TDK 3 Speaker warrantee
- Thread starter baddboybill
- Start date
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Now they are saying 6 weeks to cut me check and that's after they receive my 3 speaker and check it in. I gave up and told them to send A73. I will check it here at house. Worse comes to worse I will sell it 
Bad Bad Bill
Bad Bad Bill
hemiguy2006
Member (SA)
I would try and get a full refund if that's an option.
You could probably pick up a replacement unit for less than they would refund you.
It's a darn shame how they handle warranty on the product.
How long is the warranty time frame anyway? I couldn't imagine any more than one year.
Are they not making the 3 speaker anymore? They still have it up on the website.
I'm sorry to hear of your experience with TDK as the three speaker is a really nice unit.
Edit ,
I don't see the 3speaker for sale anywhere on the web
Not even from the online retailers listed on TDK's website.
Discontinued maybe? That would be a shame
You could probably pick up a replacement unit for less than they would refund you.
It's a darn shame how they handle warranty on the product.
How long is the warranty time frame anyway? I couldn't imagine any more than one year.
Are they not making the 3 speaker anymore? They still have it up on the website.
I'm sorry to hear of your experience with TDK as the three speaker is a really nice unit.
Edit ,
I don't see the 3speaker for sale anywhere on the web
Not even from the online retailers listed on TDK's website.
Discontinued maybe? That would be a shame
Yeah Frank it's discontinued and they don't repair them. You can buy refurbished but with no warrantee. Plus there are very few new ones left but price is at $500 or more. I only paid $220 for mine so waiting 6 weeks or more would get me even more upset and then what if check gets lost in mail. I was eventually going to buy the A73 so I figured I will try it and if I don't like it I will sell it. By the way the 2 biggest issues with the older units is the power/volume control breaking and USB going out. (The new A73 USB port is for charging only) Once it happens your SOL!!! Especially if its past the one year warrantee. Plus they are very strict and want original receipt 
Bad Bad Bill
Bad Bad Bill
Lasonic TRC-920
Moderator
Damn Dude....this is a terrible story.
Sorry to hear that Bill....
TDK.....OFFICIALLY off my list
Sorry to hear that Bill....
TDK.....OFFICIALLY off my list
If it was a Sony, Panasonic or other name brand, they can probably be warrantied/repaired as those major suppliers have service contracts with electronic service centers all over the place. I said it before, TDK is not a consumer electroncs company.... check out their site. Under products, they seem to sell electronic components. Their logo looks right so it would appear that the TDK company we've come to know from the golden and silver classic era of tape cassettes, etc, is not the same. As for electronic components, I'll be honest in that when I go to buy capacitors, etc, I never even think (or knew) of TDK branded components.
Anyhow, last time ( a year or two ago) I drove about 160 miles round trip to checkout one of these things and the issues I saw did not impress me. Virtually useless tuner right out of the box and no service manual in existence told me that thing has become nothing more than a pretty and very heavy paper weight. But even if a service manual existed, I don't think it would be fixable. We are now in the digital age and components are all smart components now with software part of the mix. It's like a computer. Even if you were able to buy a new multiuse programmable component (if that's what failed), then you still need to procure and flash the component with the proper code before it becomes useful, otherwise it is just a dumb component that is new but wont' work. But all in all, the complexities of these things means that it's no longer become practical to repair these. The cost to manufacturer an entire board probably costs less than 1 hour of a service technicians time. For that reason, when they go bad, you replace the whole board, if available. Again, think computer. If your IDE/SATA controller or video/sound card, or if everything is integrated onto the mobo, then the main board might need changing. In the end, it all boils down to whether the board/components are available and I'm betting NO. That would explain why they don't even fix them. In the old days, you replace resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. Today, the entire board equates to the resistors that used to be replaced. It's a new age and this is the direction of progress, I guess.
In any event, that's the one reason I chose not to get the TDK. I didn't want to plunk down that type of cash for temporary lease of a radio that might hardly even get used. With all the radios I got, it wouldn't make sense to. If I bought it, it would've been to add to my collection but this isn't really a radio to collect, rather it should be purchased for use since when and if it fails, the party is over.
I guess it's a more elaborate way of saying what someone else said........... chinese disposable junk. Except expensive one.
