Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by sanana

SonicGear Speaker Failure

sanana — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 21:22:46 +0800

So I purchased 3 SonicGear U300 Speakers for my use in office and home.

After just few weeks 1st one failed (no sound even though it is turning on) I blamed it on manufacturing defect and purchased another one (It is not very expensive). 2nd one failed before the new purchase arrive! and then a week later 3rd one failed and then 4th one also failed a month later.

This is not a single isolated defect anymore. This time I purchased one AudioBox SonicBar U150 speaker and one Audiobar U250.

Put those 4 speakers in box and then contacted seller about issue and tried to get warranty, which seller then said he cannot help and then stopped answering my messages. I gave up and forgot about them and then U150 failed just 4 weeks later too (the same way as the other 4)

This time I was pissed and angry. So opened U150 which was kind of easy, 3 screw at the back and 4 more under metal mesh cover which after removing 3 screw at back tabs to open it was visible.

checked wiring thinking they might have failed due to movement (or pulled or pinched) behind my table, but nope wires were all ok. then looked at amplifier board, it was covered with rust! (no way it can be rusted in my house and office at the same time), cleaned it, it still didn't work.
then I decided to check the headphone socket and bam that was it, it was rusted inside and contacts were not connecting. Since I didn't have a replacement socket and was late at night doing this, I just shorted the socket pins with solder (I'm not using headphone jack on speaker, my PC has one already).
First one fixed and back to service.

Opened first U300, didn't check anything, using screwdriver shorted those same two pins and it worked. short them with solder and it too fixed. the other 3 U300 also had the same issue.

While repairing these speakers I made a few observation.

1- All boards are designed the same way even though their board shape were slightly different they were all designed with same circuit and speakers and only size of the box is different (not the size of speaker room, it is same in all models)
2- I noticed something strange in one of the boards. SMD components were soldered by hand! I'm pretty sure, SMD components are not supposed to be soldered this way. and in that condition (look at pictures) either it was a repaired board in a brand new speaker or their manufacturing is flawed.
3- U300 speakers do not have screw at the back and mesh is attached to the front with glue, I pulled it out via a tiny flat screw driver from side to access 10 screws under mesh.
4- All 5 speakers were failed due to low quality and cheap headphone jack used in construction. and even if they used a higher quality jack it would still fail few more months down the road due to rust on the circuit (circuit board is not pure copper and has iron impurity probably).
5- Out of curiosity I opened the U250 too, it uses the same chip as SonicGear but slight different board design (probably same manufacturer in china making all these boards) however it didn't fail because it doesn't have a headphone jack
6- Microphone jack in these speakers (the one connecting to PC) is stereo same for microphone input on speaker. but there is only 2 wires go between PC and speaker (should be Left, Right and Ground), Left and Right are shorted on the jack connecting to PC and also on the speaker side jack.
7- SonicGear used to be a above average product, it seems it dropped bellow low.
8- Obviously CE, IC and other certifications do not apply to these products with the kind of work done on them!

While my intention here is not story telling session, I have two goals

1- Warn people who are planning to purchase SonicGear speakers or purchased one. you are better off buying other brands if about 100RM for speaker is considered expensive for 2~4 weeks of use.
2- Ask SonicGear to get their act together. I'm sure they will not recall the product, but the least they can do publish an apology and fix the speaker for free if the issue is from headphone jack or rusted the amplifier board even if the warranty period is expired. This way at least they can tell their customers that they care about them and will fix the problem if they caused it. Also a note, I checked shopee, difference between a cheap quality headphone jack and good one is just 22cen (if you only buy one), I'm sure sonic gear is purchasing in bulk and doesn't even pay that much for them and I think it doesn't worth destroying reputation for just 22cen or even less.

Where to find Gelita Gelatine Leaf in Malaysia

sanana — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 22:15:59 +0800

As Title says, is there a place in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur that I can buy Gelita Gelatine Leaf?

