Polk RTI A9 packaging failure + scratch on front

Top-Tier-Tech

I ordered myself a pair of brand new RTI A9's off Vanns the other day and finally had the chance to unbox them.

1st speaker was perfect, with a styrofoam pad on the top and bottom, front and back.

Now I noticed the 2nd box was pushed in on one side as if it was missing a pad... opened it up and low and behold it had no styrofoam pad in front of the speaker cones to protect them in transit! :mad:

How difficult can it be to remember the only piece of padding that protects the cones from being destroyed by an impact to the box?! The other styrofoam pads on the top and bottom were broken apart and there is a 1/2" long slice in the wood veneer right next to a cone which appears to be the result of a utility knife! :mad: This is not something I would expect from a brand new speaker.

I won't be able to hook these up and test them until I get some more equipment but the fact that Polk "forgot" to protect the cones and the unsightly scratch on the front reflects poorly on them as a company.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a way to diminish the visibility of the scratch on the cherry finish? I'm not picky on looks, I don't mind if the finish isn't "perfect" all over but this was clearly damage from some sort of blade after it was manufactured and is quite noticeable from my sitting position.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Stuff happens, people make mistakes, call Polk CS and they'll get you taken care of.

Top-Tier-Tech

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

Stuff happens, people make mistakes, call Polk CS and they'll get you taken care of.

I needed to vent :redface:

Mainly I'm just looking for some way to cover up/reduce visibility of the scratch. It isn't a surface scratch mind you, it's a cut.

gudnoyez

I'am glad we have a store here in town that sells Polk Audio as as big as those speakers are I would feel better purchasing from them, than have a middleman send them to me. I cant imagine sending those Ups or Fed Ex due to the size, how did Vanns send them?

Top-Tier-Tech

gudnoyez wrote: »

I'am glad we have a store here in town that sells Polk Audio as as big as those speakers are I would feel better purchasing from them, than have a middleman send them to me. I cant imagine sending those Ups or Fed Ex due to the size, how did Vanns send them?

UPS

I live 3.5 hours from an actual dealer and I was able to get these for $720 each with no tax so the savings is worth it, the box with the pad in the front had almost no damage at all to the box, it's just the one without it that suffered.

WilliamM2

Why don't you just have Vann's replace it? That's what I've always done when I recieved damaged or defective merchadise.

It sounds to me like that box has been opened before, why else would it have utility knife marks in it? Vann's should take care of it.

treitz3

Why do folks automatically come on here to bash Polk before finding out if the source [Vann's, in this case] had any play in this? Drives me nukin' futz! Polk CS is a top notch outfit and has been for decades. Try finding out what you can by the most probable source of your issue and if you can't get anywhere, then simply call Polk CS. It's really that simple.

Top-Tier-Tech

treitz3 wrote: »

Why do folks automatically come on here to bash Polk before finding out if the source [Vann's, in this case] had any play in this?

Well the box was sealed with a single layer of tape that had never been cut so the missing packaging and cut were undoubtedly present from the factory.

treitz3

Fair enough. Did you happen to try contacting Vann's to see what they can do for you before posting this [what appears to be a bash] thread?

Lucky for you, they are an authorized online Polk distributor. Here's the contact information.

Vanns.com or 406-728-5151

falconcry72

If it was damaged in shipping, and you bought it from Vann's, then Vann's should replace it.

Don't try to cover up the scratch; get a new speaker!

Get Vann's to email you a return shipping label, then schedule a pickup and await your new speaker. Shouldn't be a problem.

That's a nice pair of speakers. Enjoy!:biggrin:

RuSsMaN

Sealed box tape doesn't mean anything. I can order new boxes for anything current.

treitz3

Eh, forgot about that little tidbit of information. Good point.

F1nut

If it was damaged in shipping, and you bought it from Vann's, then Vann's should replace it.

Bingo!!!

comfortablycurt

falconcry72 wrote: »

If it was damaged in shipping, and you bought it from Vann's, then Vann's should replace it.

Don't try to cover up the scratch; get a new speaker!

Get Vann's to email you a return shipping label, then schedule a pickup and await your new speaker. Shouldn't be a problem.

That's a nice pair of speakers. Enjoy!:biggrin:

+1

Don't even bother trying to "repair" the speaker. You were buying brand new merchandise, and receiving something like that is unacceptable. Mistakes happen though, and I'm sure that Vanns will make things right for you. If they don't, contact Polks CS...it's top notch.

stuwee

Man, it's a tough world out there, if I got my panties in a knot over every little scratch, or cut in this case, someone better throw some ice tea on me or the 'bad things' might happen again :eek:. You went the cheap route to save a few bills, deal with it...do you feel better?

Top-Tier-Tech

treitz3 wrote: »

Fair enough. Did you happen to try contacting Vann's to see what they can do for you before posting this [what appears to be a bash] thread?

Lucky for you, they are an authorized online Polk distributor. Here's the contact information.

