Tsi500 - Recurring Problem + Terrible Customer Service

sheepninja

Hi,

I bought a pair of TSi500s about 8 months back. One from bestbuy online, and one from the store itself. I purchased extended warranties for both.

My issue is as follows -

- One speaker began to emit distortion from the topmost "Driver Complement Mid Woofer"
- I'm located in Mississauga, Ontario ; so I was referred to a certain Walter for repairs
- He sent me a driver replacement, which I duly installed
- There was no change, so I was asked to take it to a service center
- After 2 weeks at the service center, the speaker was returned and the distortion still persists, and even spread to the second "Driver Complement Mid Woofer".

- I spoke to Walter again and he said that I should take it back to the service center. I outlined my issues with transporting the speaker back and forth ( I have no car, and I'm paying around 60 dollars for a taxi ). He was rude, sarcastic and haughty in his reply, and offered no solution.

- Apparently it was "impossible" that there was a defect in the manufacturing of the speaker. Impossible is a pretty strong word, as I told him, and I had even tested the speaker out with multiple A/V receivers. It's easy for me to notice the issue because the other Tsi500 functions perfectly.

My question is this - If I return it a second time to the service center ( Progressive Sales ), and it still doesn't fix my issue, what happens then ? Do I resign myself to making a trip every other week to make a repair in hopes that the issue is resolved by trial and error ? Do I wait until the manufacturer's warranty runs out, so I can go to BestBuy for service ? How do I avoid contact with Walter, given his blatant disregard for customer service ?

I'm willing to undergo the inconvenience of one more trip to the Service center, but my main concern is what happens afterwards, given the possibility that my problem persists. This really isn't what I signed up for, in buying with Polk, since I assumed my speakers would last at least a few years. The Polk brand is associated with quality, and I'm failing to see the correlation at this point.

Please help. And please don't refer me back to Walter.

Merry Christmas !

polk500

Hello Sheep, I would contact the U.S. Customer service after the holidays they are far nicer then Walter who I had dealings with a few years ago. My problem was resolved but only after I contacted the folks down south.

Cheers
Roger

gudnoyez

If you bought the extended warranty from best buy it's in their hands and not Polks if you bought the extended warranty from Polk then it becomes thier problem. I think Best Buy should repair it for you no questions asked, as it sounds like you bought into their protection plan.

sheepninja

polk500 wrote: »

Hello Sheep, I would contact the U.S. Customer service after the holidays they are far nicer then Walter who I had dealings with a few years ago. My problem was resolved but only after I contacted the folks down south.

Cheers
Roger

Will do. I had a feeling that might be my only recourse for action. Your feedback is appreciated.

gudnoyez wrote: »

If you bought the extended warranty from best buy it's in their hands and not Polks if you bought the extended warranty from Polk then it becomes thier problem. I think Best Buy should repair it for you no questions asked, as it sounds like you bought into their protection plan.

I contacted Bestbuy, but they said that their plan only kicks in after the manufacturer's warranty has expired. Since I've owned the speakers for less than a year, I'll wait for word from Polk, and take it from there. Thanks for the advice.

Happy holidays

ken brydson

Polk will take care of you. Merry Christmas!

seabeerob213

Get a dedicated amp in the near future, and until then, don't crank the volume, turning it up you're going to push distortion as the avr isn't designed to drive big speakers like a dedicated amp is.

sheepninja

seabeerob213 wrote: »

Get a dedicated amp in the near future, and until then, don't crank the volume, turning it up you're going to push distortion as the avr isn't designed to drive big speakers like a dedicated amp is.

Thanks for the advice. I have plans on upgrading my AVR, and I'll keep this in mind. With regards to the distortion, it's only coming from one speaker, while the other functions flawlessly, which leads me to believe that the issue is strictly with the speaker itself.

sheepninja

DSkip wrote: »

If you swap the speaker cables to the front speakers, does it switch speakers or stay on the same side?

I'm away from home for the holidays; as soon as I'm back, I'll try this and let you know.

Thanks

sheepninja

DSkip wrote: »

If you swap the speaker cables to the front speakers, does it switch speakers or stay on the same side?

Ok, I swapped the cables and initial signs look good. I was able to detect some distortion being emitted from the same speaker, but I'll save my judgement until I've tested it for a day or two. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for the help.

Happy New Year !

sheepninja

Ok, so I tested it out with a few songs, a movie and a tv show ( my movies are blu-ray, so quality isn't an issue, as are my tv shows ), and the problem still persists despite swapping the cables. One speaker still emits an irritating distortion.

