2. digital
  3. 1097329838

First time for this, opinions please.

Greetings,
I have been buying and selling on A'Gon fo almost 4 years, over 160 transactions. Not a hitch until a local transaction yesterday. I sold a CD player (Rega Jupiter) to a member who lives in my city, so no shipping involved. He came over to my house, listened to player, liked it, bought it and took it home. Later that afternoon he called and said CD player would not power up. Strange as it worked for him for awhile until he changed powercords. After some discussion of checking this or that, it was determined that powercord was changed while on/off switch was still on. At this point I said there's the problem, switching powercords with power still on likely blew a fuse or some other trip device. He did not totally agree, but said it must be an explanation. At this point I must add, said member does not hold me responsible in any way. He was just seeking my advice as to whether I have ever had any trouble of this sort.
My question is twofold:
1. Do you think changing powercords while player is powered up could cause this (I do).
2. Do you think I have any obligation to help at this point? Once again, buyer is not holding me responsible, but I have been worried about this all night. I really feel bad , as this is not a small purchase for him.
Thanks in advance,
Dan
muzikat
shasta
155 posts
 
If you provided the instruction manual, and the buyer read it, hopefully there was a warning in there that pulling the plug *may be a Bad Thing. I'd be really surprised if it actually caused damage. IME, this is more likely w/ equipment that has, as mentioned, microprocessors. Typically, even when switched "off", there is still a sleeper circuit that stays on to maintain memory functions, settings, presets, and for VCR's a space heater to keep the interior warm and dry. Looking at schematics for amps and preamps, they may be a little more tolerant of hard shutdowns, but even then, they may have a warmup delay to prevent DC thumps through the system.

The McCormack UDP-1 has a front standby switch, and they warn against pulling the plug before going to the standby position. The Parasound T3 tuner, doesn't have a standby switch, but even after powering down, can be very cranky about swapping cords; losing it's display and memory.

RTFM, dummy, is still as valid as ever...
ellery911
549 posts
 
I know nothing about the reason that this could happen, but I think that it is very honorable for you to show sympathy for the buyer. I know that I would feel bad...(but not necessarily guilty)...and would assist the person in getting the repairs done...how much your financial contribution is to resolving the matter is something that you have to decide. If the repairs weren't very expensive, I would probably offer to split the cost...but once again...the cost of repairs to audio gear is something of which I know even less than the cause of the problem. If the repairs were very expensive I might offer a little "sympathy" cash subsidization...but taking full responsibility on your shoulders?...I don't think you need to go that far.

just my 2c

Ellery
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
Is there a problem with the new power cord? Sometimes, the EIA connection at the unit may be a tad loose, preventing the unit from getting power. Try another power cord, just to be sure. If not, turn the power switch off. Let the player sit for 5 minutes. Unplug the power cord. Let the unit sit for 15 minuets. Replug the power cord. Let the unit sit for 5 minutes. Turn the power switch on. Sometimes this will recycle the microprocessors. If this doesn't work, the next step is to locate the internal fuses, and check and replace if necessary
elinor's avatar
elinor
275 posts
 
Just email Rega and ask the question. They will probably indicate that he should never have changed the PC when player was engaged. You don't owe him anything if that is their answer.
muzikat OP
934 posts
 
Thanks for all your responses. I have talked with the buyer and agreed to pay half for repairs. He probably won't let me, but the offer is there.
He is going to ship the unit to Rega. I will be in touch with him to find out the results.
Cheers!
Dan
More to discover