I'm Done With Emotiva

[Mr Peabody]

Am I looking at this wrong? In a single purchase I bought two of Emotiva's original 12" subs, one goes bad in about a week, I decide that in the application one is probably fine and just get my money back on the bad one, a short time ago the second sub goes bad, I call Emo to see what to do to get it fixed, they tell me I have to purchase a box from them and ship the sub back. I didn't have room to store a box that size to keep the one it came in. So first of all in a sub you have basically 3 pieces, a driver, an amp and a box, why do I have to ship the entire thing back? If I decided to do that I would be out the money for the box plus shipping which is not cheap, I'd guess over $75.00 at least. Keep in mind two subs both gone bad, if I did put out the expense to have the sub fixed who knows how long it would work, I'm thinking cut my loss now but I will never buy from them again. Emo and I both know it has to be the amp they could just ship me one and have me return the bad one. And, why does it have to be shipped in their particular box as long as it is packed well? I couldn't store my Zu boxes, when I sold them my UPS guy boxed and shipped them for me and they arrived perfect all the way to the West coast. I feel Emo is being unreasonable, I hate to think they are just trying to avoid honoring the warranty but on the other hand no other manufacturer I know of or dealt with has this type of restrictions. So I am done with them, don't recommend them, won't buy from them.

[Feanor]

Thanks for letting us know your experience. Yes, I think Emotiva -- and lots of other companies -- make up these policies to discourage returns.

It's probably pretty common, though, that people return products without adequate packing, especially stuff they consider broken. I've received a number of purchase items that were damaged in transit due to insufficient packing.

[Hyfi]

I have been patiently waiting for some time to go by to see how this gear actually holds up. Sounds like the breakdown may be starting.

[Mr Peabody]

I should have done this sooner after it broke but last night I went out to the Emo forums, I noticed the new subs are having issues as well but what was interesting is one guy posted Emo sent him a plate amp, so I emailed Emo again and told them I wanted the same courtesy, so we will see what happens.

[JohnMichael]

Krell also prefers products to be sent back in the original boxes or in one purchased from them. Their double box system plus foam packing holds up well for multiple ships. I hope to not need those boxes again.

[E-Stat]

Am I looking at this wrong?
Sorry to hear of your bad experience.

Mine is the polar opposite. About a year ago, I purchased a UMC-1 processor and an XPA-5 amp and have enjoyed trouble-free service. I have had to update the firmware on the processor once, but that really wasn't a hardware failure and required downloading a software patch. I spent about the same for them as I had nine years earlier for a NAD T-763 receiver.

I might hesitate buying a speaker from them based on your post!

[blackraven]

Parasound requires that you send back their amplifiers in the original box. I had a relay go bad in my A21 and Parasound sent me a new shipping box for free along with a free Parsound long sleeve T-shirt for my troubles. They were great to deal with and I got my amp back in 2 weeks.

[Hyfi]

I keep all my original boxes, and until a short time ago I still had the box for my sub. It would not fit through the Attic drop steps so it was in my way in the garage for years. Sub boxes are the hardest to store and get where you want them.

I don't have the boxes for my VAC or Counterpoint since they were second hand. When Alta Vista was still in business doing mods, if you sent the amp in it had to be in one of their wooden crates or built to their plans. Luckily I have RBH Sound Dezign a mile away for repair and mods.

[cyto]

I thought I would chime in as I have two Emo subs and an ERC-1. I also live 25 miles from the Emo headquarters and have dealt with them quite a bit.

In their defense, they do tell you to save the original box in case of returns. It has to do with proper packing on return, not getting out of a warranty claim. A 40 pound subwoofer or amp will get banged up in shipping.

I don't know if it is the same issue but they did have a batch of bad capacitors that ended up in some of the subs. I had one of mine go out for that reason. Because I was local and dropped the sub off they told me not to worry about boxing it. They had it fixed in two hours.

