The BHK Preamp started acting up. When powering on, it goes back and forth between a fast and slow blink. After it finally powers on, the volume is erratic in response with both the remote and the volume knob. Sometimes I will tap the remote three or four times, and then the amplifier responds 10 or fifteen seconds later. Sometimes it doesn’t respond at all. Same with the volume knob.
Spoke with PS Audio and it has to go back. This is frustrating in itself because I already had to send the BHK 250 power amp back, and weighing 100 lbs, that was no fun.
PS Audio provides great support, but I should not have to pay the shipping charges to send this back. With insurance it is going to cost a lot of money to ship this back to Colorado, and I am absolutely certain PS Audio has a corporate account with FedEx or UPS that would make it much, much cheaper to ship.
PS Audio should provide a prepaid shipping label for this return for repair. The unit is only one year old.
The RMA number for this return is 513064 if someone at PS Audio sees fit to do something about this.
PS Audio made good on this. They are going to pay for the return shipping, however, with some reluctance. There shouldn’t be any question about it. If an expensive piece of audio gear like this is defective and still under warranty, they should automatically cover all repair expenses, including shipping. Especially since they already have the history of return repair issues with my BHK 250.
It’s very accommodating that PS Audio has agreed to cover your return shipping cost, but in fairness it should be noted that it’s most common in the industry when warranty work is needed the customer covers their return shipping cost and the repaired unit is then shipped back at the company’s expense.
Then what is common in the industry is obviously not fair to the consumer. I already have thousands of dollars invested in PS Audio. I will not continue paying exorbitant shipping charges because their equipment keeps failing.
How long have you had the pre-amp? If only for a week or two I would say yes it would be nice for PSA to pickup up the tab. If it was 11 months old then I wouldn’t agree.
@audio.bill is right, warranty claim conditions on just about anything - except for DOA - requires returning the product to the place of purchase. If that’s your local dealer around the corner, easy. If it’s in a different state, or a different country, tough luck on that, you need to be aware of that at time of purchase and be prepared to wear the cost of the shipping to get it back to them should a warranty claim arise. That’s the way warranty works for just about everything, everywhere.
@mark-anderson961 for something that is a year old when a warranty claim then arises, it was mighty generous of PS Audio to cover the shipping both ways. In the past they have also done that for me, but that was for DOA products. Which is fair enough. All the other times I’ve had stuff break down I’ve paid for 1-way shipping. And I knew that would be the case when I bought whatever it was, and I never had an issue with it. It’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
And as for preferential shipping rates for account holders, don’t be so sure about that. PS Audio (and others) have quoted me FedEx account holder shipping rates in the past and I’ve baulked at the number and found better rates elsewhere.
Buy from your local dealer and just drop it off for them to deal with should it ever break down. It’s the dealer obligation to deal with it, and their effort to do this was built into the price you paid them for it.
Thanks for the input. You all make valid points. PS Audio is taking care of it, so I’ll let it go at that. I just do not have confidence in this equipment now that both units have failed at about the one year point. However, to its credit, the audio quality is undeniable.
PS Audio makes great music, but I have had some service needs on my components. I had a Power Plant Premier crash completely right after purchasing it from an authorized dealer, and a PWT screen fail after it started losing pixels. Warranty covered repairs. My understanding is PS Audio will cover shipping if you call and request it. I also did a beta test on the LAN Rover. I sent it back since it wouldn’t work for my application.
As far as durability / reliability, my Wyred4Sound gear (preamp and multi-channel amp) has been absolutely solid. Oppos don’t break often either. Love my P5 and P12 power plants, Quintessence conditioner, and Direct Stream Junior…
I had to send a Marantz sr8012 AVR in for service.The FIRST return I had to pay for $95.00 UPS. For the second repair, my dealer contacted the service center and the center emailed me a prepaid return label. That saved me $95.00. The unit has a 3yr warranty. Perhaps PS Audio has a similar procedure in place?
I apologize for a bad choice of words. There was no reluctance and I had a pre-paid label within minutes of responding to the initial RMA email. It was the continued mention of the company policy that “customers normally pay for the return shipment” which made me a bit uncomfortable, but there was no reluctance and PS Audio was very quick to offer excellent customer service.
In fact, PS Audio has always provided superior customer service. I spent a lot of time on the phone troubleshooting the BHK 250 with your support personnel before we all decided it needed to be returned. In the distant past, PS Audio has also performed repairs free of charge for equipment that was out of warranty and NOT purchased through an authorized dealer. I don’t know of any other company that would have done this. PS Audio has impeccable customer service.
On a side note, I realize I was a bit emotional when I started this thread, but this preamp started failing on almost the very first day of my two week vacation. Although coincidental, it certainly has been a bummer. The unit still works, it just takes a while to get the volume to move in either direction, and it seems to do much better after it has warmed up for a couple hours. I need to make a note of this when I send it back. I am going to ship it at the end of this coming week.
Many thanks to you and your staff. The BHK 250 has worked flawlessly since it was repaired. I am hoping for the same with the preamp.
One of the problems is skyrocketing shipping charges which I certainly do not understand. Gas is about $2.00 a gallon here right now. I sold a couple microphones a few months ago and two small boxes cost $35.00 to ship.