[selvitystilaan]

I have a DAC-9 and about four years ago, it stopped working. I had unplugged it while it was on and in standby, I think, and after that it wouldn’t turn on. I replaced the fuse (I think with a quick blow unwittingly) and turned it on and it immediately blew again. I emailed the company and it was a few months or so out of warranty, so they were going to have me send it off at my cost and then estimated $200-300 to fix it, just over a year after I had paid $750 for it (which is a large amount of money for me)… Needless to say, I never went through with that. 
Recently, was thinking about it and looking into it, realized it should be a time-delay fuse and so I ordered a few. I popped one in and it turned on, stayed on for maybe 15 seconds and then I was satisfied that was the fix. Turned it off, got it wired back into my system, and it wouldn’t turn on again. Weird. I changed it for another fuse and ran it for a couple minutes, and it connected to my computer fine and was playing sound through it properly. Then, off again. I felt the top and it was really hot for a couple minutes of running. Took the top off and there was a little bit of smoke… The heat was coming only from above the transformer. It melted through some of the covering. 
At this point, I’ve disconnected the transformer from the rest of the DAC. I couldn’t find a wiring diagram for this, but I took a photo of the insides with some labels for the wiring from the power input to the transformer. Any ideas as to what could be causing the transformer to overheat in-line before the transformer? It seems that the fuse has protected the rest of the DAC admirably, so I’m hoping I can fix whatever it is and get this thing working again rather than sitting in a closet for another four years…

[rustydoglim]

You can't just do this trial and error.  If you can find a technician to help you to check voltage from input to fuse, transformer to capacitor board, then you can determine the problem and order the parts directly from Nuprime.
The high repair cost is usually due to labor charge from the contracted service person.

[selvitystilaan]

I guess I thought the high cost of the product would give me something that won’t break so quickly and easily, but that supposition didn’t seem to hold up any better than the DAC. I’ll check those voltages, later today. Any idea on how much a replacement for, say, the switch/inlet or transformer would be, if those are the problem?

[selvitystilaan]

I guess my reply questioning the quality and value of your products was determined to be spam or something, because it wasn’t approved. I shouldn’t have expected differently from a forum moderated by a maker. I saved up for that DAC for a long while and was so excited about it. I thought I had bought a product that was very well-made and from a nice small company that would stand by their products, but apparently not. I still haven’t replaced it, as the experience put me off from getting nice audio equipment. It’s hard to justify spending that kind of money, now, not knowing whether I’m paying for a quality product that can withstand basic use or something that will break at the first opportunity it gets.

Anyway, thanks for your help.

[adminRH]

I rejected your post that was under new member moderation, not the NuPrime Circle facilitator, because it is dirty laundry: 
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=about;area=posting-guidelines#no-dirty-laundry

Your second post is also dirty laundry but I didn't want you to blame NuPrime for ignoring your posts. So I restored the first dirty laundry post and and approved the second as a gesture of good faith toward you, our new member.

I hope you will take a moment to re-review and follow all of the posting guidelines as required by all members. Thanks, and welcome to AudioCircle!

[selvitystilaan]

Thank you for clarifying that. My feelings on my product experience remain, but my comments about the moderation were undue.

[whydontumarryit]

Disconnect the transformer secondary wires (brown/red) molex connecter from the PC board. if the transformer still gets hot or the fuse blows it is probably defective If not, reconnecting the transformer secondary and those same conditions exist then the rectifier diodes or filter caps are probably defective, something PS related due to the current draw.
Not getting warranty service when only a few months past it is a shame, I don't need to comment on that.
Tell people where you live in case one of the members wants to fix it for you. Everything breaks in basically the same way so it won't be too complicated.

[selvitystilaan]

Thanks for that! I checked the voltage from the input to the empty fuse socket and it was steady at 124V. I unplugged the transformer from the board and replaced the fuse. The transformer’s wrappings crinkled and there was a faint smell, then the fuse blew. Changed again, tried to measure the voltage and didn’t have time before the fuse blew again. Sounding like transformer? Oh, and I’m in Ohio.

[whydontumarryit]

Thanks for that! I checked the voltage from the input to the empty fuse socket and it was steady at 124V. I unplugged the transformer from the board and replaced the fuse. The transformer’s wrappings crinkled and there was a faint smell, then the fuse blew. Changed again, tried to measure the voltage and didn’t have time before the fuse blew again. Sounding like transformer? Oh, and I’m in Ohio.

