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Beware of dealing with PurePower Partners Inc

I had sent my PurePower+ 3000 in for an “upgrade” (one of many!) back in December 2013 to resolve an issue with a noisy choke when under load. It still has not been returned 5 months later after multiple broken promises by the company president Damian Janzen and his father Richard Janzen to return an upgraded unit, then a brand new unit and then a full refund. Each response from them typically takes several Emails and phone calls from me to get a response. I am now forced to bring them to small claims court to either get a refund or a brand new unit AS THEY HAVE REPEATEDLY PROMISED.
I will keep you updated if they ever do provide a refund or new unit as promised, or the outcome of the court case.
Here is the history of the last and final upgrade procedure…
I complained of a choke buzzing noise under load and Richard responds on Dec 9, 2013. This noise is quite loud even from the listening position. Completely unacceptable for a product that is supposed to reduce background noise!
“From: Richard Janzen
Sent: Monday, December 09, 2013 11:53 AM
To:
Cc: damian@purepoweraps.com
Subject: upgrade

We have been installing the new coils in all existing units - and the
noise level reduces dramatically.

All new units being manufactured in December are being produced with
the new epoxy.

But even before this change, component noise was an infrequent issue.

I am sorry you have suffered from it.

I will be happy to issue a Fedex pickup tag - and we can give the unit
a full factory QC test.

That will determine if the noise is inherent in your particular unit
- or if it is something that is exacerbated by some local condition.

Richard Janzen, Marketing Manager
519 624 9735”
I return my PurePower+ 3000 back to the factory in Ayr for upgrades on December 11 2013.
On Jan 2 Richard sends me an Email saying they are ready to return a quiet unit…
“Hi Chris

We are just about finished with our latest mods and tests. They are
quite successful.

It has being applied to your unit - and is being standardized on all
production. We will keep testing and listening until Monday - when we
should be able to return a quiet unit to you.

The secret has been to modify both the capacitor and the coil. The
noise is a function of the interaction of the 2 filter components.”
On Feb 5 Richard sends me this update after I ask why I have not heard from them in a month…
“Hi Chris

We do have ever quieter units - and our latest iteration will be better for you - but we think we will have the "ultimate" solution in development with hopes of completing it before the end of February.
Richard Janzen, Marketing Manager
519 624 9735”

On March 6 I receive the following from PurePower after reminding them of their promise to return my unit by end of February.

“Sorry Chris

I was out of the office last week and am just catching up.

We are now building essentally silent 3000's.

I will get a firm ship date commitment in tomorrow mornings production meeting. I expect you to be at the top of the order.”

On March 21 I get this update after asking them why it was not already shipped in the previous two weeks as promised!

“Ive asked our production person for a definitive ship date. Will respond as soon as I get it.

We created a backlog while we solved all the coil and capacitor noise , now we are simply building as fast as we can to ship all back orders. We are being methodical - and we are trying to improve our speed”

Later the same day March 21st from Richard…

“Damian has confirmed a Monday ship date. I will forward the Fedex waybill as soon as it is pickd up.

Richard Janzen, Marketing Manager
PurePower Partners LLC.
519 624 9735”
So above they promised a firm ship date of March 24th.
On April 8th Richard CC’s me in a response to another customer which is having very similar issues with PurePower.
Here is the link he referred to. Apparently, I am not the only one!
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/67/671848.html
On April 9th Damian replies to another request for an update that he is waiting on parts and will ship before end of week…
“Hi Chris,

I am waiting to receive the parts we talked about a few days ago -
expected them from Scarborough yesterday afternoon but now looking like
a tomorrow afternoon delivery. I want to get this out for you before the
end of the week.

If you want a call this afternoon with any details I can do that, let me
know.

Thanks,
Damian.”
On April 11th he replies to my request for an update after they miss yet another ship date promise, with additional delays…
“Hi Chris,

I ran into a small problem, but it will not prevent your receipt of a quiet 3000. Are you available tomorrow for a short phone call? I very much want to clear up this situation and for you to have a great product to enjoy.

Thanks,
Damian.”
On April 24, again he replies to my request for an update after missing a promised ship date AGAIN with more delays…
“Dear Chris,

If I could have an opportunity to talk with you when you return on
Friday I would like to do so. Would you be available for a call?

Thank you,
Damian Janzen”
I phone Damian again on May 7, 2014 demanding a refund since it has become clear that these excuses will NEVER end. He agrees to refund my original purchase price in full by Friday May 9, 2014.
No refund was offered or received on May 9, 2014.
I send Email again on May 12 requesting refund.
No response.
Sent Email again on May 14th requesting refund.
I am F’ing tired of this!
Time to bring them to court!
cbachalo
french_fries
815 posts
 
i too was tempted to buy a PUREPOWER 3000 to address brownouts (frequent where i live) to protect my amplifiers. After doing a little research i came upon
all of the customer complaints and demanded the seller get written confirmation that the unit i was buying was the latest and most bug-free unit they had produced up to that time. The company never responded to my emails or the sellers, so i
forget about the whole thing. But i DID contact UPS about which units they would recommend SPECIFICALLY for audio systems with the smallest amount of added noise or other distortion products. they gave me several suggestions and assured me that they would absolutely work extremely well with my high-end system.
Their reputation is pretty good so i think they are well worth a try- and for
tons less money as well. The PurePower 3000 presently retails for $5800 without additional options (better batteries and better power plugs). If
it were only the best possible component on the market it "might" actually be worth it.
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
Thanks Alan,

I hope to keep my 1050 running as long as I can. There seem to be no other choices except PS Audio, which also has issues.

I believe the older 1050's were made in Taiwan not Canada.

I think the original design was done by the Taiwan manufacturer (which also makes industrial regenerators).

PurePower may have bought or commissioned, the design from them. Their relations turned bad, and they then "tried" to build in Canada. That was the start of all the problems.
a_hayman
43 posts
 
French_fries,

You said you contacted "UPS" about which units they would recommend. What company is that? What is the full company name, and how do we contact them?

Thanks!
french_fries
815 posts
 
Oops, sorry about that- APC.com makes the line of Uninterrupted Power Supplies, mainly for computers and other appliances at home as well as in large businesses.
But if you call them they can recommend certain items that are well designed for audio systems. I gave them specific detains about my system (my amps make 500W each), and customer service was still able to recommend 3 or 4 different units, none cost more than $1500- most of them quite less.
audiobrian
184 posts
 
I found a company on the web called ProPower which builds AC regenerators with battery backup, with units that look identical to PuerPower. I guess this is the Chinese company that produced the units for PurePower Canada before the feud. Now a competitor, I guess. Anyone know of ProPower?
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