[KenW]

Okay...after charging the batteries the SM-3 was ready for another go and I anxiously fired it up for a listen. Fingers were crossed that it was a bad set of alkalines on the initial run. After 15 minutes of listening, the amp cuts out again. It's not a gradual decrease but a sudden "cutting out" that occurs. There's a "muffled static" and if I turn the volume up on the amp to around 2 o'clock, I can hear muffled music playing.

I've checked and my E5C's are fine. The Karma if perfect and all the connections are good. Has anyone come across an issue like this?

After such a long wait, I'm totally disappointed in this turn of events. Will my run of terrible luck with gear ever end?? I'm tempted to just be content with my Karma and E5C combo and sell the rest off. This sort of disappointment with gear is getting rather old....at least with me it is.

 

[TURBO]

Ken. If you got that problem after charging your rechargeable batteries, there is a possibility that, the batteries leaked a substance to the circuit, so the circuit is shorting to ground, inside the circuit. If I were you, I open it up and check / clean up the circuit.
I don’t recommend charging batteries in the SM3.

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TURBO Ken. If you got that problem after charging your rechargeable batteries, there is a possibility that, the batteries leaked a substance to the circuit, so the circuit is shorting to ground, inside the circuit. If I were you, I open it up and check / clean up the circuit. I don’t recommend charging batteries in the SM3.

Did a little test as per the suggestion/question in another thread. Ran the SM-3 with no batteries and it cut out on me in 6 minutes. No leakage occurred. Both sets of batteries were brand new. Neither leaked and there's no evidence of problems internally that I can see.

As for recharging in the SM-3, that was one of the big draws to the amp....the ability to charge in the amp itself...especially in a portable sense. I did not want to be forced to carry extra batteries or worse, another charger.

 

[grawk]

Email xin and post at fixup.net, he's a good guy, if a bit hard to get in touch with. He'll make it right. You could probably even stick it in the mail back to him with a note as to what's going on, and he'll fix it and send it back.

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk Email xin and post at fixup.net, he's a good guy, if a bit hard to get in touch with. He'll make it right. You could probably even stick it in the mail back to him with a note as to what's going on, and he'll fix it and send it back.

I've got a couple of emails in to him as well as a post on the forum on his site. So far...nothing. Of course, it is Sunday so that's not unusual. No one works EVERY day.

As for a repair, I'm growing weary of sending brand new items back to manufacturers for "repairs" on my dime. Heck, that adds up over time. With the SM it's not that much but with an amp like the Raptor, that can add up pretty quick especially with insurance. Not once has a manufacturer offered to take care of that and I suppose that's the norm but when the item is defective out of the box and from the get go, I think that would be a nice touch for such a major inconvenience. Plus xin only accepts USPS which means I have to make a trip to the post office on a busy day to accommodate him and his preference not to have to drive to pick up a missed delivery from UPS(as per his website).

The other "issue" is with confidence in the product. When it arrives in non working condition, I don't see how one can have faith in the product or quality no matter how great the guy is. No excuse for the amp to arrive in non working order IMO.

Sorry about the rant but frustration with product quality and service has finally got me past the point of biting my lip and staying quiet. With the prices these folks are charging, we should be at least getting our money's worth. It's all about quality and service. That's business 101.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Well generally Xin takes a few days to reply back. The labor involved in producing the amp, the parts, and the testing. He tests each amp before shipping it.

I think Xin is doing this as a lobby. Anyways I have written to many times, not even on his products and he always gets back to me. As for my SMv3, I have had no problems with it. Works like a charm.

-Chris

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisfromalbany As for my SMv3, I have had no problems with it. Works like a charm. -Chris

Wanna trade??

 

[chrisfromalbany]

ok..

How about your rs-1 and some cash for my working very will SMv3.

lol.

 

[TURBO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenW Sorry about the rant but frustration with product quality and service has finally got me past the point of biting my lip and staying quiet. With the prices these folks are charging, we should be at least getting our money's worth. It's all about quality and service. That's business 101.

