Damaged Emotiva Airmotiv 6s.....

[perseus0001]

I'll try and make a long story short.

I have owned a pair of Emotiva Airmotiv 6s for 4-5 years. I have had them hooked up to several different preamps over the years, though they spent most of their time in my bedroom system hooked up to an Emotiva PT-100. Never had a single issue, they performed flawlessly they whole time, and over the last few years in my bedroom system they have been used 2-4 hours a night, almost every night.

Like we all do, I got the itch to switch a few months back and picked up a pair of KEF LS50's. They eventually made it into my bedroom system, and after some A/B comparison's they replaced the Emotiva 6s. Having too many speakers in storage, I decided to sell the Airmotiv 6s. Though I don't sell things often, I have used Ebay for the better part of the last two decades, so that is where I sold them. I had all of the original packaging, and boxes, so I shipped them out and the buyer received them on June 6th. 24 days after receiving the speakers I get this message on eBay:


These speakers are defective. I went ahead and turned them on and smoke started to come out of one of them as well as a crackle. I quickly reacted to power them off and unplug them before it could catch on fire. Upon inspection, I found that the smoke was coming from the tweeter area and also pouring out from the rear port. This happened to one of the speakers but something wasn t right about the other one as well. The tweeter melted and I have attached a photo. I have also attached the serial numbers so that we can all verify it s these ones I purchased from this listing. I m not sure if these were repaired before, but they are non-functional and defective. I have been in audio for most of my life and this was the first time I have experienced anything like this. Hooking this system is fool-proof. All you need to do is plug in the power and then one RCA for the signal. I am upset over all this for one because I could have potentially have had a fire in the house and two, this has ruined a really nice piece of audio equipment. Sorry but I need to return these.

This just seems really odd to me...and eBay says I need to refund his money and take the speakers back because they were not as advertised (functional). Is there anyway for me to to look at these speakers and see if he some how damaged them by improperly setting them up? This whole scenario just seems so fishy to me, as the speakers were in like new condition and worked perfectly the day before I boxed them up. Contrary to his assessment, they were never repaired or opened up, and came right from the Emotiva warehouse.

So my question is basically just this, if I have him mail the speakers back to me, is there anything I can inspect or look for to identify improper usage? Or am I just going to have to refund him back his money and accept back my damaged speakers?

Thanks for your time,

Troy

[garbulky]

Sounds like a freak occurence, barring some weird sabotage. It is hard to mess up the Emotiva's on the user side as it simply takes an RCA cable or XLR.

[405x5]

Jul 6, 2020 15:16:27 GMT -5 perseus0001 said:

I'll try and make a long story short.

I have owned a pair of Emotiva Airmotiv 6s for 4-5 years. I have had them hooked up to several different preamps over the years, though they spent most of their time in my bedroom system hooked up to an Emotiva PT-100. Never had a single issue, they performed flawlessly they whole time, and over the last few years in my bedroom system they have been used 2-4 hours a night, almost every night.

Like we all do, I got the itch to switch a few months back and picked up a pair of KEF LS50's. They eventually made it into my bedroom system, and after some A/B comparison's they replaced the Emotiva 6s. Having too many speakers in storage, I decided to sell the Airmotiv 6s. Though I don't sell things often, I have used Ebay for the better part of the last two decades, so that is where I sold them. I had all of the original packaging, and boxes, so I shipped them out and the buyer received them on June 6th. 24 days after receiving the speakers I get this message on eBay:


These speakers are defective. I went ahead and turned them on and smoke started to come out of one of them as well as a crackle. I quickly reacted to power them off and unplug them before it could catch on fire. Upon inspection, I found that the smoke was coming from the tweeter area and also pouring out from the rear port. This happened to one of the speakers but something wasn t right about the other one as well. The tweeter melted and I have attached a photo. I have also attached the serial numbers so that we can all verify it s these ones I purchased from this listing. I m not sure if these were repaired before, but they are non-functional and defective. I have been in audio for most of my life and this was the first time I have experienced anything like this. Hooking this system is fool-proof. All you need to do is plug in the power and then one RCA for the signal. I am upset over all this for one because I could have potentially have had a fire in the house and two, this has ruined a really nice piece of audio equipment. Sorry but I need to return these.

