CASE PLASTIC DEFECT NODE 2
Answered
Good morning,
I'm writing to community to report a bad behaviour of Bluesound company about a problem with my Node 2 . I contacted Bluesound support indicating a problem about node's case becouse the plastic became sticky and I couldn't clean it with any product. They invited me to contact the Italian seller that asked me to send the unit to their store. I did it and the answer was:
"The problem you encountered is not recognized as a production defect and therefore any replacement of the body would be paid. The shell should be ordered directly in Canada and replaced by the authorized service center, with an overall cost of not less than 250 euros"
For me this is unacceptable becouse the unit has always been cleaned externally with water and a microfibre cloth paying close attention, the plastic has autonomously ruined, in fact the device has always been placed above the TV cabinet, therefore in a ventilated and free place of sources of heat nearby, the only possibility of ruining itself in this way is the poor quality of the plastic together with a particularly unfortunate model.
The company does not want to change the case on warranty time and I think this is not right. For me this is the last purchase from Bluesound, did you know that your competitors sell superior quality products at the same price?
I'm very disappointed with your behavior and I'm not the only one. Change as soon as possible your marketing policy becouse you're loosing buyers
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Official comment
Hello Alessandro
Thank you for your feedback. The Bluesound Warranty is a Distributor Warranty and can vary from region to region. Please continue to work with Pixel Engineering as they do remain your best option at this time.
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I now have the same problem. For 2 1/2 years I have occasionally cleaned the dust off my Node 2, always using a very-slightly damp soft microfiber cloth. Never used any cleaning product, just water. Today I cleaned the Node 2, using my usual procedure, and the surface is now sticky. Is there nothing I can do to remedy this short of having the case replaced? I am in the USA, who is the distributor.
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Hi Mark
We distribute directly here in Canada and to the US. I have escalated your request to our Support Crew. We will be in touch, via e-mail.
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Hi,
I have the exact same issue with my BlueSound. I am embarrassed to have this in my living room. Always cleaned with a soft cloth and no cleaning products or anything abrasive. Is there anything BlueSound will do about this?
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I contacted the Italian assistance, I sent the product to replace the case as it was obviously a problem of the poor quality of the external plastic but they refused to replace it under warranty and they asked me 250 euros for the intervention on WARRANTY. Bluesound will never buy your product again, never again. You have the worst RMA service I've ever had, far worse than Acer that I've always taken as a yardstick. Now you are. Good life
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Gaspar,
I agree, it is an embarrassment. Mine sits on a small side table in the living room, next to my favorite chair. I use the Node2 for headphone listening, so there can be no hiding it.
Bluesound support suggested cleaning it with alcohol and a microfiber cloth. That did work ok, but it left the surface even more sticky and prone to attracting dirt. I should point out that I only used the alcohol to lift the dirt off. The advice in this next link is to use alcohol to completely dissolve and remove the rubbery coating, leaving the surface below it exposed. https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/cleaning-restoring-plasticized-rubber-rubberized-plastic.2500729/ I have not gone this far for fear of making it look even worse.
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Hi Mark, Alessandro,
Thanks for your comment. How does BlueSound expect us to buy more products from them? I already have a Pulse Flex and a Node2. I would definitely keep buying stuff but from them if it weren't for this flaw.
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Unfortunately my Vault 2 is doing the same and I am badly surprised to know that Bluesound is charging such a big amount of money to fix something that is related to not sufficient build quality... There’s really no other solution for this? At least a discount?
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OK, I finally picked up some denatured alcohol, which was claimed elsewhere to dissolve the rubbery coating. It worked! Used a rough-surfaced dishcloth, a liberal amount of alcohol, and a lot of elbow grease, but the Node now actually looks better than new. Flat black with a slight sheen. Did the top and sides. Took about 20 minutes. The "B" logo on the front was a casualty. Well worth the effort.
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Hello All,
Thought it's important for you to hear that I've just been quoted more than $900 to fix an identical plastic case defect on my Vault 2.
"Thank you for contacting the BluOS Support Crew.
