thread. Agreed with Dragon1952. Not just because I own Parasound and been happy with the product, but because this can happen to may a high end and boutique firms. Lets not forget the recent loudspeaker threads that got deleted because of bashing. Search this threads and you will find tons of threads like this.
If I were in OP's shoes, I am sure I would feel the same. I hope the OP reaches out to Richard Schram and try to work it out. Good luck! |
...and as far as CS, not too many companies will you get a direct response from the owner himself, and promptly I might add. |
"Keep in mind that the Parasound is a mass produced product made in Taiwan"
Assembled in Taiwan would be more accurate. |
And so what? They come with a five year warranty, they sound amazing(Halo anyway), they look exceptionally good, and the president stands behind the products like no "mass market" brand I've ever seen. The OP was upset because the repair facility put a scratch on his amp mostly, but he seems to get upset easily as he now accuses the president of something too.
If one can spend $10-15,000 on amps, more power to you. Recently in another forum a Parasound owner said he's upgrading to some super expensive brand because "after a while, you just want to move on to something better". Good for him, but whatever improvement he'll get over a high bias Class A with MOSFET/JFETs input/output stages design that the Halos offer will be subtle in most cases.
But it's his money, he can do what he wants with it. Bashing Parasound because one button came off, and is made in Taiwan is silly, however. If there were a rash of buttons falling off, then you'd have something. |
Sh$t happens all the time, even with more expensive companies. And more often than one might think.
Owners just don't like to report it here, because of the resell value of their pieces. Now, to suggest enthusiastically "not to buy any more Parasound stuff!" is plain childish.
Having said that, it's very interesting to know Parasound's side of the story. |
Thanks Don_c55. AS for the rest of you guys, I stand behind what I said. I'm changing anything or backpedaling because you don't like it or disagree with it, childish or not.
The facts remain that this is a mass produced product made (excuse me *assembled*) in Taiwan built to a price point with clear compromises inherent in the whole enchilada.
I can appreciate affordability, but to me, this stuff ain't the cat's meow like some of you guys and the reviewers say.
And as far as reliability is concerned, of course more expensive stuff has its problems, there are lemons at every price point.
Regarding customer service; I can appreciate that. That is quite commendable and honorable.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. Feel free to debate (I know you will, lol) |
Runnin,
"If one can spend $10-15,000 on amps, more power to you. Recently in another forum a Parasound owner said he's upgrading to some super expensive brand because "after a while, you just want to move on to something better". Good for him, but whatever improvement he'll get over a high bias Class A with MOSFET/JFETs input/output stages design that the Halos offer will be subtle in most cases."
I hear what your saying; however there are some things that Parasound doesn't do well, at least in my system. I had an A21 and recently changed amplifiers. I was told several times that Parasound amps are rather flat and don't produce a "great" three dimensional soundstage(by a Parasound dealer)...I refused to believe it, but hearing is everything and now I understand. The fact is we don't know, what we don't know and until we compared different components in our own systems, we don't know how good or bad our favorite component is. |
Compared to much more expensive amps, maybe the 3D soundstage is better, perhaps I am underestimating. I remain skeptical, I'm kind of a show me guy. I do know that with good solid conductor cables I was able to improve the sound of my Parasound system and have air and presence with 3D effects. I can't compare it to Pass Labs though. But I'm content, what can I say? |
Runnin
Don't get me wrong, I submit that Parasound offers outstanding value |
This is not Parasound bashing but a $4500 preamp shouldn't have buttons that are glued on. Just saying. |
Do any other manufacturers use glue or cement to attach buttons or knobs? If this glue thing were a problem it's difficult to believe it wouldn't have been addressed and disposed of a long time ago. Do the JC-1s use glue? |
This basic rant was also posted over on Audio Asylum. As someone responded there we're only hearing one side of the story. It would be interesting to hear Parasound's side of things. |
I love these guys that spam the net whenever they feel slighted. It hasn't really been established how the button was attached, and whatever it is, it obviously isn't a problem. I've got 2 Parasound components that use the same button, I'm not losing any sleep so far. |
Besides no real audiophile drives around in a Cadillac.
If it doesn't make sense it's not true. - Judge Judy |
Runnin
Aren't you doing the exact same, but, for Emotiva?
What is it,you are annoyed that Parasound (your gear)
is getting bad reputation?
