Aktimate Blue Active Bluetooth Speakers Failed after 2 Years. Anyone Ever Successfully Claimed outside of Warranty?

minklet on 01/02/2019 - 10:12
Last edited 01/02/2019 - 15:05

Hey,

My speakers died yesterday out of the blue (heh). They have not been mistreated, they were not in direct light and not in the heat. I want to take them back to the retailer for a warranty repair. Obviously they will come back and say 'this is out of warranty', but I don't believe 2 years is a reasonable amount of time for a set of active speakers to last for, and accordingly Australia Consumer Law I have rights to claim this. The litmus test being 'would a reasonable person have bought this item if they had known it would fail after this time' and the answer is of course, no.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-07/broken-but-out-of-war…

"For example, if consumers generally buy a television with a reasonable expectation for it to last five years, then they may have a statutory guarantee against the retailer that lasts substantially longer than the one year manufacturer's warranty."

Does anyone have any experience with successfully claiming this, and if so what do you recommend? I will be contacting the retailer today to kick this off, and I obviously expect some push back.

There was a power cut yesterday, however the speakers were a) behind a good quality working surge protector, and b) worked for approximately 5 hours after the power came back on. They are also fused directly into the power supply, and there is no evidence of electrical damage form the outside.

It appears that Akimate speakers have history with this kind of failure
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2143613

Electrical & Electronics Bluetooth Speaker

Comments

  • HighAndDry on 01/02/2019 - 10:23
    +3

    but I don't believe 2 years is a reasonable amount of time for a set of active speakers to last for, and accordingly Australia Consumer Law I have rights to claim this.

    ACL says "reasonable time". ACL does not say "what you consider to be a reasonable time".

    How much were they and, seriously?

    There was a power cut yesterday, however the speakers were a) behind a good quality working surge protector, and b) worked for approximately 5 hours after the power came back on. They are also fused directly into the power supply, and there is no evidence of electrical damage form the outside.

    Oh yeah, what a coincidence.

      • HighAndDry on 01/02/2019 - 10:26
        +7

        I'm not really looking for a conversation, just telling you how it is. If you'd rather hear just what you want to hear, go for it.

        • bobbified on 01/02/2019 - 11:46
          +3

          You sir, should learn to add some fluffy shit to your responses. Some people get offended by blunt conversations! lol

          • HighAndDry on 01/02/2019 - 11:57
            +2

            @bobbified: I know. I'm a little miffed - I asked for price (which is relevant and for $1k speakers I would've even agreed with OP), and I mentioned the power cut is more than likely a factor, which OP even agrees with later, despite dismissing it in the OP.

            Ah well.

            • bobbified on 01/02/2019 - 12:03
              +2

              @HighAndDry:

              I asked for price (which is relevant and for $1k speakers I would've even agreed with OP)

              Agree with you… price is very relevant to the expected life/warranty.

              Aktimate isn't a common household brand. Admittedly, when I read the post, I was picturing in my head a shitty little bluetooth speaker costing $10-$20!

          • Changskies on 01/02/2019 - 13:30

            @bobbified: @bobbified: Sad reality is that you have to get used to blunt conversations - I try my best not to do one but am also guilty

            • bobbified on 01/02/2019 - 13:55

              @Changskies:

              Sad reality is that you have to get used to blunt conversations

              Oh, believe me - I'm very used to it. I get it and I also dish it out at work every day. Things are what they are so beating around the bush is a waste of everyone's time - both I and my large corporate clients appreciate this kind of discussion over the fluffy stuff.

          • minklet on 01/02/2019 - 14:01
            -2

            @bobbified: I have no problem with a blunt conversation, and I agree some people need to toughen up. However I have witnessed H&D get in more arguments on this website over petty trivial shit than I think I've ever had in my life. At some stage you have to wonder what the point to that is.

            • bobbified on 01/02/2019 - 14:12

              @minklet: Everyone's from different walks of life so we may not all get along in the traditional sense like one big happy family. However, the good thing about this is, there's much diverse knowledge and experience that can be shared around - that and also a little bit of sarcasm and shit stirring.

