Refex Pro Acoustcs -Chennai

samirarora

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MARANTZ / Refex Pro Acoustcs -Chennai

Hello all,
I bought a Marantz SR8001 receiver in August,2007, with bill and 3 year warranty. While i would not go as far as to say that i am an audiophile, i would think to say that i have audiophile aspirations would be correct. I am using cables from MIT, Tara Labs and Virtual Dynamics. Further, my equipment is connected to power conditioner by pure power and have dedicated 4mm square wiring from my mains to my system. I was using the receiver only as a pre-amp, with the power stage being handled from day one by my Rotel 5 channel power amp. All of my equipment is on a spider rack by finite elemente in an airconditioned dust free room, so no heat issues either.

As i go to work most of the day and have little children, even though i have a dedicated room for my listening (and watching), i used my system very sparingly. Further, I am very careful about my equipment. Speakers and subwoofer are elac 200 series, cd player by nakamichi and an oppo cd player.

PROBLEM BEGINS

The receiver worked fine all this time, very good sound and i was very happy and satisfied with it. One fine day, without any reason at all, it went into protect. No big deal, its supposed to do that, but over coming days, it was doing so more and more and i checked all my wiring, electricals everything..and yet it carried on doing it. It would go into protect and give error 'CHECK POW5'. I thought nothing of it first, after all, nothing had happened, but a week later, it was doing so several times while listening to the same CD and at this time, i knew something was wrong.

I did all of the checks, to the extent, i removed every wire and even connected the receiver to another outlet, without anything connected.. it was still doing that.

I called up Refex Acoustics and got the reply, that i should send it to them and that they will take care of it. Fine, i got stuck with a bad piece and now it needs repair.. i am OK with that.

Meanwhile, i started searching the net as to what this error could mean. To my surprise, when i searched 'CHECK POW5' or 'CHECK POW5 ERROR' on google, i got not one or two but several other results, to various forums worldwide with many many users talking about the same problem. The users in US were lucky though as days after their problem was detected (as is noted by them in the forums) , Marantz USA changed their units for new.

At some places, someone even mentions that Marantz agrees that there was a certain problem with a certain batch of units of the SR series. This was most disturbing.

Anyway, I took several videos of the error i was getting on my unit, put it on CD (and also have copies in my record) , and sent my unit all the way to Chennai, double packed with thorough explanation of the problem i was having.


One day after they received it at chennai, i get the call...' Good news sir, we have thoroughly checked your unit, and there is nothing wrong with it'. This was the worst news i could have received. I sent my unit 3000 kms to the other end of India (from where i am) only to hear that there is nothing wrong with the unit.

I reminded them again, sir , please look at the CD i have sent you with the videos, please look at all the links i have sent to you , where people have reported this problem again and again, IT IS A WELL DOCUMENTED REPEAT PROBLEM.

Days have no passed into weeks, and weeks are now going to become a matter of months... all i hear is , we will let you know tomorrow sir, just give us two more days, i will call you in the evening, i will call you in the morning etc.

Now comes the worst part, i have tried my best to contact MARANTZ asia pacific ( i believe singapore marantz handles india)... they did not even bother to reply. I wrote again, no reply.....now i have four mails to them over last month, no one has written back... not even a word.


I am now stuck with a 1 Lakh + receiver, the only people who could help , ie refex proacoustics are of no help, even though i sent them 100 MB of compressed videos and two pages of how and when the problem occurs.

Now i am calling them and i get the reply that the person concerned is in meeting sir... or even worse, they do not even pick up my phone.

I NEED YOUR HELP.

I request any forum member, who can let me know some email address of someone at Marantz worldwide , who would atleast be willing to listen to my problem... i have all the records and videos and it will not be hard to convince them that there was/is indeed a manufacturing problem with my unit and something needs to be done about it.

If anyone has had he patience to actually read my entire post, kindly do google 'check pow5' and add your comments here, maybe something can get figured out...


I might add, that my receiver before this was an ONKYO INTEGRA, which gave me years of faithful service without a single problem.

my personal opinion would be to be careful about buying marantz in india, or atleast from Refex, unless of coarse the prove that they indeed stand for customer satisfaction, if not customer delight.

I am very very disappointed and need your help guys!!

Best wishes,
Samir.
 
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This is a documented and recognized problem with some Marantz SR units. It is apparently to do with a loose thermistor wire on the power board. More a design issue. Ask them to check this out and it may solve your problem.

All the best!
 
Hi,
You are right that this is a documented and recognized problem with a certain batch of units (not only sr8001, but several others, ie sr7001 etc.).

I read that report about the lose wire and how it needs to be hard wired etc. on the net, and i actually wrote to that person who kindly and promptly replied that while this was earlier believed to be the cure, it eventually did not work and he further suggested, that the entire power supply section needs to be replaced or the unit itself...

