The cable between my Tyros 2 and the TRS-MS02 optional monitor speakers got damaged. This is a proprietary cable (combo 8 pin din and 1/4" to RCA).

I called yamaha parts for a replacement and they said that
1) The part was backordered for two weeks (that I can forgive).
2) The cost is $46 plus shipping and handling and tax.

That is price gouging to the extreme!! For a cable that costs them around a buck to manufacture.
I used to work for a car audio company. And we did not rip existing customers off like that. A replacement cable was generally around $6.

I am absolutely disgusted. I hung up the phone without ordering the part and will try using a standard 8 pin din serial cable available on Amazon for $2 (apparently mac computers use this connector). Hopefully they are wired the same way.

I'm sorry, but Yamaha is being very greedy here.

Sorry to hear it,
I'm not surprised at all. Its not just Yamaha believe me. It's the way it is with anything proprietary.

Actually that's less than I would have guessed. Have you bought any parts for your car, boat airplane, appliance etc. lately?

BUT, If I were you, I would make the cable myself...BUT, you must be sure the wirng is exactly the same. Use a volt ohm meter if you have to (assuming the wiring is not obvious). If you do not know what that is or how to use it...just order the cable from Yamaha.

Good luck...

Lee S.

I think it is a safe bet that it costs them more than that to manufacture the cable. One must also add in parts storage, procurement, personnel to do that job and of course all the expense such entails.



What was the overall sales volume invloved, worldwide? That can affect the price. If they made a lot of them, the cost would be less per unit.

But it is more likely the case that the engineer for your car audio company specified a readily available standardized cable, which would indeed cost a lot less due to the fact that many different mfrs likely make the same cable. Again, supply and demand lowers the cost. Not company ripoff conspiracy theories.



I wish you lots of luck on that, for if the Yamaha cable is not wired the same, there is indeed the possibility that plugging in that new cable could damage the keyboard's circuitry. If you can't get hold of the actual pinout information from Yamaha, this is a risk to your much more expensive keyboard. But then you will never get a chance to rant about the high cost of Yamaha keyboard factory authorized service.



A multibillion dollar corporation, one of the largest in the world, is taking the time to scheme out how to greedily make money off of a replacement cable for a keyboard.

Right.

I understand your frustration but thankfully I've had very good experience with Yamaha. A few months ago I broke a button on my Tyros 2, they charged me $2 to replace the button or $50 to replace the whole button board. Now the screen on my Tyros 3 broke, and it has been replaced for free, even though I had to pay labor unfortunately...

I've had Yamahas for fifteen years and thankfully they've held up very well.

I've been using Yamaha keyboards, guitars, outboard motors and never had a problem with service. As for the cable, why not build, or repair it yourself. You can purchase the connectors and wire at any Radio Shack. Then it's just a matter of sitting down with a small soldering iron and wiring the connections to the correct pins.

Most cables, with very few exceptions, are very inexpensive to manufacture. Mass production techniques using robotics made this possible a more than a decade ago. Even something as complex as a serial connection takes just a few seconds to produce. Computer mother boards are manufactured at incredible speeds using the same robotics. (I saw this on the Discovery Channel show "How It's Made.) It boggles the mind.

Because of this, the end product consists of very thin wires, most of which are either crimped or lightly soldered into a molded connector. They're not rugged, and they don't stand up to any abuse whatsoever. If you're setting up and tearing down your rig every day of the week, you'll be far ahead of the game by making your own, basic wires (cables). Even the much touted Monster Cables use lightweight wire and inexpensive, molded connectors. The big difference is Monster's guarantee. If you're willing to pay their price, and it fails, they'll replace it at no charge. Of course, you're still left with your a$$ hanging out to dry if it fails on the job. If you don't have the skills to make your own cables, then be sure to carry some inexpensive spares along with you at all times. You can't have too many spares.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary aka (Mr Wizard) ......great post and super advice.....all my cables are custom made as you know you made some of them ...but its not that hard to do it yourself....you can obtain all required parts easily at radio Shack or online dealers for sure.

I also get custom cables made here ...
http://www.gigcables.com/CNmic.html

Gabe:

Not sure which cable of the 2 (or both) got damaged. But you might check the 1/4"/rca with a simple continuity check and see if this is the one that's damaged. It's seperate from the other and you could just buy a 1/4" male to RCA male at radio shack and tape it alongside the other 2...

Just a Idea

POZ

I understand your frustration since I recently tried to replace one of the boards inside the satillite speaker of my MS-TRS01 for my T1. It was shattered when it clumbsely fell to the floor right on the inserted RCA plug. They said the board was not a replaceable part and no schematics are available to see if it could be by-passed. I would have to pay almost $80 for a replacement speaker andwait over seven to ten weeks for it to come over from Japan since it is not a stocked item.

I felt the board and don't feel any components on it. I think I can re-wire it to go between a 1/4" jack and wire directly to the speaker connections and it would be fine. Just would have to use a 1/4" - 1/4" patch cable instead of the supplied one. Of course I still need to confirm this before I would have it done and match the other to the same wiring so as not to have one sounding differently than other. Like I said, I feel absolutely nothing on the board except the RCA soldered onto the board and the speaker leads on the other end; no bumps, no hi-tops no nothing. Wish I could actually see it to confirm.

Needless to say, if I need to have this done, it would cost me about $5.00 in hardware and about an hour of time to fix as aposed to paying $80 for a replacement speaker.

When things are out of stock or manufacturing then we have to improvise.

Once again...you MUST be 100% certain that the cable is wired exactly like the original.
No problem if you have the skill to make the cable.

IF not, and you don't want to buy the Yammie cable.....find someone capable of doing it for you.

Lee S.

It's just not Yamaha, all of the keyboard companies are like that. Roland, korg, Ketron.....

I would just spend the $46.00 doing it cheaper may bring on other problems.

good luck