[Hamucevasiop]

Man it get's frustrating when you try to have something serviced through warranty, only to have the Manufacturer keep failing to actually fix the problem.

I have an Onkyo TX-NR609. I began to notice a popping noise coming from one of the surround channels when there are certain low frequencies in the audio stream. So naturally, I take it to a local Onkyo Authorized repair center to have it fixed per warranty. While it was there, I wanted them to fix another HDMI issue it had that I noticed.

So they say it will take up to 25days to be fixed, but once it was in the shop for 30days, I call to see what is going on. The shop said the HDMI board was on backorder and would take a month and half to come in. I wasn't happy with this, but not much I can do. So almost 3 months later, I get a call saying it was done and ready. So I pick it up, take it home, and within a day or two, I try it out and the popping noise is still there.

So back it goes to the repair center. Couple weeks later, they call me saying they can't reproduce the issue, but since the actual repair facility isn't to far, I make an appearance to physically demonstrate how to reproduce the popping noise and the tech and manager witness the issue first hand. And for more confirmation, they grab a couple more 609s they have in the building and wouldn't you know it, all of them have the same popping noise. The repair center says there is nothing they can do to fix it because it looks like an underlying design flaw.

So now I'm emailing Onkyo themselves and their support says its affected by a recall they had on the model. The problem is, my serial number isn't part of the affected group and the recall was for "Unexpected shutting down and static noise". I tried to tell them it was a popping noise, not a static noise and that the two are not the same, but they insisted that was the problem. Regardless, they send a box and return tag to have it shipped to a higher level repair facility.

Since I can't demonstrate the problem at this other facility, I make a recording of me demonstrating the problem and included a video that they could use to reproduce the problem themselves. So when I send it in, there is a DVD on how to reproduce the pop and what they need to do it themselves. So now I play the waiting game again.

Several weeks later, it comes back, with the DVD taped to the top, and I immediately test the receiver again, and yep, the popping noise is still there.

So it's now been 5 months and 3 shop visits and the one thing I have been wanting them to fix, is still not fixed.