I guess my point is that if you are going to buy something online with a 5 year warranty that has to be shipped for repair, and the company requires proprietary packing, you should keep the original box. I know it can be inconvenient but it covers you and them. If you can't keep the packing you may want to buy at a brick and mortar store, but you won't get gear at the same price.

IMHO Big Dan and the folks at Emotiva are good people who care about and stand behind their products.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I have had nothing but good luck using Emotiva amps. I don't know if I would buy their processors or speakers, but their amps are crazy good for the price.

[GMichael]

They might be willing to ship you just a replacement amp and then you could return yours in the box it comes in. They probably would want to charge your card until they receive your defective amp back though.

[Mr Peabody]

I did get a RMA# to ship the plate amp back, the driver in the sub looks nice, hopefully I'll get it off in the mail tomorrow. I suspect they were getting so many subs back they decided to accept just the plate amp, shipping a full sub back to a customer wasn't cheap for them either.

[winston]

I did get a RMA# to ship the plate amp back, the driver in the sub looks nice, hopefully I'll get it off in the mail tomorrow. I suspect they were getting so many subs back they decided to accept just the plate amp, shipping a full sub back to a customer wasn't cheap for them either.

good deal Mr P, I was thinking that they would allow you to returned the plate amp alone, good luck with the one they returned to ya

I always broke all my boxes down until I no longer need them, doing it that way makes it easy to store away:)

[Mr Peabody]

Now that, my man is a helpful suggestion, it's like, duh, why didn't I think of that :). Some boxes are pretty thick but still probably could be broke down carefully. What do you do with the custome packing? I was thinking maybe put it in a bag and taping to the box or tagging it.


good deal Mr P, I was thinking that they would allow you to returned the plate amp alone, good luck with the one they returned to ya

I always broke all my boxes down until I no longer need them, doing it that way makes it easy to store away:)

[frenchmon]

Now that, my man is a helpful suggestion, it's like, duh, why didn't I think of that :). Some boxes are pretty thick but still probably could be broke down carefully. What do you do with the custome packing? I was thinking maybe put it in a bag and taping to the box or tagging it.

Glad to see you got that taken care of Peabody....I know how much you need your bass fix!:)

[Mr Peabody]

Yep, sometimes you need that BOOM...BOOM....BOOM! :)

[BadAssJazz]

I have had nothing but good luck using Emotiva amps. I don't know if I would buy their processors or speakers, but their amps are crazy good for the price.

Agreed, while I no longer own any of my Emotiva amps, I've had nothing but good things to say about them. I don't know that I would ever purchase their processors, speakers or other gear though.

[TheHills44060]

I have quite the opposite opinion about their amps. Cheap price, cheap looks, poor performance and poor reliability.

[Mr Peabody]

I got a box from Emo Friday but haven't had time to deal with it, I'm assuming it's the plate amp.

I know Ajani had issues with an Emo DAC but didn't he also have a problem with the Emo amp he bought? Any one know what happen to him?

[Feanor]

I got a box from Emo Friday but haven't had time to deal with it, I'm assuming it's the plate amp.

I know Ajani had issues with an Emo DAC but didn't he also have a problem with the Emo amp he bought? Any one know what happen to him?
I'm not sure about the Emo amp, but Ajani resigned from AR on account of relentless personal insults from another member that the moderators refused to delete or redact. That was back at the end of January. Per his request, at the time I posted the content of an personal email he send me.

[manlystanley]

Bummer, Mr. P. My XPA-2 has held up good. Or at least I hope it has. It's still is boxed up.


Best Regards,
Stan

[Mr Peabody]

What's up Stan? What is this, you might be a red neck if you buy stereo gear and keep it in the box? LOL

[TheHills44060]

I know Ajani had issues with an Emo DAC but didn't he also have a problem with the Emo amp he bought? Any one know what happen to him?
Yeah he definitely had issues with the amp. I remember him being upset because the cost to ship back the amp from where he's at would be outrageous.

