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Trouble with Nord

Fantastic, thanks for clarifying. There is such HUGE enthusiasm for these amps and endless praise on audioshark for nord. I have just got some ice power monoblocks and most impressive I must say with a bel canto pre 3. They seem to have superb synergy
 
Good to hear that this is on its way to being resolved. Have dealt with Colin a few times and he has always spent his time with me without suggesting in any way he had more urgent work to be getting on with. Top chap.
 
Well I received a package today that had two new smps modules in them, a quick job to swap out and plugged back in, no delay on switch on and finally music again .

Interesting to look at the boards side by side, c39 gone on the new boards and a bit more room around one of the components, also interestingly on the sticker it states 1350 watts max against the old ones saying 1500 watts max. Glad to see it isn’t a replication of the first and hopefully these changes have remedied the problems I experienced.
 
Good to see that all is now well. Colin realised the sensible way forward and hope you enjoy your music.
 
Well, to be fair it didn't start as a customer service thread, it was one about the reliability of a bit of kit, which is a totally valid concern for the community at large. The fact it's turned into the manufacturer stepping in and sorting the problem was not the original intention, but we all like a happy ending.
 
Although on a thread elsewhere on t'interweb a certain other manufacturer seems to have had a standing eight and is now wobbling after a couple of nasty uppercuts.
 
Had a similar problem with a Hypex stuffed Audiotronics power amp. The French manufacturer declined to sell me a replacement for a blown module and only wanted to sell me a new amp. Contact with Hypex directly did not resolve the matter and they wouldn't sell me a module either saying that they were OEM. I ended up getting a module from another source.
It was all unsatisfactory, a closed shop and really poor customer service all round.
 
Whilst SMD doesn't help matters the main issue is the same as its always been with mains SMPS ie that it either works perfectly or literally goes bang and explodes shrapnel of bits of mosfet etc in yer face! There is very little in between. Hence when repairing them you may have replaced say 10 parts that are definitely blown but if there is one part that looks OK, measures OK on a DMM, but is dodgy under load then 9 times out of 10.. BANG!!!! and everything you've just replaced has been blown up again.... It HAS to be perfect at that moment you switch it on.. no if's no but's... worse still, as they deal with rectified and smoothed mains @ 340V there is no practical way, once you've checked everything that you can, that you can be sure all the parts are going to handle 340V other than actually switching it on to test it...
Worse still... you can't measure any of the voltages for diagnostic reasons unless it's working... catch 22!

Have you tried the old light bulb in series with the mains trick? Back in the 80's + 90's I repaired loads of switched mode PSUs using this technique.

On some occasions I was fortunate enough to have a variac.

Most SMPSUs should begin working from around 80 vAC which usually provides enough opportunity to establish if there are any remaining faults.
 
Have you tried the old light bulb in series with the mains trick? Back in the 80's + 90's I repaired loads of switched mode PSUs using this technique.

On some occasions I was fortunate enough to have a variac.

Most SMPSUs should begin working from around 80 vAC which usually provides enough opportunity to establish if there are any remaining faults.

Oh yes! And I have a variac. They are still a bugger to work on.
 
Whilst SMD doesn't help matters the main issue is the same as its always been with mains SMPS ie that it either works perfectly or literally goes bang and explodes shrapnel of bits of mosfet etc in yer face! There is very little in between. Hence when repairing them you may have replaced say 10 parts that are definitely blown but if there is one part that looks OK, measures OK on a DMM, but is dodgy under load then 9 times out of 10.. BANG!!!! and everything you've just replaced has been blown up again.... It HAS to be perfect at that moment you switch it on.. no if's no but's... worse still, as they deal with rectified and smoothed mains @ 340V there is no practical way, once you've checked everything that you can, that you can be sure all the parts are going to handle 340V other than actually switching it on to test it...
Worse still... you can't measure any of the voltages for diagnostic reasons unless it's working... catch 22!

I Concur - I specialized in VCR repair for a few years during the switch from linear to SMPS power supplies. We simply stopped trying to repair SMPSs - too time consuming. This was the start of the end of component level repair in consumer electronics IMO - we just started ordering entirely new PSUs rather than repairing them as it was more cost effective. It was also exactly the time I got out of electronics and into IT :)
 
Hi,
You are entitled to a 6 year warranty. So, Nord must respond positively.

If they do not, then the following website shows how you can progress :

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-ri...ovider-wont-honour-the-warranty-what-can-i-do

I checked the website, and it does not state that the warranty is not 6 years - in fact, there are no statements of warranty. Is there anything in the literature you received with the amplifier on warranty ?

Regards,
Shadders.
As you're giving legal advice, presumably you're legally qualified. Perhaps you might like to direct us to the Act, and the section of the Act that states that all items sold in England and Wales bear a six year warranty, rather than directing us to a newspaper article.
 


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