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Eden Electronics Eden Bass combo amp failed under light to normal use - Company refuses to stand behind faulty product... Mundelein, Illinois
I purchased my Eden DC210XLT Metro bass combo in late December of 2008. I'm a gigging musician who mostly plays small rooms and it was time to finally get a nice piece of equipment. I don't play big loud shows and never had any need to turn the thing past 40% of the volume or master (about 10 o'clock).
The combo stopped working during a show in March of 2009 (three months later). It suddenly lost all of its volume and was completely distorted. I contacted Eden, and they sent me to my local service dealer for warrantied repairs. Turned out that some small component in the amp failed. After a couple weeks, I had my Eden Metro back.
I continued to play small rooms with it. Honestly, I never really felt that it sounded as good as it should, even though it was better than my old backup rig. However I continued to play it until May of 2010, when my Eden Metro failed again during a performance, this time accompanied by a smell. Once again, I've never pushed the thing hard and am just using it for it's intended purpose.
I emailed Eden immediately and explained that I was now convinced that my unit may be a lemon, and that I would appreciate if they would just replace it with a new one. I also said that I'd take it once again to the service center if I must, but that I'd lost my confidence in it and I would really like them to replace it.
I received no response from this email, so emailed again on June 18th. I tried periodically to email Eden Electronics until February 2011 (bear in mind that I'm a gigging musician who's being forced to use his backup gear this whole time) when I finally contacted the store from which I bought my Eden Metro. They forwarded my information and finally, on February 11, 2011, I was contacted by Timothy "Smu" McCarthy from Eden, informing me that I should take it back to the service center, and that they would not replace the unit. Eden Electronics' failure to get back to me had put me over my warranty period, but Mr. McCarthy, in Eden's one right move during all of this, agreed to cover the repair due to the unnecessary delay in response.
So, I took it back to the service center and waited, and waited and finally called near the end of April and discovered that the service center was waiting on a part that Eden Electronics had not yet been able to get to them and that would be there in mid May. The part finally came (something to do with the horn) and the repair was made, but at that time, the service rep discovered that the speakers had been creased in a manner consistent with the unit having been over-driven and the sound would be severely compromised without a replacement of the speakers which Eden would not cover.
I contacted Eden Electronics and once again explained that I never turned the unit up past 40%, that I'd only gotten about a year of use out of the thing due to repair time and Eden's inability to respond to problems, and that I wanted them to fix this problem. I will now show the finals emails where Eden Electronics refused to stand by their product:
ryanleftwing@gmail.com to amp
show details 7:52 AM (0 minutes ago)
Oh, I got a hold of them, and now it seems that they've repaired the problem, but have discovered that the subs have creases, which you don't cover and apparently are a result of playing the thing too loud for extended periods of time.
Once again, I play small rooms and have never turned the thing above 4, as it would drown out the rest of my band, so I'm at a loss to explain the myriad of problems this thing is having, but I am very unhappy. I paid good money for this thing. It was supposed to be me finally having a professional grade unit and it keeps failing for no reason while my 12 year old SWR cabs and Behringer head seem to be able to keep going show after show without incident.
So, is Eden going to cover the faulty subs, or am I going to have to pay even more to get the rig I should've gotten in the first place?
amp support to me
show details 7:54 AM (0 minutes ago)
Ryan our speakers carry a 1 yr warranty, I spoke with Bruce from the service center and the speakers showed clear signs of over excursion. So we will not be able to cover the speakers as the unit is over 2 yrs old . Thanks
ryanleftwing@gmail.com to amp
show details 7:58 AM (0 minutes ago)
Yeah, and I'm telling you that I've never over exerted them. In the 2 and a half years I've owned the thing, it's only been played for about 9 months, and never turned past 4. Possibly it was over exerted before I bought it, I don't know. Or perhaps the electrical problem it had the first time I had to bring it in caused damage. You need to do the right thing and fix or replace this.
amp support to me
show details 8:21 AM (0 minutes ago)
Our amps should never be run above noon, 4 oclock would cause this issue with a speaker. Thanks.
ryanleftwing@gmail.com to amp
show details 8:33 AM (0 minutes ago)
By 4 I mean 4 out of 10, so 11 o clock. (Come to think of it, that's probably only about 3 out of ten.) And seriously? Your amps shouldn't be run above 5? Ever? Not that I have, but that sounds pretty questionable.
amp support to me
show details 9:17 AM (0 minutes ago)
Regardless, the speakers are over a year past the warranty period, and the speaker creases, show the same stress pattern as cabs that have been abused. Thanks
ryanleftwing@gmail.com to amp
show details 9:24 AM (0 minutes ago)
So, I paid 1500 dollars for an amp which has failed three times under normal to moderate use and you're going to do nothing? You realize it hasn't even been played in over a year, right...because you guys wouldn't respond to me... I'm giving you guys one last chance to do the right thing or I act accordingly. How shall I proceed?
amp support to me
show details 9:30 AM (0 minutes ago)
Ryan,
I covered a repair on your amp after your warranty was over, to show good faith. Your speakers where creased the tech emailed me photos and all parties agreed the creases where from abuse. Im sorry I can not replace your speakers under warranty. Speakers go over time, or they crease from the cab being turned on with the volume up, or from eq settings, ect. The unit is over two years old, and the speakers carry a 1 yr warranty. Eden has stood by its warrenty on the amp.
Thanks
ryanleftwing@gmail.com to amp
show details 9:48 AM (0 minutes ago)
The amp has under a year of use due to it's failures. I'm an adult and do not abuse my equipment...period. The message here is that Eden's products are not in line with their price points and that the durability is severely questionable. I spent 1500 dollars for a rig which has played maybe 15 shows, never turned past 11 o clock, and that was an outdoor show. The rest of the time was at 9 o clock.
You extended the warranty only because I proved that Eden hadn't responded to me for 7 months, which put me over the term...this does not absolve the situation, especially since it took you guys 5 more months to come up with the needed part. Since you refuse to stand behind your products, I will replace the speakers out of pocket and sell the unit to try and recoup my money before this 1500 dollar piece of driftwood fails me again.
Additionally I will ensure that everyone who searches for Eden products on google or bing will have a good opportunity to hear my story, including your email about how your amps can't be turned up past "noon", before they make their purchasing decision. The results of my actions will be very obvious, and I figure I should be able to prevent the purchase of 10 to 20 units per year, conservatively. Have a nice day.
(email chain ends)
The reader will note the dismissive tone of Mr. McCarthy's and by extension Eden Electronics' customer service. The reader will also note that the official stance of the company is that running their amps past noon (only half gain) will cause problems. (even though I didn't do that)...this is absurd and also is not noted in the owner's manual. The reader will note that my suggestion that the original failure of the amp itself may have creased the speakers was completely ignored and disregarded by Eden.
As you can see, I gave Eden Electronics every opportunity to do the right thing before making this report. I will now replace the speakers out of my own pocket and pray that nothing else happens. In the meantime, my Chinese made Behringer 4500 head and old SWR cabinets which have NEVER failed will continue to get work.
Really wish I'd gone with the Aguilar.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
RWaggs
Kenmore,Washington,
Additionally
#2Author of original report
Thu, April 17, 2014
I ended up replacing the broken speaker, and a few months later, it suffered another electrical problem. It's just taking up space in my garage now. Thanks a lot, Eden Electronics.