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Lavardin Amplifier Repair

I am a Canadian expat working in Saudi Arabia. I recently bought a used Lavardin IS amplifier from U.K. When the amp arrived and I plugged it in there was no sound from one of the channels. I sent an email to Lavardin in France asking my best course of action. They were prompt in replying and mentioned that if I ship the amp to France (and arrange to get it shipped back from France) they could upgrade the amp to IS Reference for Euro 1,000. Since I did not want to spend this much money (+ 2 way shipping) I decided to take the amp to Montreal during my home leave. I took the amp to the North American Distributor of Lavardin (Codell Audio, who are located in Montreal) who kept the amp for 2 weeks and then informed me they would ask for schematics or circuit board from Lavardin. Later they informed me that the only way to get the amp fixed was to ship to France. I then gave the amp to a high end audio store in Montreal who also do repairs. They told me that they had found the problem transistor but since the part number had been scratched off by the manufacturer they would need to get the exact replacement from Lavardin. Now they are getting in touch with Lavardin to see if they can get the replacement transistor. I am afraid the answer would still be the same i.e., ship the amp to France.

I am very disappointed that a reputable company would not trust and enable it's own distributor with making repairs to an amp. This situation raises serious questions about the wisdom of buying a Lavardin. Also, I think it is unfair that a manufacturer should not provide a replacement part (I have no problem if the part has o number on it) to fix a problem and insist on a expensive (I was quoted C$ 163 one way by the Lavardin North American Distributor)process of shipping (2 ways) to France.

I was wondering if any forum memeber is able to help me here in anyway to repair the amp without spending a fortune.

ahmev

Showing 2 responses by fafafion

fafafion
190 posts
 
The improvement of the IS referance over the stock IS is quite a lot IME.On one hand that the price quoted by Lavardin seems rather steep ,since there will be no dealer' s markup.but on the other hand,you could have a full Lavardin IS referance ,and a Presumed full warranty by thye manufacturers....

Changing the transistor is quite simple,especially IF your technicians follow the instructions properly{especially with regards to discharging the statics and using a proper antistatic precaution when touching the board.......which unfortunately a lot of people do not do]
fafafion
190 posts
 
Ahmev,

You are right,Naim and Lavardin couldn't be more different.

There are certainly level of Pathological-bordering obsessions to details with Lavardin,and their philosophy,and their Amp is almost unique in its design ,philosophy and most certainly sound.I suspect they are expecting the same from the owner...

Anyway all I can tell you is that you have got a wonderful amp in Lavardin

Lastly,I suggest you contact Soundscape in Singapore about your problem,They have been dealing with Lavardin for many years and there are very few people that know Lavardin quite like them anywhere in the world.http://www.soundscapehifi.com/
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