ADA8000 faulty, can I try and return it? (ebay)

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mattr

mattr

Resident moody teenager
I purchased a working Behringer ADA8000 off ebay around 3 weeks ago. When I got it I tested that it powered on and that each mic preamp worked, then racked it up and forgot about it.

Went to use it properly for the first time last night (for a live recording) and the fuse went. I changed the fuse for a new one of the same rating and it worked for 5 mins, then died again and refused to be resurrected again. It was connected to the same surge-protector/power-conditioner PDU as my Motu unit (which showed no signs of there being anything up with the power supply) so I don't think I was at fault with how I had it connected.

Obviously last night I was royally p*ssed off so I decided to leave it in case I just made things worse. This morning I cracked the case open and had a peek inside and there is nothing obviously burnt out (although one diode looks a bit suspicious and there's a faint lingering smell of burning electronics).

I've sent a polite email to the seller about the situation (but I haven't directly said I would like to return it). Do you think I can kick up a fuss and demand to return it for a refund, even though it failed under my use? How can I prove that I did nothing wrong?

Or do I have no basis for a complaint and so stuck with a £150 brick which I can prod with a soldering iron with hope? I'm really quite skint at the moment and so its very disheartening just to have something crap up on me like that.
 
could just be (un)luck of the draw. If the unit looked and worked fine when you got it, how can it be the last users fault?

i dont think you have a leg to stand on, unfortunately :(
 
I've started a dispute anyway. Its a fairly new ebay and paypal account so I have nothing to lose in terms of reputation. There's no harm in trying - as I see it, it failed on its first proper use ("use for its intended function"?), therefore it was faulty. I contacted the UK Behringer service centre and they reckoned its a frazzled transformer caused by some malfunctioning onboard components; nothing which the seller would've known about, but something which potentially could've developed before it came into my possession.
 
mattr said:
I've started a dispute anyway. Its a fairly new ebay and paypal account so I have nothing to lose in terms of reputation.
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what do you mean by this?

mattr said:
There's no harm in trying - as I see it, it failed on its first proper use ("use for its intended function"?), therefore it was faulty. I contacted the UK Behringer service centre and they reckoned its a frazzled transformer caused by some malfunctioning onboard components; nothing which the seller would've known about, but something which potentially could've developed before it came into my possession.
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yeah thats kinda weird.

I just sold an emu 1212m that was sitting in my studio for a month -- i gave him 7 days to made sure it worked, then all bets were off. He tested it alot, and then gave me the okay. Done deal. If something happened on the 8th day, i would feel bad, but that was the deal.

You guys didnt have an understanding about anything i guess, so its hard to say. But you have a weird situation, because how does HE know you didnt mess something up in it, and how do YOU know he had weird problems or perhaps someone else work on it in the past?

Was he using the unit much before he sold it?

you said you started a "dispute" -- does this mean you spoke with him first and he didnt want to give you money back?
 
Did the seller give you any kind of warranty? If not, it's unfortunate but I would have to say you are out of luck. Especially if you say you powered it on previously and even put signal through it with no problem. When you buy things off ebay you are taking risk. If you wanted a warranty you should buy things from a store or internet site that offers warranties. But you could try to pin it on the seller, not right but maybe you'll get a way with it.
 
I don't think it is fair that you are blaming the previous owner for the unit's failure.

When you powered the unit up the first time and tested it, it worked fine. Then you took it to a live venue somewhere and it got fried. How is that the previous owner's fault?

Chances are, the power was screwed up wherever it was you did the live recording. Bad power doesn't have to fry all your gear, it usually only strikes a unit here or there. I've had isolated instances of gear getting fried on a live gig, but everything else in the rack was okay. The fact that the fuse went is an indication you had power problems, then you put in a different fuse and the unit fried. Was it exactly the same fuse--same power rating, same blow rate, same everything? It sounds like the second fuse didn't blow when it should have and the juice fried your unit. So could you explain why this is the previous owner's fault?

After three weeks, and bumbling about with fuses on a live gig with dirty power, you have no right to stick this one back on the previous owner. If I was him I would absolutely not take it back or refund your money. If it was working when you first powered it up, then that means it was working when he shipped it. What you are doing is dishonest, and you are actually trying to rip *him* off. Please don't ever bid on my auctions.

Now, if he admits having problems with the gear before selling it, then that's a different story. But if not, you have no proof that anything was wrong with the unit other than it is a cheap piece of disposable crap brought to you by Behringer. Gear just waiting to fail, as it were. My advice is buy better gear new, with a warranty.

