Frustrated with Harman Kardon!

[GMichael]

Sony has gone from being a great company to being a big stinking pile of poop. I had a sony CD changer, which worked okay. But when i found out that I was at the end of the 90 day warranty (90 days???) i boxed it up and sold it on ebay the next day. I was motivated to do this after reading complaints about sony's customer support.

Although HK's disc players seem to be a little flaky, atleat i have something to fall back on

It worked OK? Weren't taking any chances huh?

[bjornb17]

It worked OK? Weren't taking any chances huh?

well there was nothing wrong with it but i didnt want to be stuck with a paperweight It's pretty rare for me to keep products beyond their waranty period (blame upgrade bug for that). Also compared to the FL8385 (when using analog jacks), the sound seemed a bit thin and stuffy.

[bjornb17]

I just got an email back from Harman Kardon. They said that they've been having problems with some batches of these units, and they will continue to provide free warantee work or replacements for it for as long as i own it. That is good customer service

BTW, i'm getting a new (well, remanufactured anyway) AVR230 in the mail from them today. It is for my dad, but if i like it i might get one as well (so i can use the preouts for separate amps in the future).

[GMichael]

I just got an email back from Harman Kardon. They said that they've been having problems with some batches of these units, and they will continue to provide free warantee work or replacements for it for as long as i own it. That is good customer service

BTW, i'm getting a new (well, remanufactured anyway) AVR230 in the mail from them today. It is for my dad, but if i like it i might get one as well (so i can use the preouts for separate amps in the future).

That is very cool. Not that they are having problems, but that they are taking care of them for you.

[Eric Z]

Great news about how HK is handling your situation! I always like to hear positive customer experiences.

I think electronics are a crapshoot these days- I never bought the extended warranty, but think about it more and more now when I buy something new- I still don't buy it, just think about it.

However, some extended warranties are pretty good these days. For example, I purchased a dig cam over Christmas and BB offered an extended warranty for $20 which covered everything for 3 years- even if I drop the darn thing- they said they would replace it if it can't be fixed. I still didn't get it- I better not drop it now

I've been fortunate with a lot of my electronics- I have a 7 year old Sony DVD player that works better than any of my other ones- unfortunately, it doesn't play other formats of CDs/DVDs. I think EG hit it on the head, DVD players just aren't made that well these days- something goofy happens inside after a year or so (as you can see, I'm not to technical with the guts of a DVD player ).

[bjornb17]

LOL you are totally right.

My dad has a Sony receiver that he bought right when got back from Vietnam... around 1969 or 1970, and it works perfectly. It can also play ear-bleedingly loud, even though its rated for only 10 WPC i think. It sounds much better than his Sony receiver that is only a couple years old (and is being replaced with the AVR230 today )

Also, he has a Sony CD changer that he bought in the mid 90s right as CDs began to become mainstream, and it has had 0 issues. Same can be said for his tape deck which is about 25 years old. I've noticed that his older electronics tend to weigh a lot more too, i guess they were just built more ruggedly.

[kexodusc]

Some companies still build incredibly durable electronics, others choose to give up a bit of durability for features and performance. Everything costs money. I don't think any brand excels so much in one are over another compared to its competitors that it becomes the definitive brand for people looking for characterstic X.

Sooner or later everyone builds a lemon....the real test is in how they deal with their customers after. Looks like H/K is treating you right, and standing behind their product. Kudos to them.
You now have a lifetime warranty. Not bad.