my onkyo/integra receiver story..its not pretty... (1 Viewer)

[JasonRuben]

i purchased an Integra 7.2 receiver in May.its Onkyo,s high line..retail 1,200.00..Less than 3 months later i had a loud beeping noise coming from my surround left that made using it impossible..i called them and they know all about it..every 7 and 8 series integra and 700 and 800 onkyo,s produced in late 2001 have a defective chip,that will eventually go out..but they,re waiting till u call to inform u about it..how nice..they said their repair ctr in my area could fix it in 3 days..2 weeks later their repair ctr said they would try to get to it soon.warranty work comes last..another week went by and they informed me that they couldn,t fix it because it was too difficult a job.i called integra they said they would have it shipped to them immediately and fix and return to me by end of week..so after 5 weeks i still had no receiver..i called repair ctr to see when integra had had rec.picked up..it was still there,,.Integra finally had rec.picked up and shipped the slowest and cheapest way poss..MORAL OF THE STORY..ONCE ONKYO/INTEGRA HAS YOUR MONEY,,YOU,RE ON YOUR OWN...P.S. I,M STILL WAITING ON RETURN OF REC.THAT HAD BAD PART AT PURCHASE

 

[DanaA]

Sorry to hear about your horrible experience with Onkyo. And, yes, it does seem that, with certain companies, once they have your money, that's all they care about. It's absolutely inexcusable. At least you got to post on a site with 30,000 members. Many might consider this a red flag before their next purchase. That's why I'm so impressed by companies such as SVS. They seem to want to make things right for buyers of their products. I own a Hsu now, but, next time I purchase, I'll be looking in the direction of a company that I feel I can trust. This is no put down of Hsu. I just haven't had occasion to contact them regarding any problems. For all I know, they have great customer service. Finally, I can't see how replacing a defective chip can be that intimidating or complex that an authorized service facility shouldn't be able to handle it.

 

[Ben_wood]

DanaA,

Are you unhappy with your Hsu sub? Seems to me that the best customer service is producing a product that your customer DOESN'T have to call you about! In my experience Hsu has done just that.

 

[Jim Peavy]

Was kinda' looking at the Onkyo product. Will definitely take this info into consideration. There are other brands out there, huh?

 

[DanaA]

Ben,

No, no, no!!! I absolutely and with no hesitation love my Hsu sub and you'll find nothing negative about it in what I said. Sorry, if I wasn't clear in this regard. All I was trying to do was pay a compliment to SVS, because all too often I've seen them come on the board to really attend to a problem someone was having with their sub. I know they're a sponsor, but they impressed me so much that I'd really consider buying from them next time I get a sub. Not to mention, they make a great sub. Nothing against Hsu at all. In fact, I'm really tempted to try out one of their VTF-3's.

Not to take this too far off target, Ben, but which Hsu do you own?

 

[JackS]

Jason- I think I'd just chalk it up as a bad experience. I doubt that service would have been any better from Sony, Denon Yamaha etc. My guess is that had Onyko requested the return of all unsold receivers to make this chip change, they would in effect be re-manufactured therefore unworthy of a full MSRP . Too bad us consumers have to bear the brunt of these practices, but on the other hand how would you have felt knowing that your new receiver had been repaired before your purchase? Hope all's well now, when you finally do get it back. Best of luck, Jack

 

[Leo_P]

JackS said:
I doubt that service would have been any better from Sony, Denon Yamaha etc.
Without knowing if you've had experience with the customer service of ALL the above mentioned companies, what makes you say that?
With all due respect, you come off sounding like an apologist for Integra. Do you work for them?
JasonRuben didn't have a BAD experience, he got SCREWED! He's the victim of Integra's VERY shady business practices.
You live and learn. Experience IS the best teacher.:frowning:

 

[dave alan]

while waiting for my outlaw 950, i tried the onk 898 as a pre. there was a constant clicking through the sub and soon it was in one or two channels in every playback mode. luckily, it was soon enough to return for a refund.

i waited and finally got the outlaw. the sound is much better (wife, sons and friends all agree). the people at outlaw are a pleasure to deal with, also.

onkyo gave me the service run-around, too. is why i sent it back....glad i did.

 

[Dalton]

Well i had the exact opposite experience. I had the the ticking problem with my 797. The ticking problem took a couple of months to manifest itself but once it did i took it to my dealer and had it back in just 2 weeks. They replaced the IT board and it has been working perfectly since. Now Marantz on the other hand, that's a different story. They had my 7200 for 6 weeks before they decided the part they needed to fix it wasn't coming in anytime soon so they authorized my dealer to give me a new unit. But it took 6 LONG weeks.