Do Polk customer service reps frequent this site ? I really need help. If I have to go to the service center again, I'll have to take a cab back and forth since I don't have a car and I can't exactly lug it around on public transit. Any way I could take this to a bestbuy ? Their locations are extremely convenient ( keeping in mind that I've purchased the extra warranty )

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I'm sorry you're having a problem. I'll send a copy of this thread to Polk's CS department. In the meantime send an email to: Kim.Jasper@soundunited.com letting him know the situation.
I'm sure that we can get this resolved.
Best regards, Ken

sheepninja

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

Hello,
I'm sorry you're having a problem. I'll send a copy of this thread to Polk's CS department. In the meantime send an email to: Kim.Jasper@soundunited.com letting him know the situation.
I'm sure that we can get this resolved.
Best regards, Ken

Thanks Ken, I'll do so right away.

sheepninja

Update -

Over a year down the road, and after several trips to the Service Center, my speaker is worse than ever.

I've contacted Bestbuy, but they claim that I am still under the manufacturer's warranty. They are, however, authorized to "service under the manufacturer's warranty", given that I purchased extra protection. Anyone know what that entails ? Should I take it back to the service center, keeping in mind that it has conducted repairs on 3 prior occasions with no success ?

P.S - I suffer from a physical disability, and so I'm extremely limited in my ability to transport such a heavy speaker. I genuinely wish I knew of the hassle I was signing up for when buying the Tsi500, because this is just absurd..right ? Multiple repairs, for a product that is renowned for its quality, and it's still busted.

I just want what I paid for. Please help.

gudnoyez

How far away is best buy from you? I would have best buy fix it under the Manufacturers warranty. If the Best Buy is within a reasonable distance, tell them of your disabilities and have the geek squad pick it up for you. Good luck

EndersShadow

And your sure it's not the channel an your AVR right? You've swapped speakers and the noise follows that speaker correct?

[Deleted User]

It would be best to work with Polk's CS department (1-800-377-7655) they can send you replacement parts and instruct how to replace them at no charge. But, if the speaker continues to be damaged after repairing then something external to the speakers might need to be changed. Polk's CS can help with that as well, make sure to have the speaker's serial number and date of purchase handy when you call them. Also the brand and model number of the receiver you are powering them with.

tonyb

Is there an update to this ? The man has a physical disability, over a year of monkeying around with what should be simple.

Any Polkies up Ontario way that could help this guy out ?

sheepninja

gudnoyez wrote: »

How far away is best buy from you? I would have best buy fix it under the Manufacturers warranty. If the Best Buy is within a reasonable distance, tell them of your disabilities and have the geek squad pick it up for you. Good luck

Apologies for the late reply.

Bestbuy is actually just a few blocks down the road. I'll try my luck with them again, and let you guys know how it turns out.

EndersShadow wrote: »

And your sure it's not the channel an your AVR right? You've swapped speakers and the noise follows that speaker correct?

Yes, I've swapped speakers and the noise remains within that specific speaker.

KennethSwauger wrote: »

It would be best to work with Polk's CS department (1-800-377-7655) they can send you replacement parts and instruct how to replace them at no charge. But, if the speaker continues to be damaged after repairing then something external to the speakers might need to be changed. Polk's CS can help with that as well, make sure to have the speaker's serial number and date of purchase handy when you call them. Also the brand and model number of the receiver you are powering them with.

Polk's CS department did send me replacement parts, which I installed using the help of my neighbours. In all honesty, I really can't service these speakers on my own. And I never really expected to, when making the purchase. Otherwise I just wouldn't have bought it.

I'll try them again, but I was hoping for some kind of response from them through the forum. When I contact them through email, I'm just forwarded to Walter Moser - who either sends me replacement parts, or recommends that I somehow transport it to a service center that's about 40 mins drive away.

I don't drive.

sheepninja

Spoke to GeekSquad. And found out the following.

- If Bestbuy service/replace my speakers, that would be the end of my extended protection. Unless I purchase new protection to cover the replacement speaker.

- She recommended that I contact Polk instead, because surely they'll have a limit to how many times a speaker has to be serviced before being declared a dud.

- So if Polk replaces my speaker, the Geek Squad plan still applies.

Now, I'd love to just stop interacting with Polk and get this done through Bestbuy, but then she said the following -

- Geek Squad protections covers things like power surges, so they MIGHT "not service under the manufacturer's warranty" if my issue is something else.

Which, in line with this entire experience, is just confusing and absurd.

If I was rich, I'd just toss this speaker and give up. This is a genuine hassle, trying to get a corporation to own up to an error. But I'm not rich, so I guess I'll keep at it until they completely defeat me.

At the very least, maybe someone will think twice after reading about my experience.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I can certainly understand your frustration. If I read you correctly your speakers now have new parts and are working correctly, right? Let's work to prevent any future problems, no need to have anything further done for the speakers.
The first thing you have to accept is that speakers, made by anyone, very rarely cause their own problems. With very few exceptions speakers become damaged because of external operating conditions. A well balanced sound system used within its design abilities will last for many years trouble free.
If we knew a few facts about what your system consists of and your listening preferences we might be able to prevent future problems.
Regards, Ken

sheepninja

KennethSwauger wrote: »

Hello,
I can certainly understand your frustration. If I read you correctly your speakers now have new parts and are working correctly, right? Let's work to prevent any future problems, no need to have anything further done for the speakers.
The first thing you have to accept is that speakers, made by anyone, very rarely cause their own problems. With very few exceptions speakers become damaged because of external operating conditions. A well balanced sound system used within its design abilities will last for many years trouble free.
If we knew a few facts about what your system consists of and your listening preferences we might be able to prevent future problems.
Regards, Ken

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the response. My speaker has new parts, but does not work correctly.

