Defective speaker via ebay. What would you do?
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Here's the story: (also posted toubleshooting forum)
I just received a shipment of a pair of RM series II satellites and a RM series II center speaker that I won on ebay. YEAH!
Unfortunately the center speaker is defective. BOO!
The center speaker sounds very muffled and has no highs. If you remove the grille you can clearly see that there is no blue cone where the tweeter should be in the upper center hole. The lower center just has a smooth round hole. I have no idea whether this lower hole is a defect. The midrange drivers appear to work as far as I can tell.
I would like to fix this center speaker if it is feasible.
Obviously I need a tweeter. Alternative #1: Order a tweeter at seller's expense and replace it myself .
Maybe something else is also wrong, e.g. a crossover. Thus alternative #2: Send it to Polk for repairs.
This may not be worth fixing since the total cost of the three speakers was $128 including shipping. Hence, alternative #3: Send it back to the seller & request a refund.
Other ideas? What would you do?
I just received a shipment of a pair of RM series II satellites and a RM series II center speaker that I won on ebay. YEAH!
Unfortunately the center speaker is defective. BOO!
The center speaker sounds very muffled and has no highs. If you remove the grille you can clearly see that there is no blue cone where the tweeter should be in the upper center hole. The lower center just has a smooth round hole. I have no idea whether this lower hole is a defect. The midrange drivers appear to work as far as I can tell.
I would like to fix this center speaker if it is feasible.
Obviously I need a tweeter. Alternative #1: Order a tweeter at seller's expense and replace it myself .
Maybe something else is also wrong, e.g. a crossover. Thus alternative #2: Send it to Polk for repairs.
This may not be worth fixing since the total cost of the three speakers was $128 including shipping. Hence, alternative #3: Send it back to the seller & request a refund.
Other ideas? What would you do?
Post edited by Jeff E on
Comments
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First thing you should do is contact the seller and see what you two can work out. If they refuse to help you out, file a fraud complaint with eBay and leave a negative feedback, then pursue buying a replacement tweeter. BTW, the lower hole is suppose to be there, it's a port.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
So far there have been no indications of a problem with the seller. His response has been apologetic and he seems willing to address the problem as I see fit. I am soliciting the collective wisdom of this forum in order to decide how I want to proceed with this.
Any advice? -
Send em back. Get a refund. Start looking again.
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Personally, I'd like to see pictures of what you got. It seems odd that a seller would have sold something with a tweet totally missing and not said something. I'm also curious about this mysterious hole......I'm goin with F1 on it being a port, but the way you describe it doesn't make it sound quite right........comment comment comment comment. bitchy.
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The lower hole does look like a port. It has a long tube. The reason it is somewhat disconcerting is that you can see through the tube to circuitry.
I'll see if I can post a clear photo. -
It would not be uncommon to see your crossover thru the port. That is a small speaker and not a alot of internal space to mount it out of site. If it doesn't work, contact customer service and see if they will support you. Going thru your buyer or requesting a refund will probably take time, and then you still may be out a speaker.
Drop a line to customer service.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
I aplogize for my confusing post above. I was referring to a Polk rep, Ken who responded in this other thread.
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=108823#post108823
He told me the tweeter had come lose and just needed to be secured. -
A dislodged tweeter was the problem. After putting it back, the speaker works as it is intended to.
I must say that I am very disatisfied with the timbre match between the center and the satellites. Playing a pink noise test tone shows the center speaker to be quite different in tonal character from the "matching" satellites. I already had a center speaker, the Polk CS250-s. It sounds as similar to the RM series II satellites as the RM series II center. Oh well, I'm sure there's a lesson in this experience. Just gotta figure out what it is.
