Opinions / experience with Audiophonics.fr?

[Fahzz]

My Audiophonics S250NC stopped working properly, still under warranty. I contacted their customer service. At first they doubted that it was an amplifier problem, and asked me to ship it to them in France at my expense. Since I'm in the US, shipping cost would have been a couple of hundred dollars (for a $450 amp!!!). After several attempts, I got lucky and found someone who was qualified to look at it here in the States, and they determined that the unit was in fact broken, and also explained what the problem was. I forwarded that information to Audiophonics, they sent me a mailing label, and I sent the unit back to Audiophonics, they fixed it, and I got it back within a week. Put it back in the system this morning, and so far so good.

This is what they said the fault was:
"We have found the fault on your amplifier,
A ceramic capacitor in the Power ON circuit have been remplaced."
They honored the warranty, and I found them to be responsive, and their repair claim tracking system is first rate.

Couple of caveats:
Keep potential shipping return costs in mind when you buy products from outside the US.
It was very difficult for me to find someone locally who repairs contemporary audio products such as Class D amplifiers, so if you have a problem, your only option may be dealing with the seller who is thousands of miles away.

 

[Fahzz]

Judge for yourself. Episode One is summarized above. This is a verbatim transcript (last name and address redacted) of my second interaction with Audiophonics:

EPISODE TWO

Concerned product : 14185 - AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC XLR Amplificateur de Puissance Class D Stéréo Ncore NC252MP 2x250W 4 Ohm

Michael -- 2024-09-29 -15:06

Defective product - Please see prior ticket # 20391. This unit has been previously repaired and was returned to me a couple of months ago. I am now having identical issues, where the amplifier stops working, even though the LED is on. This may be heat related, because it cuts out after running for a while. The next morning It will run OK, but later in the day it will cut out again. It doesn't run hot, and it's in a very well ventilated location.

I would like a full refund as soon as possible. I've wasted a lot of time (and money ) trying to solve this problem. Please send me a shipping label so I can return this unit and get my money back.

Thank you.

M Farley

M. Greg -- 2024-09-30 -10:21

Hello,



Unfortunately this product is no longer covered by the warranty

We will not be able to take back this product that is more than 2 years old.

If you wish, we can make a repair diagnosis

You will have to return the product to us at your expense for the shipping costs and we will contact you to give you the amount of the repair.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Best regards

Michael -- 2024-09-30 -17:40

You "repaired" this two months ago - you don't stand by your repairs?

Shipping this will cost me $200 for a $400 amplifier. That doesn't make sense. Please reconsider this decision.

I'll accept a replacement unit if you don't want to make a refund.



Michael -- 2024-09-30 -18:35

Follow up: In reviewing ticket # 20391 I note that this unit initially failed sometime in late April 2024, and was either inoperable or en route back and forth for evaluation and repair until the end of July 2024. Thus I lost the use of the amplifier for more than three months due to the defect, and the obvious argument is that that three-months should be excluded from your two year warranty period. Once again I ask for a refund or a brand-new replacement.

M. Greg -- 2024-10-01 -10:01

Hello,



as a commercial I can offer you this

I provide you with a UPS return label for an amount of €70

we carry out a diagnosis of the product

If the fault is the same we will take care of the repairs

if it is another fault unfortunately the product is no longer covered by the warranty you will be asked to pay the repair and shipping costs

Does this suit you?

Looking forward to hearing from you

Best regards

Michael -- 2024-10-01 -16:36

That is not acceptable. You are asking me to invest more time and money into a unit that has already failed twice in less than 18 months.

In reviewing ticket #20391 I see that I was repeatedly advised that the difficulty I was having was not amplifier related, and as a result I unnecessarily replaced an AVR on June 1st, 2024, which did not solve the problem. It was only after I paid to ship it and have it evaluated here in the US that you agreed to pay shipping to France where it was determined that the unit was in fact defective.

Now less than two months after repair, it has failed again. I've had enough aggravation and expense with this and I repeat my request for a refund or replacement.



M. Sav -- 2024-10-01 -16:41

Hello,



You will neverbe refunded or exchanged without a diagnossis by our after sale service.



Best regards

Michael -- 2024-10-01 -17:55

Ok - we're done here.

Add response

 

[thunderchicken]

That’s terrible, I’m sorry you’re dealing with that.

I had a great experience with them, but I have not tried to return anything. In the US, we expect no-hassle returns and it sounds like your return is all-hassle.

Thanks for sharing. I will keep this in mind if I ever want to buy something more than toy grade from them.

 

[voodooless]

In France, any repair is covered by a six month warranty. And actually the original 2 year warranty is halted for this time as well.

So you are entitled to a repair under warranty of the original repair! It doesn’t even matter if your from the EU or not.