Warning about M-Audio!

[DrSyn]

Hi All,

At first I was going to just let this go, but I feel others should know the complete and utter hell I have gone through in my M-Audio dealings.

I purchased a pair of BX8a deluxes which took 3 months to arrive (arrived July 7th). First they sent the wrong pair (the non-deluxe). After unpacking the BX8a deluxes and using them for all of two weeks, one of the speakers blew (maybe the amp, not sure).

So I send an email to Raymond Tantzen, a Product Manager at M-Audio letting him know what happened (Stingray1122 on the forums here). So far Ray was a straight up guy and was able to provide me with beta drivers for OSX that fixed another problem with the Profire 2626 I discovered) so I was confident this would be handled in a timely and professional manner.

I was assured by Ray that I would receive a new pair and I could send these back with an included fedex packing slip. Ray said he would get a pair out to me ASAP through their advanced RA system.

Well its now 2 months since I received the speakers and I still don't have a replacement pair, and despite numerous emails to Ray he seems to have stopped returning my emails. So now I am forced to return these speakers where I bought them or if it's too late, M-Audio will be re-imbursing me and they can take them.

I'll report back as things progress but sifficed to say this will be my last M-Audio purchase.

[truthnlife13]

Originally Posted by DrSyn

Hi All,

At first I was going to just let this go, but I feel others should know the complete and utter hell I have gone through in my M-Audio dealings.

I purchased a pair of BX8a deluxes which took 3 months to arrive (arrived July 7th). First they sent the wrong pair (the non-deluxe). After unpacking the BX8a deluxes and using them for all of two weeks, one of the speakers blew (maybe the amp, not sure).

So I send an email to Raymond Tantzen, a Product Manager at M-Audio letting him know what happened (Stingray1122 on the forums here). So far Ray was a straight up guy and was able to provide me with beta drivers for OSX that fixed another problem with the Profire 2626 I discovered) so I was confident this would be handled in a timely and professional manner.

I was assured by Ray that I would receive a new pair and I could send these back with an included fedex packing slip. Ray said he would get a pair out to me ASAP through their advanced RA system.

Well its now 2 months since I received the speakers and I still don't have a replacement pair, and despite numerous emails to Ray he seems to have stopped returning my emails. So now I am forced to return these speakers where I bought them or if it's too late, M-Audio will be re-imbursing me and they can take them.

I'll report back as things progress but sifficed to say this will be my last M-Audio purchase.

Have had similar horrific experiences with M audio. Once had a project mix that was a disaster

[d1rtynyc]

Return those & check out the similar priced KRK or Yamaha's.
For the money I think they are better quality.
Good luck!

[Corran]

Yes, M-Audio's customer service is a disaster. I bought their 88-key MIDI controller, and it's been nothing but trouble, including three defective units. When I sent one to California (for $60!) It took them almost two months to finally send me a new one, and yes I pestered them almost everyday about it!

I really try to not buy their products. I only own a couple MIDI boxes from them, the piano, and a DMP3 preamp. I hope not to purchase anything else from them.

And yes I agree the KRK and/or Yamaha would be a better monitor.

[matt thomas]

I emailed them recently and got no reply either..

narco

[Ubu4him]

M-Audio makes me sick.... period..... every thing of theirs looks and feels as cheap as a 5 cent hooker ......

[KeithMoonwannabe]

and like a cheap hooker STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!!!

M-Audio is horrible

don't even get me started on the project mix lol

seriously exchange those monitors KRK and Yamaha blow them away

[biggator6]

FWIW
I've never had anything but good customer service from them.. it's been a few years since I've needed to contact them for anything, but whenever I have - they've been pretty great.

[Corran]

Wow, that's definitely a fluke.

[toxostoma rufum]

Originally Posted by Ubu4him

M-Audio makes me sick.... period..... every thing of theirs looks and feels as cheap as a 5 cent hooker ......

Yeah, but a 5 cent hooker has a derrière while M Audio just sounds like derrière.

[imloggedin]

the 5 cent hooker gives me pro tools

[KeithMoonwannabe]

do they give you HD or LE? lol sorry I couldn't resist that one....

[DrSyn]

Update: It turns out there was a mistake made and my RA was not processed properly (I was not going through the official channels).

I spoke with someone at M-Audio who is now resolving this issue. Hopefully I will have a pair sent out within the next couple of business days. I'll report back once I have them.

[Old Goat]

I've also found M-Audio's support and service to be, um, less than stellar. I try to avoid them now. When I upgrade now, that's not the brand I start with.

[KeithMoonwannabe]

not going through the proper channels???

sounds like an excuse to me....if they cared about their customers mistakes like this wouldn't be made ALL THE TIME....believe me you aren't the first one to slip through the cracks.

I had issues everyday that I worked at GC.

[kreeper_6]

Originally Posted by Ubu4him

M-Audio makes me sick.... period..... every thing of theirs looks and feels as cheap as a 5 cent hooker ......

M-audio is a great company with good products. Love the axiom series, if you had one you wouldn't be talking this crap!

[alyricalmind]

Come on guys, M-audio isn't thaaat bad...

