Sony SAWM40: dead after 1.5 months. (1 Viewer)

[Brett_H]

All,

I guess I now know why it was an open box one... I bought my Sony sub open box on 11/10/01, and last week, I thought I heard a bit of a buzzing sound coming from it. Didn't really pay much attention to it, but now when the bass hits, it just buzzes and rattles. When powered off, I can push the cone in by hand and hear a scratching sound.... not good.

Since I bought it open box, there was no manual, cable, etc with it, just the box itself. Anybody know offhand what the warranty is on these suckers? I'm guessing that it should be at least 1 year parts & labor, so replacing the driver should be no charge, right? Suggestions for a fast repair shop in the Cleveland, OH area? Any chance someone here has replaced/upgraded the driver in theirs and has a spare one for cheap?

Thanks for listening,

-Brett.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Brett-H,

I doubt that the fact that it's an open box item caused

the problem you are describing. It sounds to me like the

sub has been overdriven and the voice coil has either

distorted from heat or the varnish on the coils has come

off (which would cause a short) I beleive the former is the

actual problem.

Have you ran the sub "Hot" (overdriven on bass heavy movie

tracks and music) and heard it bottom out frequently?

 

[Brett_H]

Brett,

Nice name!

Nope, I can't recall running it to extremes. I haven't calibrated my system, but I live in an apartment with pretty crabby neighbors so I doubt I've ever even come close to bottoming it out. That's the weird thing: I don't think I abused it, so I was guessing that either it was bad from the factory or the evil previous owner beat it into submission for a week before returning it.

-Brett.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Brett,
LOL Thanks.. My parents gave it to me..
Yeah it is very possible that the previous owner who returned
it is the one who beat it into submission. And it is also
possible that the voice coil may have had a defect from the
factory.
Either way, I hope you can get some sort of resolve with your
situation.

 

[Geoff L]

Hi Brett, and what a bummer! :frowning:
Recently I was reading reviews at
www.AudioReview.com and remember reading that a guy replaced his Sony driver with a JL Audio Driver. In his post he stated that he loved the sound tighter & deeper if I remember correctly.
===========
The thing about the post, was he still had the origanal Sony driver in perfect condition, and was willing to sell it shipped anywhere in the USA for 60.00 bucks. I belive this was the amount?
===========
There are alot of Sony40 posts thier, but I belive his was one of the newer ones. ~{The post is definetly thier somewhere}~ So if your Sony sub is not covered, you might try a quick trip over thier and read a bit to find it and e-mail him.
Also if his driver is sold, maybe he can help with information on his JL choice.
Good luck, and hope Sony helps you out! If not, maybe the guy I mentioned can hook you up. Worth a try
Geoff

 

[Brett_H]

UPDATE:

It was still under warranty, so I took it in to a local repair shop yesterday. They claim 10-14 days "pending parts availability". I'll post again when I get it back...

-Brett.

 

[Brett_H]

UPDATE:

1/25

Parts (new driver) were supposedly ordered on 1/16. I'm still waiting...

Now I know why warranty work is free.

-Brett.

 

[Geoff L]

Though this idea could sound appealing and serve to fix YOUR problem, this kind of thing is one of many that continue to add to the costs of new up and coming equipment.
Someone, somewhere along the line, has to pay for this type of return proceedure. (A broken piece is not saleable, as B-stock, return, ect, it's broke period)
SO In the *END* the costs trickly down to (you and I) the fair consumer in one way shape or form!!!!
I at least, can not do the aformentioned IDEA...! Just a moral issue for me. It is just the wrong thing to do!!!!
I belive it's called fraud... Please correct me if Im wrong.....And the suggestion get a big from me...
Your mileage may vary, mine dosn't on this idea!

 

[keir]

wouldn't the manufacturer reimburse best buy? just as they would reimburse the repair center... best buy used to accept returns as long as the item was still under manufacturer's warranty, so i'm pretty sure that it makes little difference to them. plus best buy is satan and i dont care if they lose money. one of their employees tried to sell me a credit card because "she needed the cash for a trip the kansas city". their employees are always horribly trained kids.

 

[Jon_R]

Content Edited By Administrator

 

[ozric_smith]

My wife does that kinda stuff all the time!
I don't know if it's wrong, but I just can't do it myself.

 

[Dan_Jones]

I don't know if it's wrong, but I just can't do it myself.

It is fraud...and really only hurts the consumer in the end...but if you don't get caught you don't get caught!

Stores like Best Buy (which I worked at for a summer while off from College) should now be copying down serial numbers and comparing those to the returned items..although that normally never happens to do uninformed workers...they do preach workers to do it.

They're the toughest with returning open box stuff just so you know; check your receipt, there might be a serial number there.

 

[Jon_R]

Content Edited By Administrator

 

[Adam Barratt]

Any members continuing to advocate criminal or fraudulent actions will be permanently removed from this forum.

Adam Barratt

HTF Administrator

 

[Jon_R]

Doh!

:b

I got that message. The man has spoken and I have listened.

Your ballpark, your rules. I can live by that. Thanks for not ripping my account.

Jon

 

[Brett_H]

All,

I finally got it back! Let's see, that "5-10 days" in shop lingo translates to roughly 30 calenday days...

At least it's back, it's working, and the repair was covered under warranty.

-Brett.