What to do about my xenon?

GaryJ · Post by **GaryJ** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:43 am

Well, my xenon 200.2 is giving me trouble for the third time. Its been back to PG to be repaired twice and I don't really want to spend the money to send it again. Each time it has done something different. This time, when I hit bumps in the road, my right speaker lets out a blast of static. It can be reproduced by simply rapping on the front of the amp with a knuckle. Its only driving a pair of old school MB Quart components. Frankly, I can't believe the trouble I have had with it and the other 200.2 I have, which also went back once under warranty.

I don't really know what to replace it with. I have considered an rsd or going to some older PG amp like a ZX of some kind off of ebay, but that also carries a risk. Maybe you guys have some thoughts. I did a bit of searching and it seems the rsds are reliable. Maybe I should consider a different brand altogether? I know the brand loyalty going on here makes that an unpopular suggestion, but this is getting old.

Post by **stipud** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:00 pm

I probably wouldn't buy another PG amp either, in your situation. That said, the Xenon line was the one that had the bad batch of amps. Basically, they had cold solder joints, which caused intermittent cut-outs like you are experiencing. Since then, PG resoldered all of the boards that came through, so later batches were very reliable too. Generally, when an amp gets fixed, it won't need it again (though your case seems to be extreme).

When PG repairs an amp, they usually stick by it. Last time they repaired one on me, which broke shortly after (faulty tripath chip), I never had to pay for the second repair. On top of that they shipped it back to Canada for me, and even paid the duty and brokerage charges. Normally they don't even do Canadian repairs

So it's probably worth your time to talk to PG... if you can get it repaired for free again, that would be cheaper than another amp. In theory it should be stable for many years to come after that (third time's a charm? knock on wood?).

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:00 pm

crap...that sucks. i believe pg warrant's their work. it sounds like that is one of the early xenons that had a known problem of too little solder. call them and see if they can work out something since you have already sent it in twice.

if not. you might contact Jim truett on the board and ask him about sending it to him.

or even if you are tech savvy, you could try trouble shooting yourself. im fairly confident if someone went over the whole board checking the solder connections the problem would be found and even future proof the rest against this happening again. its a double layer board which might pose a problem.

GaryJ · Post by **GaryJ** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:07 pm

stipud wrote:I probably wouldn't buy another PG amp either, in your situation. That said, the Xenon line was the one that had the bad batch of amps. Basically, they had cold solder joints, which caused intermittent cut-outs like you are experiencing. Since then, PG resoldered all of the boards that came through, so later batches were very reliable too. Generally, when an amp gets fixed, it won't need it again (though your case seems to be extreme).

When PG repairs an amp, they usually stick by it. Last time they repaired one on me, which broke shortly after (faulty tripath chip), I never had to pay for the second repair. On top of that they shipped it back to Canada for me, and even paid the duty and brokerage charges. Normally they don't even do Canadian repairs

So it's probably worth your time to talk to PG... if you can get it repaired for free again, that would be cheaper than another amp. In theory it should be stable for many years to come after that (third time's a charm? knock on wood?).

I doubt PG will have any help to offer. Its been a year about since it went in the last time. I also noticed that the repair prices have gone up a lot since then- now around $145. It was $90 or something I think when I sent it last. The first time was underwarranty. The website says they warrant their repairs for 90 days.

I guess I can try calling them.

Post by **Wakeup** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:03 pm

GaryJ wrote:
stipud wrote:I probably wouldn't buy another PG amp either, in your situation. That said, the Xenon line was the one that had the bad batch of amps. Basically, they had cold solder joints, which caused intermittent cut-outs like you are experiencing. Since then, PG resoldered all of the boards that came through, so later batches were very reliable too. Generally, when an amp gets fixed, it won't need it again (though your case seems to be extreme).

When PG repairs an amp, they usually stick by it. Last time they repaired one on me, which broke shortly after (faulty tripath chip), I never had to pay for the second repair. On top of that they shipped it back to Canada for me, and even paid the duty and brokerage charges. Normally they don't even do Canadian repairs

So it's probably worth your time to talk to PG... if you can get it repaired for free again, that would be cheaper than another amp. In theory it should be stable for many years to come after that (third time's a charm? knock on wood?).
I doubt PG will have any help to offer. Its been a year about since it went in the last time. I also noticed that the repair prices have gone up a lot since then- now around $145. It was $90 or something I think when I sent it last. The first time was underwarranty. The website says they warrant their repairs for 90 days.

I guess I can try calling them.

Worth a shot to give them a call. You never know. PG has been known to pull things out of their hat from time to time. And SOMETIMES in favor of the buyer.

