[Stoney]

I didn't vote because my case could be ambiguous, as may be many others'. I had two 0.3 models in my house that both had hum. My 0.5 keeper has no hum or problem. Do I vote "yes" or "no?"

If forced to pick, I'd say "no problem," referring to current production of the 0.5.

 

[Jazz1]

Quote:

Originally posted by xaipemw OK guys, here is Clinton Jensen, of Perreaux, responding to my email to him: I'll post this in its entirety, and I'm also gonna post it in my Perreaux Take Two thread. Hello Martin snip the problem with the RCA inputs/outputs stems from the courier companies. most of your members are probably unaware of how brutal these people are and the small nature of the SXH1 makes it very tempting just to throw it around (and believe me they do, FRAGILE sticker or not). Most of the courier drivers are contractors and are paid by the number of jobs they do, so they of course are concerned with time. the nature of Audio Advisor's business does not help this issue, being a mail order company, as their product will always be shipped out via courier. our move to a traditional distribution model with a retail network will help take this issue out of the picture. some of the HeadFi.org members are alluding to the number of issues with the SXH1 fuelling this decision, this is not true. we didn't feel that a mail order company was the right avenue to move our higher-end product, and this had been proven over period of our relationship. We had no doubt what-so-ever that they could move Silhouette Series, and again this was proven. so this is the so-called 'strategic fit', while they could sell Silhouette Series, there is more to Perreaux than that. we don't want potential US customers missing out on Perreaux just because AA won't stock it. snip warm regards Clinton

This just confirms what I have previously posted regarding the single box shipping of the unit from AA to the end user. As I posted earlier mine arrived in a single box, which was the product's box. I can confirm this because the Fed Ex. sticker is still on the top of the product box. Both my molded styrofoam blocks were cracked when the arrived. The box however was not damaged in transit, so it is evident that such a little box cannot take the rigors of commercial shipping.

I would have rather paid a little more to have the thing properly shipped as a box within a box (double boxed with bubble wrap, or styrofoam peanuts).

The sad thing here is that a good product is getting a bad rap. The other sad thing is that moving Perreaux to non-mail order is likely to raise the cost of their products. I guess we will see if that happens or not.

I'm sorry for those that have problems. My past experience with AA is that they will probably make things right. The amplfier I have does sound good, and the price was right.

 

[Sovkiller]

I owned a REV 0.3, in the beginning there was no problem at all, it works fine, but I received an email from Perreaux, in which they suggest me, to send it for the mod with AA, this mod supposedly will keep the amp working more solidly in class A, the result? a total mess, AA had no clue of what they were doing, the mod was done in a horrible unprofessional way, shunting some resistors over the existing ones, instead of replacing them for the right value, and over this the hum now showed up, where in the beginning there was none, so they didn't even test it, I sent it back for a refund.....so my advice, stay away from any revision 0.3 if you want a perfect funtioning amp, get the rev 0.5 if you want one SXH-1, this later revision seems to correct all those problems of the prior one....

 

[fredpb]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stoney I didn't vote because my case could be ambiguous, as may be many others'. I had two 0.3 models in my house that both had hum. My 0.5 keeper has no hum or problem. Do I vote "yes" or "no?" If forced to pick, I'd say "no problem," referring to current production of the 0.5.

Since you had TWO bad ones, I would say vote that you had problems.

 

[kedu]

So it would appear this was part of the "strategic fit" issues Perreaux had with AA.

However, I would like to take Clinton to task on his assertion that this problem is due to rough handling during shipping. I believe (and I'm sure Clinton knows) that this is in fact a production problem. Upon opening my unit and inspecting the rca jacks, the metal bar connecting the input rca to the output rca is flush with the plastic on the right side (the side that works) and bends outwards slightly on the left and it is slightly loose, the metal bar is actually slightly curved, but only on the side that doesn't work(didn't work - I have now fixed it ).

This is either due to a bad batch of the rca units that weren't quite 100% to specification, or that under production when screwing this rca unit to the case more leverage would be applied to these metal bars making it more likely that undue stress would be applied to the output rca connections to the board rather than the input connection. I have no doubt that Perreaux fully test their products before distribution, I am not so sure the output rca's receive the same amount of attention during this testing. I think that due to current production methods this connection is definitely weaker than it should be and a problem will arise with anything other than VIP, packed in cotton wool treatment.

Having said all of this I would like to say that I love this amp and would like to thank Clinton for firstly designing this marvellous little unit and for his genuine interest in customer feedback and wish Perreaux every success with their future US distributor.

 

[Finalrinse]

Kedu, very good find and informative! This is very good news that it is a mechanical issue and can for the most part be fixed by the user or a local shop quite easily. This should be beefed up by Perreaux in the future. But for now, knowing this area is maybe mechanically weak, we can be very careful taking on and off our cables and try not to stress the area.

 

[NewMexiCat]

Verrrrry interesting.

I have had no problems, and I have version 0.5.

