Threshold Service to Debut Soon

Owners of Threshold electronics will soon have an expert service organization available for their amplifiers and preamps. Threshold Corporation national sales manager Chris English reports that he has assumed the presidency of a new company to be devoted solely to servicing Threshold equipment. Based in Texas, Threshold Service Company will employ factory-trained technicians and engineers, and will offer warranties on all their work.

"It's our intent to provide service on every piece of Threshold equipment manufactured from the beginning," English said near the end of December. Units bearing the Threshold badge were sold by the tens of thousands over the past 20 years, but for the past two years owners have had to take their chances with unauthorized service shops and substitute parts because the manufacturer was in legal and financial limbo. Threshold Service Company will make an official announcement at this week's Consumer Electronics Show.

The company will offer upgrades for all T-series amplifiers, which used proprietary output devices known as Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors, or IGBTs. The devices are no longer available, English stated, and his new service organization has a more reliable and better-sounding output circuit. For T-series amps with one bad channel, English recommends that both channels undergo the upgrade because of what he calls "differences in sonic characteristics." The same advice applies to owners of monoblocks. One benefit of the upgrade is that the amps will run at stable operating temperatures. T-series amps tend to run hot, he said, noting that "there are several distinct advantages to changing the IGBT output stage."

All service carried out at the new facility will carry a one-year warranty. Whether Threshold electronics will be manufactured again is "still uncertain," English mentioned, explaining that under the present circumstances he couldn't be any more definite, but stating that he hopes to have good news in the near future for the brand's many fans and loyal dealers. A service-company website should be operating soon, he said.

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