Emotiva and Parasound are in the same league and only priced
different. A quick search will confirm that,and also who has better prices.
George |
Over at AA one guy's JC2 power button fell apart 2X . I don't know for sure but i'm going to guess that all halo gear power and input are glued on . If i'm wrong please correct me . I'm surprised with how hot the amps and preamps get that there aren't more failures . |
"I'm surprised with how hot the amps and preamps get that there aren't more failures"
Great....more misinformation introduced to the thread. My A21 doesn't even get warm, even after playing for 10 hours straight, which it does quite often while powering electrostats. |
Magnum44,
My A21 does not get hot at all, even if I use them for 3-4 hours continuously. Can you list down your system. Are you sure everything is right in it?
You just have 2 threads here and are not off on a good start. Your thread on AA mentioned that you forgot your password. And your username was "transam" before you lost your password. So you registered as transam9957 there and here you chose to be different? Really? |
This whole thing is becoming a joke. The OP is obviously a troll. Dissing the customer service, which those of us that own Parasound and have corresponded with them know is absolute bull, I'm beginning to dis-believe this entire glue story after his further assertion of Parasound components getting too hot, which is also total bull....give me a break. And you have owned exactly how many Parasound components to make this claim? You are the joke and congrats in pulling us all in to your little charade. To add further to the charade is the Cadillac reference....ha ha....what are you 85 yrs old? Like a Caddy is the ultimate ride now days? Yeah,right :^ / |
I can afford a brand new Caddy (which means exactly what?) but yet I bitch about a $175 repair to a $4500 product? So if some cheap ass plastic trim falls off your Cadillac and it costs you $500 is that worth a troll thread too? |
Another Parasound owner of both an amp and pre, neither get beyond mildly warm after a couple of hours playing time. |
Wow , my jc2 is 90* when it's off . My A21 would heat up my listening room playing my martinlogans . Perhaps someone needs to turn up the volume . |
"Wow , my jc2 is 90* when it's off"
...and there you go.....the sham is now exposed. |
What are you talking about ? |
Wow , even stereophile mentioned how the jc1 heated his room . Are you sure it's pluged in . |
You're saying a PRE AMP JC2, with no amp section, heats up to 90 degrees when it's off. You're also saying you have reliably measured this with some device, and it was bang on 90 degrees, and not some number you picked out of the air.
I'd say you should sell everything and start over. |
Mr john curl designed it so when it's off certain parts stay powered up / warm so it sounds good when you turn it on !!!! I have a temp gun , so yes 90* at the back of the jc2 . Anymore lame ? Or statements . |
Magnum wrote,
"Over at AA one guy's JC2 power button fell apart 2X."
All I see over at AA is YOUR post that's identical to the one you posted here. |
I've owned two different A21s and neither one of them ever got hot. They were on 24 hours a day and they were warm to the touch. |
No pre amp should get that hot. Something is drastically wrong. You should ship it back to the company to have it checked out before you do further damage! It is better to be safe than sorry! |
Don't give them a bad rap. |
90 degrees centigrade or farenheit? For equipment that is meant to be on all of the time, 90 degrees farenheit is actually pretty cool running. I am sure that the power supply on my Naim NDS server runs hotter than that, and it is intended to be on all of the time. Back when I ran a Levinson No. 32 preamp, the main box was probably around that temperature and the power supply ran much hotter than 90 degrees farenheit; if the unit was left off, it would take forever to get back to optimal performance. |
Okay, I just read the JC2 manual and found the Ventilation Requirements section which is included below:
Because the JC 2 is a high current class A design it is always slightly warm to the touch, even when in standby. To reduce the chance of your JC 2 overheating please follow these guidelines:
Install your JC 2 away from heat sources such as heating ducts, radiators, or heat-producing components.
Always position the JC 2 horizontally.
We recommend that you do not place the JC 2 above a power amplifier.
Do not install the JC 2 in an unventilated equipment cabinet or compartment. Pockets of stagnant hot air can build up even in cabinets with open front and back sides. A ventilation fan such as the Parasound Zbreeze is highly recommended to prevent hot spots in confined spaces.
Okay, it says it runs "slightly" warm. my guess is Maggy44 has his directly above his amps or next to a baseboard heater of some kind. Perhaps he measured it before the cabinet interior had cooled down. Whatever. |