Confirm the fuse type and value with Rustydogslim. If it is correct then ask Nuprime why close to a few months out of warranty that a transformer would fail (not common or expected) and have them send you a new xformer for the shipping cost, you send the the defective unit (at your cost) to Nuprime (if they even want it) and they can get a credit from the manufacturer.
Or you could buy a new dac that is SOTA for $100 and it may last for slightly longer than the one you have now.

[rustydoglim]

I guess I thought the high cost of the product would give me something that won’t break so quickly and easily, but that supposition didn’t seem to hold up any better than the DAC. I’ll check those voltages, later today. Any idea on how much a replacement for, say, the switch/inlet or transformer would be, if those are the problem?

This logic doesn't hold. High-end audio cost is high for other reasons: for us, it is high R&D, low volume, etc. The capacitor, resistor, etc, are still the same. Some users have been using their products for many years with no problem. You might have damaged the power circuit when you "unplug" but then we don't know what exactly happened. Normally it shouldn't fail when the power cord is removed.
People tend to blame the manufacturer for anything that fails. 

Our policy is that we will try to help you. I could have just ignored or deleted this thread since you don't want to send the item for service.

[rustydoglim]

Not getting warranty service when only a few months past it is a shame, I don't need to comment on that.

What you guys don't understand is that Nuprime is only the manufacturer. We sell through distributors and dealers. Each country has its own service center and policy. So, if your warranty is a few months past, and you want to make a case, you can contact Nuprime sales directly.

[selvitystilaan]

My warranty was only a few months expired when this happened, but that was four years ago. I agree that it should not break when it is accidentally unplugged, just once, while the power switch is on. That was the case I tried to make to NuPrime back when this happened, and I was pointed to the service website and then told that, as it is out of warranty, I can pay to have it fixed or not, that’s my problem. Perhaps your policy to help was not yet in effect, at that time.
And I do see that I had a fundamental misunderstanding, in which I thought that part of what I was paying for was robust design and quality parts. You’re saying that the parts you use are no better than a cheaper product, and that there shouldn’t be any additional expectation of durability or reliability. It turns out, I paid extra for a nice case and for the fact that you don’t make many of your products. Not sure where the costly R&D went, because it didn’t go into designing your products to withstand normal use (“for the studio professional”, you say). Fair point about plenty of people having them work without issue for years, which seems all the more reason for such an anomaly to be handled better. Yes, I opted not to send it in for service, because I did not feel I should have to pay for it, and could not have afforded to. If I were asked to send it in to be looked at with the consideration of making it right, I would have.

If I were to contact NuPrime directly again, you are saying I should expect to get help or will I be directed to create a new service ticket?

[selvitystilaan]

As an aside, to anyone else, in case I end up needing to repair this myself: does anyone have an idea what the VA rating of the transformer is? The label lists it as 110 / 220 primaries, and secondaries as 12V in series and 7V in parallel (not 6?), but doesn’t mention the VA rating. As it is defective, I’m not sure I could test it in any way. If I were spend anything on this thing, I guess it could be for buying a better transformer than it came with.
Edit: Currently thinking 30VA based on the 1A fuse, assuming at least 300% uprating for the primary max current draw of 0.3A at 110V. However, measurements comparisons to commonly available ones are closer to 15VA versions. Please correct me, if I’m wrong, here.

[rustydoglim]

And I do see that I had a fundamental misunderstanding, in which I thought that part of what I was paying for was robust design and quality parts. You’re saying that the parts you use are no better than a cheaper product and that there shouldn’t be any additional expectation of durability or reliability. It turns out, I paid extra for a nice case and for the fact that you don’t make many of your products.

I think you are beginning to twist my words and turn this post into a grievance.
A resistor has different tolerance specs, but they are just resistors. Sure, we use quality parts when available or appropriate.
We are the most transparent about our design, as anyone can see from the guides articles that we design and manufacture all our products.
Nuprime probably has one of the best-quality records on the market. Otherwise, you would hear A LOT of complaints here. With tens of thousands of customers worldwide, I would say that our complaints rate is relatively low. But of course, we want to help solve every customer's problem. Sure we use quality parts when available or appropriate.

[rustydoglim]

If I were to contact NuPrime directly again, you are saying I should expect to get help or will I be directed to create a new service ticket?

Your help desk ticket will be forwarded to the USA distributor's service guy. I can work with him to offer a discount on the parts (but you have to let me know ahead of time and your ticket ID). You can negotiate with him on labor.  We request that the service center should not charge more than 2 hours of labor in most repair cases.