Or HP, Dell and Nokia
Audiolab Quality Issues
- Thread starter Yani
- Start date
I do take your point regarding all these manufacturers (Apple, Dell etc) who supply from China. I was only trying to discover if Audiolab, alone possibly had some quality issues. By some earlier posts on this subject this seems to me to be a possibilty.
As I stated earler, I myself have 2 amps from this same company which I have owned for the past 10 years without a hitch. I do not wish to bad mouth this business but did wonder, because these are now assembled in China, if possibly the quality control was not as good as when assembled in the UK.
As I stated earler, I myself have 2 amps from this same company which I have owned for the past 10 years without a hitch. I do not wish to bad mouth this business but did wonder, because these are now assembled in China, if possibly the quality control was not as good as when assembled in the UK.
sean99
pfm Member
In my experience (which is limited) the problem with China is not so much the final assembly and test (which audiolab will have a lot of control over), but the whole supply chain.
Fake components, components of very poor quality make sourcing tricky, and a bad capacitor can pass QA at the factory and fail 3-6 months later. My own company had this problem: poorly manufactured component that failed prematurely and cost us a packet in returns/rework. We do all our assembly / test in the US, but the supply chain for practically all components reaches back to China.
Audiolab could be entirely innocent here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/jun/29/dell-problems-capacitors
Fake components, components of very poor quality make sourcing tricky, and a bad capacitor can pass QA at the factory and fail 3-6 months later. My own company had this problem: poorly manufactured component that failed prematurely and cost us a packet in returns/rework. We do all our assembly / test in the US, but the supply chain for practically all components reaches back to China.
Audiolab could be entirely innocent here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/jun/29/dell-problems-capacitors
I agree with regards the supply chain. I myself work in the sheet metal presstool industry & have seen a lot of our customers source their tools in China. The first set are normally ok quality wise but this gradually takes a downturn as more tools are delivered.
Sometimes the Chinese will make a big effort to gain the buisiness but fail to keep the standard up as the orders progress. This possibly is what Audiolab suffered from as suppliers quality dipped.
Sometimes the Chinese will make a big effort to gain the buisiness but fail to keep the standard up as the orders progress. This possibly is what Audiolab suffered from as suppliers quality dipped.
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
A quick view on ebay should tell you all you need to know about the sale of fake electronic components in China, and this is throughout the supply chain. The only way around this is to have your own factory and manage your entire supply chain, ensuring purchasing comes only through international product distributors who give you a paper trial back to the point of origin.
A 1% failure rate might seem like a lot when 1 years worth are piled up on a palette and sold to the highest bidder, but in reality that's a pretty average failure rate for most electronics items in the first 12 months of their life.
At some point in a company's life they all get struck down with a bad product. In the case of electronics all it takes is for one component to fail to blow out an entire piece of kit. And if that component is in all your products then how you deal with that is the measure of the worth of your brand.
A 1% failure rate might seem like a lot when 1 years worth are piled up on a palette and sold to the highest bidder, but in reality that's a pretty average failure rate for most electronics items in the first 12 months of their life.
At some point in a company's life they all get struck down with a bad product. In the case of electronics all it takes is for one component to fail to blow out an entire piece of kit. And if that component is in all your products then how you deal with that is the measure of the worth of your brand.
I am on my 3rd Audiolab 9200cdq due to problems.
I returned the 1st after 3-4 days, the second I gave a couple of weeks and I have had the 3rd for 8-9 months. The first 2 would intermittently not get past the start up screen, had to start up maybe 8-10 times for them to get past startup screen. The latest one has been misbehaving intermittently (bad for weeks then fine for weeks, but more recently all the time), same symptoms as above + would startup but not play music or would start up then switch off, then start up etc....
I have persevered because they sound so good and they usually starts after 8-10 startups. I have returned it to default settings, have tried every combination of startup buttons, but no joy.
Could my mains be causing the problems as I do sometimes get startup problems with my Freeview box and TV, Solar storms maybe? Anyone have any ideas?
I returned the 1st after 3-4 days, the second I gave a couple of weeks and I have had the 3rd for 8-9 months. The first 2 would intermittently not get past the start up screen, had to start up maybe 8-10 times for them to get past startup screen. The latest one has been misbehaving intermittently (bad for weeks then fine for weeks, but more recently all the time), same symptoms as above + would startup but not play music or would start up then switch off, then start up etc....
I have persevered because they sound so good and they usually starts after 8-10 startups. I have returned it to default settings, have tried every combination of startup buttons, but no joy.
Could my mains be causing the problems as I do sometimes get startup problems with my Freeview box and TV, Solar storms maybe? Anyone have any ideas?
Hi Fi is a hobby, we have a choice (unlike the sourcing of computers, phones etc). I never buy audio equipment made in China. This is a mixture of prejudice, awareness that supporting home grown gear protects jobs here and a liking for 'cottage industry' stuff.I also doubt the long-term back up of stuff from China.
So for tvs, tablets, phones etc, China is excellent. For my personal audio stuff...never.
So for tvs, tablets, phones etc, China is excellent. For my personal audio stuff...never.
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
Neek, it could be anything, bad eproms, faulty crystals. My advice would be to contact John Westlake, (via this forum) and ask him. He designed them, and he seems to take any issues with IAG manufactured product that he designed very personally. Ask him if he'd be willing to take a look at it for you.