Shoddy tech and how to avoid it


Hey there! I’m Jared Newman, a longtime tech journalist, and this is Advisorator, my weekly tech advice newsletter. Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up to get it every Tuesday.

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A few housekeeping items before we get to the newsletter:

  • As you’ve probably noticed, I’m sending this out a bit early, as I’ll be traveling tomorrow morning.
  • I’m planning to send out a newsletter next week, but in an abbreviated form (with which longtime readers should be familiar).
  • Please consider a paid subscription if you’ve enjoyed my tech writings this year. You’ll learn a lot more every week with bonus tips, deals, and app recommendations, and you’ll have access to everything I put up on the Advisorator website (like all the guides listed here). Thanks for your support!

As for this week, I’m excited to feature a guest column by fellow tech journalist and friend of the newsletter Dwight Silverman. Dwight was a longtime editor at the Houston Chronicle, and is now enjoying semi-retired life as the paper’s weekly tech columnist. I’ve adapted one of Dwight’s columns here with his permission.

Take it away, Dwight!


How to guard against tech that dies too fast

By Dwight Silverman

I loved my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 desktop computer speakers so much that when they finally broke down after 19 years, I bought them again. That turned out to be a mistake.

The original set won me over with its THX-certified sound and solid bass from an imposing subwoofer, and it only bit the dust when the power supply in the subwoofer went out. Klipsch still sells ProMedia 2.1 speakers today, and I’d hoped the latest version would last even longer.

Instead, they expired in June, after only four years. They fell victim to a problem that plagues the model: The electronics in the subwoofer apparently died. Consumer tech forums are peppered with similar reports, and in fact, the New York Times’ Wirecutter product recommendation site removed them as a pick because of reliability complaints.

Klipsch’s ProMedia 2.1 computer speakers

In my case, first the right channel went out, followed quickly by the left, and the subwoofer woofed only minimally. This made me sad, because these speakers had such wonderful sound and were not overpriced: I paid about $150, less than the originals. They only have a 1-year warranty; I was out of luck.

On one user forum I found instructions and a parts list for fixing the problem, but it involved working from an electronics schematic and removing and soldering capacitors. No, that ain’t me, babe.

Just for grinsies, I contacted a local shop that fixes speakers and asked how much it would cost to repair the ProMedias. The answer: $150 at minimum, which is what I paid for the speakers four years ago. Sigh.

I emailed Klipsch seeking comment, but the only response I got was from the company’s support group, which said: “We would suggest looking to the cost of a new system.” They added that just replacing the subwoofer would cost $100, almost the cost of a new set.

All of which leads me to a bigger question: When buying electronics, particularly those that are new, how can you protect yourself against defects that may not appear for months or even years, certainly past the warranty period? The Klipsch speakers only had a 1-year warranty, but to die after four years is just not acceptable. Could this have been avoided?

For an answer, I reached out to veteran audio gear reviewer Brent Butterworth of Wirecutter, who has also worked as a consultant to electronics companies. He made the call to remove the Klipsch speakers as a Wirecutter pick.

Butterworth said it’s likely the company switched parts suppliers to vendors whose quality control processes aren’t up to snuff. That’s one way a product that once lasted 19 years becomes one that lasts just four.

“None of the products you buy today are made by the company whose name is on the front,” he said. “With audio products, on some of these manufacturing lines they’ll make checks here and there, connect the speakers or headphones and hear if they make a sound”—here Butterworth mimics an electronic BOOP—“They consider that as working and ready to ship.”

When buying audio equipment, Butterworth recommends reading as many reviews on tech and audio sites as you can. But he cautions that most online reviewers have only had a few weeks at most with a product, if that, before writing about it. Unless they buy one and spend time with it, day in and day out, they may not experience the issues owners will see. Sites like The WirecutterRTings.comConsumer Reports and others that watch for developments in a category over time will make changes if they see issues — as Butterworth did with the Klipsch speakers.

He also recommends spending quality time in any comments below the reviews and customer support forums for a product you’re considering buying. Amazon reviews can be helpful, even though they have a reputation for occasionally being gamed. Look there for issues that crop up repeatedly, he said.

(Editor’s note: You should also try sorting reviews by “most recent,” as this can turn up complaints that a retailer’s ranking algorithm might miss.)

“You’re always going to have some cranks, but look for reviews in which multiple people say they had it for three months and it just died. Those are the ones you need to look out for,” Butterworth said.

I’d add this: Avoid initial versions of products if you can. There are often bugs to be worked out and flaws to be discovered with version 1.0. And even newer releases of a product can have newly introduced flaws, which was the case with my second-generation Klipsch ProMedia speakers. When I bought them, the redesign was relatively new and there were not yet any warning flags.

Finally, I asked Butterworth whether my experience was an argument for paying for an extended warranty with audio gear. He said most extended warranties are handled by third-party companies, and how smoothly warranty replacements are handled varies wildly. Extended warranties offered by bigger companies directly are more likely to be decent, he said.

As for my computer speaker saga, after researching potential replacements, I made a choice that I’ve been very happy with: Creative’s Pebble X Pro 2.1 speakers. You can read my full review here.

Thanks again to Dwight Silverman for this week’s column! You can follow Dwight on Bluesky, Threads, or Mastodon, or hop into the Advisorator Slack where we often talk tech together.


Here’s what I’ve got in this week’s paid subscriber portion of the newsletter:

  • What to do about a possible TP-Link router ban.
  • A new way to help find lost luggage.
  • My favorite Android home screen alternative.
  • Deals on TVs, chargers, headphones, and laptops.

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Thanks for reading!

Is it as weird for you to be receiving this newsletter on a Monday afternoon as it feels for me to be sending it? Either way, thanks for bearing with me and happy holidays! Next week’s abbreviated newsletter will go out on Tuesday morning as usual.

Until next week,
Jared


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