[longbowbbs]

 
I do try and keep them looking good!

 

[gerry123456]

It is with regret that I have to report an issue with my ACS T1s!
 
I got them in December 2012. For 7 and a bit months they were flawless. Then one day last week I put them in and the right hand monitor was like half the volume of the left side. To see if it would help, I left them in a sealed box with silica gel overnight, changed the green filter/protector in the sound tubes, and removed then reconnected the cable. It was no better. When wearing the monitor and I pressed it, the sound returned to normal. Seems to me like some internal connection has got screwed and the right monitor is not outputting the mid frequency.
 
Bah!!!
 
I phoned ACS who apologized and immediately gave me a return authorization to get them fixed under warranty. It will apparently take 10 days before they get shipped back to me. I'll post an update on the resolution in due course.
 
There have been similar posts before about ACS cutting out on one side. Seems like I'm another victim of the same issue. Like the other posters, I am Mr Careful! I never throw them down, I always take them in and out gently, I silica gel them, so to speak, regularly to ensure as much as possible they are dry.
 
If I could go back in a time machine and make the decision between ACS and JH Audio again, knowing what I know now, I think I'd go the JH route if, and only if, I could get a discount on their price. However, if I had to pay full retain, then the ACS is a way less expensive option for me in the UK, so it be my choice, even with the risk of a monitor failure...

 

[longbowbbs]

Gerry123456 that is a pain....Hopefully the turn around is not long. I have found ACS' customer service to be very good.
 
Keep us posted!

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

It is with regret that I have to report an issue with my ACS T1s!
 
I got them in December 2012. For 7 and a bit months they were flawless. Then one day last week I put them in and the right hand monitor was like half the volume of the left side. To see if it would help, I left them in a sealed box with silica gel overnight, changed the green filter/protector in the sound tubes, and removed then reconnected the cable. It was no better. When wearing the monitor and I pressed it, the sound returned to normal. Seems to me like some internal connection has got screwed and the right monitor is not outputting the mid frequency.
 
Bah!!!
 
I phoned ACS who apologized and immediately gave me a return authorization to get them fixed under warranty. It will apparently take 10 days before they get shipped back to me. I'll post an update on the resolution in due course.
 
There have been similar posts before about ACS cutting out on one side. Seems like I'm another victim of the same issue. Like the other posters, I am Mr Careful! I never throw them down, I always take them in and out gently, I silica gel them, so to speak, regularly to ensure as much as possible they are dry.
 
If I could go back in a time machine and make the decision between ACS and JH Audio again, knowing what I know now, I think I'd go the JH route if, and only if, I could get a discount on their price. However, if I had to pay full retain, then the ACS is a way less expensive option for me in the UK, so it be my choice, even with the risk of a monitor failure...

Ah now see the advantage of going with acs would be the quicker refit times as needed.  You are looking at about 3 weeks there and back for a refit to the states (trust me) so 10 days in the grand scheme of things isn't that bad at all!  Plus communication is a damn site easier without the time factor as well!

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

 
I do try and keep them looking good!

 
Nice, how did I miss this?  I didn't even know something like this was an option.  What are the flags made of?
 
Quote:

It is with regret that I have to report an issue with my ACS T1s!
 
I got them in December 2012. For 7 and a bit months they were flawless. Then one day last week I put them in and the right hand monitor was like half the volume of the left side. To see if it would help, I left them in a sealed box with silica gel overnight, changed the green filter/protector in the sound tubes, and removed then reconnected the cable. It was no better. When wearing the monitor and I pressed it, the sound returned to normal. Seems to me like some internal connection has got screwed and the right monitor is not outputting the mid frequency.
 
Bah!!!
 
I phoned ACS who apologized and immediately gave me a return authorization to get them fixed under warranty. It will apparently take 10 days before they get shipped back to me. I'll post an update on the resolution in due course.
 
There have been similar posts before about ACS cutting out on one side. Seems like I'm another victim of the same issue. Like the other posters, I am Mr Careful! I never throw them down, I always take them in and out gently, I silica gel them, so to speak, regularly to ensure as much as possible they are dry.
 
