Damaged Fluance Speakers

[FendersRule]

Received the AV-HTB+ Speakers. This is an X-mas gift for my father. However, after noticing a rattling noise from inside the box, I decided to investigate.

Turns out, that the Center tweeter on one of the floor speakers broke off, and the pot, screws, and grill was dangling inside the speaker enclosure.

I have emailed Fluance about this, and this would be a great test of customer service. UPS delivered the package, however, the outside shipping box did not appear damaged at all. This just might be one of those "things" that happen.

As far as I could tell so far, the build quality on these speakers are something that you would expect from a $600 set. The materials and hardware are very highly constructed. These did not seem like "cheapie" speakers.

[Marcusarilius]

Looks like they need someone else in charge of Quality Assurance over there. That sucks, esp as it is a Christmas present.

[FendersRule]

What do you guys think from experiences such as these. Here are my expectations:

1) Since UPS wasn't a "clear' cause of the damage, that Fluance should ship me a new floor standing speaker in a very timely fashion.

2) Fluance should be able to ship out the speaker by Christmas.

3) Because I provided pictures to Fluance, then they should ship me a new speaker before this damage speaker leaves. The return box I can use to ship the damaged product back. Reason I say this, is because some companies want you to ship back the damage stuff first, so they can access it, and then ship you a new product. This route takes forever.

Are my expectations unreal? Reason I have high expectations, is because this is an X-mas gift. I would just like the old man to have a good sound system at christmas so we can have a Batman Marathon.

Driver_King, look what else I got for the paps :

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by FendersRule

What do you guys think from experiences such as these. Here are my expectations:

1) Since UPS wasn't a "clear' cause of the damage, that Fluance should ship me a new floor standing speaker in a very timely fashion.

2) Fluance should be able to ship out the speaker by Christmas.

3) Because I provided pictures to Fluance, then they should ship me a new speaker before this damage speaker leaves. The return box I can use to ship the damaged product back. Reason I say this, is because some companies want you to ship back the damage stuff first, so they can access it, and then ship you a new product. This route takes forever.

Are my expectations unreal? Reason I have high expectations, is because this is an X-mas gift. I would just like the old man to have a good sound system at christmas so we can have a Batman Marathon.

Driver_King, look what else I got for the paps :

If you really want it in time for Christmas.... maybe offer to have them charge the second speaker to your card and then refund it when they get your return?

[Driver_King]

Originally Posted by FendersRule

Driver_King, look what else I got for the paps :

He's going to be in for a big treat!

[FendersRule]

As you see, having damaged speaker really sucks with all this stuff he's getting.

[JasonR]

That's all well and good, but you're giving him XBox games with his PS3??

[FendersRule]

Haha, you just saw my brother's Xmas present. I built him a Modded Xbox, and I got him several games to go with it.

Throwing it all in one box so I can store it in the car better.

[Clark Kent]

It is almost definitely the fault of UPS. I have had two very bad experiences with them shipping speakers across the country. Their system and business practices are simply not built to handle delicate stuff like nice speakers. Even without external damage to the box I bet that package was dropped, possibly multiple times.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

It is almost definitely the fault of UPS. I have had two very bad experiences with them shipping speakers across the country. Their system and business practices are simply not built to handle delicate stuff like nice speakers. Even without external damage to the box I bet that package was dropped, possibly multiple times.

Are you kidding? BOTH screws holding the tweeter loosened and fell out (on the same speaker, no less) all from a few drops that somehow didn't damage the packaging at all?

C'mon... this is manufacturer sloppiness. My Polk towers came in a box that made me cringe and they were just fine. Nothing got through the styrofoam (which should protect against nominal drops that wouldn't damage the box to begin with).

OP, I agree- be firm with them. Let us know how it works out!

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by FendersRule

As far as I could tell so far, the build quality on these speakers are something that you would expect from a $600 set. The materials and hardware are very highly constructed. These did not seem like "cheapie" speakers.

That's not what I would guess from looking at the pictures of the speaker.
Looks like it's constructed out of particle board that's less than 1/4" thick!
Can you measure that? I'd send the whole lot back.

Every thing else you've got is real nice, but I can't put much faith in Fluance at all - they seem to flood sites with reviews from their own employees.

This is from someone at Secrets of Home Theater and HiFi's forums:

just recently purchased a set of SV-10's and I must say, either all of the previous reviews that I have seen where done by FLUANCE themselves or there are a lot of people who don't know what REAL speakers are supposed to sound like! First off I did what everyone claims to do such as give them time to break in, Bi-wire, bla, bla ,bla and still all they could muster was just plain ole' sound! Sort of like they way basic car speakers sound, flat muddy with the detail hidden below the mud! So i figured i would crack these mudd ducks open and see what was inside! Boy did I get hosed! Of course I knew that was probably gonna happen, but now we know. First off, the wood is of the pressed fiber type and measures 11mm thick, not even 1/2"! Then I pulled the sub out, if you could call it that, and just as I figured, Junk!I have seen better stock CAR speakers then these! Then there's the cross-over, Now I am thinking maybe the crossover is the real thing, but nope, once again junk! Hell, my kid could have done a better job in electronics class! maybe thats why when I put my ear up to the sub you can hear just about everything. So much for "Low Pass" filtering! I think it was more like "All pass filtering" And never mind the dampening foam....OK maybe the small little piece they threw in is good enough! Anyway you getthe picture! Not even anywhere near worth $299.00! I could run out to my car, pull out my Pioneers, slap them in a wooden box and even they would sound better! There is one thing good that I can say and that is the build quality is not too bad. All in all these are just another scam speaker but with a better quality build to make you think you are getting something worthwhile but in reality just another "White Van" speaker. I hope this sheds some light these speakers

[aramis109]

Good point on the MDF. Looks kind of thin. Also (and here is where my "expertise" ends) shouldn't there be some chambering or something tying down the wires so they don't rattle during audio playback?

[FendersRule]

Hello Nash,

Thank you for your email. We do apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you. I have confirmed with the shipping department that loose tweeter should not affect the sound of the rest of the speakers. As such, we will be sending you a replacement tweeter. It should be sent out today to the address that you have requested. We will contact you with a tracking number once it has left our warehouse. Again, we do apologize for the inconvenience. If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1.888.321.1110.

Best Regards,
Lisa

Just received the UPS confirmation. Scheduled Delivery = 12-29

Great. So far my feelings have subsided to neutral for this company. Lets hope the performance of these speakers tells a different story.

Would it hurt the speaker any way shape or form if were were to use it without the tweeter in place for the Batman Marathon that we plan on having? Ofcoarse, we plan on Bi-wiring the front speakers.

I hooked each speaker up to my Panasonic CD player, and made sure each one works. They all work great. I thought the base response was somewhat excellent, but for "ultra" bass, a subwoofer is needed.