I'm looking for this product

[attachmentid=8581620]

Thanks

Hyundai Matrix spare parts

sanana — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 17:27:46 +0800

So I was looking everywhere in forum to find and information on where to buy Hyundai Matrix spare parts and came up empty.

There are a million posts saying my uncle sister, [insert any relative here] drives this car and is happy, angry [insert any other feelings you like] but nobody actually says where they buy their spare parts.

For example my door grab handle is broken and I don't even know where to look for. Of course I can go to a service center and ask them to fix it for me but I don't see any reason to pay for original part while I can buy after market or oem instead, let go of workmanship that they charge 50% of the price of item. some stuff I can fix myself. I know how to open an screw anyway !

So here is the question, where do you guys buy your Hyundai matrix spare parts?

I need proper address and shop name because Jalan Ipoh is a long street with almost no parking available and prices from cheap to total con!

What is the difference between 5.5j and 5.5jj Rim

sanana — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 09:47:33 +0800

I searched a lot of forums, but nobody mentioned the difference between

Tyre and rim size in my manual and door panel mentioned as

5.5Jx14 185/65R14
5.5Jx15 195/55R15

I see a lot of options for 5.5jj but I couldn't find any 5.5j

My questions

1- What is the difference between 5.5j and 5.5jj?
2- I understand the tyre size but I don't know how I can find the offset from these dimensions?

WTB Hyundai matrix spare parts

sanana — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 23:04:47 +0800

I recently bought a second hand Hyundai matrix 1.6 auto (2003).

Just like every second hand car that is very careful lady owner taking kids to school and back and 100% accident free and 100% air bag and 100% tint coupon (check a few ads in mudah and you know what i mean),

this car had:
- Had a few injuries from un-recorded, un-claimed accidents.
- Lady owner was living in KL and school was in Penang!
- Kids who riding the car were very active and you can see their footprints on ceiling of the car.
- Just like any other careful lady owner her car never seen a repair shop in past 50k drive.

Thanks god car still can move, what should I say, my budget and second hand car wouldn't give me a better car in that spec.

Anyway, I need lots of interior and exterior parts for my car and I appreciate if some of vendors over here can quote me prices. hopefully I can find all the stuff I need.

I'll take the car to mechanic for full inspection (which in most countries happens in Puspakom) and see what I need to change and what I need to repair.

Here is a list of items I need right now, but I'm sure will need more parts.

Exterior:
- Front bumper,
- Headlights (both)
- Fog lamps (both)
- Front wiper arms and covers (color is worn off and is rusty).
- Back logos are broken

Exterior Pictures

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Interior
- Driver side VisorShade is missing
- Mirror feet is broken and standing there with electric tape and glue!
- Power window and mirror control is not working (buttons marked with red arrow in picture). I'm not sure if mirror problem is from mirror motor of connection or panel need to check.
- Back door power window motor (only behind driver side)
- Multiple cracks in dashboard (the part that I'm not sure what is it called). preferably I want to change the dvd player to Multimedia GPS so hoping they come together.
- hooks of both back Grab-handles are broken (cut by previous owner for kids safety )
- Steering wheel is worn off and I like to change it to a new or cleaner second hand.

Interior Pictures

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Rims and Tires
I also need to change (or trade in) rims with original Matrix rims or preferably same size alloy rims.

Rim Picture

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Full body paint
Window tint. I heard only Huper optik does not interfere with GPS and is also security tint but I'll be glad if you correct me if there are other options.

The other parts that I think I will need are

Lower arm driver side.
Back suspensions (and absorbers?)
3 sensor that I'm not sure what are they called on engine (failure report on computer).
Timing belt full set.
Air filter (and aircon)
Fuel filter
Engine water hoses (I see two of them damaged)

I am waiting for your price quotes. Obviously I have a limited budget and will choose items I need to buy by priority, but for sure going to change all of them.
Also please leave a comment here if you are a spare part vendor or dealer (original or OEM). This will help Hyundai Matrix to find spare parts they need easily.