:sad: Will marantz be replacing my unit , i am not so sure.. as we live in India where customer is king only while he is making the purchase and i sincerely hope i am proven wrong!
 
Forgot to add in above post that the unit was sent to Refex Pro Acoustics in chennai on the 13th of June,2009, and it is still lying with them.

More results can easily be found on the net, different browsers throw up different results but plenty out there..
use key word CHECK POW5
 
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What i am most disappointed about in the whole episode is that over the last two months, i have not been able to contact MARANTZ directly. I wrote 4 emails to marantz asia over last one month, and they did not even bother to reply even once indicating India is not an important market for them.

I wrote to Marantz USA and i got a reply the very next day. I had written on their marantz usa website, customer care section, that i have a SR8001 unit, which for no reason,goes into protection and gives error code check pow5 and the next day when i woke up, i had the reply, that the unit needs to be sent to a service centre with a link of service centres near hercules california, which is the address i had given for myself. Now thats service.. obviously, i was just checking.. there is no way i could send my unit to the united states.


But Asia, no reply. Which is real bad, as there is no recoarse for a marantz owner here in India, if he/she is somehow dissatisfied with the service he/she gets here.


Is there anyone here on the forum, who could direct me to some link/email address, where i can somehow contact marantz direct and put up my case with them? This is where i require your help as i am NOT interested in DIY help.

best wishes,
samir.
 
I was seriously considering a marantz CD player, and an upgrade to my onkyo avr to marantz. But I will hold back on this brand after these service issues. Though I think it can happen with any brand, and any brand would be treating the customers the same way.
Though it appears to me, just my feeling, that JBL/ HK may have a better service network as they are officially present in India and run their own showrooms rather than selling with shady dealers.

regards
 
I called up Refex Pro Acoustics in the morning today and have been told that they have brought up the issue with Marantz Singapore (who is in charge of India operations) and are still to hear from them. I have been told that I will know in the next couple of days. I am sincerely hoping that Marantz Singapore will come out with a favourable and customer friendly reply.
I will of coarse keep the forum informed.

As for the Onkyo service, i have had the chance of testing it, way back in 2000 or 2001, and i had bought a receiver that time, an onkyo 636. I called up onkyo delhi and informed them of this loud sound coming from the transformer... and they told me to bring it back. I drove to delhi with it, they put it on (this was the GK2 shop, person incharge was a mr. mahesh gulabani)... the moment it came on, the sound came and there were no ifs or buts, and maheshji told his assistant to change the piece for a new one.

I was so happy and impressed, that i requested him, to let me upgrade and ended up buying an integra model from them, which was more than twice the price. That piece is still doing well, and i sold it to friend, when i bought this marantz. By personal experience , i can inform that Onkyo service is no.1. I recently purchased Elac series 200 front speakers, centre speaker and subwoofer from them, service is impeccable.. no question about it.

All is not lost with marantz yet.. things have been slow so far, its been more than a month since i listened to music or watched a movie, am over 1 Lakh down, but fingers are crossed .

Wish me luck guys,
best wishes,
samir.


PS- I still think that it is sad, that marantz singapore did not reply to my enquiries , not even a short one liner reply....with onkyo i do not know , if onkyo will directly reply, but then, i never had any trouble with an onkyo.
 
One thing while buying expensive electronics ,laptops,digicams etc
1) see if gurentee/warentee is carry in or on site- carry in is you need to carry to service center
2) No harm in carry in - if service center is nearby - as many equipment carry ONLY carr in warentee
3) see what is pecsence of company in India- In lapotops I have faith in HP compaq as they have 60-70% marketshare -and quality maybe notch below but service and support is mindboggling! In mumbai so many service centers that you need to choose!
4) If you zeroed on a model google its model number followed by worlds like problems issues breakdowns etc-many times you get valuable info where you can avoid headchaes
5) Our forum is EXCELLANT way to find product performance in India...
 
yes.. i have had an excellent experience with HP/compaq after sales...they were wonderful, no quesitons asked.

and very wise prechecks you have mentinoned.. always best to see how a company treats its present customers before one himself becomes a customer.
best wishes,
samir.
 
Samir
Gimme some time - an emme work some strategy for you. Bein vetran of Cons Elex industry ,alibit in Indian company ,I,ve some idea how these companies work. Meanwhile send your cell no as Pm to me - as someting in my head but may not able to write due to my laziness :eek:hyeah::eek:hyeah:

All the best and wish ya happy ,troble free enjoyment of gadgets!!:cool:
 
Re: Marantz/Refex Pro Acoustcs -Chennai

Hello all,
Here is the latest update.

On 16th July'2009, I heard from Refex Pro Acoustics (finally) and i was told that i would be given a new unit of SR8002 and for that i must pay Rs.18000.00 into their HDFC bank account.

