Service and repair cost for Linn products?

[Linnofil]

Does anyone know what the exact policy is concerning service and repair cost for Linn products? Some say there is a fixed service charge for most products and another fixed service charge for the more expensive products such as the Klimax/Artikulate/Akurate range. Right?

I thought so, until I tried to get my Roomamps repaired. Linn wanted £1777/$3615 (24000 SEK) to fix my two faulty Roomamp 2i's (22 months old). :shock: :shock: :shock: A bit steep! Especially since a brand new amp with 5 year warranty etc. in Sweden costs £1147/$2335 (15500 SEK). Almost 80% of new price for a repair? Outrageous!!!

So now my Roomamps can be used as expensive bricks! :evil: They are also very good if I would like to annoy my wife. I just have to mention them to blow her head off! (So I don't...)

Unfortunately this situation have put a lid on my Knekt investments. I had some serious expansion plans for the Knektsystem, that’s why I bought the two Roomamps (to power four rooms.) Now it all has turned into nothing and I'm forbidden to buy any more Linn stuff... A very bad situation, both for me AND for Linn. :evil:

Under what circumstances are the customer supposed to pay a higher charge, and when not? What are the exact warranty terms? Can they be found on Linn’s website somewhere? I really don't know what to do with them... Do I have to write an email to Ivor again? :?:

What are the "so called" fixed rates in UK, US and Sweden? :?:

[Azazello]

Linn made a very extensive repair om my old Kairn aboute a year ago. To the fixed price of 2500 SEK.

EDIT: 2500 SEK is aboute £150

[poppop]

Hi Guys,

Dont know if this helps at all, but I was on one of the Linn 3 day courses in Feb this year. As I recall, I thought(as has been stated) there were indeed 2 price levels. The "normal" one being £150 and the other was £230(?) for the more expensive gear. I guess these prices may have increase at the beginning of April.

Given that all repairs require to be sent to Linn via an authorised dealer, do you know if these were the actual costs charged by Linn or the costs passed on to you via the dealer? Dealer "administration" charges can vary considerably!

Steve.

[poppop]

Hi(again)

I had a kout repaired about 1 year ago and it was £150 plus the postage. The repair included the replacement of both the main pcb's! I think they normally retail for around £300 each!!

Wonderful service.

Dont undertsand the sky high costs you guys are being charged.

Steve.

[Azazello]

What is the matter with the roomamps? I think that the "fixed price" only covers faults that would be covered by the guarantee if it still applied.

[Linnofil]

What is the matter with the roomamps?

I don't know exactly. But there is an IC that has blown up and some wires on the PCB that has been "erased by current". They are just dead. Unfortunately I bought them (On eBay, not cheap enough! :twisted: ) this way and I don't know how they got damaged. Since the IC has blown up I don't know what it type is. And I cant by another Roomamp 2i to check with, because I'm forbidden to buy any more Linn stuff. I can't win...

I have had my share (and more :!: ) of faulty Linn stuff and I have never paid more than the lower fixed rate. So I thought I was taking a reasonable risk when buying Linn stuff used. I was NOT expecting a suggestion of 24000 SEK!

Given that all repairs require to be sent to Linn via an authorised dealer, do you know if these were the actual costs charged by Linn or the costs passed on to you via the dealer? Dealer "administration" charges can vary considerably!

As I understood it, it was what Linn charged him, with a small administration fee. My dealer is a "good guy" and I don't think he would charge anything outrageous for himself. In fact he offered to lower his administration charge to zero if I went ahead with the repair. He wasn't specific, but I got the impression it was about 7-8% of the total amount.

I think that the "fixed price" only covers faults that would be covered by the guarantee if it still applied.

Does anybody know if this is true? If so, how can a customer know if their judgement is correct?

[poppop]

Linnofil,

I also have bought and sold quite a lot of Linn gear and generally been very lucky!

My only guess, and it is a guess, is that previous owners may have played with or modified the original product? This will, of course, have been spotted by Linn, who understandably will therefore hike the price to fix it??

I hope you can get this resolved. There is nothing worse than buying something you have waited/saved for and then it not working.

good luck.
Steve.

[lejonklou]

This sounds very strange indeed... Linn normally uses fixed rates for their repair services.

Unless you get this resolved through your dealer, I can most probably fix the Roomamps for you. Contact me by pm or email.

