(1) Before I upgraded to separate components in my discrete stand-alone 7.2 HT system, I had the brand new very top model CAMBRIDGE AVR. Its HDMI board died suddenly and catastrophically after 19 months from new, OK…. Fine .,,, it was an PITA inconvenience but it was replaced under warranty .
Then, it suddenly died AGAIN in like form 8 months later after very minimal use. The Canadian distributor falsely claimed that I had somehow damaged the HDMI ports . They now refused to cover the costs even though it was still covered by its full 3 year warranty .The unit was now an unreliable turd, With few options in frustration , I had it fixed under my dime and I promptly dumped it immediately afterwards in the one-owned marketplace.
(2) The stablemate CAMBRIDGE Blu-Ray player also strangely died a similar sudden and catastrophic demise a month after its 2 year warranty expired. They told me to deliver it to their specifically named local CAMBRIDGE authorized repair dealer for assessment . I did ,… and got the run around for a month before that local repair facility / dealer went bankrupt, and I lost the unit.
TAKEAWAY:
- CAMBRIDGE is a must to avoid ….full stop.
- I next went initially to ARCAM with their 5-year warranties with no issues,
- The ARCAM rig had a final full system upgrade to individual YBA separate power amps (2-3-2) and a discrete NUFORCE digital 7.1 preamp/ AV processor…. with NO issues at all .
LESSON LEARNED : Build quality matters .., full stop.
