Who Can Repair a Pair of AudioPipe AQX 3500.1s (aka RD Audio 3250)

[GeekSquad 10+ year member]

I have an Audiopipe AQX 3500.1s that is blown and out of warranty coverage. I have had two of them and they both did the same thing, but at different times: They spontaneously emitted a large, scary cracking sound (anyone who has ever accidentally shorted a battery with a wrench knows what I'm talking about) and then proceeded to issue dense yellow-ish smoke from the vents. Neither amp was playing at the time it blew and, in fact, had just powered on. No music; just power, ground, and remote.

At the time of their deaths, both amps were hooked up to 2.9 and 2.7 ohm resistive loads, with 15.2 volt idle off of a 300 amp Ohio Generators Alternator, one large Interstate, and Three (3) Optima Red Top Batteries.

David Thornton of Audiopipe has been less than helpful, even to the point of appearing biasied against servicing their product. Currently, I am stuck looking at a very large paper weight. Who has experience repairing these cheap Chinese amplifier boards, and how may I contact them? One thing is for sure: After this, NO MORE AUDIOPIPE FOR ME!

FTW, if anyone else has had problems with the AUDIOPIPE version of this board, please come in and share your experiences in this post.

Click to read more...

 

[Timmothy Web 10+ year member]

got a picture?

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

Amp Medics Home

They're an hour away from me. Heard of people using them. Dunno about price though.

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

I'm raising the //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/bsflag.gif.21f42eccd34b7d1eb1608fb1b59b69c3.gif. Audiopipes don't just burn up, they're better than that.

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

I've never heard of this issue either. But I wouldn't trust anyone with my amps other than Chris at Db-r

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

I've never heard of this issue either. But I wouldn't trust anyone with my amps other than Chris at Db-r

I'd go there before my place as I don't personally have experience with them.

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

I gotta admit, chris is pretty cool and is a straight shooter when it comes to stuff. Hell there is a guy here locally that fixes amps and i'd still take it to chris first.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

steve at ampmedics is just as good as chris, guy knows what he is doing. Never had any issues with any of his work. very thorough and will tell you straight up if he doesn't want to touch the board. Him and chris are in constant talks. steve is willing to work on fosgates, kickers, mmats, etc. where chris now strictly deals with zenon boards. Steve is the authorized repair guy of crescendo, american bass, and addictive audio. Chris and steve are the only guys i would ever use but i mainly use steve as he is local and I love getting a lesson every time i stop by his place.

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

steve at ampmedics is just as good as chris, guy knows what he is doing. Never had any issues with any of his work. very thorough and will tell you straight up if he doesn't want to touch the board. Him and chris are in constant talks. steve is willing to work on fosgates, kickers, mmats, etc. where chris now strictly deals with zenon boards. Steve is the authorized repair guy of crescendo, american bass, and addictive audio. Chris and steve are the only guys i would ever use but i mainly use steve as he is local and I love getting a lesson every time i stop by his place.

do you ever get a reach around? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

do you ever get a reach around? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/naughty.gif.94359f346c0f1259df8038d60b41863e.gif

mmmmmmm u had to go there

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

mmmmmmm u had to go there

thats how I roll bruh.

 

[GeekSquad 10+ year member]

I talked to Chris the last couple of days, and I have to agree that he is a great person to talk to when it comes to fixing amps. It was via him that I found out that these are exactly the same as the ill-fated RD Audio 3250. Needless to say, he wont touch them with a 10 foot soldering iron...

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

he only deals with zenon amps now, can be fixed though, call steve

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

Yeah I need to get my Atomic 5kw fixed, its got a really weird problem (goes into protect for no reason, randomly and still will do over 150 db...lulz)....I need to sell it, im not even using it anymore.

 

[GeekSquad 10+ year member]

got a picture?

I have some crystal clear pics on my phone of both boards, but dont feel like waiting on BT to my tablet.

Here is a video of the boards onboth amps before the second one blew.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=knjtpcIqCOo

 

[GeekSquad 10+ year member]

he only deals with zenon amps now, can be fixed though, call steve

Will do. Thanks, man!

 

[GeekSquad 10+ year member]

I'm raising the //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/bsflag.gif.21f42eccd34b7d1eb1608fb1b59b69c3.gif. Audiopipes don't just burn up, they're better than that.

Before these amps, I would have been skeptical too. These amps have issues, though, that are bigger than the sum of their parts. These were the most powerful amps ever made by Audiopipe when they came out, but like RD Audio, the Chinese build house seems to have pulled a fast one on old Audiopipe.

Check my video to see what I mean...

 

[thorshammer1 10+ year member]

Honestly your better off just buying new ones as replacements. I'm sure Chris told ya about things like benchfees etc... Pretty much any repair facility will automatically charge 55-100 just to take a look at it. From there cost depends on replacement parts,labor etc.. by the time you pay a 3-500 dollar repair fee its just not worth the repair.

We send all of our 5k and under warranty issues to Chris. Everything else goes to Arc(Amp Repair Center) in ohio.

 

[Serpent710 10+ year member]

Yeah I need to get my Atomic 5kw fixed, its got a really weird problem (goes into protect for no reason, randomly and still will do over 150 db...lulz)....I need to sell it, im not even using it anymore.

price??

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

hey rob that guy alex is trying to get a hold of you