Anyhow, last time ( a year or two ago) I drove about 160 miles round trip to checkout one of these things and the issues I saw did not impress me. Virtually useless tuner right out of the box and no service manual in existence told me that thing has become nothing more than a pretty and very heavy paper weight. But even if a service manual existed, I don't think it would be fixable. We are now in the digital age and components are all smart components now with software part of the mix. It's like a computer. Even if you were able to buy a new multiuse programmable component (if that's what failed), then you still need to procure and flash the component with the proper code before it becomes useful, otherwise it is just a dumb component that is new but wont' work. But all in all, the complexities of these things means that it's no longer become practical to repair these. The cost to manufacturer an entire board probably costs less than 1 hour of a service technicians time. For that reason, when they go bad, you replace the whole board, if available. Again, think computer. If your IDE/SATA controller or video/sound card, or if everything is integrated onto the mobo, then the main board might need changing. In the end, it all boils down to whether the board/components are available and I'm betting NO. That would explain why they don't even fix them. In the old days, you replace resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. Today, the entire board equates to the resistors that used to be replaced. It's a new age and this is the direction of progress, I guess.
In any event, that's the one reason I chose not to get the TDK. I didn't want to plunk down that type of cash for temporary lease of a radio that might hardly even get used. With all the radios I got, it wouldn't make sense to. If I bought it, it would've been to add to my collection but this isn't really a radio to collect, rather it should be purchased for use since when and if it fails, the party is over.
I guess it's a more elaborate way of saying what someone else said........... chinese disposable junk. Except expensive one.
If it was a Sony, Panasonic or other name brand, they can probably be warrantied/repaired as those major suppliers have service contracts with electronic service centers all over the place. I said it before, TDK is not a consumer electroncs company.... check out their site. Under products, they seem to sell electronic components. Their logo looks right so it would appear that the TDK company we've come to know from the golden and silver classic era of tape cassettes, etc, is not the same. As for electronic components, I'll be honest in that when I go to buy capacitors, etc, I never even think (or knew) of TDK branded components.
Anyhow, last time ( a year or two ago) I drove about 160 miles round trip to checkout one of these things and the issues I saw did not impress me. Virtually useless tuner right out of the box and no service manual in existence told me that thing has become nothing more than a pretty and very heavy paper weight. But even if a service manual existed, I don't think it would be fixable. We are now in the digital age and components are all smart components now with software part of the mix. It's like a computer. Even if you were able to buy a new multiuse programmable component (if that's what failed), then you still need to procure and flash the component with the proper code before it becomes useful, otherwise it is just a dumb component that is new but wont' work. But all in all, the complexities of these things means that it's no longer become practical to repair these. The cost to manufacturer an entire board probably costs less than 1 hour of a service technicians time. For that reason, when they go bad, you replace the whole board, if available. Again, think computer. If your IDE/SATA controller or video/sound card, or if everything is integrated onto the mobo, then the main board might need changing. In the end, it all boils down to whether the board/components are available and I'm betting NO. That would explain why they don't even fix them. In the old days, you replace resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. Today, the entire board equates to the resistors that used to be replaced. It's a new age and this is the direction of progress, I guess.
In any event, that's the one reason I chose not to get the TDK. I didn't want to plunk down that type of cash for temporary lease of a radio that might hardly even get used. With all the radios I got, it wouldn't make sense to. If I bought it, it would've been to add to my collection but this isn't really a radio to collect, rather it should be purchased for use since when and if it fails, the party is over.
I guess it's a more elaborate way of saying what someone else said........... chinese disposable junk. Except expensive one.
I agree 100% with your post Norm. When I purchased this it was the cheapest I've ever seen it for $220 shipped. I did use it quite a bit and also noticed something after reading after it went out. The USB port was only good to 32g. I always plugged my IPhone 5 - 64g in to listen to music and charge. I'm thinking that could have been the issue here was to many gb attached to USB port causing it to go out
But why would TDK do such a thing knowing the amount of gb these devices hold. Now as for the new A73 model they changed both the volume/power control and the USB port. The new one powers up by pushing it in where the older models turn to click on. The volume also doesn't feel stiff in new model as it did in older model. The USB port in newer model now is only used for charging devices and has no connection to what ever built in computer they have, so no way to update. Hopefully updates are not need
I will do a video of the new A73 once I receive it to test it out and post here for you guys to see
Anyhow, last time ( a year or two ago) I drove about 160 miles round trip to checkout one of these things and the issues I saw did not impress me. Virtually useless tuner right out of the box and no service manual in existence told me that thing has become nothing more than a pretty and very heavy paper weight. But even if a service manual existed, I don't think it would be fixable. We are now in the digital age and components are all smart components now with software part of the mix. It's like a computer. Even if you were able to buy a new multiuse programmable component (if that's what failed), then you still need to procure and flash the component with the proper code before it becomes useful, otherwise it is just a dumb component that is new but wont' work. But all in all, the complexities of these things means that it's no longer become practical to repair these. The cost to manufacturer an entire board probably costs less than 1 hour of a service technicians time. For that reason, when they go bad, you replace the whole board, if available. Again, think computer. If your IDE/SATA controller or video/sound card, or if everything is integrated onto the mobo, then the main board might need changing. In the end, it all boils down to whether the board/components are available and I'm betting NO. That would explain why they don't even fix them. In the old days, you replace resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. Today, the entire board equates to the resistors that used to be replaced. It's a new age and this is the direction of progress, I guess.