This just seems really odd to me...and eBay says I need to refund his money and take the speakers back because they were not as advertised (functional). Is there anyway for me to to look at these speakers and see if he some how damaged them by improperly setting them up? This whole scenario just seems so fishy to me, as the speakers were in like new condition and worked perfectly the day before I boxed them up. Contrary to his assessment, they were never repaired or opened up, and came right from the Emotiva warehouse.

So my question is basically just this, if I have him mail the speakers back to me, is there anything I can inspect or look for to identify improper usage? Or am I just going to have to refund him back his money and accept back my damaged speakers?

Thanks for your time,

Troy

I would bet the farm the buyer shorted out one of the loudspeaker to amplifier connections and is hanging you for it.
That sucks.

Bill

[JKCashin]

Jul 6, 2020 16:02:16 GMT -5 405x5 said:

I would bet the farm the buyer shorted out one of the loudspeaker to amplifier connections and is hanging you for it.
That sucks.

Bill

Huh? What do you mean by loudspeaker to amplifier connections? This speaker has only an RCA and an XLR connector, and if you shorted either of these you would cause no harm whatsoever as you would be just sending a null signal into the speaker.

[doc1963]

After 24 days, I can almost guarantee you that this is a case of “misuse”. Just reading the defensive nature of his comments is a good indicator.

Sadly, EBay/PayPal always protect the buyer while the seller is most often left massaging his sore ass after the spanking he just received.

Unfortunately, I’m very familiar with this process after taking a big hit on a project I sold right here in our own Emporium. The jerk claimed that the remote didn’t work and insisted that I refund his money. I knew for certain that everything was in perfect working order when it shipped, but I offered to replace the remote at my cost. Rather than accept my offer, his next step was to involve PayPal and their “Buyer Protection”. After taking my statement as the seller, within a few days PayPal informed me that I had to take the projector back, pay for the return shipping and issue the buyer a complete refund.

When the projector came back to me, it was adorned with huge surface scratches across the top of the housing and... (wait for it)... a FULLY FUNCTIONING remote control. Short story... either it didn’t meet his expectations or the jackass simply no longer wanted it.

After that, I’ve never sold anything that I cannot audition for the buyer “in person” and take cash in hand.

My opinion... just take them back and save yourself the hassle. It’s quite likely that Emotiva can sell you replacement tweeters and (at least) get them going again.

[klinemj]

Jul 6, 2020 15:16:27 GMT -5 perseus0001 said:

I'll try and make a long story short.

I have owned a pair of Emotiva Airmotiv 6s for 4-5 years. I have had them hooked up to several different preamps over the years, though they spent most of their time in my bedroom system hooked up to an Emotiva PT-100. Never had a single issue, they performed flawlessly they whole time, and over the last few years in my bedroom system they have been used 2-4 hours a night, almost every night.

Like we all do, I got the itch to switch a few months back and picked up a pair of KEF LS50's. They eventually made it into my bedroom system, and after some A/B comparison's they replaced the Emotiva 6s. Having too many speakers in storage, I decided to sell the Airmotiv 6s. Though I don't sell things often, I have used Ebay for the better part of the last two decades, so that is where I sold them. I had all of the original packaging, and boxes, so I shipped them out and the buyer received them on June 6th. 24 days after receiving the speakers I get this message on eBay:


These speakers are defective. I went ahead and turned them on and smoke started to come out of one of them as well as a crackle. I quickly reacted to power them off and unplug them before it could catch on fire. Upon inspection, I found that the smoke was coming from the tweeter area and also pouring out from the rear port. This happened to one of the speakers but something wasn t right about the other one as well. The tweeter melted and I have attached a photo. I have also attached the serial numbers so that we can all verify it s these ones I purchased from this listing. I m not sure if these were repaired before, but they are non-functional and defective. I have been in audio for most of my life and this was the first time I have experienced anything like this. Hooking this system is fool-proof. All you need to do is plug in the power and then one RCA for the signal. I am upset over all this for one because I could have potentially have had a fire in the house and two, this has ruined a really nice piece of audio equipment. Sorry but I need to return these.