[bobfel]

Hello everyone this is my first post and I hope it wouldn't be the last: that is what I think of emotiva subwoofer sub par, not only the subwoofer but also the ERC-2, I have, ERC-2 delivered Dec.28,2012 if I not mistaken or around that time, by February 2013 it went up in smoke, the support is very prompt in sending me a replacement power supply I have to bring it to the certified technician to have it installed, it worked fine until last July 2013 , after 16 mos. the Power supply went up in smoke again, I called support and they said it is due to static electricity, WHAT! in July? nonetheless they told me to ship it back to them, BTW I live in Ontario, Canada. and the cost to ship to USA is not cheap. I think I will just keep this as a bad experience, another product is a subwoofer Ultra 10, just a few months after I purchase it went bad, they sent me a capacitor and told me to replace it so I went to the technician again and he replaced it. after a few days it went bad, they sent me another capacitor, it worked for a few months, now it died again. and they wanted to ship the sub plate for repair or replacement. no more Emotiva for me, at least my emotive preamp is still working.

[blackraven]

There is a reason why they can sell their gear at bargain prices.

[TheHills44060]

Hit the nail on the head there Raven

[allthatjazz]

Hit the nail on the head there Raven

Sure did!!! Cut out the middle man who doesn't have anything in stock and can't do warranty work on a product with a five year warranty.

Good luck trashing the Emotiva brand, especially the xpa's and xpr's, great amps and no doubt about it.

I wonder if the OP is still done with Emo after they repaired his plate amp under warranty. Was he still whining after that? I don't remember. Is he done?

ATJ

[Mr Peabody]

Yes, I'm still done with Emotiva and if you didn't have your head in the sand you'd realize they have an on going quality control issue and any money saved would soon be eaten up in shipping and monkeying around with the stuff. I have to wonder if some of you aren't Emo employees as it seems most audio websites have a Emo fanboy designated to push the stuff and distort the truth.

[harley .guy07]

You know this reminds me of a friend of mine that owned a jaguar back a few years ago. He loved driving the car and it performed well but he complained because it seemed every month it was in the shop for a repair. he finally after a year gave up and traded it off for a something else with better reliability.

the point I am getting at here is that I am not going to say that their gear does not sound good and I know their amps are very powerful and good for the money but after hearing all these people having issues with their Emo gear it would seem that there quality control policies are not up to par. Their gear can be the best sounding thing around in the price class and above but people will eventually tire of the reliability issues since they seem to be wide spread. There is no excuse for power supplies to blow in solid state electronics that quickly. I still have a Yamaha receiver from the mid 90's in my garage that has never had an issue and it is out is a garage with no climate control!! I would say to the people still defending them that if you have not had issues with Emotiva than that is fine but you cannot deny the obvious that the reliability issues are very wide spread, Not a good QC policy.

[Hyfi]

My Odyssey Straotos has worked flawless for over 15 years. My invoice is lacking a date so I think it is closer to 20. The one thing that went in all these years is the LED behind the glass panel.

Some of the best $1300 I spent on audio gear.

[harley .guy07]

My Odyssey Straotos has worked flawless for over 15 years. My invoice is lacking a date so I think it is closer to 20. The one thing that went in all these years is the LED behind the glass panel.

Some of the best $1300 I spent on audio gear.

yeah I have some brands that have been that way for me as well. I have a Adcom 545 series II that I bought brand new in 95 that still works flawlessly and now powers my rear speakers in my system. I used it as my main amp for years before getting my Pass. I see emotive as some good looking gear but I think their prices being lower than most of the competition lets you know where they save their money in manufacturing the pieces, in the QC. Real good QC from a manufacturer whether it is them making it or a company in China making the products for them it is expensive for good quality control. I doubt that they would be able to sell their products for the prices they do if they had a quality control f setup like Pass labs or Dynaudio. Even though they still have a following the quality issues will start to effect their popularity at some point. It happens with every company with quality issues. you have to have people buy your products when you start as a company, but you must make a good enough product for those people to come back for more and tell there friends to buy them. that's what keeps a company going!!