[Neil Rutman]

I pulled out a neumann km 184 that I hadn't used in several months and it
wasn't working. I tried a few things based on advice from knowledgable
sources mostly involving checking wire connections and grounding problems to
no avail. Someone on this group suggested sending off to Sennheiser/Neumann
which I did. They told me I need a new pc board ($410) and with labor, tax &
shipping comes to $544.

My question is do they even attempt to repair the old pc board before they
recommend replacement? Is it cheaper to replace than to repair? I'm thinking
there's gotta be a cheaper option than this. Times are tough at tax time.

Thanks,

Neil R

[David Satz]

Neil Rutman wrote:

Someone on this group suggested sending off to Sennheiser/Neumann
which I did. They told me I need a new pc board ($410) and with labor, tax &
shipping comes to $544.

I recommended Neumann USA's repair service and I'm appalled at this
proposed repair charge. Unless the board itself is badly damaged, the
most expensive part that ought to need replacement in a KM 180-series
amplifier is a hybrid IC that I doubt costs more than $100, even with
their markup.

If I were you I would start asking whether the repair can be made by
less drastic and expensive means. It's a reasonable request unless, as
I said, the board itself is badly damaged.


Is it cheaper to replace than to repair?

You can find good used KM 184s for less than $600. If you're using two
KM 184s as
a stereo pair, however, be aware that there have been two models of
the circuit. The newer ones are quieter by a few dB, and also require
about 50% more current from the phantom power supply. The changeover
occurred in 2001 or 2002.

Please let us all know whatever happens.

--best regards

[Scott Dorsey]

In article ,
Neil Rutman wrote:
I pulled out a neumann km 184 that I hadn't used in several months and it
wasn't working. I tried a few things based on advice from knowledgable
sources mostly involving checking wire connections and grounding problems to
no avail. Someone on this group suggested sending off to Sennheiser/Neumann
which I did. They told me I need a new pc board ($410) and with labor, tax &
shipping comes to $544.

My question is do they even attempt to repair the old pc board before they
recommend replacement? Is it cheaper to replace than to repair? I'm thinking
there's gotta be a cheaper option than this. Times are tough at tax time.

Sounds like they didn't, which is shameful. Ask them why they can't do a
component-level repair. If they're just going to swap the whole damn board
out, you can do that yourself and save the labour.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."