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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.

jnc
12many
354 posts
 

OP, sorry this happened to you.  Everyone, what is the standard process with warranty wor?.  I thought it was typical to have warranty work performed by having the unit sent back to the manufacturer.  I don't expect them to send me part(s) and have me try this and that.  Lots of ways that could go sideways.  I think sending the amp in for repair is typical.  It's unfortunate to have the amp in the speaker, but that is the nature of powered speakers such that if anything breaks it is hard to ship the entire speaker back.  Part of my buying strategy considers if I can move the unit and ship it for repair or for re-sale.   

germay0653's avatar
germay0653
7 posts
 

Sorry to hear of your dilemma with GE and I've had Paradigm HT speakers for 22 years with not one problem and they're still going strong.  It's frustrating when you can't receive the service you deserve and it's pretty crappy that they no longer can replace the entire amp but can only repair it.  Not the greatest customer service.

invalid
1,371 posts
 

Most high end audio amplifiers have to be sent back to the manufacturer or an approved repair facility even if they are separate from the speakers.

mlsstl
1,574 posts
 

Just offering a possible explanation concerning the unavailability of a replacement amp and the need for factory repair -- a product like this probably uses an off-the-shelf power amp module.  Combine that with the current trend in manufacturing for "just in time" raw materials and parts -- a production facility works with their suppliers to have parts delivered as-needed rather than having single big shipments of parts with the manufacturer having to store them as they draw down from their own warehouse supply. 

Now, say that the amp supplier discontinues that model and brings out a new one.  That's not an uncommon issue for manufacturers using a standard part from another supplier.  The new amp may be electrically as good, or better, than the discontinued model. However, it may no longer be an easy physical fit for the speaker.  As such, switching out the old amp for the new one may no longer be a simple swap that a customer could do. 

Just a thought...

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