Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater bad amp in sub

I posted earlier about noises my sub (HSU VTF-2) was making. I called HSU and they said I had a bad amp. They are estimating repairs will be $120 including shipping.

I'm trying to decide which of these three things makes the most sense to do. Keep in mind, they claim resale for used ones is about $300 according to them.

1. Send it back to them and get it fixed. It will be about 3 weeks before I get it back.

2. See if I can find somewhere local to repair it. I'm not sure if this is feasible, who is familiar enough and has parts for the sub to repair it, and what this would cost.

3. Scrap it and buy a new sub.

Any suggestions, either for one of these options or something else I'm not thinking of?

I would send it back to Hsu to be repaired.

Agree with Rick.

I'm reading some stuff that this Dayton 240W should work fine.

Any thoughts there? About the same price for a new amp with a bit more wattage instead of a repair of the existing.

I looks like it could work, I'm not sure. The dimensions of the amp look good as does the power. The only thing it looks like it lacks is a switch for the variable tuning. I would call PE techs and check with them.

Depending on what exactly is the problem with your amp, a good local tech should be able to fix it. However, HSU has the advantage of already knowing what's wrong with it (maybe).

I hate to sound like an Axiom fanboy, because certainly HSU makes great subs....

ButI couldn't help but notice the contrast in that you have to send your amp back and pay for a repair, while Axiom sub owners are always reporting that Axiom sent them a new, free amp...even ahead of receiving the bad one in return.

If I had 1100 for a sub I'd get a EP500, but I'm not planning on spending that much. I would prefer to have HSU send out a new amp instead of trying to fix this one.

Mark, do they do this when the sub is out of warranty?

I dunno.

Maybe it's the fact that the EP500 hasn't been out for the five years that the warranty runs...!!??!!

I hadn't really thought about it... it's just that you see SO many posts here regarding Axiom swapping amps, it stuck out like a sore thumb to see a post where someone said "I have to pay for repairs...."

Then one more thing to consider. Is it a good thing you see so many posts talking about bad amps on the Axiom subs.

I agree with Mark about being somewhat taken aback whenever I read there would be a charge by the factory for replacing the defective amp on Zarak's HSU, probably only because I'm so familiar with Axiom's history and their great service around these parts.

Did Zarak say how long he's had the sub?

He didn't say but if it's out of warranty what is so surprising that there is a cost to repairing it. When your equipment runs out of warranty will you expect the manufacture (Axiom included) to repair it for free?

I would go for the Hsu repair.

I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement.

Heck yea.

Can you name me any reason why GM *wouldn't* fix the gremlins on my '83 Cutlass for free?

Good Lord Rick, I thought I knew ya better than that.

I suppose I should have with your cheap a$$

It's 6 years old in March, so out of warranty even by Axiom standards.

Regarding whether Axiom would send replacement amps for their subs after the warranty period, Jean-Claude once wrote to me , when we were discussing an issue with the A1400-8, that Axiom would actually go ahead and cover a product after the warranty period if the malfunction seemed to be related to an internal failure of parts. I suppose this likely excludes such things as driver surrounds that are expected to have some wear. Not to criticize Hsu at all as each company has its own warranty policy, but I suspect that if that sub was one of Axiom's, you would have likely seen a different response from Axiom despite the passage of the 5-year warranty period.

That I suppose is the best warranty in the buissness, a lifetime warranty from Axiom.

FYI...I spoke to HSU again and got one other option. I can buy a new amp for it.

$215 for new amp after a $50 credit for returning the old one. This price includes shipping both ways.

I'm leaning towards sending back my existing one to them for repairs, unless I could find someone local that could fix it for a good price.

BTW...repaired amp only has a 3 month warranty

$215 for a new amp including shipping is pretty good, if you liked the original amp. Repaired with shipping will cost near half of that I would think.

HSU repairing the current one is about $120 including shipping.

A new Dayton SA240 is about $125 after shipping. Cutout dimensions are 8.5x8.5, so it should be a perfect fit in the VTF-2.

$215 for a new HSU amp.

Would the more powerful 240w Dayton improve the quality of the sub over the HSU amp, or is more power just going to make it less likely that something gets damaged at high volumes?

I'd get it repaired, myself. I'd feel more comfortable with the manufacturer.

That's what I did. I just took it down to shipping at work and sent it off. Hopefully all will be well when it comes back in a couple of weeks. I;ll just have to do without a sub until then. That'll make me wish for M60's or M80's instead of my M22, so I'd at least have some bass.

Now would be a good time to turn up the bass control a few db in the receiver. The M22s are capable of some decent bass.

And take them off of small too

Good thinking on that one!

Yeah Jason, the M22s alone have quite good bass for most music material. Adding a few dB of bass boost with the tone control, as Jay mentioned, would to some extent duplicate the upper bass bump that some speakers(e.g. the M3)have built-in and which gives an impression of stronger bass overall.