If I could go back in a time machine and make the decision between ACS and JH Audio again, knowing what I know now, I think I'd go the JH route if, and only if, I could get a discount on their price. However, if I had to pay full retain, then the ACS is a way less expensive option for me in the UK, so it be my choice, even with the risk of a monitor failure...

 
Sorry to hear and please keep us updated long term.  Can ACS give you any possible reason for the driver failure such as the board, internal wiring, etc?

 

[gerry123456]

Quote:

Can ACS give you any possible reason for the driver failure such as the board, internal wiring, etc?

 
They emailed that they received my return. That was approximately 1 week ago. So far I haven't heard back on the fault itself. If they don't give me that info on the retuned item's workslip - I believe they include one of those when they ship the monitors back to me -  then I'll phone them to ask at some point.
 
Cheers

 

[longbowbbs]

I do not know what the flags are made of. I asked them if they could do it and they did. Pretty cool....

 

[gerry123456]

Quote:

 
They emailed that they received my return. That was approximately 1 week ago. So far I haven't heard back on the fault itself. If they don't give me that info on the retuned item's workslip - I believe they include one of those when they ship the monitors back to me -  then I'll phone them to ask at some point.
 
Cheers

 
My ACS are on their way back (hip pip hooray

), and I should get them tomorrow. That's bang on what ACS said should happen! Thank you for keeping your promise ACS!
 
I phoned to ask what the issue was and got the following reply: "All the drivers on both sides were reading low due to there being excessive moisture in the moulds. Therefore all components have now been replaced and are working to specification. You now have a new 1 year warranty on these components."
 
All I can say is eek! I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping them in a sealed jar with silica gels every other night. Clearly now I have to review my monitor storage strategy. I think someone said in a Head-Fi thread that after their monitors had the same issue, they bought a mini dehumidifier (available in the UK for like £60). It's a fair bit to pay, but at least you're safeguarding your investment.
 
Maybe it was the case that my silica gel has expired ... I mean, how do you know? I read online (ain't the internet great for misinformation! NOT!!!) that you can use silica indefinitely provided you dry it out by heating it in an oven for like an hour at a low temperature. All I can say is that didn't work for me! ...At least apparently. It could all be a conspiracy theory and there was some driver connectivity issue after all. Alas, I have no way to make such a conclusion, so I will believe ACS and just buy the dehumidifier.
 
Needless to say, I'll post further updates as appropriate down the line...

 

[gerry123456]

Quote:

It is with regret that I have to report an issue with my ACS T1s!
 
...
 
If I could go back in a time machine and make the decision between ACS and JH Audio again ... I think I'd go the JH route....

 
Given ACS's diagnosis of the root cause for my monitor failure, I totally take back the above statement! If I had JH audios, I guess they would also have failed due to moisture buildup. I am now a happy and loyal ACS advocate again ... kinda

.   I would still like a pair of JH13s as they have apparently additional resolution over the ACS, and greater sound impact

. Could be said of me, in BritishSpeak, that I want my cake and to eat it ... I reply what use is cake if you can't eat it! LOL

 

[davidcotton]

That's the problem with headfi, too much temptation!  Glad the problem was a simple one.

 

[gerry123456]

Quote:

 
I phoned [ACS] to ask what the issue [with my borked monitors] was and got the following reply: "All the drivers on both sides were reading low due to there being excessive moisture in the moulds. Therefore all components have now been replaced and are working to specification. You now have a new 1 year warranty on these components."
 
Maybe it was the case that my silica gel has expired ... I mean, how do you know?

I dreamed up a wonderfully simple test for my silica gel jar storage contraption. I soaked a piece of paper in water, then put it into the silica gel-filled jar. I put a similar piece of paper into another sealed jar, but with nothing in it, which should serve as a control group. Fast forward 4 hours. Well, you could knock me down with a feather ... the paper in the silica gel-filled jar is bone dry, whereas the control group jar is still soaking wet.
 
Hmmmmm. I'm going to go bonkers now thinking about what I have done wrong to cause such a level of moisture to build up in my monitors to break them ... yet my silica contraption dries a soaking wet bit of paper (approx. 3" x 1") in 4 hours.
 
