Anywhere in Dublin that would fix a faulty headphone jack on an MP3 player(X5)?

JC 2K3

My iAudio X5's headphone jack has broken, its like a contact point has been broken or something since I can only hear audio from the right channel, I can get it to work properly but putting pressure on the connection, but this is obviously not ideal. I bought the player from the US and still have the warranty, but there is the chance that they won't post it back to Europe and even if they do it'll take ages.

So I'm wondering would there be anywhere in Dublin that would fix it for me? It's a simple electrical fault, not a big issue such as hard drive failure, I think I could even fix it myself, but wouldn't risk it....

rubadub

Many players will have worldwide warranty, i.e. you may be able to post to the UK or germany. Try emailing them. I reckon any trustworthy place fixing it is going to charge €50 minimum

JC 2K3

rubadub wrote:

Many players will have worldwide warranty, i.e. you may be able to post to the UK or germany. Try emailing them. I reckon any trustworthy place fixing it is going to charge €50 minimum

I know Cowon doesn't, it even says on my warranty statement that it's only valid in the country where purchased and says Cowon America at the bottom of it. But if I could get away without proof of purchase and not having to include the warranty statement I could send it to Cowon Europe(not sure where they're based), I might even forge proof of purchase and a Europeon warranty statement, I can't see how they would be able to tell it was fake...

But that's beside the point of this topic, I just want to find out about places that would fix it for me in Dublin as an alternative.

lostexpectation

why arn't there many independent electronic fixing places, ya think they could make a niche fortune

rubadub

lostexpectation wrote:

why arn't there many independent electronic fixing places, ya think they could make a niche fortune

Spares can cost a fortune and a guy qualified enough to fix these things would be in another high-paying job. It is cheaper to replace it a lot of the time these days of high service charges and low item costs. back in the 80's fixing TVs and videos were big business

Bard

JC 2K3 wrote:

I know Cowon doesn't, it even says on my warranty statement that it's only valid in the country where purchased and says Cowon America at the bottom of it. But if I could get away without proof of purchase and not having to include the warranty statement I could send it to Cowon Europe(not sure where they're based),

AFAIK, there isn't a Cowon Europe, just America and Korea. The Cowon products Irish retailers sell come from an Irish supplier (Sharptext only I believe) who get them from Korea.

I might even forge proof of purchase and a Europeon warranty statement, I can't see how they would be able to tell it was fake...

Er, they could contact the retailer.

But that's beside the point of this topic, I just want to find out about places that would fix it for me in Dublin as an alternative.

To get yours fixed, you'll have to go to a third party repair place (there used to be a computers/electrical goods repair company in a place downstairs on Parnell Street, a few doors down from where Peats used to be. Apart from that, I don't know... sorry...) or go back to Cowon ... in America.

JC 2K3

Bard wrote:

AFAIK, there isn't a Cowon Europe, just America and Korea. The Cowon products Irish retailers sell come from an Irish supplier (Sharptext only I believe) who get them from Korea.

I'm fairly sure they either make them or supply them in Europe from a base in Germany or soemwhere. You're right, there is no "Cowon Europe", but there's "Cowon International"

Bard wrote:

Er, they could contact the retailer.

Good point, but would they bother with every single RMA?

Bard wrote:

To get yours fixed, you'll have to go to a third party repair place (there used to be a computers/electrical goods repair company in a place downstairs on Parnell Street, a few doors down from where Peats used to be. Apart from that, I don't know... sorry...) or go back to Cowon ... in America.

Or do a solder job myself(or get my dad, who's an electronic engineer, to give it a go). AFAIK Cowon America only post RMAs to US addresses.....

Bard

JC 2K3 wrote:

Good point, but would they bother with every single RMA?

Nah, just the dodgy looking ones

JC 2K3 wrote:

Or do a solder job myself(or get my dad, who's an electronic engineer, to give it a go). AFAIK Cowon America only post RMAs to US addresses.....

I guess you could do that... as long as you're happy enough with the fact that your warranty would then be El Gonzo... (gone)

JC 2K3

Bard wrote:

I guess you could do that... as long as you're happy enough with the fact that your warranty would then be El Gonzo... (gone)

I'm gonna try as hard as I can to get an RMA, if I fail that'll be the only option.

Scubadevils

You can send it directly to Cowons service centre in Germany. They will look for proof of purchase but the fact you bought it in the US shouldn't be a problem - you will however have to pay the cost of post to Germany. To get the address of the service centre in Germany contact Sharptext who are the sole distributor in Ireland of Cowon.

JC 2K3

Felixdhc wrote:

You can send it directly to Cowons service centre in Germany. They will look for proof of purchase but the fact you bought it in the US shouldn't be a problem - you will however have to pay the cost of post to Germany. To get the address of the service centre in Germany contact Sharptext who are the sole distributor in Ireland of Cowon.

Thanks for that info, I might just try that. I am slightly doubtful about my warranty being valid in Europe though, there's a different warranty with models distributed in Europe(it's 2 years rather than one)...

JC 2K3

Ok, I got the address of the service centre in German off Sharptext but nothing else. It seemed like they(Sharptext) were telling me just to send it directly to the service centre without an RMA number or anything. I emailed them back asking for a phone number or email address and they haven't replied(first reply was the day after the original email, now I've been waiting 2 days). I mentioned that I bought it from the US in my email, could they have ignored it due to that?

squelch666

hey jc2k3

i know it was along time ago but did you get mp3 player fixed..i have the same issue with mine

ibstar

squelch666 wrote: »

hey jc2k3

i know it was along time ago but did you get mp3 player fixed..i have the same issue with mine

these days most electronics are so expensive to fix (unless you DIY) that you're better off buying a new unit or 2nd hand.

Some places charge to just open and have a look at the unit before fixing, and then costs go up depending on what needs to be fixed + parts.

Prices do tend to go down if the units are in wide circulation (current gen products) because of the availability of parts and competition to fix them.

you can find lots of things using DIY videos on youtube, but note if you're a beginner or inexperienced it would take you much longer than the actual guide.