Topic: Schoeps capsule repair question??

[schoepsnbox]

About a month or so I sent my trusty matched pair of Mk4 capsules that I purchased new in 1998 to Germany..One of them started acting up and I figured it was about time to have them tuned up..Well today I got a call from Redding Audio telling me they are shipping my capsules back..unrepaired..factory says the have acid liquid damage...wtf is that?  I can think of a few times I ran them in the rain but acid damage..Anyone ever have this experience?  What could have happened to them? Could someone have dosed my caps while I was on a beer run?  I knew I shouldn't have sent them on Phish tour   Guess I'm bummed that I now have a pair of caps that have become expensive trophies for my shelf.  Any insight for future reference is appreciated.

Thanks

[DSatz]

You wrote me privately and asked for my comment on this, which first and foremost can only be, "I'm sorry that your capsules were damaged." I'd be very upset if this had happened to me.

You could call Redding back and ask them to ask Schoeps for an estimate to rebuild the capsules, even if relatively few parts could be preserved in the process. I don't know, but it might still be enough less than the cost of a new pair of capsules that you would prefer going that route. Do it soon if you're going to, though, because the capsules may be on their way back to the States rather soon; they may even have been shipped to Redding already.

Or if you simply wanted to find out what they mean exactly about the type of damage, or how the cause of damage was determined, those are certainly questions that you have a right to ask, even if it's just to make some sense out of what has happened; that's worth something, and I'm sure they understand that very well.

Please be sure to let us all know what happens further on this, if anything.

--best regards

[su6oxone]

factory says the have acid liquid damage...wtf is that?

Sorry to hear about your caps... weird that they are sending both back (or was it only one capsule that was acting up?).  Maybe at least you can get just one new capsule and have them match it there and ship it to you.  If both are damaged, then I would agree with Mr. Satz that I would want as much description or explanation about the nature of the damage and how it might have happened, if possible.  Let us know what you find out though if you get a chance.

[mountaintaper]

..factory says the have acid liquid damage...

you must've pissed on them during one of your many "MY MICS ARE THE BEST" pissing contests. 

In the meantime while waiting to get this all resolved...keep the faith that the rest of team Philly Schoeps has your back when you need to borrow a pair.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

factory says the have acid liquid damage...wtf is that?

Did you let Fluff tape acid rock with your mics?

That is a serious bummer..

The pH of rain water varies depending on location (it is worse close to the East coast).  That acidity is something I would worry about.  If electronics get soaked, I would wonder whether they should be rinsed with de-ionized water or pure alcohol to get rid of the acid and other crud.. Fortunately, I've never been in that situation.

Not sure what else it could be, but it would be interesting to hear more from Schoeps.

[stevetoney]

What surprises me about the response from Schoeps is that they wouldn't provide any repair options at all.  Makes you wonder if this is because they couldn't/wouldn't warrant the specs back to 'as new' or is it more a situation where the repair costs approach full replacement, therefore not worth performing. 

I'm with the others...it would really be nice to know more about the specifics, if possible. 

Nevertheless, REALLY sorry that this happened to your gear. 

[DSatz]

tonedeaf, I can confirm that one of your assumptions has a basis in fact, which is that in severe cases, Schoeps makes a quick estimate of the repair cost and compares it to the presumed cost of an equivalent new piece. If the estimated repair cost exceeds a certain percentage of the replacement cost, they consider the item in its present state a "total loss," and they don't assume that the user would want to repair it at that cost.

Ordinarily they make that assumption, unless the user explicitly asks for an estimate up front--and even then, in some cases they make the repair anyway, because merely opening the item up to see what needs fixing and then putting it back together again costs them a significant fraction of the eventual repair cost.

I don't know whether that actually occurred in this case, but it certainly seems as if it could have.

--best regards

(As a footnote: In the event of what they determine to be a "total loss" they never charge an estimate fee, which would otherwise be incurred if the customer declined to proceed with a repair after requesting an estimate. In fact that fee is charged only if the estimated repair would cost 30% or less of the estimated replacement cost of the item--which the factory considers to be clearly worthwhile economically--but the customer still declines the repair.)

[stevetoney]

Thank you for the details DSatz.