Their new Sputnik sounds great.
The audiophile 2496 is a great A/D.
Studiophiles are decent monitors.
Etc...

Customer service may be horrible but the products aren't as crappy as some are mentioning.

[ProducerBoy]

Originally Posted by alyricalmind

Customer service may be horrible but the products aren't as crappy as some are mentioning.

Definitely not a 5 cent hooker. More like ten cents.

[KeithMoonwannabe]

The EMU controllers feel way better than the M-Audio Axioms. The action on the Axiom is a joke.

M-Audio has good ideas but execute them soo poorly it isn't even funny.

Ever tried a Project Mix with a drumkit? My friend and I got one and we had to return it. Before we even touched the gain knobs which were at ZERO, all the channels CLIPPED. Rendering the unit worthless. Unacceptable at that price point. BTW he runs a live sound company and I have run sound and have a project studio myself. So we know what we are doing and we had good mics and drums and the whole nine yards.

their other interfaces and A/D units just aren't even worth messing with. there are other products available and in almost every case the competition has better specs and a better real world sound.

Their monitors totally suck compared to everything else in their class especially when you have KRK and Yamaha. Now Mackie has some low end monitors I'm sure those are better than the M-Audio's as well. Really there is no comparison there.

I've heard good things about the Sputnik but I've also heard negative things. Judging by the past track record I'm not sure I'd like risking it especially when I know the Groove Tubes tube condensers are in the same price range and I know they sound great for the money.

I used to sell their products, I had more returns/exchanges with M-Audio and Behringer than any other brand we carried at GC. I used the stuff on a daily basis. I think I'd know what I was talking about being that I used everything else popular on the market alongside their stuff. Their monitors were nothing but problems and they don't even sound that good.

M-Audio is good at one thing marketing products to total suckers...you will not find many people that make well informed purchases actually buying M-Audio products because once they use/hear the M-Audio stuff and the competition well yeah it's like test driving a BMW and a Hyundai only in this case the M-Audio is Hyundai. The other products don't need pushy salesmen and crazy advertising they sell themselves when you try them.

I'm not saying people can't be happy with their products I'm just saying it's pretty much a fact that there are other and better products available in the same class. And if I can spend the same amount of money for a better and more reliable product what reason do I have to buy from M-Audio. The fact that the other companies have better customer service is just icing on an already sweet cake. Companies that don't care about their customers don't last because people like me don't let them. I guess poor customer service is just a big pet peeve of mine (since I work as a manager and I'm in customer service also I'm studying business and plan to be an entrepreneur)

[PlugHead]

IME,

M-Audio (Canada) tech support and customer service has been great.

However, the 'quality' of their products is def. an issue. I'm on my 4th (yes, FOURTH) MicroTrak - the last 2 replacements have gone tits-up in a matter of weeks, not to mention 2 Radium keyboards' USB port died on me...

There is a price to be paid for cheap junk - usually at the owners expense...

[gearaddict]

GO BEHRINGER....yay....It will not break down as much!!!!

[KeithMoonwannabe]

and that QC thing is a big issue of mine maybe it's just cuz I'm middle class and I work my ass off everyday and try to keep a good reputation for myself but why would you want to build second rate products and put your name behind it? Even if you got a good unit is it better than anything else? Probably not! It might still sound or function worse.

I can't even tell you how many pairs of those great, luxurious studiophile monitors I had to send on repair order for the store and for customers. M-Audio was not prompt about having them fixed either. It would be weeks before they even sent GC the return authorization. And that is with the managers and sales people calling M-Audio everyday begging for it. I can only imagine what it's like for customers trying to deal with them on their own. If it were me and they treated me like that I'd return the product and never buy from that company again.

You aren't really impressing anyone, are you? If so I'm scared.

I think the only thing they have going for them is the fact that almost all their products are Pro Tools compatible now. But since I don't even use Pro Tools I don't even care. Frankly Digidesign stuff isn't much better but I'd much rather use any Digi product over M-Audio.

Frankly I'd be offended if my name was behind a product like that. I would want nothing to do with it. If I was the man behind a company like that I'd want quality put into everything I do. Leave cheap and crappy to someone else but I value my reputation too much for that. When you do everything "right" from the start you don't have problems like the ones we see here. I would also be royally pissed if someone I had working for me was treating my customers/clients the way some of their customer service blows people off (I'm not saying everyone their sucks just most of them it's obviously enough where there is an issue to me that's TOO MANY). ummm NEWSFLASH THOSE CUSTOMERS ARE PAYING FOR YOUR JOB treat them with some respect and do whatever it takes (within reason) to make them happy (stand behind your products).

[kafka]

I think the Lightbridge is a pretty good product. Try to borrow one first to see if it will work on your system before buying, because M-Audio support isn't going to do much to resolve any problems. If it works, though, it works very well. Also, the Keystation Pro 88 is easily the best value in 88-key keyboards. There are plenty that are better, but none at anywhere near the price. The Axioms are ok. Nothing special, but there's nothing wrong with them. Good if you need a lightweight beater keyboard for gigs or just fooling around.

