Problem with a Denon HDMI Receiver Repair

A couple months ago, the headphone jack on my Denon AVR-1909 stopped working; it wouldn't accept a headphone plug. Otherwise, the receiver was working fine. A little over a week ago, I took the unit into one of the two official Denon service centers in town and paid them a $100.00 bench fee to fix the jack. I'd used them once before, about two years ago, when the unit stopped working, and they'd sent it back to Denon to replace the HDMI board. Although I wasn't happy about paying nearly $300.00 for that repair, I thought the service facility handled the matter professionally and the unit was repaired well.

Yesterday, I called the shop to check on the progress of the repair. I nearly fell over when the staffperson I talked to told me the technician had diagnosed a defective HDMI board, since I'd replaced the board 2 years ago, and it was functioning just fine when I brought it in. The staffer put me on hold, then told me he'd check with the technician and get back to me with more details.

Today I got a call from the manager of the facility. He told me that the technician had replaced the jack, but when he'd powered up the unit it wouldn't "pass signal," hence the broken HDMI board. When I asked him to explain why the board had suddenly stopped working, he said he really had no explanation, although he suggested that the broken jack might have "stressed" the board. He insisted, however, that they had not broken my receiver.

He then offered to contact Denon to see if he could get them to replace the HDMI board, which has failed twice on this unit. I'm not holding out much hope for this, since the machine is about five years old, but I guess I'll wait to hear back from him before taking any action. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any advice or expertise from folks here who know more about electronics than I do. Could a broken headphone jack "stress" an HDMI board or am I being fed a load of bull? If the latter, how do folks think I should deal with the repair shop?

 

Sounds like a load of bull. Did you pay the shop a bench fee yet? You could get a replacement/working AVR-1909 via ebay for ~$100, total.

 

Yes, they wanted a hundred bucks before they would look at the unit. Since I paid by credit card I suppose at the very least I could dispute the charge, and at least have a hundred bucks to put toward a new receiver.

 

Well, technically they did do the diagnostics for the agreed-upon $100 charge, so disputing it is rather shady even if you do win the dispute.

I recommend going to pick up the receiver, be out the $100, cut your losses and consider it a $100 lesson learned. Sell it on ebay for $50 and put it towards a newer receiver wither better room EQ and/or streaming capabilities.

 

Not sure how they "did the diagnostics." I brought in a unit with a broken headphone jack and am left with one with a busted HDMI board. Under the principle of "first do no harm" I feel I would be justified in disputing the charge.

 

Well if it was working when you brought it in, Then they broke it.
In order to get at the headphone jack they have to take a lot of it apart.
So... They broke it and the techie is trying to weasel out of fessing up to breaking it. (Maybe he thought he could get at the item and only bend the xyz a little.. oops it cracked... Pretend it never happened...)
You are screwed .
Same thing with cars all the time. They will typically refuse to fix stuff they broke unless you an prove it was 'them who done it.' (or you are a good customer they want to keep.)

 

Time for a new receiver. Unless it's covered by the warranty it's NEVER worthwhile to pay to have something like this repaired. The upgrade will be worth it as well.

 

I understand your frustration, and I would be mad too. But you're mad about a $100 charge, over a $100 receiver. Just cut your losses, sell it for parts on eBay and move on. Otherwise it's a month of messing around with your CC company, the shop, etc. Maybe they'll refund half the bench fee?

 

I'd sell it for parts and find another same model receiver for $100 and be done with it. And HDMI boards are well known issues in quite a number of A/V receivers and not just Denons.

 

I agree with others - just move on and forget it. But, I don't think I would buy another used Denon of the same model. This receiver has gone out twice in 5 years - once for the HDMI board and the headphone jack. Sounds to me like you might be buying the same kind of problems again if you were to buy a used unit like the one you had. I would consider either a newer model used unit or a new one.

 

I appreciate everyone's input. I know it may seem petty to be quibbling over a hundred dollar charge, but my anger is more directed at the runaround I feel I'm getting from what is supposed to be a dependable service facility. I'm also steamed at Denon. I may be old school, but when I pay more than five hundred dollars for something, I have the expectation that it will last longer than two and a half years before requiring expensive repairs. I still haven't heard back from the service facility but I have no interest in acquiring a used model of the same receiver. Looks like I'll need to start shopping for a new receiver.

 

At a minimum (and for little effort) file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. www.bbb.com