The above is agreeable to me and today i will be depositing the said amount into their account.

I have been promised a brand new silver SR8002 receiver, with a new full warranty. Further, i have been told that i will get the unit only after about 2 weeks as they are currenty out of stock but new stock is on its way.

I am fine with all of the above and am happy with the way things things are so far progressing... better late than never.


Will keep the forum updated on this.

best wishes,
samir.
 
Hi samir,

Many Congratulations for all the sadness happened for your AVR, its happy to hear that you got the upgraded AVR than your previous one, happy ending for your much waited reply from the Refex-Pro Acoustics, whom you have been kept a strong trust and faith in them. Enjoy your HomeTheatre Experiencce as before...................you was.:clapping::clapping::clapping:

And, also tell us the story that how you get the new AVR sr8002 for only paying Rs.18000/- instead of the old AVR sr8001.

1) what was the warranty period of your old AVR sr8001 when you bought on 2007 ?

2) Does it still under the warranty period ?

3) Thats why Refex-Pro Acoustics-chennai, replace you the new AVR ?


congrats ................have a nice days in future with your new AVR

cheers
 
The receiver had come under 3 year warranty, which is standard on marantz.

My particular receiver was still under warranty.
I gave up my old receiver and had to pay rs.18000.00 as depreciation, as after all i had used my previous receiver for 1.5 years.

I am getting a replacement because, problem was not that my receiver was spoilt due to other reasons, but because my receiver happened to have a manufacturing defect.

best wishes,
samir.
 
The receiver had come under 3 year warranty, which is standard on marantz.

My particular receiver was still under warranty.
I gave up my old receiver and had to pay rs.18000.00 as depreciation, as after all i had used my previous receiver for 1.5 years.

I am getting a replacement because, problem was not that my receiver was spoilt due to other reasons, but because my receiver happened to have a manufacturing defect.

best wishes,
samir.

If it is a manufacturing defect, why are you paying them again. Either company has to get it repaired or replace it with a new product of the same model and if it is not there, they need to give the next higher model as replacement. It seems the dealer is not giving as a replacement, it seems to be like he is selling a new receiver (thats why he is giving 3 year warranty, normally the warranty period will not vary from the date of purchase. If so, then the people will ask for a new product as a replacement for any issues and they will get lifetime warranty). He may get the replacement from the company and he will sell it separately. Moreover no company will calculate any depreciation, in the terms and conditions it has to mention.
 
-They have asked me to pay the amount, and i have agreed, ideally, i agree, i should not have had to pay anything.. but i have waited a long time and now just want my music system to be operational again.. its been two months now.

- What the company is doing internally, i have no way of knowing, i have been told that my case has been discussed with D&M holdings in singapore (owner of marantz brand) and this is what they have suggested, that i should get a new piece after said payment. Marantz did not communicate with me direct, so i dont know what happened in the background.


- Depreciation is a word, that i ended up using, as i am justifying paying the 18k like that,company did not use this term...

In the end, while i would have been happiest, if i got a replacement without paying anything, i came to the conclusion that if i have to pay this fee, so be it.. as i have had enough of waiting.

What is wrong and what is right , even i dont know anymore.. all i know is, that i want my audio/video system operational again...

best wishes,
samir.


PS- I have today, ie 17th July,2009, already paid rs.18000.00 into refex pro acoustics HDFC bank account.

I have been told that i will be supplied my new SR8002 unit, silver colour, in about 2 to 2 and a half weeks..

My journey for a good running receiver is still on.. wish me luck friends...will keep you all updated.

best wishes,
samir.
 
all the best dude, this is some pretty shabby treatment i'd say. They should have offered the 8002 at no additional cost to you. But let's hope this one comes in time and gives you trouble free service.
 
After you receive the shipment, you should go to consumer forum and make a case.

It is appropriate.

Regards
 
Hi Samir,

I find the Refex behavior completely unacceptable. First, as others have pointed out, you should not have had to pay, and then they have asked you to to pay in advance of 2-3 weeks.

I have understood them, they want to make whatever money they can, but I have not understood you. Why did you agree to what they wanted so easily, especialy when the product was under warranty?

You seem to be a peaceful guy, but sometimes, you know, you have to stand up for a cause, otherwise this sort of thing will continue. I do not see you going to consumer court as gobble has suggested, but if you do, I think you would get justice. But please remember, please go to consumer court, only if you have a solid proof of the 3 year warranty you talked about.

Regards.
 
hey gobble, i doubt he'll have a case, once you accept their offer to replace it with a newer model, and agree to pay for it, and then go ahead and pay and accept delivery, he will be bound by something called estoppel. I am not familiar with consumer protection laws, but logic suggests that this would be fruitless.

After you receive the shipment, you should go to consumer forum and make a case.

It is appropriate.

Regards
 
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