              The key thing is, people can take away the important points from the discussions and make use of that extra information. It's not a bad thing to have a few extra points of view.

        • Baysew on 01/02/2019 - 14:34
          +5

          If you'd rather hear just what you want to hear, go for it.

          That is exactly the issue, OP can't hear out of the speakers.

      • theHMASfriendship on 01/02/2019 - 13:57
        -1

        I just come here for the bargains. Any bargains?

      • Baysew on 01/02/2019 - 14:28

        you're basically ozbargains resident troll

        I think Scab is sleeping with the fishes.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/02/2019 - 10:36
    +2

    Speakers should last much longer than 2 years. I had Aktimates (Mini) before, second hand but mint and I bought them when they were older than 2 years and kept them for over a year. No issue.

    H&D is probably right with the coincidence. After a power outage, there can be brownouts (undervoltage). A surge protector doesn't necessarily protect from brownouts and they damage equipment at a slower rate than a surge.

    Take the speakers to your retailer and get an assessment even if it costs you a few coins. If it is a faulty unit, they shouldn't be charging you to assess. If it is indeed faulty unit, they'll probably chase the distributor for a replacement unit.

    They're a reliable brand so I'm thinking brownout damage.

    • minklet on 01/02/2019 - 10:40
      -3

      Thanks, this is good information.

      Yes I don't disagree with H&D about the power cut being relevant, that's why I mentioned it in the first place, but the way he goes about talking about things is always utterly unhelpful, combative and counter productive in every single comment thread I see them (which is pretty much all of them).

      • [Deactivated] on 01/02/2019 - 10:46
        +2

        Ps. A friend is running a set of KEFs active (not sure what they are) floor standing speakers from the late 70s. All original parts.

        I'm running a fully active floorstanding setup that's 15yo. It sits downstream from a $5k power conditioner (PS Audio something something) that gives me live readouts of input power. I've had the setup in places that fluctuated from 210-234. After surges, the fluctuations tended to be worse.

        • minklet on 01/02/2019 - 10:51

          Cool thanks. Yeah they definitely should last a while, so this is within the ACL requirements imo. I'll speak to the retailer and see if I can get them to have a look. I will also put a claim into Ausgrid in preparation of a repair quote coming back.

        • minklet on 01/02/2019 - 13:32

          Unfortunately I've already told the tech there was a power outage, due to the fact that when the beeping first started and the speakers still worked, I thought it might be something I could fix via some kind of factory reset perhaps. I suspect they will immediately blame that. Is there a way to check for symptoms of a brownout, or even a power surge, that you know of? I would expect to see some fried components at least.

          • [Deactivated] on 01/02/2019 - 15:24

            @minklet: Sorry. Not my department. :(

            Also, don't bother with expensive power conditioners. Thats a remedy for expensive equipment and with the Tesla Powerwall becoming more affordable, my next audio upgrade is actually a battery for the house. Haha.

            Just get a UPS. Something like a 250W powerboard looking thing will set you back ~$125 ish.

          • westom on 02/02/2019 - 03:20

            @minklet: First, brownouts do not damage any electronics. Brownouts are hard on motorized appliances - not electronics. In fact, we sometimes intentionally install a device (inrush current limiter) to create a brownout on startup - to increase electronic life expectancy.

            Brownouts can be harmful to motorized appliances - and is often ideal power for electronics.

            Second, a plug-in protector can make electronic damage easier. They are all similar (the expensive and cheap ones). Those items are promoted by myths and scams. Some simply charge more for a similar same device. That gets naive consumers to wildly speculate that it is a quality protector.

            Anyone can read specification numbers. How many joules does it claim to 'absorb'? Hundreds? Surges that do damage can be hundreds of thousands of joules. Where is the protection? Where is quality? Not in the only place then must be honest - specification numbers.

            Third, almost all electronic damage has no visual indication. Furthermore, most failures are due to manufacturing defects. Coincidence is not causation. But consumers, who do not know why damage happens and who use a plug-in protectors to make damage easier, then coincidence is routinely promoted as causation.

            We all saw this long ago. Counterfeit electrolyte creates major electronic failures all over the world - many years later. A classic example of why most failures happen often many years later - manufacturing defects.

