Extremely poor customer service from Arcam

[eggontoast]

I had an AVR-250 the other day which was manufactured in China also, right heap of poo it was too.

I think only their high end Hi-Fi equipment is now made in England, but I would imagine probably not for much longer though.

 

[manicm]

I had an AVR-250 the other day which was manufactured in China also, right heap of poo it was too.

I think only their high end Hi-Fi equipment is now made in England, but I would imagine probably not for much longer though.

Arcam's reliability has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the equipment is made in China - it's poor design and/or insufficient testing. A/V amps are incredibly complex and obviously testing fell through the cracks.

Get over the China syndrome. It's useless, boring and currently has no merit. All your Apple stuff is made there. My B&W 685s were also made in China but they were incredibly well built and were like new after 3 years until I sadly had to sell them.

 

[Andy Clough]

Agreed. I've visited some state-of-the-art factories in China capable of producing some very high-tech kit.

 

[eggontoast]

Arcam's reliability has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the equipment is made in China - it's poor design and/or insufficient testing. A/V amps are incredibly complex and obviously testing fell through the cracks.

Get over the China syndrome. It's useless, boring and currently has no merit. All your Apple stuff is made there. My B&W 685s were also made in China but they were incredibly well built and were like new after 3 years until I sadly had to sell them.

WTF are you talking about mate. I didn't say anything about it being rubbish because it was built in China I just said it was poo, which it was and I was referring to the design not the reliability. Others had stated what they thought was built overseas I was simply adding to the products I know are built there and in case you didn't catch it, it was poo.

 

[eggontoast]

Agreed. I've visited some state-of-the-art factories in China capable of producing some very high-tech kit.

Maybe so but it doesn't mean it has to be located there, the advantages of manufacturing in China are rapidly diminishing.

 

[matthewpiano]

Chinese and Indonesian manufacture works perfectly well when controlled properly. One of the piano makers we represent is Kemble. They were the last of the British piano builders, making pianos in Milton Keynes until late 2009. At that point Yamaha moved Kemble production to their factory in Indonesia and closed the UK facility. The stock we have received from the Indonesian factory has been every bit as good as the pianos we had from the Milton Keynes factory. Moving production has had no impact on quality whatsoever.

It is a crying shame that large scale piano production came to an end in the UK, but that is another story.

I've never had any problem with Arcam quality. I've found it to be solidly built and generally well thought out kit. My disappointment has always been that their more entry level products often fail to be competitive in terms of sound. I have read that new entry level hi-fi product is on its way later in the year though...

 

[shafesk]

I had an AVR-250 the other day which was manufactured in China also, right heap of poo it was too.

I think only their high end Hi-Fi equipment is now made in England, but I would imagine probably not for much longer though.

Arcam's reliability has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the equipment is made in China - it's poor design and/or insufficient testing. A/V amps are incredibly complex and obviously testing fell through the cracks.

Get over the China syndrome. It's useless, boring and currently has no merit. All your Apple stuff is made there. My B&W 685s were also made in China but they were incredibly well built and were like new after 3 years until I sadly had to sell them.

Its not that they are made in China or any other country that is the problem. The problem just occurs because the product is developed in one country and manufactured in another. There can be communication problems which may lead to lower reliability in the short run. Mission had some issues in the past, but their new range seems to have done it. BnW n Apple are great examples of bridging the gap.

 

[Boris678]

My (very) positive experience:
Emailed re information on 3 channel modules and technical question re bi-wiring. Arcam responded to both within two days. One within two hours.
Telephoned technical advice re faulty remote control. On explaining issue, was immediately told new rc would be posted. Newer model rc arrived two days later. Significantly better service that that from Sony (dreadful) and Naim (average) this year.
I realise this is an old thread but thought it might be worth updating. This has been my experience in the last month.
It does seem tel nos is hidden and Arcam seem to be following the 'modern' trend of closing off telephone contact.

 

[bigfish786]

I've had arcam stuff for years now. 1st time I contacted them (seven yrs ago) I got immediate responses.

recently asked a few questions about the dv79, got nothing.

Leema on the other hand were very helpful and informative. Excellent service.

 

[Native_bon]

I have had it both ways with Arcam. When ever I called they were qiuck to pick up the phone & deal with any tech problems in a very professional way. Also when I got my system i was told the system needs to be installed by the shop I did the purchase from. So i was promise they will contact the dealer & call me back. Each time I called I was promised to get a call in half an hour.. Called the 3rd time now same thing no call back from Arcam.

Dnt understand what it is... But I must say really pleased with every other tech support. By the way I alway contacted them by phone.