Multiple Questions, Multiple Stories

CinderLyon

Also if I wire the post, which posts is recommended to connect the main wire to, top or bottom? Or is this a none issue?

F1nut

Non-issue.

Hermitism

Just call me Mr. Question. What is your opinion of "Audyssey Technology for Enhanced Audio" that comes with some receivers and is used during setup? Is it good technology or snake oil?

DSkip, I emailed you back.

CinderLyon

So I did the join wire from bottom post to top post with some good wire. I know what I think I am hearing as an improvement, but am wondering if it is in my mind or I really hear a difference. I was wired to the bottoms from the AVR.

What should I expect to hear different?

CinderLyon

Oh that will be fun to try. It will have to wait till my new bananas show up or it will be an hour between tests. lol I am still curious what is expected?

I was thinking about leaving the brass bridges on as well as jumping the terminals with wire but decided against it due to physics considerations; equal current and all.

Hermitism

I thought I'd give you an update on my wonderful online purchase of a used Denon receiver on eBay. I never received the item I purchased. On the morning of 7/6/13 the package was delivered to the wrong residence. Seller did not request signature service, so Fedex left package at doorstep. When package never arrived, I contacted Fedex and they went back to retrieve package on 7/10/13 but package was no longer there. They told me the package could no longer be retrieved. They fully admit that they delivered it to the wrong address and that I never had possession of the package. They told me to contact the seller to get refund. I was told that the tracking information linked to the tracking number will no longer be updated and it's last update said it was delivered on 7/6. All info is in the Case ID Number with Fedex.

I contacted seller after being told by Fedex that the package could not be retrieved, but got no response. So I filed a claim with Paypal under Ebay Buyer Protection. I had used Paypal's Bill Me Later option. The transaction didn't show up in the resolution center because I used Bill Me Later, so I had to file the claim over the phone, rather than online. I ended up not winning the case because the tracking numbers said that the package was delivered. I told them that all the info was in the Case ID and to contact Fedex and they would explain. They said it is there policy to ONLY go by what the tracking number says and would not contact Fedex. They said if the tracking number was updated with new info, they would reopen the case. Called Fedex and they said the tracking number info will NEVER be changed. I said, "I thought the whole purpose of a tracking number was to let the shipper/seller know that the item arrived. It should be changed to show that you lost my package." They said once it says "delivered", it can no longer be changed.

So I file a claim with Fedex. This was after literally four hours of phone conversations with Paypal and Fedex. And no one seems to know how to speak English with either company! I was told that ONLY the seller/shipper could file a claim. I said that the seller wouldn't return any of my emails and the only way I had to contact him was through eBay's email service. Since I used Bill Me Later, I couldn't check the transaction through Paypal for contact info because it doesn't show up there. And it's not Fedex's policy to give out the sellers contact info to me. Nice.

Fedex put me through to their claims department and the woman (the first American I spoke with, by the way) told me the only way for me to file a claim was to get the seller to sign a waver allowing me to file a claim. I explained again that he would not return my emails because he thinks the package was delivered to me per the tracking number info. She said there was nothing she could do. I said, "You guys are a real class act!" She replied, "Yes we are, thanks for calling." and hung up on me.

The day before yesterday, the Fedex driver that delivered my package to the wrong address, showed up to deliver another package. He told me where he dropped the package off. I went there yesterday and retrieved my package. I guess the lawn service moved the package to the side of the garage and it had gone unnoticed. Get home, open up my package (which was undamaged and unopened) and the first thing I notice was that my "lightly used, works perfect unit" had a big ol' REMANUFACTURED sticker on the side of it. Nice. Hook it up, plug it in. My Polk speakers sound amazing, which are connected using DSkip's cables. (thanks!) Listen to it for about 90 minutes and the sound goes out. I turn off the Denon and turn it back on and it works for another 15 minutes and the sound went out. Performed numerous factory resets, but didn't help. It got so bad that I'd have to turn the unit off and on 10 to 30 times to get sound. Had to file another claim. Paypal/eBay sided with me. I had to mail the unit back this morning with tracking numbers and when it arrives, I'll get a full refund. Had to spend $31.35 for return shipping. I DID NOT USE FEDEX! I'm now thinking of buying a Yamaha AVR.

