Waste Makers Rule! Why the Service Techs have Vanished. Lousy Design and Zero After Sales Support.

TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
One of my sons when he and his family visite Christmas Day, brings with him a miserable SONOS sound bar, belonging to his wife's twin sister and brother in law.

A fairly common mishap has occurred. In the Christmas hubbub someone has broken off the the end of the Optical cable between the Sonos soundbar and the TV. The end is jammed in the TOSLINK socket and can not be removed. When this happens the TOSLINK socket has to be replaced. The problem is these sockets are active, and the conversion of photons to electrons takes place in the female end of TOSLINK connectors. So there are thousands of different ones.



Of course there is no service manual or even a parts list available. This is a basic issue among many, that is currently wrong with the consumer electronics industry.

So, I turn to the Internet. There is one YouTube video, where a UK tech finally gets this problem on one of these units sorted out. But not after finding a wrong part. I'm not sure how he got the right part, but if anyone is interested it is DLR 1160.

So, back to the Internet. The only supplier I can find is Alibaba, the giant Chinese parts supplier. There is one Chinese vender I find who has a packet of five for sale. However, I don't want him to empty my bank account when he gets my credentials.

So, today I go to the Mouser site which I do in these situations. I have tried Digikey with no luck.

Mouser have 2,300 different types listed,but no DLR 1160.

So, I phoned Mouser, as their staff are just wonderful professionals, polite knowledgeable and helpful in the extreme. So the guy confirms that this is not an item that Mouser stock or list. So he gets on his computer and checks his list of parts suppliers, and tells me that two have the part listed. So he told me that in 24 to 48 hours he will let me know if he can obtain a couple for me. If not that unit goes to the recycling center. Ours by the way caught fire four or five days ago.

The next issue is that this unit is going to be a total misery to effect this repair on, due to the cosmetic designers and not the engineers having the upper hand. At Sonos they really subscribe to the mantra that no screw head be visible.



Now this vile piece of excrement has to be totally dismantled to change this optical input port. The speaker panel, side control buttons, power supply, logic board, power supply , power amp board all have to be removed, before you can remove that input board. The only parts that don't have to be totally removed are the speakers off the baffle.

This is going to require prying off the Bessel around each side facing speaker to get to the screws hiding underneath. The screws holding on the input panet are hidden under decal label, which has to be carefully peeled off. The only screws easily accessible are two screws on the bottom, which they did not attempt to hide.

Anyone who thinks this useless piece of subterfuge will actually give you five channel sound as it purports to, is nuts. There is no sub out by the way.

So, any tech is going to have to charge $400 to $500 for this job. Then the customer will go and tell all their friends a relatives what a money grubbing bastard he is!

All this is going to be a few hours of patient work. The easiest part will be replacing the connector on the board.

It is situations and design like this, that drives the "waste makers", causing millions of tons of electronic parts pollution yearly. I think there does need to be legislation on this issue. For a starters, an item should not be allowed to me put on the market, before a full parts and service manual is available. Parts should be available for 10 years minimum and kept readily available and large fines levied for infractions. Then I think we could see the return of the skilled service techs who could earn a good honest living while providing a valuable service.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
Why is ANYBODY continuing to put a one way optical port on ANYTHING?!!:eek:
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Why is ANYBODY continuing to put a one way optical port on ANYTHING?!!:eek:
This unit was bought for $700.00 about four years ago, but I suspect the model is older than that, as there is no HDMI connectivity. I suspect the design predates ARC and certainly eARC.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
Actually, I was commenting on the one way direction of the port itself. Optical ports still serve a purpose but the one way design of the port means forcing it in any other way results in some damage if not total destruction. Some wised up and feature a multi directional port.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
Here’s the back of an LG C1 from just a few years ago. Thank you LG!
IMG_4422.jpeg
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
It's a variety of things that's led up to this and we're slow to make changes but some are happening, some not so fast
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
So at shop hourly rates, how much is this repair costing so far?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Here’s the back of an LG C1 from just a few years ago. Thank you LG!
View attachment 64854
I have not come across one of those before. It is a good idea. However you can't just pull any old port. These units are active, so it is like sourcing an IC for instance. So you need one with the right powering voltage, output impedance etc. That is why there are so many. They solder right to the boards. So their output has to be electrical and not optical. They are actually a very complex connector. and not a simple plug, which I think most would assume.
 
M

Mr._Clark

Audioholic Samurai
One of my sons when he and his family visite Christmas Day, brings with him a miserable SONOS sound bar, belonging to his wife's twin sister and brother in law.

A fairly common mishap has occurred. In the Christmas hubbub someone has broken off the the end of the Optical cable between the Sonos soundbar and the TV. The end is jammed in the TOSLINK socket and can not be removed. When this happens the TOSLINK socket has to be replaced. The problem is these sockets are active, and the conversion of photons to electrons takes place in the female end of TOSLINK connectors. So there are thousands of different ones.



