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Esoteric A100 Service Nightmare

My Esoteric A100 which has been stuck in a safety circuit mode after an electrical surge.  I have contacted the Esoteric Service department and the unit was shipped to TAP electronics in Buena Park CA.  I was contacted by the service department that the A100s cannot be serviced in the US and must be shipped to Japan due to a required tool that is only available in Japan.  What???  I was quoted a shipping charge in the thousands $ and that there is no guarantee that the unit is even salvageable.  The interaction with TAP electronics was a nightmare but its not relevant here.   A100 has essentially become an expensive paper weight.  I am disappointed and puzzled by the lack of adequate service support for a unit that sold for over $18,000.  Any thoughts or recommendation on addressing this unit?  I am ready to consider the unit dead and move on.  This is unfortunately a last resort plea before I drop this unit to recycling.


Regards

Frank

kimf70

Showing 4 responses by stereo5

stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,251 posts
 
You could ask the guys on the Esoteric Forum @ AudioAficionado.com
One of the members  may have already gone through this.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,251 posts
 
Thanks  hk_fan.  This would really suck if the guy can't get the amp fixed.  Why would they need a jig to take an amp apart?  I could see if it was for aligning a laser or something, but an amp?  IMO, any authorized Esoteric repair center should already have this special tool/jig to do repairs.  Back in the late70's, when I sold Accuphase electronics, we were forced to buy all their specialty tools in order to repair equipment that we sold in house.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,251 posts
 
I have a very expensive Esoteric SACD player that was built in 2008 and is hopefully my last SACD player. If I found out I couldn’t get my unit repaired, I would probably lose my mind or go postal on them.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,251 posts
 
@stringreen  ………………………….

I always try to buy American when I can as well, but do not ever forget that al LOT of American high end company's have closed or gone bankrupt over the years.    In this mans case, if it absolutely must go to Japan to be repaired, Esoteric being the large company that it is could afford to pay for shipping one way and the customer pay for the other.  I think that seems fair.
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