Bummer. I’ve had a similar experience with powered speakers. They sound great til the amps go and they always do in my experience. I’ve had passive speakers and separate amps that have been working for years and years without issues. Never again.
Goldenear….recent experience and lesson learned
Against better judgment, I bought a pair of GE Triton 3+’s new from my dealer about a year and a half ago for my home theater. I went against my gut, and bought a pair of powered speakers. Of course, last week one of the amps died. The speakers are still under warranty.
Reached out to my dealer, who called GE. Apparently GE no longer has replacement amps. I can remove the amp and send it in for repair, but no replacements are available. Pretty sh-ty. Nice job Paradigm (probably old news, put Paradigm now owns GE). Never been a Paradigm fan…and this just confirms my feelings.
Should have followed my gut and bought non-powered speakers and a separate sub instead of GE, Chinese assembled junk. Lesson learned!
Just a heads up for all you GE owners if/when you have amp issues.
Prior to buying any GE speakers, call Paradigm to confirm they will have parts in the future to support your purchase.
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I had very low cost powered Edifier speakers + Edifier powered sub, cost peanuts and in nearfield well optimized they are astoundingly good. I disliked them the first day without optimization and before buying the sub. Now i dont even need to dream about upgrading...I buy them few months ago... If they die this year i will be very angry, even if they cost me only 200 us bucks for the three speakers... But if they die in 3 or 4 years i will simply buy another set from Edifier or any other low cost brand.... I dont know about the life span of their gear pieces but they know how to match speakers and sub .... Optimization: Room acoustics, vibration/resonance control,tube pre-amplification+equalization, linear power supplies for all gear pieces,Filters and buffers for all gear pieces, galvanic isolation,DDC device + Foobar 2000 LCC (localization cue correction) component and graphic equalization component.Port hole of all three speakers modified and improved. (most company cannot design an optimal port hole because a tube or a bundle of tubes protruding from the box would be unesthetical even if the S.Q. will improve
There is no relation between a system at any price before and after his electrical,acoustical,and mechanical optimization ...It is why most reviewers impressions are at best half truths.... |
@sandrodg73 Thanks. Good to know.
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Simple fault finding first, have you checked the failure mode LED Status and behaviours.Completely dark, solid red/green, or flashing. Does the speaker makes a "pop" when powered on (suggesting the amp is trying to start) or if it is completely silent any burning smells or previous instances of the speaker cutting out. I know this is simple but the amp has quite alot of protections built in. So no led at all suggests the SMPS Swich mode power supply failure or blown internal fuse. If solid red led that suggests output stage (mosfets) or large capacitor failure. if the led just keeps flashing it suggests a DSP issue or a firmware issue even. That’s something local repair shops may not want to tackle. If it is in the power supply or output stage most shops could tackle that.A service manual or circuit diagram could help them but they are often difficult to get a hold of. I heard somewhere that GE had a flat fee system fir plate amp repairs but being a discontinued model spares may not be available. Its a tricky one, good luck with it. |
Not all powered speakers have issues. I have an Audiophile friend who bought a second hand pair of ATC SCM 50 ASL a decade ago and to me they sound as good as they did when he first got them and they were a few years old when he got them and they have a total of 6 amplifiers per pair, zero faults! I guess it does teach us we get what we pay for ATC have been around for over half a century. If I were in the market for Actives, they'd be first on my short list. I know that doesn't help the disgruntled GE owner, these are harsh lessons and I'd wager we've all had similar lessons on our journeys. |
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