This just seems really odd to me...and eBay says I need to refund his money and take the speakers back because they were not as advertised (functional). Is there anyway for me to to look at these speakers and see if he some how damaged them by improperly setting them up? This whole scenario just seems so fishy to me, as the speakers were in like new condition and worked perfectly the day before I boxed them up. Contrary to his assessment, they were never repaired or opened up, and came right from the Emotiva warehouse.

So my question is basically just this, if I have him mail the speakers back to me, is there anything I can inspect or look for to identify improper usage? Or am I just going to have to refund him back his money and accept back my damaged speakers?

Thanks for your time,

Troy

So...I have to wonder...what did the buyer have the speakers connected to? I would ask this and this only and see how they respond.

Why? If the buyer had the speakers connected via RCA (which they say they did) and the RCA was from the analog output of a CD player or DAC set for full output (instead of variable) that would be FAR more than the Airmotiv 6s's (which has internal amps and no gain control, IIRC) should ever be given.

If you know they worked when they left you and they don't now...something like this likely happened.

And again - I would ask the buyer "What was directly connected via RCA to the speakers?" and see what they say. Don't mention what I just said about full output. They will deny that. Your best chance to avoid paying out is to get them to admit their mistake.

Mark

[JKCashin]

Post above mine is good advice! If that fails, I would clearly document this (as you have done above) and stick to the facts, and write a "review" of the buyer.

[perseus0001]

Thanks for the replies and the great advice guys. I'll give the "What was directly connected via RCA to the speakers?" question a try and try to get to the bottom of this, really appreciate it!
-Troy

[vcautokid]

Object lesson. Selling or buying electronics or speakers on Ebay can really suck! I am so cautious and selective I can't believe it. I was burned a couple times. Shame on me, I know better. So with many a caution and caveats, I am exceptionally careful with Ebay. If I do my due diligence, then mostly I am good. But once and a while the scammer is out there too. Never transact on Ebay beyond what you can afford to lose. Ebay seldom protects the right people. Main reason why as tempting it is to save a few bucks or gain a few bucks. That nagging high risk is always there, and recourse is usually poor for the party in the right. Your mileage may vary. I hope it is always favorable for you.

[405x5]

Jul 7, 2020 3:36:00 GMT -5 vcautokid said:

Object lesson. Selling or buying electronics or speakers on Ebay can really suck! I am so cautious and selective I can't believe it. I was burned a couple times. Shame on me, I know better. So with many a caution and caveats, I am exceptionally careful with Ebay. If I do my due diligence, then mostly I am good. But once and a while the scammer is out there too. Never transact on Ebay beyond what you can afford to lose. Ebay seldom protects the right people. Main reason why as tempting it is to save a few bucks or gain a few bucks. That nagging high risk is always there, and recourse is usually poor for the party in the right. Your mileage may vary. I hope it is always favorable for you.

I’ve had a few bumps in the road over the many years I’ve bought and sold on EBay, but my overall experience has been overwhelmingly positive.
.....And I also had an unsavory experience with somebody who bought loudspeakers from me. Much different problem than the issue here, but that aside I had my bases covered as the seller and the buyer (who apparently didn’t know how to read,) luckily had no recourse against me.

Bill

[lynnmass603]

as i do not know your environment i did one time have to turn down service on a pair of powered monitors because seed started pouring out the back of both speakers a small rodent feasted in both speakers regularly the customer seemed surprised by it but it happens some times

[405x5]

Jul 7, 2020 10:56:28 GMT -5 lynnmass603 said:

as i do not know your environment i did one time have to turn down service on a pair of powered monitors because seed started pouring out the back of both speakers a small rodent feasted in both speakers regularly the customer seemed surprised by it but it happens some times

Oh yeah! Those little guys make themselves comfy in the dammdest places.
They get under the hood of your car and chew until you need a tow truck.

I put in a brand new HVAC system in 2015 and thought it would be slick get a nice winter cover for the outdoor compressor and did so.
That spring I found that I had provided refuge for a 4 legged family of little rodents.
What a mess! I had to pull the fan and clean out the insulated blanket for the compressor. They took out a lot of the insulation and RELOCATED it to the upper compartment where the capacitor and relays are located! Indigenous little bastards. Fortunately they didn’t chew any wires.
I use the cover for the patio chairs instead.

[lynnmass603]

that sounds like a nightmare