Pissed - Quintet failed to protect gear

[adhesiv]

I've got a PS Audio Quintet which is supposed to provide unrestricted power flow while also protecting against surges and spikes.

All my AV gear is plugged into it.

Last night we had a surge that caused the lights to flicker for about 2 secs. I went to put on a movie this morning and realized the gear wasn't working or powering on. After an unplug/replug they fired up again. Obviously some internal protection circuit on that gear was tripped. Functionally the gear that was plugged into it appears to be operating without an issue however the LCD displays on a few pieces appears to have been "burned"! They're basically useless at this point.

Why would this have happened and do I have any recourse against PS Audio for damage that should've been protected?

I'm pissed to say the least.

[Masterlu]

I'm sorry to hear this; here is their manual with the warranty in the back:

http://www.psaudio.com/wp-content/up...-and-Duet1.pdf

[Yamaki]

ugghhhh...that really sucks.

Sorry for your troubles. I hope PS comes through with some form of compensation for the damage!

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by adhesiv

I've got a PS Audio Quintet which is supposed to provide unrestricted power flow while also protecting against surges and spikes.

All my AV gear is plugged into it.

Last night we had a surge that caused the lights to flicker for about 2 secs. I went to put on a movie this morning and realized the gear wasn't working or powering on. After an unplug/replug they fired up again. Obviously some internal protection circuit on that gear was tripped. Functionally the gear that was plugged into it appears to be operating without an issue however the LCD displays on a few pieces appears to have been "burned"! They're basically useless at this point.

Why would this have happened and do I have any recourse against PS Audio for damage that should've been protected?

I'm pissed to say the least.

Jayson.......Sorry to hear about the equipment damage from the surge. This is exactly why I always recommend whole house surge protection at the service panel or meter as a first line of defense. The other types of surge protection selected becomes secondary added protection and is far less likely to have to deal with any catastrophic surges because they will have been clamped and shunted to ground at the panel where the path to ground is the shortest distance. I know this doesn't help now, but you may want to consider a high quality industrial strength surge suppressor installed at your panel.

I read the PS Audio Warranty for the Quintet. Nowhere does it state that PS Audio will be responsible for damage to your equipment, only that the Quintet will be repaired if found defective. The Warranty states in capital letters: THE WARRANTY DOES NOT EXTEND TO ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL COSTS OR DAMAGES TO THE PURCHASER.

Something else that comes to mind is the possibility of the wall outlet in your home not being wired properly. Using a polarity checker, test to ensure that the Hot, Neutral, and Ground wires are properly terminated to correct terminals on the receptacle. Turn off that circuit at the panel and double check that the terminations are snug and if wired improperly make the correction. An incorrectly wired receptacle could cause a surge protector to fail to protect connected equipment.

[Masterlu]

I have commercial grade whole house surge protection at the service panel in both my homes. I then use layered surge protection on each, and every system.

My Florida home took a direct lightning hit; luckily nothing was damaged.

[j3brow]

Luck of the draw. All bets are off with electricity. I recently took a direct lightning strike. My audio system was spared. Two outlets in my listening room got hit and took out computer equipment but dedicated lines supplying the juice didn't take a charge or if it did the PPPs clamped without blowing their circuits. Either way I got very lucky. Even a whole house surge protector cannot protect against a direct lightening strike ..... Mine hit the HVAC unit in attic and spread through home electrical circuit via the HVAC outlet, back to distribution box and back to home circuits. A whole house protector goes between service line and breaker box. Thankfully, direct strikes are less likely than power line surges. I need to protect my home with a whole house surge protector too.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jayson.......I read the PS Audio Warranty for the Quintet. Nowhere does it state that PS Audio will be responsible for damage to your equipment, only that the Quintet will be repaired if found defective. The Warranty states in capital letters: THE WARRANTY DOES NOT EXTEND TO ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL COSTS OR DAMAGES TO THE PURCHASER.

The OP, adhesive, could get lucky if California is one of these states (also quoted from the warranty):

"Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or an exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you."

Good luck!

[adhesiv]

Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback and sorry for the delayed reply...had a major project at work that's been consuming my time lately.

I was really disappointed when I read that warranty exclusion since it seems that the point of surge protection is to protect you from a surge and the manufacturer should stand behind this to some degree.

However I am in California so maybe the exclusion doesn't apply? I'll have some time this week to look into it and report. The strange thing about this whole event is that only the LCD screens are affected (as far as I can tell).

[DonBattles]

Originally Posted by BlueSky

The OP, adhesive, could get lucky if California is one of these states (also quoted from the warranty):

"Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or an exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you."

Good luck!

Probably not that simple.

California

Commercial Contracts.
California upholds limitations of liability, but strictly construes their terms. A party may not limit liability for fraud, willful injury to persons or property, or for violation of law, whether willful or negligent. Cal. Civ. Code § 1668 (2006);
Wheeler v. Oppenheimer, 295 P.2d 128 (Cal. App. 1956),Hallidayv. Greene, 244 Cal.App. 2d 482 (1966). See also, Tunkle v. Regents of University of California , 383 P.2d 441 (Cal. 1963) ("no public policy opposes private, voluntary transactions in which one party, for a consideration, agrees to shoulder a risk which the law would otherwise have placed on the other party").

California determines whether a limitation on consequential damages will be upheld on a case-by-case basis, weighing factors such as the type of goods involved, the parties, the allocation of risk, and the precise nature and purpose of the contract

So it's unlikely that this will law/statute would allow the OP any financial relief in the end once you factor in court and legal costs.

DISCLAIMER: I'm no legal expert and DID NOT stay at a Holiday In Express last night

[BlueFox]

It would appear to be difficult to prove any equipment damage is from a surge protector not working. Things fail all the time without surges. It is the general nature of electronics to fail. Now if the surge protector failed, and took the attached gear with it then that might be easier claim to prove.