Limited Warranty Policy

1.1 This Limited Warranty is given by REDCATT Technology Co., Ltd. ("REDCATT") in respect of REDCATT-branded loudspeaker transducers — low-frequency drivers, high-frequency drivers, compression drivers and coaxial drivers — supplied by REDCATT or by a REDCATT-authorised distributor.

1.2 It covers the transducer as supplied. It does not extend to any enclosure, crossover, amplifier, cable or system into which the transducer is fitted, nor to any product built around a REDCATT transducer by a third party.

1.3 OEM and ODM production. Transducers manufactured to a customer's specification, or supplied unbranded or under a customer's brand, are not covered by this policy. Warranty terms for those products are set out in the individual supply agreement between REDCATT and that customer, and the customer is responsible for the after-sales policy given to its own market.

1.4 This warranty is transferable with the product. A subsequent owner has the same rights as the original purchaser for the remainder of the period, provided the unit is traceable under clause 3.

2.1 REDCATT warrants each transducer against defects in material and workmanship for whichever of the following expires later:

• three (3) years from the production date encoded on the unit's batch label; or
• two (2) years from the date of invoice, where the claimant can produce a REDCATT or authorised-distributor invoice for the unit.

2.2 The dual basis exists so that a valid claim is never lost because an invoice cannot be produced, and so that stock held in a distributor's warehouse does not consume the entire term.

2.3 A repaired or replaced unit carries the unexpired remainder of the original period, or ninety (90) days from the date of the replacement, whichever is longer. A replacement does not restart the term.

3.1 Every REDCATT transducer carries a batch label with the model, serial or batch number and production date code. This label is the primary basis of every warranty determination.

3.2 A unit whose label is missing, defaced, overpainted or unreadable cannot be validated and is not warrantable (code N17). Distributors and installers should photograph the label before installation, particularly where the driver will be mounted label-inward.

4.1 REDCATT will remedy, on the terms of clause 9, any transducer that within the warranty period is found on REDCATT analysis to have failed because of a defect in material or workmanship — that is, a condition that originated in the design, materials or manufacture of the unit rather than in its subsequent handling, installation, drive conditions or environment.

4.2 In practice this includes adhesive and bonding failures, suspension failures originating at a bond line, winding and termination faults, magnetic-assembly and gap defects, and measured performance outside the published tolerance. Annex A lists these by code.

5.1 This warranty does not cover any failure arising from:

• thermal overload of the voice coil, from any cause — including sustained overpowering, amplifier clipping, DC offset, and operation without the specified filtering;
• mechanical over-excursion, including operation below the enclosure tuning frequency without an effective high-pass filter;
• accident, impact, crushing, puncture or other handling damage;
• water, condensation, salt, humidity, chemicals, fire, lightning, mains surge or electrostatic discharge;
• incorrect installation, mounting, wiring or enclosure design, including obstruction of the pole vent or cooling path;
• any repair, recone, re-diaphragm or modification carried out outside a REDCATT-authorised facility;
• damage in transit, which is a claim against the carrier;
• normal wear, cosmetic ageing, and any unit outside the warranty period.

5.2 Annex A sets out the specific failure modes in each category, with the physical evidence on which the determination is made.

5.3 Exceeding the published power rating is not, by itself, a defect in the amplifier or the system — but the resulting damage is not a manufacturing defect and is not covered. The published AES and programme power ratings assume the drive and filter conditions of clause 6.

6.1 The warranty is given on the basis that the transducer is used within the conditions below. These are the conditions under which its published ratings are established; a failure that occurs outside them is an application failure, not a defect.

6.2 Drive and filtering

• Power ratings are established to AES2-2012 over two hours with a pink-noise signal of 6 dB crest factor, band-limited as stated on the datasheet. Programme power is twice the AES rating and assumes normal music duty cycle.
• A high-pass (subsonic) filter is mandatory for any driver in a vented, bandpass or horn-loaded enclosure. It must be set at or above the enclosure tuning frequency, with a slope of at least 12 dB/octave; 24 dB/octave is recommended. Below tuning the cone unloads and excursion rises without mechanical limit.
• The amplifier must not be operated in sustained clipping. Clipped output raises average power well above the sine equivalent and is a common cause of coil burn.
• Band-pass limits stated on the datasheet must be respected. A high-frequency driver must be crossed over at or above its stated minimum crossover frequency, with the stated minimum slope.
• Any limiter or DSP protection specified for the model must be enabled and correctly configured.

6.3 Conditioning

New drivers require a conditioning period before their suspension settles. Thiele/Small parameters should be measured only after conditioning at low level; parameters taken on an unconditioned unit will differ from the published figures and are not by themselves grounds for a claim.