Vanns.com or 406-728-5151

I believe this is my reaction to a combination of "I just spent a lot of money" and "oh crap missing packaging and slight damage".

As long as the speakers work I'm the type of guy that will attempt to diminish the noticeability of the relatively minor yet annoying cut and just keep them to save everyone else some money. I can live without perfection If the lack of packaging caused some significant damage to any part of the speaker I'd give Vanns a call but in a case such as this I just want to make it look better and call it good enough for me.

I still wanted to make my experience of improper packaging known so if others encounter the exact same issue Polk and more importantly the consumer become aware of an actual problem rather than assuming "I must have just been the unlucky one".

stuwee wrote: »

Man, it's a tough world out there, if I got my panties in a knot over every little scratch, or cut in this case, someone better throw some ice tea on me or the 'bad things' might happen again :eek:. You went the cheap route to save a few bills, deal with it...do you feel better?

You're no fun at all. lol

treitz3

By the way, welcome to Club Polk. I apologize if I came across like "that guy" but there have been plenty of instances to where Polk gets the negative credit they do not really deserve. Regardless, I'm sure you will be well taken care of. If not by one party, then for sure by the other.

nooshinjohn

^^^What "THAT GUY" said!


welcome to the club. I am certain things will get fixed for you. I would caution you against taking things into your own hands by attempting to fix them yourself, as this would likely void the warranty.

Top-Tier-Tech

treitz3 wrote: »

By the way, welcome to Club Polk. I apologize if I came across like "that guy" but there have been plenty of instances to where Polk gets the negative credit they do not really deserve. Regardless, I'm sure you will be well taken care of. If not by one party, then for sure by the other.

No worries, you jumped on Polk's defense the same way I would for some of my favorite companies

nooshinjohn wrote: »

^^^What "THAT GUY" said!


welcome to the club. I am certain things will get fixed for you. I would caution you against taking things into your own hands by attempting to fix them yourself, as this would likely void the warranty.

mmk

I'll give Polk a call first and see what they say about the cut, they might even have a suggestion on how to sorta fix it or at the very least can tell me not to do anything if it would void their warranty, if they suggest I return it to Vanns I might do that as well, we'll see.



Thanks for your thoughts and opinions guys, even if I didn't directly respond to you I have taken everything you've said into consideration.

Now all I have to do is decide to go with RTi a7's or A5's as my surround speakers, tis a choice between more bass drivers or more mid-range drivers...

nooshinjohn

a5's would be my call if you want towers back there.

Top-Tier-Tech

nooshinjohn wrote: »

a5's would be my call if you want towers back there.

I buy towers for every channel save the center, before this Polk setup I had all Klipsch towers, then I bought a pair of Monitor 60's cheap on Newegg for my PC upstairs and fell in love :biggrin: I'm always turning up treble as it always sounds better to me and Polk's are very bright, just how I like without having to make EQ adjustments.

I could go with RTI A7's as side surrounds and RTi A5's as rears or do you think it would be better to go with 4 A5's?

leroyjr1

Got any pictures of the damage?

comfortablycurt

Personally, I think the A5's would work better in a surround application. They've got better, richer midrange than the A7's do, and the added bass output from the A7's would basically be negligible in a surround position, because you're going to have them crossed over to a subwoofer anyway presumably.

If you like bright speakers, the RTi's are just what you need. They're definitely what I'd consider on the bright side, but not overbearingly so. I used to run an all RTi HT setup, with RTi8's and a CSi5 up front, and RTi6's as surrounds. It was a fantastic sounding HT setup.



If you do decide to keep them and try to fix them yourself, I'd strongly recommend you open them up and make sure that nothing internal was damaged. Make sure that there aren't any components on the crossovers that got knocked loose, and check all of the connections to make sure there aren't any loose wires. I'd imagine there are also internal braces that could potentially have gotten knocked loose. You should be able to just remove one of the woofers to check this.

Top-Tier-Tech

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Personally, I think the A5's would work better in a surround application. They've got better, richer midrange than the A7's do, and the added bass output from the A7's would basically be negligible in a surround position, because you're going to have them crossed over to a subwoofer anyway presumably.

If you like bright speakers, the RTi's are just what you need. They're definitely what I'd consider on the bright side, but not overbearingly so. I used to run an all RTi HT setup, with RTi8's and a CSi5 up front, and RTi6's as surrounds. It was a fantastic sounding HT setup.



If you do decide to keep them and try to fix them yourself, I'd strongly recommend you open them up and make sure that nothing internal was damaged. Make sure that there aren't any components on the crossovers that got knocked loose, and check all of the connections to make sure there aren't any loose wires. I'd imagine there are also internal braces that could potentially have gotten knocked loose. You should be able to just remove one of the woofers to check this.

I see Newegg has the RTi a5's in black for $280 each so I'll probably snag them from there per your suggestion after I sell my WF-34's.

Thanks for the advice!

leroyjr1

Try Polk Direct eBay store.