In any event, that's the one reason I chose not to get the TDK. I didn't want to plunk down that type of cash for temporary lease of a radio that might hardly even get used. With all the radios I got, it wouldn't make sense to. If I bought it, it would've been to add to my collection but this isn't really a radio to collect, rather it should be purchased for use since when and if it fails, the party is over.
I guess it's a more elaborate way of saying what someone else said........... chinese disposable junk. Except expensive one.
I agree 100% with your post Norm. When I purchased this it was the cheapest I've ever seen it for $220 shipped. I did use it quite a bit and also noticed something after reading after it went out. The USB port was only good to 32g. I always plugged my IPhone 5 - 64g in to listen to music and charge. I'm thinking that could have been the issue here was to many gb attached to USB port causing it to go out
But why would TDK do such a thing knowing the amount of gb these devices hold. Now as for the new A73 model they changed both the volume/power control and the USB port. The new one powers up by pushing it in where the older models turn to click on. The volume also doesn't feel stiff in new model as it did in older model. The USB port in newer model now is only used for charging devices and has no connection to what ever built in computer they have, so no way to update. Hopefully updates are not need
I will do a video of the new A73 once I receive it to test it out and post here for you guys to see
hemiguy2006
Member (SA)
The capacity of the usb device should not matter. I have my 120 gb classic plugged into mine right now and it works fine.
I hate to hear of what you have experienced with yours.
I hope I never have issues with mine as I love it to bits.
As for it being a piece of Chinese crap? I guess that seems to be the popular belief on this thread but to be honest
I don't feel the same way.
I know of a few other people who have these who have not had any issues either.
I hate to hear of what you have experienced with yours.
I hope I never have issues with mine as I love it to bits.
As for it being a piece of Chinese crap? I guess that seems to be the popular belief on this thread but to be honest
I don't feel the same way.
I know of a few other people who have these who have not had any issues either.
The capacity of the usb device should not matter. I have my 120 gb classic plugged into mine right now and it works fine.
I hate to hear of what you have experienced with yours.
I hope I never have issues with mine as I love it to bits.
As for it being a piece of Chinese crap? I guess that seems to be the popular belief on this thread but to be honest
I don't feel the same way.
I know of a few other people who have these who have not had any issues either.
I felt the same way Frank til mine went out. I listened to my 3 speaker more than any other box. I purchased it on my birthday in December of 2012 because I wanted one since it came out. But seriously it states not to plug anything larger than 32g. If you look at the specs it states it was only made up to iPhone 3GS anything newer would not work correctly. See here Frank... http://m.tdkperformance.com/en-us/Home-Audio/Boomboxes/3-Speaker-Boombox-Audio-System/
I really loved the unit and tried to get them to repair or replace with another 3 speaker but no luck. I hope yours and the other few guys don't run into these issues because if its past warrantee then it will end up as paper weight.
I hate to hear of what you have experienced with yours.
I hope I never have issues with mine as I love it to bits.
As for it being a piece of Chinese crap? I guess that seems to be the popular belief on this thread but to be honest
I don't feel the same way.
I know of a few other people who have these who have not had any issues either.
I felt the same way Frank til mine went out. I listened to my 3 speaker more than any other box. I purchased it on my birthday in December of 2012 because I wanted one since it came out. But seriously it states not to plug anything larger than 32g. If you look at the specs it states it was only made up to iPhone 3GS anything newer would not work correctly. See here Frank... http://m.tdkperformance.com/en-us/Home-Audio/Boomboxes/3-Speaker-Boombox-Audio-System/
I really loved the unit and tried to get them to repair or replace with another 3 speaker but no luck. I hope yours and the other few guys don't run into these issues because if its past warrantee then it will end up as paper weight.
Lasonic TRC-920
Moderator
It will be interesting to see what happens over time. I'm sure others will chime in, should a problem come up. Maybe these are isolated issues or just the unlucky percentages and the others will be fine.
Time will tell.
Time will tell.
Disposable goods are a sign of the times. However, when it comes to $400 boomboxes (or whatever the discounted price from MSRP these TDK's are nowadays), it's never a good feeling when it goes out and becomes a paperweight/conversation-piece due to inavailability of service. If it is indeed the case where the manufacturer considers any of these out of warranty, as a disposable, non-repairable item, then in my opinion, it is indeed junk. What's the warranty, 90 days? 1-year? Without ability to obtain service after that time, it is an expensive lease indeed. Maybe you luck out and it works forever. However, there sure seems like there are enough examples that these seem fairly unreliable. Of course we don't know how many were sold so it's hard to measure the number of failed units vs. manufactured units.
