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In Reply to: RE: Cary service posted by rws on November 16, 2014 at 16:00:10
In another thread, I had alerted the OP to issues I have had with three different pieces of Cary gear I had purchased all brand new (one with repeat QC problems), all either within the warranty period or shortly thereafter. They were not newly introduced models, but established models in their lineup. In any case, the nature of the problems I had would be unrelated to any consideration of how newly introduced any model might be.I was reporting on my personal experiences, and part of that personal experience is my opinion that trying to enlist Cary warranty coverage is difficult at best, which to this day I find most frustrating. Now, so none of you think I make a career out of grousing, let me say that I also own some Parasound gear that I have needed the company’s assistance with, and there is simply no comparison. Parasound customer support was quite good, while Cary’s pales in comparison, again, in my experience.
I had mentioned to the OP that if he is thinking of a piece of used Cary gear, that he may wish to consider that since he previously (in the other thread) mentioned that he has budget limitations, that the cost of the 300B tubes plus the cost of Cary factory service, which can be quite high (just have a look), may be an issue for him. Based upon QC issues I have had even after sending my SLI-80 in to Cary two or three times, I will opt to work on it myself, going forward.
Edits: 11/17/14Follow Ups:
Hello,
I am the OP that Peter referred to. I appreciate those who shared experiences and opinions, I had kind of set amount of money I thought I would spend on a amp. The Cary amps I have seen looked very good and I have seen many positive comments. I was merely asking to try and be informed if I decided to pursue the Cary and stretch my budget. I tend to ask questions which I believe is usually a good thing.
Thank You all
There's good luck and bad luck. I've been using a Cary SLI-80 amp and a 308T CD player (both purchased new) since 2003 or 2004 without any problems. I sometimes send enquiries to Cary re tubes, caps, etc. and always receive competent answers.
How long ago was it that you had your bad Cary experiences?
One piece was purchased new in early 2008. A problem occurred not long out of warranty, or, at least what I believed to be the end of the factory warranty.Second piece purchased new in early 2011. Series of problems from the first day. The amp eventually needed at least two trips to Cary during the following two years (during which time it blew up a power tube and rendered the whole quad useless as replacements were not available). Even after that, I found yet another QC problem that I just took care of myself. It seems to be stable since the last service call in early 2013 and sounds great after some tube rolling and changing speaker wire. I wouldn’t have any reservations about selling it to anyone as a perfectly good amplifier now (though I do not presently have any plans to sell it). But, what I had to endure to get to this point was ridiculous.
Around 2011/2012, I spoke with a trusted and informed individual in my area about a set of problems in my Cary, after which he reported to me that he looked and found a similar problem with a Cary piece he had. I cannot absolutely confirm this, but I believe him.
I purchased a third piece of Cary gear this year, 2014 that had an issue right out of the box that, IMO, Cary really did not take responsibility for (the dealer ended up eating it, which was just wrong), and I found a second problem shortly thereafter.
There was a lot more involved in these events that I’d rather not go into. I will say that at one point I had to obtain the assistance of a consumer advocacy group in North Carolina, which caused a change of heart in Cary management, apparently, or at least for that one particular issue.
The only reason I put up with all this is because I am a DIY’er and expect I should be able to deal with out-of-warranty problems myself, going forward. Warranty claims, on the other hand, will be something that I expect will be an ongoing wrestling match, based upon my prior experiences. Don’t get me wrong, the tech down there seems to be a really nice guy, but I don’t think he makes the decisions as to whether they take something in under warranty or not, or how much spin his bosses employ to avoid warranty responsibility.
Does everyone know how Cary warranty works these days, by the way? I mention this only as a related point of interest, because it was not really involved in my issues. The last time I inquired, it was my understanding that Cary warranty now begins counting down from the date of original purchase - not by you and me, the end-users, but by whoever initially makes the purchase, i.e., a stocking dealer. In other words, if you go to a Cary dealer and he has a piece of new, factory-sealed Cary gear that has been sitting in his stockroom for a period of time longer than the warranty duration, then whoever buys it gets no factory warranty. If it was on the dealer's shelf for half the time of the warranty duration, then whoever buys it gets half of the factory warranty duration. All statements I have made here are true to the best of my knowledge and understanding.
Edits: 11/17/14 02/03/15 02/03/15
Thank you for posting your experience.
Well, maybe it's not the same Cary Audio it used to be. Dennis Had officially left Cary Audio in 2009. Prior to that, I know that Cary was a very easy company to deal with and had excellent customer service on equipment even out of warranty.
Maybe that's changed over the years.
Hmm, looks like they've moved. They were in Cary NC, then moved to Apex while Dennis was still in charge, but now I see that they are in Raleigh.
They fancied up their website and even have a Cary Direct Store, but I can't see buying Cary gear at full retail especially when the company has a history of discounting new gear at 30% or more. Maybe they're trying to shed that image but new Cary gear never sold at anywhere approaching MSRP.
Thanks! for sharing. It is important for all of us to report both positive & negative experiences when dealing w/ these companies!
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