            Four, if they honor a warranty, it is often because the manufacture is more responsible and knew of a defect that they accidentally created and that caused some failures. But only the more responsible manufacturers do this. And rather routinely I might add. Try to get a warranty claim honored. It cannot hurt. And you may learn much about the integrity of that manufacturer.

            • minklet on 02/02/2019 - 17:17

              @westom: Thanks for the information. Like a typical ozbargainer I try and research as much as possible but all of this is completely new to me from what I have read! Do you have any good resources to back me up here?

              After a full 48 hours off the speakers now appear to be working fine. So now I have no idea what to do, I'm not convinced that they actually are fine

              • westom on 04/02/2019 - 05:06

                @minklet: Not surge is this is relevant. But some electronics have a safety lockout. If power restoration is not clean, the safety lockout may trip. That lockout is reset by disconnecting the power cord from AC mains for maybe five seconds.

                • minklet on 04/02/2019 - 08:10

                  @westom: That's what I originally thought with the beeps, so at the time I removed the power cord multiple times for at least an hour, but when switching back on they would fail as before.

                  • westom on 04/02/2019 - 23:09

                    @minklet: Disconnecting from AC mains will do everything in five second. Sitting disconnected for hours or holding down the power button (to discharge a mysterious component) does nothing.

                    Was never sure what was meant by a 'beeping'. If beeping, then power is provided - a safety lockout would not exist.

                    Speakers are really an amplifier - electronics. Most all failed electronics have no visual indication. Failures is first located using technical equipment. Factory support is required since these are custom designed. And since nobody today provides schematics (other than the cited National Semiconductor part and datasheet that might provide some useful clues).

                    • minklet on 04/02/2019 - 23:47

                      @westom: True but after 48 hours the speakers are working fine. I'm sure they will fail again, it doesn't make sense

  • 87percent on 01/02/2019 - 10:45
    +2

    If they're the ones I did a quick search on, I would expect $500 speakers to last a lot longer than 2 years…

    • minklet on 01/02/2019 - 10:47

      They were about $1k when I bought them too

      • QW3RTY on 01/02/2019 - 10:54
        +6

        It's entirely reasonable to expect $1,000 speakers to last more than 24 months.
        Contact the manufacturer and if you get any push back, cite ACL. Any further friction, contact the ombudsman.

        • minklet on 01/02/2019 - 10:57

          Thanks, I've contacted the manufacturer and the retailer.

  • garetz on 01/02/2019 - 12:04

    I've had aktimate minis since new for 6 years and had no issues, maxi does have a manufacturing fault though, so try to push for a replacement with a newer model.

  • lepaulo on 01/02/2019 - 14:21

    I’ve had mine repaired just out of warranty a few years ago for a dodgy volume knob but I suspect that Epoz no longer trades so it might be tough to make a warranty claim. Still worth a shot with the retailer.

    Has anyone been in contact with them recently? Their Facebook page looks like a dinosaur’s graveyard now.

    Sold my Aktimates this year and picked up some Osborn speakers instead. They’re gorgeous.

  • Diji1 on 01/02/2019 - 15:02
    -4

    Call Consumer Affairs in your state:

    https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/other-helpful-agencies/co…

    Best to ignore H&D. They spend their life looking for little spurts of brain chemicals they recieve after goading people with idiocy like

    "reasonable time". ACL does not say "what you consider to be a reasonable time"

    and demonstrating petty cruelty for "moral" reasons.

    • bargainhunter87 on 01/02/2019 - 16:59

      "reasonable time". ACL does not say "what you consider to be a reasonable time" is not for "moral reasons" - it is LITERALLY the law.

  • hikaru78 on 01/02/2019 - 17:29

    they might look and it they might not, the might open it up and say it was broken due to a brown out that isnt covered under warranty and then charge you the inspection fee

  • HeWhoKnows on 02/02/2019 - 10:37
    -1

    Two years is still good use.
    Unfortunatley goods are being made "cheaper" and cheaper" .
    Many only just outlast the warranty period.

    These days you get what you pay for.

