Here I am with a pair of Edifier R1700BT speakers. They still technically work, except I can’t turn them off without pulling the plug. What’s worse, they’ve become a fire hazard because a single power button on the back now crackles and sparks. They chose to manufacture with cheap China parts.
I open them up (with gloves, as capacitors are dangerous) and look at the electronics. It looks at though they were exposed to a humid environment before they were placed inside the speakers. I do not live in a rain-forest, so I expect the manufacturing or shipping process is at fault.
That power button I want to fix? It shouldn’t have broken in the first place, furthermore, I can’t even get to it because it’s stuck behind glue. Even if I manage to get the glue off, I don’t know the exact part number (UPDATE: see bottom) and I’ll have to navigate a jungle of finding a suitable spare part. I am never buying an Edifier product again.
If you create speakers, I will throw money at you.
Make them easily repairable. Make the looks customizable (like swapping a theme) where I can pick if I want green, blue, red or whatever. These speakers have lovely reddish wood exterior, so I wouldn’t mind that as an option.
UPDATE: the rocker switch that I need to replace is called ZX KCD1-104-201. Supposedly the Omron A8L-21-15N2 is an even better build quality upgrade.
I will still buy a speaker from Fairphone if they go that route.
