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

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...

Post removed 

052rc,

Totally agree with you. I had a AMR-77.1 and the digital board went to crap. They couldn’t do anything to replace or fix the issue as I spoke to them in England. Will never buy another one of their products…..

"I went against my gut, and bought a pair of powered speakers."

Trust your gut. Whether it’s powered Chinese speakers or a downhill putt, One’s first read is usually the best.

Hope this doesn’t drag on too long for you.

The reality is that electronics die as do refrigerators and washing machines...and more and more, what used to be a "lifetime" of parts availability is now often less than 10 years.

You can buy passive speaker, but even then, it it has custom drivers there can be a risk.

Another Example:  you buy from a small company...maybe a handful of employees, no schematics and something happens to them or the company...now repairs are much more problematic.

But then again, risk is a part of everything and you just have to understand your tolerance....especially if you are going to stretch to buy something beyond your budget that may, in a rare circumstance, become a boat anchor.

I don't offer any solutions...who was it that said, "buyer beware"?