I ordered mine from AA, but luckily I ordered my HD650's with the Perreaux, so they were combined in a larger box when shipped.

Whew!

 

[hottyson]

I started this thread because I am interested in the Perreaux SXH-1. I had read too many other threads about problems and I wanted to get to the bottom of what they were. It seems that many are scared of this amplifier now that my thread has brought its faults under public scrutiny.

I am still very interested in this amp. It is clear that there is no buzzing with the latest model, so it is surely still a winner among amplifiers costing much more. The only major problem remaining seems to be with the RCA jacks.

I had posted earlier that a modification could probably be done for $50 with new Cardas jacks. I would also like to state that since the RCA problem can be fixed by re-soldering the factory RCA jacks, that it should cost less than $1 for the repair. Please take into consideration the insignificant impact of the RCA defect. It really is very minor and the repair is an easy and simple one.

 

[Finalrinse]

I agree about the easy fix, and would fix it myself or find someone locally if I didn't feel comfortable with soldering. It is truly a great amp, I am still in awe on how great it sounds, which is the most important quality. I would still like to hear from those that have this problem if they can confirm that it's a cracked solder joint, it should be very easy to spot. Please take a look if your RCA outputs are not functioning properly and let us know what you find.

 

[TB1]

I have a rev .5 that had a dead rca (loop out left channel). Since I didn't really use the loop out and everything else was fine (no hum or knob scraping) and it sounds great I didn't want to go to the hassle of an exchange. Following the remarks in this thread regarding a flexing of the contact jumper to the upper jack I decided to try the easy fix. I loosened the small screw that holds the rca jack module to the rear panel. And....IT WORKED!! All jacks function fine now. Must have had a bit too much pressure for the flexy plastic jack housing that caused the jumper to loose contact. Worth a try for those affected prior to resoldering or upgrading rca jacks!

 

[duff138]

since most seem to be the left ouput I don't think it's a shipping problem.

Honestly I'd prefer if I did not have to "fix" a $350 piece of equipment as soon as I purchase it.

 

[gerG]

I got curious about the case of my v.3 running so warm, so I opened the hood and touched the heat sink while it was powered up. Burned myself

That sink runs HOT. Pondering a fix for that. Anybody know what an acceptable limit is for these components?

btw, the assertion that the RCA problems is due to rough handling is just plain silly. There is no inertia in those parts to cause damage in a "drop check". It is a single screw quad connector soldered to the board. I've seen worse, but I've also seen better.

My overall impression of the Perreaux is that it is a pretty solid mid-fi component. Good value, but certainly not "high end".


gerG

 

[Finalrinse]

I agree, I don't see how shipping could do this, unless it was actually dropped or thrown around to the point of harsh impacts on the RCA jacks, which probably isn't possible in the box. I think the area is probably weak, and if your cables are tight fitting to the extreme of hard to get on and off, where as twisting and hard pushing is neccessary, they may stress and crack the solder joint. If it’s really weak I guess the weight of the cables hanging might crack the solder. I think I will take mine apart tonight and take a look at this area to evaluate the situation and possibly come up with a plan to modify the area. Version .5 defiantly takes care of the heat problem, at least you can't tell by touching the case, its cold. My first amp is a total airhead, this is my second amp, and my third amp will be tube as I progress up the ladder with this hobby. It's still an excellent sounding amp for US $300.00 and pairs well with my Senn650's and Zu Mobius. I'm sure I will want something else in the future though. I'm now awaiting my new source which was shipped yesterday for Thursday arrival! Good luck to everyone with this problem.

 

[kcaesthete]

Quote from Clinton at Perreaux:
Quote:

"the problem with the RCA inputs/outputs stems from the courier companies. most of your members are probably unaware of how brutal these people are and the small nature of the SXH1 makes it very tempting just to throw it around (and believe me they do, FRAGILE sticker or not). Most of the courier drivers are contractors and are paid by the number of jobs they do, so they of course are concerned with time."

I find it a little troubling that Perreaux is blaming problems with RCA jacks on mishandling during shipping. Surely he realizes that thousands of consumer electronics devices with RCA jacks are shipped each day using UPS, Fedex, Airborne, etc. I have never heard of such a problem due to shipping (yes you get crushed faceplates, broken switches, but generally those occur when you see obvious box damage). I've purchased vintage 70's hi-fi equipment which has gone through mail order and probably a couple of house to house moves without taking a toll on RCA jacks. If we're blame sharing here, I would suggest that the lions portion should go to Perreaux for specing this amp with less than optimal quality jacks and/or designing them in such a way that they are prone to breakage.

It's a real shame that an amp which by all reports sounds exceptional for the price range should be hampered with this weakness. Sure it's easily repaired, but that goes against the principle of how products should not break until the day after their warranty expires

I was in the market for this amp, but now I'm looking elsewhere.

 

[Abula]

After thinking a couple of days, I decided that the RCA output conectors shouldnt bother me if that much, and just placed my order on AA. I got it for $300.00 shipped. Nice deal, I just hope I made the right choice.