What we've learned here is:
1. Polk speakers sound amazing
2. Yes...speaker wire makes a difference
3. Don't use Bill Me Later, it complicates things
4. Customer Service reps are foreigners
5. Fedex and Paypal's polices are flawed
6. Fedex needs to teach their claims department reps some proper manners

CinderLyon

wow. sorry to hear about your troubles. It is one of the reasons i am always concerned about buying used equipment. And shippers are always a pain to get resolution with has been my experience. It works both ways though. Lots of folks try to place false claims against the shippers insurance. So shippers are very much defensive about paying out claims. It is not a perfect system by all means.

I used to shipped 8 million dollars of goods a month. On my worse month I would lose about $3000 in shipping losses. Most of the times everything went pretty smoothly. I only ran into a few issues of fraud, but they were painful to deal with.

zane77

Into everyone's life some rain must fall, but at least you know when you get everything staightened out you will have a very nice sounding system. Good luck with your next receiver purchase and stick around the forum, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people around here.

Hermitism

Yes, I've literally spent hours reading through these forums. Good stuff! And I definitely got drenched with rain.

FYI, I've been doing research on AVRs and learned that if you buy a brand new Yamaha receiver, but you buy it from a non-authorized Yamaha retailer, it voids the warranty. Luckily, I learned this before buying a new one from an eBay store. I would have saved about $15 on that particular model, but would have had no warranty. I just can't make up my mind if I want to buy one that ONLY has what I currently need or if I should buy a more expensive model with pre amp outs for an external amp, in case one day I decide to connect a separate amp. It's going to be used mostly for a home theater, but still some music playing. Five years from now, if I decide to hook up an amp, I'd probably have an itch to update me AVR anyway. I just don't know. The Yamaha RX-V375 has everything I need right now. I'd have to change out the banana plugs for pins on the center channel speaker cable, because that model only has binding posts for the front two channels. I found someone that has those screw on pins for Belkin PureAV Cables but they aren't cheap. Does anyone make gold plated adapters that would convert a male banana into a male pin. (female banana to male pin adapter) I thought that might be a less expensive way to go.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

Sorry to hear about your troubles. But if you're thinking about a Yamaha AVR, don't bother with low end Yammies. Get the cheapest Aventage series Yamaha you can find. These are really much better built and have better sound!

Otherwise, the boys have you covered "above"!

Oh, MP3s, yeah YOU CAN HEAR A HUGE difference between those and a CD, let alone an SACD! The only system I listen to Mp3 quality on is my portable: laptop, etc., streaming services like Pandora, etc. with a decent set of H-phones. Basically background music while I work!

Enjoy!

cnh

Hermitism

Do you have a preference between Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha? What I've heard is that they are all good, but Denon outsources some of their parts/components and Yamaha builds everything in house. I don't know if that affects reliability or not.

Hermitism

So why am I not allowed to read the "For Sale Classifieds"?

"To view this thread or threads in this forum your post count must be 100 or greater."

I know I just answered my own question, but...

F1nut

Pioneer Elite SC series. 'Nuff said.

Hermitism

Oh, I thought of another good question I've been meaning to ask. You all are big fans of bi-amping. Does bi-amping your speakers with a single receiver not give the same affect as doing it with two separate amps? I've read that some receivers can reassign their zone 2 outputs for bi-amping. Is that a gimmick?

F1nut

Where did you get the idea that we are big fans of bi-amping as nothing is further from the truth. For starters, you cannot bi-amp squat with an AVR. True bi-amping, the only kind worth pursuing, requires separate amps and active crossovers.

Hermitism

That's what I'm asking, these receivers that say you can reassign zone 2 for bi-amping doesn't have the same affect as hooking up a seperate amp to your system, right?

F1nut

Correct.

Hermitism

I just wanted to give a big thanks to DSkip for taking the time to find me a deal on a receiver. It's a 41 pound behemoth. Lets hope it gives me many years of trouble-free life.