Joe, did you ever photograph the main circuit board (innards) when you had it apart? I'm very interested to see how the circuitry was designed and how much of it is classic discrete vs. high density microcomponents.
Joe, did you ever photograph the main circuit board (innards) when you had it apart? I'm very interested to see how the circuitry was designed and how much of it is classic discrete vs. high density microcomponents.
Well one thing, and I know it's only been about 9 months or so since new model has been out, but I haven't heard of any issues with the new A73 yet. Maybe it's less computerized than the 2 and 3 speaker because you don't control IPod/IPhone through the USB port I know that the update they added to the 2-3 speaker was mainly for the IPod/IPhone controls through unit.
But they did say I will have a brand new 1 year warrantee with the new A73 model which is a small relief
I know that the update they added to the 2-3 speaker was mainly for the IPod/IPhone controls through unit. But they did say I will have a brand new 1 year warrantee with the new A73 model which is a small relief
Maybe one good thing with our TDKs is I havn't done any software updates to either one. They are still on the original setup.
Yes Norm, I do have pictures of the inside of my 2 speaker TDK but all my photobucket links are dead because they said I went over the limit??? I havn't uploaded new pictures to photobucket in months but all of the sudden they don't work
https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php?/topic/13196-how-to-get-inside-a-tdk-boombox/?hl=%2Binside+%2Btdk
Yes Norm, I do have pictures of the inside of my 2 speaker TDK but all my photobucket links are dead because they said I went over the limit??? I havn't uploaded new pictures to photobucket in months but all of the sudden they don't work
https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php?/topic/13196-how-to-get-inside-a-tdk-boombox/?hl=%2Binside+%2Btdk
Maybe one good thing with our TDKs is I havn't done any software updates to either one. They are still on the original setup.
Yes Norm, I do have pictures of the inside of my 2 speaker TDK but all my photobucket links are dead because they said I went over the limit??? I havn't uploaded new pictures to photobucket in months but all of the sudden they don't work
https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php?/topic/13196-how-to-get-inside-a-tdk-boombox/?hl=%2Binside+%2Btdk
Both issues joe are hardware though not software
Bad Bad Bill
Yes Norm, I do have pictures of the inside of my 2 speaker TDK but all my photobucket links are dead because they said I went over the limit??? I havn't uploaded new pictures to photobucket in months but all of the sudden they don't work
https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php?/topic/13196-how-to-get-inside-a-tdk-boombox/?hl=%2Binside+%2Btdk
Both issues joe are hardware though not software
Bad Bad Bill
Beosystem10
Member (SA)
I have no idea why TDK's literature should say that there's an arbitrary maximum capacity for a mass storage device, especially as 16 GB is the watershed at that end of the scale, in that it's the limit of a 36-bit (unsigned) addressing space. The next multiple of 4 bits would be a 40-bit addressing space, which covers a whole binary terabyte.
Am I just being cynical here when I suggest that TDK are writing such a thing into their instructions simply to save them some warranty claim expense? Imagine if they asked users what capacity their USB devices had and half of the sample replied that they used a drive of greater than 32GB. Result: get out of gaol free card for TDK, many unhappy consumers.
Am I just being cynical here when I suggest that TDK are writing such a thing into their instructions simply to save them some warranty claim expense? Imagine if they asked users what capacity their USB devices had and half of the sample replied that they used a drive of greater than 32GB. Result: get out of gaol free card for TDK, many unhappy consumers.
hemiguy2006
Member (SA)
I could not find anywhere in the specs on the link provided by Bill that suggests a storage limitation.Beosystem10 said:I have no idea why TDK's literature should say that there's an arbitrary maximum capacity for a mass storage device, especially as 16 GB is the watershed at that end of the scale, in that it's the limit of a 36-bit (unsigned) addressing space. The next multiple of 4 bits would be a 40-bit addressing space, which covers a whole binary terabyte.
Am I just being cynical here when I suggest that TDK are writing such a thing into their instructions simply to save them some warranty claim expense? Imagine if they asked users what capacity their USB devices had and half of the sample replied that they used a drive of greater than 32GB. Result: get out of gaol free card for TDK, many unhappy consumers.
It did although provide a list of compatable iOS devices.
I use and have been using my 120gb iPod classic with no issues to date. And I am running the current firmware on my unit.
Oh btw warrantee is actually spelled warranty.
There!, I said it
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