Today I got information from Line Magnetic in China. They have not even sent the spare part to repair my amp to Germany yet.
Find below the email I just sent to Line Magnetic to get more clarity about my case and the warranty situation. I will update this post with all answers as soon I get some. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated.
Update January 6th. After another email to Line Magnetic in China, some of my questions got answered. The majority of questions remain unanswered. They wrote they will ship my spare transformer from China to Europe today. There are still wat too many open questions regarding the warranty and repair costs.
Engineering questions
Over the last 30 years, I owned a dozen different tube amps. Some of them were built decades ago. Of course, I had burnt tubes, but I never had a burnt tube damaging the amp. So this is why I have some questions regarding the engineering and manufacturer quality of the Line Magnetic LM-503PA mono tube amps.
When the incident occurred, the Line Magnetic LM-503PA amp was burning hot. It took hours to cool down.
Q: Is there any protection like a thermal fuse to avoid this kind of heat production?
A: On the risk of heat issues in addition to the main fuse for each product we have also designed and have a Thermal fuse in the Power Transformer.
Q: Can you assure me there was no danger that the Line Magnetic LM-503PA would catch fire? If yes, can you please explain why this isn't possible?
A: When the transformer is abnormal (short circuit) internal temperature reaches 120 degrees, the thermal fuse will react and disconnect itself and then the Power Transformer will stop working.
The distributor says that the burnt original Line Magnetic 845 tube caused damage to the amp's transformer.
Q: How do they know it wasn't the other way around?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
Q: Can you assure me that it is technically not possible that a defective transformer caused the original Line Magnetic 845 tube to burn? If yes, can you please explain why this isn't possible?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
Q: If there is evidence that the burnt original Line Magnetics 845 tube caused damage to the transformer, does this mean this can repeatedly happen when an original Line Magnetic tube burns?
A: Technically speaking, if there is a red plate for the 845 Tube will it have the risk to burn the Transformer? The answer is that it is possible.
Q: Is this a quality issue or a construction failure of the original Line Magnetic 845 tube?
A: As from our experience the tube may occasionally have reliability issues.
Q: Is this a quality issue or a construction failure of the Line Magnetic LM-503PA?
A: Our 503PA has a current meter to detect the 845 screen current. Normal screen current is 70mA, if the tube is not normal, the screen current may go up to 100mA. It is possible to break through the relevant components and burn out the transformer.
Q: And why is this not covered by the warranty?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
Q: Does it often happen that an original Line Magnetic 845 tube burns after less than one year?
A: As from our experience the tube may occasionally have reliability issues.
Q: Does it often happen that an original Line Magnetic 845 tube burns and causes damage to the transformer?
A: Of course this situation is very rare occurrence.
Q: Does it often happen that Line Magnetic LM-503PA is defective after less than one year?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
Q: When you talk about matched pairs of Line Magnetic LM-503PA mono amps, are only the tubes matched pairs, or are also the amps matched?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
Warranty questions
The distributor says I must buy a complete set of new original tubes because they have been in the defective Line Magnetic LM-503PA amp.
Q: Does this mean, always when an original Line Magnetics 845 tube burns, I have to buy a complete set (845, 300B, 310A, ) of original tubes to not lose the warranty?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
The distributor says if I use non-original Line Magnetics tubes, I will lose the warranty of my Line Magnetic LM-503PA amp.
Q: Does this mean I lose the warranty of my Line Magnetic LM-503PA amp if I use tubes from quality brands like Western Electrics, Elrog, or PSVANE?
A: Using of non-original vacuum tubes will void the warranty.
On your website, you advertise the Line Magnetic LM-503PA with non-original Line Magnetics tubes like the 300B from Fullmusic.
Q: Is this false advertising, or does this mean there are certain tube brands allowed to use without losing the warranty for the Line Magnetic LM-503PA? If so, which brands are these?
A: In their first reply Line Magnetic refused to answer this question.
In the manual of the Line Magnetic LM-503PA, you list replacement and common-replacement tubes.
Q: Does this mean if using tubes like those mentioned in the manual, I will lose the warranty on my Line Magnetic LM-503PA amp?
A: As a result it will void the warranty once non-original tubes used.
Terrible customer experience with Line Magnetics
When I bought the Line Magnetic LM-503PA mono tube amps, I had to wait three months until your distributor admitted his mistake and I could enjoy music. Less than a year later, I'm again having trouble with the Line Magnetic LM-503PA amp and can't listen to music for another two months.
11 months of enjoyment vs. 5 months of trouble with my Line Magnetic LM-503PA amps is unacceptable.
Is this what it should look like if buying a Line Magnetic product in Europe?
This is terrible. It is embarrassing for the brand Line Magnetics and damages your European business.
Update January 4: As you can read above, in their first reply to my email Line Magnetic has refused to answer my questions. I will keep asking them and contact some Hi-Fi media outlets, blogger and social media influencers.
This is report is going to be continued as long it is not settled. Subscribe for the newsletter to stay updated.
Never miss an update!
Subscribe to the Pure Neo Magazine for curated content and special offers.
Office Essentials
Related posts
The Insane Costs of Finweet Components caused by Webflow
Open letter to Webflow - Follow up part 2/3
ChatGPT thinks humans are better than animals
We love
and you too
If you like the magazine, please share it on your social media and feel free to buy us a coffee.