6.4 Mounting and enclosure

• The baffle must be flat at the mounting face and the driver must seat on its gasket without distortion of the frame.
• Fixings must be tightened progressively in a star pattern to the torque stated on the datasheet. Over-torquing warps the frame, shifts the gap and causes rub.
• The pole vent, rear vent and basket windows must remain unobstructed. Rear clearance must be sufficient for airflow.
• Net internal volume and vent tuning should follow the datasheet or a REDCATT-reviewed design. Enclosure defects that load the driver asymmetrically will be classified as installation faults.

6.5 Storage and handling

• Store in the original packaging, dry, between 5 °C and 35 °C, below 70 % relative humidity, away from strong magnetic fields and ferrous debris.
• Do not stack drivers on their cones or dust caps, and do not lift a driver by its cone, dust cap, lead wires or terminals.
• Unless the datasheet states an IP rating, the transducer is not weather-rated and must be protected from moisture and airborne contamination.

7.1 Every returned unit is examined by REDCATT Quality Assurance and assigned a defect code from Annex A. The determination rests on the physical evidence in the unit, not on the description of the symptom.

7.2 Annex B sets out the evidence used to separate a manufacturing defect from an application failure where the visible symptom is the same. A torn spider, a detached surround or an open circuit can each arise either way; the distinction lies in the tear path, the condition of the adhesive, the state of the voice coil and former, and the pattern across the lot.

7.3 Where the evidence is ambiguous, or where thermal and manufacturing indications are both present, the unit is classified under Group C and assessed on which cause predominates, including against reference units from the same production lot.

7.4 REDCATT issues a written finding for every claim, stating the defect code, the evidence, and the outcome. Where a claim is rejected, the finding states what was observed and why it falls outside the warranty.

7.5 Batch and epidemic failures. Where the same covered defect code is confirmed on 2 % or more of a delivered production lot, or on five or more units of one lot, whichever is reached first, REDCATT will open a formal 8D investigation, place the affected lot on hold in its own stock, and agree containment and remedy for the balance of that lot with the customer — including units not yet failed.

8.1 Shipment discrepancies, visible transit damage and cosmetic damage must be reported to REDCATT and to the carrier within seven (7) days of delivery, with photographs of the packaging and the goods.

8.2 All other claims are made through the REDCATT-authorised distributor from whom the goods were bought, or directly to REDCATT where the goods were bought directly. A claim should be raised within thirty (30) days of the fault being discovered.

8.3 A claim must be submitted on the REDCATT RMA form and must include:

• model, quantity and a legible photograph of each batch label;
• the purchase invoice or purchase order reference, where available;
• a description of the symptom, when it appeared, and the approximate service hours;
• the system context: amplifier model and output power, processor and filter settings, high-pass frequency and slope, limiter settings, crossover point, enclosure type and volume;
• photographs of the front, rear, label and defect area;
• an impedance sweep or DC resistance reading where the fault is electrical, if measurement is available.

8.4 REDCATT will issue an RMA number within five (5) working days of a complete submission. Goods returned without an RMA number will not be accepted. Authorised returns must be shipped within thirty (30) days of the RMA being issued, in the original or equivalent packaging.

8.5 REDCATT will complete its analysis and issue its written finding within fifteen (15) working days of receiving the goods.

8.6 Where a claim is rejected, or the returned unit is found to meet specification (code N23), REDCATT may charge a handling and analysis fee and the cost of return carriage, and will offer a chargeable repair or recone quotation where one is available. The customer may instead instruct REDCATT to scrap the unit.

9.1 For a claim accepted under this warranty, REDCATT will at its own option repair the unit, replace it, or issue a credit against the invoiced value. Where a recone kit or replacement diaphragm is available for the model and the failure is confined to the moving assembly, REDCATT may supply the kit as the remedy.

9.2 Freight. The claimant bears the cost of returning goods to REDCATT. Where the claim is accepted, REDCATT bears the cost of returning the repaired or replacement goods, or of shipping a replacement or kit.

9.3 Repair and replacement are the claimant's sole and exclusive remedy under this warranty.

10.1 REDCATT's liability under this warranty is limited to the repair, replacement or credit of the transducer found to be defective, and shall not in any event exceed the invoiced value of that transducer.

10.2 REDCATT is not liable for the cost of removing or reinstalling the transducer, for labour, access, hire or rental costs, for damage to any other equipment, for loss of profit, loss of use, cancelled events, or for any other indirect or consequential loss.

10.3 Nothing in this clause limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

11.1 This Limited Warranty is a commercial guarantee given by REDCATT in addition to, and not in substitution for, any rights the purchaser has under the applicable law of sale.

11.2 In particular, a consumer in the European Union retains the statutory right to remedies for lack of conformity against the seller under Directive (EU) 2019/771 and the national law implementing it, for the statutory period, irrespective of this warranty. Where mandatory local law gives the purchaser more than this warranty gives, that law prevails to the extent of the difference.

11.3 Governing law and dispute resolution are as set out in the applicable REDCATT terms of sale or supply agreement.