Velodyne DLS-3750R subwoofer won't turn on; possible causes? (1 Viewer)

[Phil Carter]

Hi folks.
I have a Velodyne DLS-3750R subwoofer which I've been fairly happy with for the past two years. Until I started watching "Tron: Legacy" today and found I wasn't getting any bass response. I looked at the sub's front panel and the LED "power" light was off. I checked the power switch at the back and it was still in the "on" position. I flipped it to "off" and back on again and there was no change. Still no light and no sound. I tested the wall power jack and it works fine when a different device (desk lamp) is plugged into it. I swapped out the AC power cable running to the sub and power cycled the unit again; still no lights and no sound.
So I thought maybe the physical settings on the unit might have gotten changed somehow. I checked the back panel. The "Low-Pass Crossover" knob is still turned all the way left, to "Direct". The "Auto On/Off" switch is still set to "Active". I toggled it to "Inactive" and back with no change. The interconnect cable is still plugged firmly into the "LFE In" input jack. I checked the other end of the interconnect cable and it's still plugged firmly into the "SW Pre Out" jack on my receiver.
I pulled my old Mirage subwoofer out of the closet, plugged it into the wall and plugged the interconnect into its "LFE In" input jack. It immediately powered up and began providing bass, so I know I'm getting a good signal from the receiver and the interconnect cable is good.
So it starts to look like the sub itself has failed in some way. Power supply? AC connector plug at the back? Something simple? Or is this likely to be a pricey problem to fix? The unit's two-year warranty expired (of course) three months ago, and there are no Velodyne authorized repair centers within a couple hundred miles of me (I'm in Austin, TX).
Any ideas? My next step will be to call Velodyne for any suggestions they might have, but I've always trusted you folk, so I thought I'd ask here too.
cheers,
Phil

 

[Phil Carter]

Seemed like it was likely to be the power supply to me as well (that's the same kind of behavior you'd get with a failed PS on a computer, which is the kind of hardware I'm a lot more familiar with).
Not sure I'm keen to spend the shipping costs on something weighing that much when I only paid $499 for it originally. I may be better off going with a new SVS sub. Lord knows I've heard enough good things about them on this forum.
Thanks for the reply!
cheers,
Phil

 

[schan1269]

You could remove the amp(it has to come out anyway)...
1. Find another on Ebay(maybe)
2. Bypass that amp and run off another amplifier...
Such as...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jamo-MPA-101-Multi-Purpose-Amplifier-/230840225735?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item35bf264fc7 (one option of many)

 

[Phil Carter]

Weirdly enough, Velodyne Support has told me the unit is still under warranty. The product manual says its warranty runs for 2 years, but Support says it's three. So they're sending me an RMA request form and it looks like the warranty will take care of it.
Thanks for the suggestion, Sam -- it looks like I'll be sending the amp back to them.
Phil

 

[schan1269]

Plate amps suck. In my opinion, the "mounted to the sub" amp was the worst idea in history...
I'd ask them how much for another one you so can have a spare for the day when the repaired one fails.

 

[Phil Carter]

If it comes to THAT, then I'm likely going to pick up a better constructed sub (say, from SVS).
Thanks,
Phil

 

[schan1269]

Better constructed has nothing to do with "how long the plate amp survives."
Go to any forum you wish (AVS for example) and type in...
"X(Lava, SVS, Klipsch, BIC, Velodyne whatever...) subwoofer amp has died"
Edit:
By the way, Hsu(or is it HSU???) gives you the option(on a few subs) as to plate amp or outside.