KenW. You have all the rights to complaint. When I see things like these, are what get me sick about some DIY'ers.

People come first, then money. If you follow that rule, you will be successful in business. How many times I would have to say this?

That's enough for me. If I receive a defective unit, I am going to throw it on the floor, smash it, put it under my mini-van, take photos of it and publish them in all websites, from US To China, in all .com, .tv and .net domains. Do you think I am kidding?. Let's wait. It should be here this week.

Recently, I've seen too many complaints in his site about out of the box failures HERE . Either the helper is not helping or something is going wrong with Dr Xin. That's unacceptable. If I were him, I stop production and fix what is wrong. Period.

Update: It's been delivered to my work place. Tomorrow will be a long day.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Kenw: Dude, I'd send it back.

Mr. ampless has gotta go *gasp* ampless *gasp* again!

-Matt

 

[grawk]

When you buy hand made items from small operations, you have to expect a higher failure rate than when you buy mass produced items from megacorps. The real question is how well do they deal wtih it. The advantage is that you get much more interesting products from the small shops, more tailored to smaller markets. If you can't handle sometimes having to deal with the inconsistencies hand made items have, then perhaps you should stick with consumer mass produced gear?

 

[gsferrari]

Why arent you complaining about certain other products that you are unhappy with?

 

[pablor]

I had a very similar problem with my SM3 on delivery - crackly static, and very faint music with the volume knob turned past 12.00.

Xin does seem to have some quality control issues - I've heard a couple of similar stories. However, he does make great efforts to sort out anything that goes wrong. He seems to really care about this and is a gentleman to deal with. He fixed and returned my amp impressively fast.

His communications could be described as minimalistic (e.g. one-word e-mails). E-mails can be slow to be answered, but he does respond quickly to the enquiry form on his website IME.

I agree it's annoying when an expensive piece of audio equipment does not work on delivery. Of course it should. I had to mail mine from Europe. Fortunately not expensive for something this small and light. Still, what you get is a unique product with some awesome characteristics. It's not mass produced, so some quirks can be expected.

I have experienced much worse from very big companies though.

Xin's amps are generally acknowledged to give reliable service, so I hope mine will will not be going back any time soon.

 

[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk When you buy hand made items from small operations, you have to expect a higher failure rate than when you buy mass produced items from megacorps. The real question is how well do they deal wtih it. The advantage is that you get much more interesting products from the small shops, more tailored to smaller markets. If you can't handle sometimes having to deal with the inconsistencies hand made items have, then perhaps you should stick with consumer mass produced gear?

I see your point. Of course, I wouldn't call it a "failure". It didn't arrive in working condition. That's the part that bothers me. I can handle "inconsistencies" with the engraving or the fit/finish although for $400 I did expect better but at that price point, I do expect the product to function and be reliable. To be fair, maybe something happened during shipping. It could have been boxed a bit more securely although I saw no evidence of abuse of the box from shipping. For me, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a $400 portable amp to be able to stand up to shipping and arrive able to function. Call me crazy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyfrenchman27 Kenw: Dude, I'd send it back. Mr. ampless has gotta go *gasp* ampless *gasp* again! -Matt

Nah, that won't happen again....unless the Raptor up and dies on me. Of course, the way things are going.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisfromalbany ok.. How about your rs-1 and some cash for my working very will SMv3. lol.

Such a generous offer! How can I refuse?

 

[Jon L]

Ken, just have it packaged tonight and mail it out tomorrow with a brief note. There's no need to wait for Xin's "approval" before sending it.

Xin is one of few manufacturers I'd feel comfortable doing this with b/c I KNOW he will make it right.

I'm curious what's going on with some of these DOA reports, though. My v.1 and v.3 both arrived and worked flawlessly.

BTW, are you aware of Xin's new adapters to force OPA627 into class A? Perhaps you should ask him to install these for your OPA627's on return for whatever fee. This way, you will feel better about the shipping, etc. I'll bet OPA627 in class A will sound awesome!