I had a Proceed PAV pre/pro, I bought it a year ago when I first decided to try home theater, because I felt it did 2 channel better than any pre/pro I'd heard for under $1500. When Sony came out with their new line of DVD players that also do multi-channel SACD, I decided it was time to give them a try. I tried to decide between going to an Anthem AVM-2 or sending my PAV to MSB Technologies to add a 5.1 analog input. I choose the latter after listening to the Anthem, I felt the PAV was still better in 2 channel. 80% of my listening is still 2 channel. BIG MISTAKE!
MSB charges $385 to add a DB-25 5.1 analog input, plus $95 for the cable. They had my unit for 3 weeks. The first thing I noticed was that the DB-25 connector on the cable wouldn't line up with the input connector on the back of the unit. It was obvious the cutout was too small, and the backplate was bending one of the pegs, so the thumbscrews wouldn't line up. Upon listening, I noticed that there was no subwoofer signal. I had a 5.0 upgrade, not a 5.1 upgrade. I bought a different cable (Monster), because I didn't want to ship it back if it was just a bad cable. No luck. After several e-mails and phone calls, I paid again to ship the unit to MSB. They sat on it for 5 weeks until I got it back, they claimed they found nothing wrong. They claimed 4 people checked it out and found nothing wrong.
So they shipped it back, saying it must be a setup problem.
This time, upon receipt, the first thing I noticed were 2 screws laying in the bottom of the box. Upon turning the unit over, I saw 2 more screws hanging from a thread on the bottom plate. I tightened up the 2 screws, put the 2 from the box back in, and noticed 3 more screws were missing. I hooked it up, same results, no sub signal.
I called MSB 3 times and spent 45 minutes troubleshooting over the phone. They convinced me the problem was the sub output of my new Sony DVP-NS900V. I was bummed thinking now I had to get my DVD player fixed. The next day, I decided to call my friend, who had a Sony 650 hooked up through the DB-25 input on his Aragon Soundstage. I tried his, same problem, no sub signal. Now I'm ticked! I e-mailed MSB, they want me to either pay to send the unit back again, or pay to make more phone calls to them, so they can play some more. They proceeded to promise that no one at their facility took the cover off. They told me of 9 tests that they ran, none of which used a DB-25 connector, or they would have had to notice the connectors wouldn't mate. Even though I told them about this in an e-mail, before I shipped it back for the second (5 week ) stay.
At this point, I have no confidence in their ability to troubleshoot or fix the problem. The can't make the DB-25 connector work, even with being told to look for it. After 4 people looked at it for 5 weeks, I was told that no one 'noticed' it. So it's obvious that even though they install a DB-25 connector, they don't use one to test the unit. Their denying taking the plate off really bothered me, it showed me that MSB has no idea what goes on under their roof.
I asked for my money back, they told me they would only consider it if I sent it back for them to look at again. After spending the better part of 3 months with no pre/pro, and paying for the upgrade, phone calls and shipping (twice), I thought it best to cut my losses and trade the unit in for a stereo preamp. I really didn't see the point of paying to send the unit out for them to 'play' with for another month or two. They had it for 8 weeks, didn't notice the bent peg, didn't notice the cover being taken off, what a waste.
I've heard people claim that MSB processors are good, but I would highly recommend against anyone wasting money on their 'upgrade' projects. Their customer service was exceptionally poor. The worst I've seen in my 25 years in this hobby.
Thanks for reading my rant. I give up on HT, back to stereo.
John |