Since you are currently outside the 1 year warranty period; we can only offer repairs or a discount out-of-warranty replacement for you. The estimated cost of repairs for your player will approximately be $909.30 (plus applicable sales tax and shipping), and a re-certified advance replacement will be shipped to you as soon as the faulty unit arrives at our location."This is completely outrageous. Has anyone had any luck at all getting this manufacturing fault fixed sensibly?
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Solution found! Pascoe's Oomph Glu and Stain Remover. Works a treat! Australian product...
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Sounds great.
Does anyone know of an equivalent that can be found in Europe?
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I too continue to have issues with both my pulse mini and flex having a sticky residue. Bluesound’s ‘support’ has been nothing short of disgraceful. Initially when I contacted them about it, it was my fault, then my house is too hot, then try cleaning with a zero residue cleaner (which did not work). The product is now out of warranty so from Bluesound ‘Support’ perspective the problem is “solved”. The function of their ‘support’ appears to be to obfuscate long enough for the warranty to expire, place accountability for the failure of their flawed products elsewhere and generally deny any liability whatsoever. What a complete and utter shower this lot are. I will be progressing this matter further.
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It is sad that Bluesound speakers also exhibit this problem, seeing they usually sit in a more prominent place than a component like my Node2. I do not believe there is any way to clean and/or repair the sticky "rubber" surface. The only solution is to remove it completely. As I described in the post above, denatured alcohol and a rough cloth did an excellent job on the Node2 in about 20 minutes. Two years later the exposed plastic continues to look and feel good, better than new actually, requiring only occasional dusting. If you read through this thread - https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/cleaning-restoring-plasticized-rubber-rubberized-plastic.2500729/ - you'll see that many other products have been sold with this defective coating, not just Bluesound. Doesn't make it right.
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Challenge: Find product that can treat this issue
Please HELP!1 -
Thanks @MarkBrauer. Fully take on board your points and suggestion - thank you for this. On a point of principle however, given the price point of the BlueSound products, and the acknowledgement that I received this morning that this ‘error’ has been ‘corrected’ on their new products, I want Bluesound to put this issue right; they have taken customers money for a product (2No in my case) whose finishing surface is not fit for purpose. I want an acknowledgement that they have not acted reasonably, an apology for wasting my time (and their behaviour) and for them to propose how it will be put right.
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If it helps Chris R, the Australian product I used (successfully) now has a name change: Glitz Goo and Stain Remover. Glitz 500ml Goo Stain Remover Natural Citrus Base Biodegradable $24.99 eBay.com.auFree delivery
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Hi i have a vault 2i and just this morning i saw that there was fluff and hairs stuck to the surface so i tried a new cloth with fairy liquid / washing up \ because it felt greasy and sticky. It did sort of work on some areas but no not the answer even more sticky now. So i searched bluesound website . I wonder why there was no search for how to clean. So i searched online and found this thread . Has anyone tried white spirit or isatope . I may just try MarkBrauer denatured alcohol. If it doesn't work i can drink the rest. If i find an answer i will post here.
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I don't have a Bluesound, but I intended to buy one of your products today. I looked online about reviews and found loads of pictures from owners with discoloured Bluesound products that, pardon my French... look disgusting. I was looking if this issue is solved meanwhile by the manufacturer e.g. by changing the material for new products before I buy any product from Bluesound, which considering the price is a rational thing to do. I subsequently stumbled on this forum where enough people raised complaints about something which clearly is a fundamental manufacturing issue. Instead of the issue being solved by the manufacturer, customers report to accept solving the issue with alcohol, a lot of elbow grease, and Australian Pascoe's Oomph Glu and Stain Remover in the absence of a response on this forum from Bluesound mgmt; ironically on a Bluesound customer support channel where people are free to discuss thes solutions without actual Bluesound customer engagement.
Dear Bluesound General Manager Mr. Graeme Harrison. Please give me a good reason to buy a Bluesound product when you are not even participating in the discussion this forum?
As another example, look at this second-hand Bluesound Node which looks terrible, which is explained by the professional hifi reseller in Dutch simply to be a product trait and trh ereason for the price ditch.