The worst thing that can happen is they say it'll COST....

And the best situation is ohh I am sorry lets take a look and we'll take care of that for you.

Dont forget to display your FRUSTRATION in a calm manner....show you are frustrated but be civil is what I mean...and good luck! At least you can make a decision after this phone call.

Don't take no the first couple of times. Discuss the matter and try to get them to see your point. Good luck! I hope they take care of you.

And welcome to the Phorums! you've come to the right place.
Worst case scenario here they say know....you can probably sell the broken amp here or one of the members here might be able to help you troubleshoot or fix it for you...(of course at their cost/price)

dako · Post by **dako** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:16 pm

i wouldn't hesitate to contact them. i had to send my tantrum 1200.1 back for repair after its first time in for service. i'm pretty sure i was at or beyond my 90 day warranty period too.

on top of them honoring that, they also replaced the tri-path chip the second time around (amazing enough they were able to find one for the first send-in!) "just to be on the safe side". service above and beyond. they also sent a pre-paid UPS label after i had asked nicely.

the worst they can do is say no.

GaryJ · Post by **GaryJ** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:54 pm

Well, I did call today but didn't get a definite answer. I am supposed to get a phone call from someone tomorrow. I really don't think I even want to mess with this particular amp any more- frankly my trust in it lasting after another repair is pretty shot. Its a large bookend as far as I'm concerned.

That leaves me with a single x200.2 and nothing else. I kind of would like a pair of matching amps from the same series, even if they are not the same model. Maybe a mono and a 2 channel pair of rsds?

Where are reputable online retailers for rsd stuff. I see woofersetc., onlinecarstereo and there are people on ebay. Any dealings with those folks?

JL audio also makes some decent stuff, so maybe I will try that next. Who knows.

oldskoolmseriesfan · Post by **oldskoolmseriesfan** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:23 am

As far as Im concerned the xenons were lemons. Just my 2cnts.

GaryJ · Post by **GaryJ** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:52 pm

Well, I thought it was reasonable to post an update.

They offered me a reduced rate to fix it, but really, I wasn't that excited about that. They also wanted my name etc. They could only find one instance of either of my amps going back, but I've found the invoices for all 3 trips. Whatever. Anyway, before I even posted here the first time, I had given the wires a tug to no avail. Rapping on the front of it was the only thing that seemed to cause the problem. PG wanted me to pull the amp to verify the serial number before they were going to go much further, so I set out to do that.

I was frustrated with the amp when I went out to pull it out (and the fact that 90% of my tools are over 1000 miles away) so I tried jiggling the wires some more- lo and behold, the R RCA input is related to the problem somehow. Now I'm not sure if its a cable or something on the amp's connection causing the problem. I don't know how it didn't happen the other time I fiddled with it or how rapping on the front of the amp made the problem occur if it was a wire, but for the time being, the sound isn't happening any more no matter what I try. I'm not totally convinced the problem is actually solved, though. That would be too easy for me. I expect it to return at some point, but maybe I got lucky this time.

bogart · Post by **bogart** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:45 pm

Hello, I've been running xenon amps for a few years now and the only one that I've ever had issue with is the 200.2...one died on my test board after functioning fine for a week and the other died in the car after I built a rack...I live three miles from pg and won't take em as that model just seems to be trouble. I've got a 100.4, a 200.4 and a 1200.1 and they have never been a problem though so don't give up on pg altogether.

I do understand, I had four cv exl 1200.1s strapped two years ago and one amps rattled a solder bead loose and it rolled down the hot board and not only flamed out ...like blue fire and sparks flamed out...it killed all the amps...not one lived and cv gave me two new ones and fixed two...but it took 6 months and a gang of calling and bugging em...swore I'd never run there equipment again too...but I've recently picked up some of there older subs so I lied to myself....however it is hard to criticize the strokers

If you need an amp for parts let me know...I'll send you one of my dead boards if you want to pay to ship it.

You may want to try having it repaired locally...they may be able to upgrade the components that are proving faultly and most local shops stand by their work.

GaryJ · Post by **GaryJ** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 10:16 am

Well it isn't so much that I don't trust PG to fix it (and they offered to do it for $50), its more that I don't trust it to stay fixed. Whatever I accomplished by removing and re-inserting the RCA cables seems to be working for now. As embarrasing as it is to admit that it may have been something that simple, it didn't help to wiggle the wires around the first time I tried it. Maybe I'll be lucky for once.

If it gives me more trouble, I will probably just replace it with something else. Maybe a ZX or Ti or try a RSD. Who knows.

What to do about my xenon?

What to do about my xenon?

don't give up yet.