Of course there is no service manual or even a parts list available. This is a basic issue among many, that is currently wrong with the consumer electronics industry.

So, I turn to the Internet. There is one YouTube video, where a UK tech finally gets this problem on one of these units sorted out. But not after finding a wrong part. I'm not sure how he got the right part, but if anyone is interested it is DLR 1160.

So, back to the Internet. The only supplier I can find is Alibaba, the giant Chinese parts supplier. There is one Chinese vender I find who has a packet of five for sale. However, I don't want him to empty my bank account when he gets my credentials.

So, today I go to the Mouser site which I do in these situations. I have tried Digikey with no luck.

Mouser have 2,300 different types listed,but no DLR 1160.

So, I phoned Mouser, as their staff are just wonderful professionals, polite knowledgeable and helpful in the extreme. So the guy confirms that this is not an item that Mouser stock or list. So he gets on his computer and checks his list of parts suppliers, and tells me that two have the part listed. So he told me that in 24 to 48 hours he will let me know if he can obtain a couple for me. If not that unit goes to the recycling center. Ours by the way caught fire four or five days ago.

The next issue is that this unit is going to be a total misery to effect this repair on, due to the cosmetic designers and not the engineers having the upper hand. At Sonos they really subscribe to the mantra that no screw head be visible.

. . .

Now this vile piece of excrement has to be totally dismantled to change this optical input port. The speaker panel, side control buttons, power supply, logic board, power supply , power amp board all have to be removed, before you can remove that input board. The only parts that don't have to be totally removed are the speakers off the baffle.

This is going to require prying off the Bessel around each side facing speaker to get to the screws hiding underneath. The screws holding on the input panet are hidden under decal label, which has to be carefully peeled off. The only screws easily accessible are two screws on the bottom, which they did not attempt to hide.

Anyone who thinks this useless piece of subterfuge will actually give you five channel sound as it purports to, is nuts. There is no sub out by the way.

So, any tech is going to have to charge $400 to $500 for this job. Then the customer will go and tell all their friends a relatives what a money grubbing bastard he is!

All this is going to be a few hours of patient work. The easiest part will be replacing the connector on the board.

It is situations and design like this, that drives the "waste makers", causing millions of tons of electronic parts pollution yearly. I think there does need to be legislation on this issue. For a starters, an item should not be allowed to me put on the market, before a full parts and service manual is available. Parts should be available for 10 years minimum and kept readily available and large fines levied for infractions. Then I think we could see the return of the skilled service techs who could earn a good honest living while providing a valuable service.
The smoking pile you're dealing with appears to be very similar to the one in this review. Apparently, the appearance of it is so captivating that it inspires people to feel it up.

>>>We were so captivated by its smooth, matte-finished aluminum panels and wrap-around cloth grille, we couldn’t stop running our hands over it. It almost seemed naughty the way we were feeling it up, caressing every finely finished surface.<<<


Perhaps you could cut your losses and sell it as a "toy" of sorts for those who enjoy caressing their equipment?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
The smoking pile you're dealing with appears to be very similar to the one in this review. Apparently, the appearance of it is so captivating that it inspires people to feel it up.

>>>We were so captivated by its smooth, matte-finished aluminum panels and wrap-around cloth grille, we couldn’t stop running our hands over it. It almost seemed naughty the way we were feeling it up, caressing every finely finished surface.<<<


Perhaps you could cut your losses and sell it as a "toy" of sorts for those who enjoy caressing their equipment?
Yup, that's the POS!
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
One of my sons when he and his family visite Christmas Day, brings with him a miserable SONOS sound bar, belonging to his wife's twin sister and brother in law.

A fairly common mishap has occurred. In the Christmas hubbub someone has broken off the the end of the Optical cable between the Sonos soundbar and the TV. The end is jammed in the TOSLINK socket and can not be removed. When this happens the TOSLINK socket has to be replaced. The problem is these sockets are active, and the conversion of photons to electrons takes place in the female end of TOSLINK connectors. So there are thousands of different ones.



Of course there is no service manual or even a parts list available. This is a basic issue among many, that is currently wrong with the consumer electronics industry.

So, I turn to the Internet. There is one YouTube video, where a UK tech finally gets this problem on one of these units sorted out. But not after finding a wrong part. I'm not sure how he got the right part, but if anyone is interested it is DLR 1160.

So, back to the Internet. The only supplier I can find is Alibaba, the giant Chinese parts supplier. There is one Chinese vender I find who has a packet of five for sale. However, I don't want him to empty my bank account when he gets my credentials.

So, today I go to the Mouser site which I do in these situations. I have tried Digikey with no luck.