To summarize. I don't own a Bluesound product. I wanted to buy one today, but I am going to postpone that decision until Alessandro Borroni, Mark Brauer, Davide Ambrogi, Ian Jones, Tom Cardwell, Ian Jones, Chris R., Peaco, David Ellis have received a decent answer in response to their problem, which clearly is not an individual problem. For myself, I am just looking for an answer if this problem is solved and if I can safely buy a Bluesound product in the future. So far, customer support is not part of that consideration for me.
Regards, Arie Adriaensen
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Hi Arie
Mr. Harrison is an executive with our sister brand Bluesound Professional which deals in the commercial and not residential version of our product lineup.
As our Product Support Manager, you can see I am very active here.
As Seppi mentioned, feel free to purchase with confidence as the case you have described has been changed in early 2020 and is no longer available.
For those still having the issues, we have heard from some consumers who had the issue, being able to stop or even reverse the process using a colour restoration coating such as Polytrol.
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@Tony W - a stunning response from Bluesound ‘feel free to purchase with confidence’ unless you’re an existing customer of course, in which case BlueSound will treat you with utter contempt. That BlueSound support are using weasel words to advise (though not directly of course) their customers to apply alcohol to fix a product coating not fit for purpose in the first place, rather than offer a legitimate solution is surely embarrassing? BTW the speakers still appear to have the same coating. I wouldn’t touch Bluesound products now, not even with the proverbial barge pole. Sonos might not boast HiRes (yet) but at least they know how to support their customers.
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@Tony W.
You mentioned: ”As our Product Support Manager, you can see I am very active here.”Actually, I feel it is quite the opposite when looking back at the posts. Could you objectify your intention statement?
I was planning to buy a subwoofer and speaker, but to be honest haven’t been convinced. The speed of reaction to my post contrasts with the absence of reaction to customers with actual questions and problems.
Kind regards, Arie
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I had the same problem. Bluesound acts as if this is a first time occurrence when they get these complaints. They offer to fix it but you pays heaps. Just go to a drugstore and buy de-naturized alcohol, use a rough cloth, wet it regularly and start to rub firm with the wet cloth. You can see when the sticky stuff comes off. Its a hard job and takes about an hour but worth while, your Vault feels smooth as baby’s bottom. You will lose the “B”logo on the front in the process but what the heck. Good luck.
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I thought I was crazy. WTF is this thing sticky and collecting dust continually?? Low and behold I’ve been lead here to find it’s a KNOWN issue by the manufacturer.
Embarrassing way for the company to respond. I won’t hold my breath for them to do the right thing and will try one of the suggested remedies.1 -
I tried several methods (hand cream/alcohol) to solve this problem, but they all failed.
So I took it apart and polished the surface with a grinder and it has a vintage look to it, but it's better than sticky.1 -
I purchased my Node 2 on November 2017. I use it with an external DAC and have been very happy with it without issues except for the stickiness. I found this threat today and went at it with alcohol and medical gauze. As mentioned above, it took over 1 hour of scrubbing and it lost the Bluesound logo. The result is not too pretty: shiny hard plastic but it is not sticky!!! I agree with other posters that the response from Bluesound to this problem has been inadequate. It is good the problematic material has been discarded but when the time comes I will look at the competition.
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Well several months and even a few years on this issue still remains and appears completely unresolved. Dealers in the UK tell you to use LCD cleaner, I've tried several on my vault 2 and it just doesn't work. Why is there no solution being provided by the manufacturer?
I look forward to a reply1 -
You would think something as simple as providing/replacing with an updated case would help to appease those affected. Talk about lack of responsibility. You made an error- fix it
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With a little rubbing and some 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and you can get it back to bare plastic. Rubbing off the rubber coating is not easy, but for a little work you get a big reward.
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Had the same problem with my white Node 2. It looked awful and touching it was just as awful. I had the same problem with dashboard parts in my old Alfa. It's a common problem with this particular kind of plastic. I used this https://hg.eu/uk/products/hg-sticker-remover
Works perfectly. It brings out a smooth plastic surface. Bluesound logo also disappeared which I think is quite fitting 😉0
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