Pass Labs x250 stopped working shortly after buyer got it. What to do?

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TomDac

former MLO owner/operator
Joined
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Rancho Mirage, California
Hey all,
My pass labs x250 made it to the buyer today (Johnny). He says the original box seems undamaged. He set up the amp and connected his odysseys to it and first texted me and said the amp was fine. Later he said he thought the woofer on one of his Odysseys was blown.

Now he is saying one of the channels on the amp is not working.

The amp was working fine in my system. He paid for and arranged shipping via fedex and sent me a pdf label and I put it on the box and shipped it. He says he insured it.

He's upset that the amp is not working. I assured him it WAS working when I had it.

Maybe during shipping something happened to it - the box was dropped maybe!?!??? I don't know.

My thought is to call fedex and tell them the situation and see if they can pay for the repair.

I've offered to split the cost of shipping it to Pass Labs for repair and then we can at least find out what's wrong with it and how much it will cost to fix it.

The buyer is a good guy, albeit new to hi-end gear. He says he connected it up correctly.

What suggestions do you guys have? Johnny, please chime in also, please.

Tom
 
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Now he's opened up a PayPal dispute because I won't refund his money.

If I refund his money, I have an amp that doesn't work and for all I know, he shorted the channel.

He claims I knew the amp didn't work and lied to him about it!!!!!

He texted me and said "the amp is fine" and then said the woofer on one of his Odysseys blew. Maybe that could have damaged the amp!? I don't know, but I shouldn't have to pay for that.
 
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The amp didn't work when it arrived. I connected red speaker cable to the red on the amp, and black to black. I don't know much about high end gear but I think most people knows where speaker cable goes.
 
FWIW and IMO the only way to resolve this is probably to have a third party (PASS) diagnose the amps problem and hopefully determine a cause at which point the two of you go from there. But refunding him his money until that's determined……….. again, IMO, NO WAY !
 
Look, this happens all the time. Standard procedure would be to return the amp to you (Tom) to see what, if anything, is wrong with it. Since it seems to have been working when it arrived, it could be that the buyer inadvertently did something to damage it. If a woofer voice coil shorted, then it may have blown the fuse for that channel. A little troubleshooting is in order, I'd reckon, before anyone does anything else.

Johnny, the seller simply cannot return your payment until (at least) the item is back in his/her possession.

If you want to try to work the (probably simple) issue, let us know.
 
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I'm fairly certain that there would be one per channel. I read the owners manual on the passlabs site. It doesn't mention them directly, other than to say that the amp is designed to survive (mostly) the output conductors making contact with each other with the amplifier turned on.

I have a thought; if the buyer had a few strands of the speaker cable shorted to each other , that could cause the distortion that sounds like a blown woofer, and eventually cause the channels' circuit protection to work (blow the fuse).

To be safe, help the buyer find a suitable repair facility (reputable dealer would be good) near his location. If he opens the unit on his own, then he owns it regardless of what the problem is.
 
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Well, I wouldn't refund him until I have the amp back in my possession, and have determined that he didn't damage it. Any retailer would operate the same way. Tom, there is no one on this site that would think that you had sold him a broken amp. If he doesn't want to work with you, I'd be suspicious of what really happened. Just my 6-7 cents.
 
Did he connect the interconnects and speaker wire with the breaker switch in the "off" position and the power cord disconnected?

If he didn't, or worse yet, if the power cord was plugged in and the breaker and the front panel power button were both on when connections were made, that would explain alot.

As a minimum, I'd call the Pass tech department and ask them what could have caused the issue.

Just a thought.

PS: Read Page 3 of the manual on how to connect the amp. One interesting line.

Do everybody a favor and try not to have shorted the output cables. It happens accidentally all the time, and the amplifier is designed to survive, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
 
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I totally agree with Tom, Julian and Twich54. All three individuals make perfect sense.

I think it is best to deliver the amp to Pass Labs to have it repaired and determine the cause of failure. Only then will we know whether it was dropped during delivery or the buyer made a mistake connecting the amplifier. Could be something harmless such as a blown fuse caused due to faulty connection or improper gauge wire. Or something serious like the amp being dropped and damaged in transit, in that case the insurance should cover the cost of repair.

Me and no one else can even imagine that Tom would sell a amplifier that is not working properly.

Johnny my advice to you is to follow the advice given by the above three and work with Tom to have this issue sorted out.
 
Thanks for the support, guys. I offered to split the cost of shipping the amp back to Pass Labs' service center in Auburn, CA so they could diagnose the cause of the failure, but Johnny just wants his money back. Makes no sense... If he didn't do the damage, I'll pay for the repair or buy it back... seems pretty simple... His texting me, "You sent me a broken one and you know it" has really upset me... I don't operate that way.
 
With all due respect, something is not right with Johnny's behavior.

You are obviously trying to be a reasonable seller and he is rejecting all offers.

Given his behavior, I'd be extremely suspicious as to what actually occurred.

Not that it will make any difference, but call Pass Labs and get their take.
 
Tom I think Johnny has let his rational mind become clouded with emotion of worry or disappointment. Tom all your suggestions are rational and fair. Give Johnny some time and hopefully he will see the light.
 
Tom, I had a similar situation when I sold my ARC LS-26. The individual called me a month after he received it and said it started to give him problems and wanted to know what 'I' was going to do about it………….. I told him to have a nice day and hung up the phone.

You are being more than generous, if Johnny boy doesn't want to work with you and be reasonable, well as my Grandpa used to say ……… 'tough tities' !!
 
PS: Read Page 3 of the manual on how to connect the amp. One interesting line.

Do everybody a favor and try not to have shorted the output cables. It happens accidentally all the time, and the amplifier is designed to survive, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
I managed to do this to a tee on a brand new amp (X-250) that in my house for < 10 min. Guess what? The amp had to go back to Pass for repair. I was a big boy about it though. Pass fixed it no questions but I had to pay shipping both ways. It was my stupidity.

Thanks for the support, guys. I offered to split the cost of shipping the amp back to Pass Labs' service center in Auburn, CA so they could diagnose the cause of the failure, but Johnny just wants his money back. Makes no sense... If he didn't do the damage, I'll pay for the repair or buy it back... seems pretty simple... His texting me, "You sent me a broken one and you know it" has really upset me... I don't operate that way.
Anyone that knows you knows you're not that guy. No worries. Do NOT refund his money though and save all messages.
 

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