Mouser have 2,300 different types listed,but no DLR 1160.

So, I phoned Mouser, as their staff are just wonderful professionals, polite knowledgeable and helpful in the extreme. So the guy confirms that this is not an item that Mouser stock or list. So he gets on his computer and checks his list of parts suppliers, and tells me that two have the part listed. So he told me that in 24 to 48 hours he will let me know if he can obtain a couple for me. If not that unit goes to the recycling center. Ours by the way caught fire four or five days ago.

The next issue is that this unit is going to be a total misery to effect this repair on, due to the cosmetic designers and not the engineers having the upper hand. At Sonos they really subscribe to the mantra that no screw head be visible.



Now this vile piece of excrement has to be totally dismantled to change this optical input port. The speaker panel, side control buttons, power supply, logic board, power supply , power amp board all have to be removed, before you can remove that input board. The only parts that don't have to be totally removed are the speakers off the baffle.

This is going to require prying off the Bessel around each side facing speaker to get to the screws hiding underneath. The screws holding on the input panet are hidden under decal label, which has to be carefully peeled off. The only screws easily accessible are two screws on the bottom, which they did not attempt to hide.

Anyone who thinks this useless piece of subterfuge will actually give you five channel sound as it purports to, is nuts. There is no sub out by the way.

So, any tech is going to have to charge $400 to $500 for this job. Then the customer will go and tell all their friends a relatives what a money grubbing bastard he is!

All this is going to be a few hours of patient work. The easiest part will be replacing the connector on the board.

It is situations and design like this, that drives the "waste makers", causing millions of tons of electronic parts pollution yearly. I think there does need to be legislation on this issue. For a starters, an item should not be allowed to me put on the market, before a full parts and service manual is available. Parts should be available for 10 years minimum and kept readily available and large fines levied for infractions. Then I think we could see the return of the skilled service techs who could earn a good honest living while providing a valuable service.
If you have a paperclip, straighten it and bend a tiny right angle at the end- it doesn't need to be more than 1/16" long, or about 1.5mm if you prefer. Drill a similarly sized hole in the Tos Link end and put s drop of Super Glue on the paper clip, insert it in the hole and let it set. Once it has set, pull the tip out and insert a new one.

Obviously, you'll need to make sure the Super Glue doesn't go onto the port itself.

I bought this at Ace Hardware- it cures in seconds, using UV light. If you don't have an Ace store near you, ask anyone who fly fishes and makes their own flies where they buy their UV cured CNA- Orvis is one place that sells it for t hat, but I would think Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop would have it, too.
 
Last edited:
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
The smoking pile you're dealing with appears to be very similar to the one in this review. Apparently, the appearance of it is so captivating that it inspires people to feel it up.

>>>We were so captivated by its smooth, matte-finished aluminum panels and wrap-around cloth grille, we couldn’t stop running our hands over it. It almost seemed naughty the way we were feeling it up, caressing every finely finished surface.<<<


Perhaps you could cut your losses and sell it as a "toy" of sorts for those who enjoy caressing their equipment?
Sell it on ebay and describe it as a doorstop or a way to prevent drafts coming under a door?
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Why is ANYBODY continuing to put a one way optical port on ANYTHING?!!:eek:
Because that's all Sonos wants to give people. They automatically delay the audio, so THEIR stuff won't be out of synch, but the WiFi is terribly insensitive and a PITA to connect in some cases. In their training webinars, they usually say "Sonos started as a networking company"- great, but they need to ask integrators and installers what is needed, rather than telling us what we'll get.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I probably have two to three hours into this, before I even remove a screw.
Kids in high school haven't been taking shop classes and if you were to meet a large number of them, getting their hands dirty is 'icky'. Not enough care about anything related to this, so there's nobody to replace the previous generations of people who can repair, well, anything.

The US Military does teach electronics and service, but I guarantee that many who learned during that time will go to work for defense contractors and higher paid positions- someone can make a living doing this, but not enough manufacturers provide brand-specific training, service manuals or parts- they stopped being parts suppliers because they make a lot more money selling complete units.

New products are made to be disposable, even if they cost nearly $1000. They don't care.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
I’d be curious about just how the cable was inserted into the port. Even if it had snapped off for whatever reason, the end should have been easily removed with a pair of needle nose pliers or even tweezers. I swear, it looks like it was crazy glued together after it was initially broken. Weird.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I’d be curious about just how the cable was inserted into the port. Even if it had snapped off for whatever reason, the end should have been easily removed with a pair of needle nose pliers or even tweezers. I swear, it looks like it was crazy glued together after it was initially broken. Weird.
If someone pounds on it hard enough, it'll go. This snapped off flush, so needle nose won't work. A really small screw could be used, too- the problem is in finding one that's small enough.
 
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