    • ThadtheChad on 04/02/2019 - 17:45
      +1

      I don't know mate. For 1k, I'd expect a fair bit longer than a paltry 2 years to be honest.

  • eggles01 on 02/02/2019 - 15:25

    contact your dept.fair trading or your state and territory dept.consumers affairs and ask them your rights, do not forget to include any information,you can also try asking the shop you purchased them from the same question,what about the consumer warranty,if you fail there then go to fair trading or consumer affairs
    bol

  • Neopiya on 02/02/2019 - 20:05
    +1

    Also check with your surge protector manufacturer for coverage. I have a Belkin surge protector amd I'm covered for lifetime replacement of the unit plus $100k of damage to appliances if the protector failed.
    And yes, I've successfully claimed twice.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/02/2019 - 15:08
    +2

    Fear not, minklet. Your speakers haven't come back to life as scary zombie speakers and I promise won't feast on your brain via the bassport! (I'm here all week, try the Veela)
    :)

    I have a pair of these and also paid near full retail for them (only two options at the time, not including a crappy eBay one) At two year mark, you would certainly need to be looking a ACL warranty protection - if required.
    Even in precarious position where placed, I hope the pair I bought last a multiple of those two years. A reasonable expectation.

    The Aktimates are no great shakes in the looks department (including sickly-coloured LED), but for something with integrated bluetooth, still I think unrivalled for sound quality, w/+ the other/specific connectivity set onboard. I believe that one of the Audioengine speakers comes close, but just for sound quality, and largest of the Canadian Kanto range maybe a notch down, overall.

    One significant downside (and certainly unlike Kanto range), no standby mode, so same as all powered-speakers of toasty yore.

    Even as toroidal, dirty great big always powered-on transformer, equals heat. I haven't measured the power wasted at idle, but feels like maybe 8 or 10 Watts. That heat will also shorten lifespan of the electronics, somewhat. Flicking off mains at rear can still be done, of course, but irritating if inclined to do often, or even occasionally.

    Wrong photos, but interesting to see that Scorptec have bought up remaining stocks, including refurbished. They will likely be the last available from bricks & mortar anyplace.

    Minklet, click spec and scroll down. Power on/off transient protection = polyfuse.
    Power supply ructions external, then internal, sufficient to trigger a polyfuse, insufficient to take out the slow blow glass fuse.

    Read about the properties of polyfuses, here -
    As electronic components go, they are a bit of fun! :)

    • minklet on 11/02/2019 - 09:13
      +1

      Cheers for this mate! That's some pretty impressive engineering in that tiny component. Would certainly line up with my experience

  • westom on 09/02/2019 - 16:19

    Can a poltergeist exist in an audio world?

    • [Deactivated] on 10/02/2019 - 20:06

      Not exactly, but polyfuse can certainly behave as quiet gremlin, and for varying lengths of time. That explains OP's experience.

      • minklet on 11/02/2019 - 09:12
        +1

        Hey, any chance you could expand on that? Would that cause me problems that would be fine again 48 later?

        Edit: Never mind I missed your post! Thanks

        • [Deactivated] on 11/02/2019 - 12:58
          +2

          Summary: Polyfuses operate thermally, but can recover internal structure and reset. Doesn't always happen and time to recover varies.
          Yours did its job and may do again without issue in future, if called upon.
          Fuse designed to be triggered by specific current altering internal state, but quite a lot of variability surrounding that in practical outcome.
          You likely did have at least a momentary voltage anomaly, power supply sought to compensate, but saved by fuse from frying! A good thing! :)

  • [Deactivated] on 11/02/2020 - 00:04

    @BlackHole Your comment read in email notification - optical input on the fritz.

    If you aren't making use of the coaxial digital input, you can buy an adapter to try -
    https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XCTGZFT You will find cheaper than that on AliExpress.
    Digital, to analog, if not using all of those inputs and device connected only has an optical output - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/202841170533

    Serendipity. Most recent track played through the speakers here… Pulsed-LASER of different sort… Direct to the eardrums!
    Be thankful that youtube audio rounds that off just slightly. Stay for the percussion.
    Enjoy :)

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