The 1814 is functional, but not great sounding. It's probably fine for someone who just wants to record a few songs to show off to family and friends and wants to play with ProTools. I think most people serious about their sound would outgrow it pretty quickly.

I've found M-Audio's tech support to be less than stellar. The few times I've contacted them they went around in circles for a while, and never really came up with a solution. They are polite, though, and they will respond to your questions even if they ultimately can't answer them. If you need to talk to an engineer, they will call you back at your convenience.

[Nathan Wall]

I have a pair of Sputniks. (which sound great) and a pair of EX66 monitors (which sound great too).

Never had any problems with either of them and I received them promptly from M-Audio and actually had a great customer experience.

Weird huh?

[rxfit06]

My experience with M-Audio has also been positive. I purchased a pair of Ex66's and was VERY pleased with the way they sounded. I was concerned though at the louder self noise than I was/am used to in studio monitors. I called up tech support and of course had to wait a bit on someone to pick up, but after that they were quite curtious and helpful. I also emailed a couple of times and got a response within 24 hrs the first time, and withing 48 hrs the next.


They agreed to send me call tags both ways (no shipping for me) so they could check out the speakers to make sure nothing was wrong with them. After tracking them to delivery, I called up the repair dept., and again, he was very curtious and helpful.

Nothing was done about the "self noise", as the repair guys said the speakers were normal. Oh well,.. even though I was disappointed in the louder than normal "hiss", I am keeping them as I really do like the way they sound. I can't really use them for quiet mixing due to the aforementioned self noise, but they really sing at medium to loud mixing.

I will state for the record that after receiving the speakers back, I noticed that one of the volume controls was "wobbly". I guess going from SC to California and back loosened something up in there. Again, oh well,... More than likely if these were put together in the U.S. instead of China, this probably wouldn't have happened, but then again, they would have cost twice as much. They still function fine and sound great. I might just open the thing up and tighten it up myself.

I also own the "Sputnik" mic, and really think it is a top notch mic, and to me sounds much better than its price tag. And I have heard plenty of VERY expensive mics.

So, to sum up,.. very positive experience with customer service,.. a little dissapointed with quality control.

Marc

[KeithMoonwannabe]

I too have heard great things about the Sputnik I only hesitate because of the QC issues and the nightmares I've seen people go through trying to get products repaired and such.

I think a matched pair of sputniks would be fun for all kinds of things.

None of their monitors really did it for me I always preferred other things. I really like JBL, Genelec, Yamaha, Dynaudio, and high end KRK stuff. Each has their own kind of voice and times to use them.

I just think it's silly to make a product when over half of them that leave the line are defective and that was literally the case at GC when I worked there with the Studiophile monitors. If we had 4 sets in stock 3 would be messed up and waiting to get RA. Makes it hard to sell (or want to buy) something when they have reliablity issues like that.

Again with interfaces there is almost ALWAYS something BETTER FOR THE MONEY.

I guess if you don't care what you use or sound like M-Audio may be great, and if you get a product that isn't a lemon than you're good to go. I just don't have the time, money, or energy to throw away on anything at the moment. I rely on making well informed conservative decisions to get the gear I need without starving in the street.

[mradlauer]

I have a Profire 2626 and I have to say, I'm very happy with its performance so far.

Decent pre's, not alot of noise, and plenty of expandability...infact, I have a Focusrite 26I/O hanging off of the lightpipe to give me and additional 8 mic/line in...Its been rock solid so far!

I havent had to deal with m-audio support, so I cant speak to that, but finding stuff on their website has been easy...Their documentation is decent, and driver updates are freqeunt.

I had a bit of an issue getting it to work with PTMP on my Mac, but that was because PT wasnt ready for leopard yet...Now that it is, its my main set up.

The only thing I would do to make it better is an external clocking device. I cant afford a big ben or a lucid, but I may pick up one of the Black Lion clocks...They are about $300.

[GordZilla]

Nothing but good experiences here, with any of the M-Audio stuff I have ever had. I totally love my Sputnik, and still use my little Audio Buddy on occasion when I am short a preamp (they are a least as good as my 1402VLZ pres, maybe a tad cleaner).

As far as tech support goes... I have never had to use M-Audio's support, so I can't really say much there. However I do think that most tech support in general these days really blows goats, and it seems rare that you don't have some issues with getting good service from anyone anymore... YMMV though, as is the case with everyone I suppose

[DrSyn]

I am sending out the speakers (hopefully) tomorrow. They won't hot ship them which just adds to my annoyance.

I'll just be glad to get a (hopefully) working pair that (hopefully) wont die again.

M-Audio has some good products. As mentioned the Sputnik is awesome, and the profire 2626 is pretty decent (its better then anything else they have made auto interface wise anyway)

Their software is their weakness. They released the Profire back in.. June? Still no update on new osx drivers. There are still products that don't have vista drivers (I wouldn't use Vista for a daw anyway) I think their dev team is overwhelmed or poorly managed.

[KeithMoonwannabe]

Originally Posted by drsyn

their software is their weakness. They released the profire back in.. June? Still no update on new osx drivers. There are still products that don't have vista drivers (i wouldn't use vista for a daw anyway) i think their dev team is overwhelmed or poorly managed.

probably both