[ThomasOK]

Linn's flat rate service fee in the US usually runs the customer somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 to $350 including the "administration fee" and shipping. It is about double that for Klimax products and Ekos tonearms. The administration fee is really up to the individual dealer so it can vary quite a bit. It is there to cover the work the dealer does in handling the service.

Just to give you an idea of what is involved, Linn requires the dealer to verify the fault before shipping the unit in for service. (It used to be that Linn charged the dealer $50 if they couldn't find the problem although they no longer do that.) Once the fault is verified a detailed RA form must be faxed to Linn. In out of warranty situations a second form is faxed back which the dealer signs accepting responsibility for the repair charge. The dealer then ships the unit to Linn at the dealers expense.

Once the unit is repaired it is shipped back to the dealer for the flat fee plus return shipping. At our shop we then verify the repair and call the customer informing them the item is ready to be picked up. The administration fee is meant to cover the work involved in verifying the fault, handling the paperwork, packing up the unit properly (they often come in without packing) and getting it shipped. That is added to the two shipping/insurance charges and the Linn fee to come up with the final customer charge. As one poster mentioned, most dealers are pretty reasonable on the fee just trying to cover the costs involved in handling the repair. In our store we even pay the shipping to Linn on full warranty work so the customer pays nothing.

Although Linn does use a flat rate service fee in the US there are exceptions. If the product has been damaged by attempted modifications, physical abuse or power surges the flat rate fees do not apply and Linn may refuse to repair it altogether. We had a Genki come in that was the victim of a lightning strike on the owner's house. When Linn checked the unit they found that ALL the internal electronics including the power supply were burnt by the power surge. They returned the unit as unrepairable.

From the description of the damage on your roomamps it appears that it could be this type of damage which would require the replacement of all the internals. This would explain the unusually high charge.

In contrast we just had a Kairn repaired and Linn replaced the defective power supply with the latest SMPS and also replaced ALL the casework. As an upgrade this would normally run $650 plus the shipping charges but the customer paid $318 total. Needless to say, he was very happy with the improved performance and appearance.

I would recommend seeing if your dealer can get a more detailed explanation for the repair quote. Good luck.

[Lego]

A friend of mine bought a second hand Kairn on ebay,I was a bit concerned when i saw that it was not only very old(it had the orange display) it also had a brilliant supply added at some point so it could have been the round brilliant ps.Anyway a few months later it stopped working it just doesn't come on.Linn quoted him 450GBP to fix :shock:
What is Linns pricing policy when it comes to fixing goods at present?
I feel a bit guilty as I told him Linn gear is very reliable you cant go wrong and it only costs 150 to repair.
I have a few friends who want to get a cheap system together but what advice should I give them about the old LK gear.I somehow feel if my friend had bought an old untampered kairn with the old transformer it might still be working.
Is the old orange display a no no?

[Moomintroll]

Linn quoted him 450GBP to fix

Is the old orange display a no no?

The fixed service charge for a Kairn with SMPS is £300 inc VAT in the UK - it sounds like he has been quoted for a power supply upgrade. If it's sent in for a service, they should do what is necessary to get it working for the fixed price. if you ask for a psu upgrade, that's what you'll get. It'll have to be returned through a dealer, so get him to confirm this anyway, unless someone else can confirm this.

The Kairn was introduced in March 1991 and mine was a very early one (s/n less than 1100) and that had the green display. I've never seen an orange display, and don't remember the pre-production model that Bill Miller showed me having anything other than green. is it possible that it's just the front window has discoloured or the leds faded?

'troll

[ThomasOK]

As of February 2008, Linn has changed their fixed-rate charges for repairs with ALL out-of-warranty charges increasing substantially - some to many times the old rate. There are now different charges for each product Linn makes or has made. The new prices range from a low of $333US for items like the Classik Music, Kolektor, Akurate Tuner, Pekin, Lingo, Akito etc. to $1000 for the Kisto and CD12 and $1250 for Kivor and Index Tuneboks. Having Linn repair a pair of Komri or Artikulat speakers will run $2500 although most dealers would be able to repair parts of it for lest than that.

The majority of products range from $333 to $667 but Klimax pieces and the UniDisk 1.1 tend towards $833 and the UniDisk 2.1 is $750. The Kairn is one of the units that costs $500+ for service. All these prices are plus shipping both ways and administrative costs as before.

Obviously this hurts the value of used pieces - especially older units as the safety net of a $250 repair on most of them is now gone.

[Music Lover]

:(