2. amps-preamps
  3. 1361739154

Which amps cannot be repaired locally?

Hi all. I purchased a Niles S-1260 a few years ago and it started shutting down recently after a few minutes of play. I called Niles and they asked I ship it to Louisville for a $650 flat fee plus shipping -- they charge that for any repair. I decided to take it somewhere locally and they could not find spare parts (a controller board or controller board IC). I called Niles, the regional rep and the local rep and none could provide me a controller board or any spare parts. Had I known that, I would never have purchased Niles. Are there other companies with similar policies about not providing spare parts for local repair? Thanks
ozfly
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
For a moment I was thinking to initiate the discussion call "Ripoff Schema Champions" and thinking of it now. Check on that later.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
This is america guys, what few consumer laws there are ,are not enforced.
hifigeek1
770 posts
 
Schubert is correct. I found Spectral to be downright rude when I tried to service one of their preamps. It had a shorted transistor in it. I was basically told if I worked on it, they would be able to tell, and would never work on the unit again.
ozfly OP
887 posts
 
Marakanetz, the tech guy I hired seems pretty capable and he did replace some parts and spent a lot of time working on it and looking for parts. Unfortunately, the key integrated circuits on the controller board have no part numbers. He indicated they were rubbed off. He told me the board was made in China so obfuscation must be part of the contract with Niles.

So now I know not to buy Niles, Spectral, Levinson or Sonus Faber. Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming.

P.S. "Ripoff Schema Champions" -- great idea.
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,276 posts
 
No one in my area (denver included) wants to work on Classe amps. Gotta send it back to classe if I ever have an issue, and shipping on heavy amps to somewhere outside the country ain't cheap. I think musical fidelity is a pain to get fixed too. I'm definately taking how easy it is to get something warrantied or fixed into consideration on ALL of my future audio purchases.
More to discover