A few of you may remember
this thread about my quest for a budget receiver. I received my, um, receiver, and have to say I am a little upset and want to see if I'm being hyper-critical. Perhaps, expecting too much.
First things first. I works flawlessly. In fact, it works really, really well. Solid performer, no doubt.
However, I wanted to run through the numerous problems I'm having, or that bug me.
1. The wrong remote was sent with it. The remote included was for the AVR140. Not a big deal? Well, on the 235, the remote has the Ez-Set Microphone to allow for calibration. Sure, the trusty rat shack will work, but that's not the point. If I didn't want that function, or didn't think it would be useful, I'd have just gotten the 135. And, this affects resale were I to ever want to sell it and move on. "Eh sorry, wrong remote, some functions not available."
2. The wrong manual was sent. Again, AVR140. Not a big deal. However, were I a novice and interested in hooking up an external amp, this manual would provide me with zero in way of info. Why? Because the 140 does not have pre-outs for channels. The 235/240 does, and thus, reflects this in the back panel illustration. Again, not a huge deal for me, but if I were to want to sell...
3. The unit itself smelled a little off. I can't place it, but it smelled kind of like smoke. Not a huge deal, but it was not pleasant to open it up and smell that. The scent has since dissipated, but it still wasn't a nice greeting.
4. Finally, and my biggest, is the condition of it. I know you have to expect cosmetic blemishes as a fact of life on refurbs, but mine seems a bit excessive. I'm probably going off the deep-end a bit here. Again, it functions flawlessly, but the look of it left a little to be desired. I suspect that my good luck with refurbs in the past is partly to blame. In the past few years, I've bought a number of refurb items: Denon dvd-1920, marantz dv4600, apple ipod, onkyo txsr602, among others. Not one, and I mean that, has had a clearly visible flaw. In fact, all but the 1920 had no flaws. And the 1920 only had one minor scuff on the back panel. That was it. On the 235 though, there are multiple scrapes, a white blemish (?) that I can't figure out what it's from, and the area around the tone controls is completely worn...the silver finish is worn through to reveal a more pewter-like color. It looks almost like a display unit somewhere. Again, let me stress, it does function flawlessly. But as I stated before, I don't know that if I was H/K that I'd want this going out the door to a consumer. But that's just me...I do concede that my feelings could be skewed by the good fortune I've had in the past with refurb units. After all, it is just cosmetic.
So what's the deal? Am I crying over spilled milk?
Should I be happy that it works perfectly and move on? It does sound great. But I was just dismayed to find so many things that bummed me right out of the box.
Oh, and I forgot to mention. I have a 30 day return policy. Buuuuuuuut...the only problem there is I pay for shipping back AND I don't get a credit for the freight out. The s/h is $30 both ways. That means I'd be out $60 for a unit that cost me $225. I'd lose nearly 30% of what the unit cost. That doesn't seem very appealing. It's almost like I'm stuck. By that I mean, were this purchased locally, it probably would have been back at the store that day. But now I'm feeling like I might have to sacrifice a little.
Someone put me in my place...or, tell me that I should be upset. I've e-mailed H/K and await their response, but was curious what you guys think. Thanks. (Sorry I wrote a book.)