This post was brought to you by What, Conspiracy-Theories-R-Us, LiarLiarPantsOnFire, IDoMyOwnExperiments, and WhatTheHellAmIGonnaDoNow? LOL

 

[Whirlio]

Hi Gerry. I bought the de-humidifier for hearing aids and used it nightly but still experienced the driver failure with acs saying there was moisture damage. I'm a generally sweaty guy so maybe this is just my bad luck but then again how come the Ety ER4Ps lasted so much longer? It could be a weakness in the T1 filter design. I now use the dehumidifier as soon as I get back home, not waiting for the cheaper electricity tariff, hopefully it will last this time.

 

[kryten123]

Quote:

 
Given ACS's diagnosis of the root cause for my monitor failure, I totally take back the above statement! If I had JH audios, I guess they would also have failed due to moisture buildup. I am now a happy and loyal ACS advocate again ... kinda

.   I would still like a pair of JH13s as they have apparently additional resolution over the ACS, and greater sound impact

. Could be said of me, in BritishSpeak, that I want my cake and to eat it ... I reply what use is cake if you can't eat it! LOL

Moisture buildup

seems a bit dubious to me especially with the lengths you go to. Mine failed 3 times in the time I had mine and were put down to driver failure.
 
I did have my cake and eat it

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

I do not know what the flags are made of. I asked them if they could do it and they did. Pretty cool....

 
Thanks.  Whatever they used looks great!
 
Quote:

I dreamed up a wonderfully simple test for my silica gel jar storage contraption. I soaked a piece of paper in water, then put it into the silica gel-filled jar. I put a similar piece of paper into another sealed jar, but with nothing in it, which should serve as a control group. Fast forward 4 hours. Well, you could knock me down with a feather ... the paper in the silica gel-filled jar is bone dry, whereas the control group jar is still soaking wet.
 
Hmmmmm. I'm going to go bonkers now thinking about what I have done wrong to cause such a level of moisture to build up in my monitors to break them ... yet my silica contraption dries a soaking wet bit of paper (approx. 3" x 1") in 4 hours.
 
This post was brought to you by What, Conspiracy-Theories-R-Us, LiarLiarPantsOnFire, IDoMyOwnExperiments, and WhatTheHellAmIGonnaDoNow? LOL

 
Hmmm, is that three people with sweat related driver failure?  I have experienced it with another CIEM, but know exactly when it happened as I put it in my ear and couldn't hear because of all the sweat in my ear!  After pooling in sweat, the whole channel didn't work.  Are the driver failures always on the same channel or always the same driver type (woofer, for example)?

 

[gerry123456]

Quote:

Hmmmmm. I'm going to go bonkers now thinking about what I have done wrong to cause such a level of moisture to build up in my monitors to break them ... yet my silica contraption dries a soaking wet bit of paper (approx. 3" x 1") in 4 hours.

 
I contacted ACS asking their advice. They replied "[size=11pt]It does sound as though you are looking after them and storing them as we would recommend. [/size]
[size=11pt]As long as they are having time to dry out in between uses, I think that is all you can do. [/size][size=11pt]I know that some people are more susceptible to moisture, but hopefully if you continue to look after them the way you have, this won’t be an issue again.[/size]"
 
On that basis, and considering my moisture experiment in my post above (i.e. which suggests my drying and reusing the silica gel is working fine), I guess I'm not going to spend on the mini dehumidifier after all. What I will do going forward is ensure they go into my silica contraption immediately I get in at night, and not remove them until I set off for work the next day. That gives them 12 hours minimum per day to dry out. Fingers crossed like ACS say, there will be no more issues! Either way, I have essentially got another 12 months warranty on them, so I feel reasonably relaxed now

. Good on you for giving me that ACS!
 
In case it's relevant average_joe, my issue was:

1. owned them for 7 months
2. failure of mid driver right side
3. driver seemed to work fine again when I held my finger against the monitor lightly (#start sarcasm# must have been me holding my finger against the driver forced the water back up the sound tube so the sound could get out properly. LOL #end sarcasm#)