Experiences with Devialet product build quality and warranty

[firemega]

Hi all, I'm a new joiner to the forum.

I bought two Devialet Phantoms and Dialog 2.5 years ago from Singapore, but have since moved to Dubai. A few months ago the Dialog stopped working so I brought it to a local dealer here in Dubai who tested it and confirmed the Dialog being broken, but said that I'd need to contact the store where I bought it from to replace it.

I contacted the store in Singapore who were also helpful, but said that they can't replace it considering the two-year warranty is no longer valid and I'd have to contact Devialet Customer Service. I contacted the customer service, but basically they said the same thing - the warranty is no longer valid so they can't replace the Dialog. Sorry.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but in my opinion expensive hi-fi equipment should be expected to work for more than two years. I'm not impressed. I was planning to purchase another pair of Phantoms for my house, but now I'll definitely be looking for other brands. What have your experiences been with Dialog and Phantom build quality and replacing them?

Regards,
Henry

[NickB]

Did you read the warrant before you bought it?

[Unclemonty]

Who reads the warranty before buying things?  What a daft thing to ask.

[ogs]

Hi all, I'm a new joiner to the forum.

Welcome here!

Unfortunately there are some stories on this forum about both broken Dialogs and Phantoms. Do some searches and you'll see. As Phantoms can not be repaired currently, Devialet some times replaces them even after warranty. Dialog is another story it seems. I do not own either so I am not referring to own experience. Devialet do offer a 'Care pack' which extends warranty. Did the dealer in Singapore mention this?
You will probably have to buy a new Dialog..., but I understand your scepticism

[iamwappie]

Here in the Netherlands there is something we call consumer rights. All warranties are two years (European policy) and often shops try to sell additional warranty insurances but because of consumer rights the vendor is obligated to reduce repair cost by a ration of expected product lifetime. Often when a consumer does not ask for this of course it is not mentioned but I succesfully used this argument several times.

So e.g. a washing machine has a life expectancy of 12 years and it breaks down after 5 years, warranty period is over. Actual repair costs which normally would be €200 are now reduced to ratio (probably non linear but for example €200*5/12.

Don't know if such thing even exists outside Europe as well but maybe worth to check. Heck, Devialet = France so give it a try

[firemega]

iamwappie.

I am from Europe as well, so I was expecting exactly what you said. A product sold as a high quality product made in France (and of high cost) should be expected to work for way more than 2 years, and should be replaced by the company, even if the warranty is void. If not for anything else, for customer loyalty and maintaining the brand.

It is understandable that some products are just defective. However, the company should work hard to keep their customers happy.

Henry

[Hifi_swlon]

I thought that when I bought an expensive Dyson vacuum cleaner. Sadly they couldn’t have been less interested when it broke just out of warranty. Some companies are better than others here, and it’s not always down to how expensive things are. And a lot of complex expensive electronics only has a one year guarantee..... not defending Devialet by any means, just saying it’s common.

[Gerronwithit]

I have a Porsche and can assure you that after the two year warranty anything that goes wrong will cost you a lot of money. Just think that if you are well enough off to own a Porsche or Devialet HiFi then you also have to be prepared to foot expensive repairs. I am preaching but would certainly feel the pain and resentment.

Just to try to lighten the subject: I had an Onkyo AV amp that was out of warranty appeared to lose picture control and ended up paying twice for new HDMI connections, about £300 a time. It did it one more time when my grandkids had their hands on the remote and we discovered that they were messing around with screen formats accidentally. Nothing wrong with the HDMI connections.