 

[JackS]

Leo- No ,actually I own nothing from Onyko. I've had two experiences over the last 20 years, once with Sony and once with Marantz. In my case ,both complaints were handled smoothly and no undo problems noted, and both problems resolved. My opinion is based on more than a gaggling of complaints of all of these companies posted on this forum and also at all of the others. Maybe its a location thing or maybe it's the luck of the draw. Who knows?. Good subject for a new post possibly, trouble is, most people having problems are not as likly to post glowing revues of one of these mega corporations taking a genuine interest on a personal level with any of their customers. It has already been noted here that dealing with one of the small companies can be quite different. If you've called in a complaint, they probably know you by your first name. This is just an opinion and like any opinion ,I may be wrong. Nah, I think I'm right.

 

[Gerard Martin]

FWIW I recently had a defective Sony STR-DA5ES, sent it into Sony's regional service center, returned within a week with two circuit boards replaced, still defective. Called Sony they authorized return, and paid for two day delivery, had to return again when two new problems appeared, Sony again authorized paid return, this time replaced the defective 6.1 STR-DA5ES with a NEW 7.1 STR-DA4ES, which for me
was a win win. Bottom line not all manufacturers are created equal. I think Sony is committed to customer satisfaction.

 

[Patrick TX]

Damn, that's sickening regarding the Onkyo. Good snag on the DA4ES as well! As far as Sony goes, if you have ES product, fine. If not, try dealing with regular customer service! They can be a PITA! I think the ES customers are treated better. Kinda like Lexus versus Toyota. I had my DA777ES in the shop initially, and was treated quite well! I ALSO had a 1 year runaround when I bought a Sony DSS system, with a coupon upgrade for a free dual LNB. It took 17 MONTHS to get my %$#$^&&$% LNB! I had my original receipts, as well as a copy of the coupon I sent in. I must have climbed the Customer "service" ladder 15 times. I had NEVER been so PISSED at any company before! Luckily, I don't hold grudges! I have almost all Sony, except for my new Yamaha RX-V1 I hooked up last night! WOW! Simply awesome.

 

[Gerard Martin]

I also have a RX-V1 and as good as most receivers are its hard to beat a Yamaha Flagship.

 

[Phil*K]

Not only do many Onkyo receivers have the clickin problem they also are known for sound cut outs in Dolby. This happens with some DVDs and some dolby broadcasts. The models that are affected are the 696, 797, and 898. I believe several Integra models are affected as well. I unfortunately bought one of the 797s with the problem. What angered me the most is that Onkyo knew which units were affected and left them on the market to be sold.

It's also nice to hear good things about the RX-V1. I recently purchased a 3803 and have been very happy with it, but Tweeters said they would allow me to trade straight accross for the V1. I paid 920 for the Denon.

Anyway thanks for allowing my two cents

Phil

 

[StephenL]

The problem with any local repair service is finding one that's reliable. In the Washington DC area we are fortunate to have a local, non-profit consumer publication, Washington Consumers' Checkbook, that rates area merchants and services. I was able to select a highly-rated audio repair shop thanks to Checkbook.

I had my Onkyo TX-DS898 repaired under warranty at Audio Clinic in Silver Spring, Maryland for the Dolby Digital dropout problem. The repair is described as Q702 DSP Board; IC part number 22241458R3898. The repair was completed 15 days after I delivered the receiver.

Before the repair I experienced Dolby Digital audio dropouts with the Jurassic Park III DVD and the WLIW HDTV production Visions of Italy: Southern Style broadcast on Maryland Public Television channel 42. Both programs play without dropouts now.

The problem involves the Cirrus Logic 49300 chip sets and has been reported in the following receivers and processors: Denon AVR-1602, AVR-1802; Integra DTR-5.2, DTR-6.2, DTR-7.2 and DTR-8.2; Intetra Research RDC-7; Kenwood VR-510, KRFX-9050D; Lexicon MC-12; Onkyo TX-DS595, TX-DS696,TX-DS797, TX-DS898, TX-DS989, and TX-L5; Outlaw Audio 1050.

 

[Phil*K]

Stephen,

I'm glad you got your receiver repaired and I appreciate the info on the receivers that were involved. Another disappointing aspect to this is that I've heard that Dolby no longer puts EX flags on their DVDs because of the number of receivers involved.

Phil

 

[StephenL]

It appears that the Dolby EX flag is being supported again:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...50#post1821450

 

[Babek]

Sorry to hear that. but my Integra dtr 5.3 is working great.

 

[Kyle_Y]

I have an Onkyo 797 and I bought in in January of 2002. I haven't had any clicking problems with it. What do you think will happen if the ticking shows itself after the warranty over? Do you think they will still honor it because they knew about it, or will they charge me? I'm just stuck here, I feel like I have a time bomb in my house and I don't know when it's goign to explode!

 

[JohnnyA]

leo's right. let's not take past examples of these companies complaints and replicate them into this bowl of soup. i've read more complaints from certain brands and fewer from others, so generalizing the entire bunch may not be very accurate.

i, too, have just gotten the yamaha rx-v1 into the room and that thing feels as solid as a rock. imho.