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MORE Esoteric problems

Hi all, I posted an issue with Esoteric CD players a couple of years ago. I bought a UX-3SE from an eBay seller. It skipped all CD's. I called Esoteric. ALL SACD players with the "U" model numbers need to go to Japan because that's where the alignment jig is. $2500.00 at that time JUST for the shipping back and forth. I returned the player to the seller naturally. An Asian gentleman working at TAP electronics told me at that time that the models with the "X" can all be repaired in California. Great I said. I bought an Esoteric X-01. A great player! Now it doesn't read SACD's. I sent it to TAP last week. A follow up call from TAP gave me the dreaded news that NOW the X-01 needs to go to Japan for the jig alignment procedure. WHAT! They did reduce the transportation cost to $1600.00. And this is for shipping only. I think that the audio community needs to send Esoteric a message and boycott ALL Esoteric products. BTW, it's not just their CD players that are required to make the trip to Japan if repairs are needed. I understand that certain models of preamp and integrated amps fall under this requirement as well. How can a company such as Esoteric not do better for the consumer?
128x128jnovak
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jafant
19,833 posts
 
arch2
Thank You for taking the time to engage those Esoteric reps and posting said information here. Very helpful to the rest of Esoteric owners here on Audiogon.
Happy Listening!
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jafant
19,833 posts
 
dgarretson
always great to see you here in these forums. Happy Listening!
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jnovak OP
426 posts
 
THE SYSTEM WORKS!!!!
I emailed TAP electronics this week after arch2 posted. I expected nothing from TAP in terms of them being up to speed on this new procedure. Sal from TAP called me back the same day with the news that ,"Yes, its the new procedure" that the CD players go to TAP and then they remove the transport and send it to Japan for the repair. Sal tells me that the entire transport gets a rebuild, not just the laser assembly. It costs around $1000.00 for the parts and Japanese labor. Add to that Taps invoice plus shipping to Japan and back. Sal couldn't give me the exact cost. He said my unit would be the "guinea pig" unit as there may be a few unknowns. This still sounds more involved than I'd like to see BUT still the shipping probably will go from $1600.00 to maybe $400.00
I don't know if I'll send my unit right away as it's working perfectly. Let's keep this thread going! THANK YOU again everyone who got involved with this issue. It's great news if it works out. Joe
bar81
791 posts
 
Glad you’re happy but that’s still madness for a brand that big in a country as big as the US not to be able to service units in country. While I can somewhat understand historical models where they might not have appreciated customer dissatisfaction with such arrangement, I'm struggling to understand why they’re still making units that need to go back to Japan for service after being made aware of it being an issue.
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jafant
19,833 posts
 
jnovak
Much Thanks! for the follow -up. On one hand, it sounds (no pun) pretty cool to have the drive/transport assembly go back to Japan for special treatment. On the other hand, no reason why Esoteric could not incorporate said Lab somewhere in California? There are plenty of lab(s) and electronic-based personnel already in place.
Happy Listening!
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