And anyway, you should be using a power conditioner on live gigs.
 
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actually, buy a NEW ADA8000. They are excellent products, and i havent seen one fail yet. Until now, that is. But as illuminated by the previous poster, it does indeed seem like there is a reason for this.
 
I've pretty much given up buying used gear off eBay, or anywhere actually. It only takes one piece of gear blowing up like this to wipe out the savings you might have accumulated over months or years of buying used. Ultimately, I've found buying new (from stores that give good deals) to be the most cost effective long term solution. In real world experience, it's at least a break-even with used gear once you add in the inevitable costs of repairing faulty gear or simply junking it and taking a complete loss.
 
Yup, fair play guys. I'm gonna hit at it with the soldering iron and see what I can do.

@SonicAlbert... it was running through a power conditioner / surge protector. But oh well...
 
Hmmm, that's odd then.

Is the unit you are using an actual power conditioner, or just a surge protector? A lot of companies advertise their products as "power conditioners" when in fact they are really just fancy power strips with surge/spike protection and some electromagnetic frequency filtering.

A true power conditioner takes the incoming electricity and sends it through a transformer. What comes out is a cleaned up sine wave and a steady voltage. A surge protector won't do any of this, if the power surges it will let it surge to the point it is designed to cut it off. Likewise, the power will be allowed to drop well below normal.

Some gear is *very* sensitive to surges and drops in power. Like I said, I've had more than one unit over the years get fried or messed up in one way or another by power problems.

You can tell if you have a glorified power strip or a true power conditioner by the price (and weight because of the transformer). What unit are you using?
 
Legally you'd be looking at a case of "discovery". All sales on ebay are as-is unless the seller allows otherwise, or unless there is clear fraudulent intent. Unfortunately you're out of luck unless the seller decides out of the goodness of his/her heart to refund you.

Frank
 
Weasel9992 said:
Legally you'd be looking at a case of "discovery". All sales on ebay are as-is unless the seller allows otherwise, or unless there is clear fraudulent intent. Unfortunately you're out of luck unless the seller decides out of the goodness of his/her heart to refund you.

Frank
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hopefully there is no bad mark for the seller, and no forced refund on his part, unless more information is forthcoming about his possible accountability.
 
Nope, end of debate guys.
Still on good terms with seller. Not going to worry about returning. He still has positive feedback.
Trying to get the service manual from Behringer to have a whack at it myself.

Its a shame. I'd heard this was the one good Behringer product.
 
mattr said:
Nope, end of debate guys.
Still on good terms with seller. Not going to worry about returning. He still has positive feedback.
Trying to get the service manual from Behringer to have a whack at it myself.

Its a shame. I'd heard this was the one good Behringer product.
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Yeah...I do feel for you. It sucks to get something new then have it take a dive on you the day you get it. That happened to me with a used car once.

Frank
 
SonicAlbert said:
You can tell if you have a glorified power strip or a true power conditioner by the price (and weight because of the transformer). What unit are you using?
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SonicAlbert, what you are talking about is usually called a voltage regulator. Anything labeled as a power conditioner is unlikely to actually regulate overvoltage conditions. Each individual bit of kit attached should be able to tolerate mild overvoltage conditions.

OP, I'd just replace the diodes and voltage regulator chips in the power supply of the Behri. With that stuff out, check the resistors in the power supply section to make sure they are reading the proper value. Might as well recap while you're in there. That will probably bring it back to life.
 
mattr said:
Nope, end of debate guys.
Still on good terms with seller. Not going to worry about returning. He still has positive feedback.
Trying to get the service manual from Behringer to have a whack at it myself.

Its a shame. I'd heard this was the one good Behringer product.
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The other one good Behringer product that I know of is the Ultra-Curve Pro 2496. I've bought a few Behringer products over the years and the 2496 is the only one I've kept. I really only use it for the metering, but for that it is quite good for the money.
 
mattr said:
Nope, end of debate guys.
Still on good terms with seller. Not going to worry about returning. He still has positive feedback.
Trying to get the service manual from Behringer to have a whack at it myself.

Its a shame. I'd heard this was the one good Behringer product.
Click to expand...

ive found the truth monitors and vamp2 to also be great products too..
 
Make sure you don't have a shorted mic cable with phantom power on. The phantom circuit may not have its own overcurrent protection, so the fuse blowing may be doing precisely what it should.
 
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