I understand that most speaker problems are due to external conditions, but I've never pushed my speakers past a reasonable limit. I live in a quiet neighbourhood, and I use them primarily for movies and tv shows. Music is strictly limited to classic rock, so it really isn't that taxing.

I know this because my second speaker functions perfectly in comparison.

The details of my setup are as follows -

- Two TSi500s connected via a Sony STR-DH550

I've tried various settings on my AVR, with no success. I know my AVR isn't the best, but my plans to upgrade it were curtailed by all the repairs I had to make. I even connected my speakers to a friend's AVR, and there was no change.

[Deleted User]

You're welcome. Can you describe what about the speaker isn't correct? What parts were replaced? When you mention "my second speaker" are you referring to the other TSi500 speaker or another different pair of speakers?
Can you give me the approximate size of your listening room and about how far away from the speakers you are?
You are not using a self-powered subwoofer, correct? Nor a center channel or surround channel speakers, correct?

sheepninja

KennethSwauger wrote: »

You're welcome. Can you describe what about the speaker isn't correct? What parts were replaced? When you mention "my second speaker" are you referring to the other TSi500 speaker or another different pair of speakers?
Can you give me the approximate size of your listening room and about how far away from the speakers you are?
You are not using a self-powered subwoofer, correct? Nor a center channel or surround channel speakers, correct?

- Distortion from my top two "woofers". I don't know if I'm getting the jargon right, so I apologize for that.

Initially, I only had distortion from the topmost woofer, and I was mailed a replacement driver from Walter, your Canadian representative.

Having replaced the driver, I still experienced distortion, which even spread to the woofer directly below. Upon contacting Polk, I was told that this was an issue with the "electronic crossover", and referred to Walter once again. Walter, in turn, directed me to a service outlet called "Progressive Sales Repair".

After multiple service runs, I spoke to the service center and they revealed that a tweeter was replaced, as well as a "capacitor in the amp". So the electronic crossovers weren't addressed.

- By "second speaker", I mean my other tsi500. Apologies for that.

- The size of the room is 8m wide and 12m long. I'm usually around 6-9m away from the speakers.

- You're correct on both counts.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the explanation, the top most speaker component is called a "driver" below that is a high frequency component called a "tweeter" and below that another "driver". The bottom two components are called "woofers". Inside the cabinet on the other side of where you attach the speaker wires is a component called a "crossover" which divides up the incoming audio signal into frequency bands and sends them to the appropriate tweeters, drivers and woofers. Kind of like a traffic cop directing traffic.
Sometimes in some speaker designs there is enough frequency overlap that it is difficult to determine which component is causing distortion. One approach is to use a small pillow to cover some of the components and isolate them one-at-a-time to be able to hear which one is at fault.
I believe when the service center said a "capacitor in the amp" was replaced they meant a capacitor in the speaker's crossover was replaced. So, I believe you have had a tweeter and driver replaced and the crossover repaired.
A few things to consider: first your listening room is fairly large, I wish I had one as big. Secondly you are relatively distant from the front speakers, which is good news and not so good news. Thirdly most home theater systems have other speakers to augment the total sound pressure levels, usually a center channel speaker and two surround channel speakers and a self-powered subwoofer to take care of the real demanding sounds.
The combination of large room, distant listening position and reduced speaker compliment mean the demands are heavy for those two speakers. Think of trying to illuminate a big room with only two light bulbs and you want to be able to read a newspaper 9 meters away. Not easy to say the least.
If you continued to turn up the voltage powering the light bulbs so you could get enough illumination you would eventually damage the bulbs. I'm sure you were working with a budget and wanted to piece things together over time and add center channels, subwoofers and surrounds. Perfectly understandable, everyone builds their systems as they can. However, you're going to have to reduce the playing volume so that the receiver is within its power limits until you get a more complete system. Is it possible to move your listening position closer to the speakers? Sound pressure increases dramatically as you lessen the distance. Same as light intensity, you would move closer to the light to be able to see better, right?
I hope this is helpful information.

sheepninja

My speakers were initially in a smaller basement room. I had to move after my accident, and so now it's in a much larger living room with an attached kitchen. The problems persisted despite the room change, which leads me to believe that the size and listening distance may not be a factor here.

I did indeed plan on piecing things together over time, but never really got past the issue of having functional speakers to start off with.

My playing volume is normally restricted to low and mid-levels, given that I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood.

Does this mean that my only option is to buy speaker compliments like a center channel and a subwoofer ? The distortion has gotten worse over time, and now it's become pretty difficult to watch movies or tv shows, with a grating sound being emitted everytime there's a tiny hint of bass.

[Deleted User]

A subwoofer would be a good idea, it can handle the lowest amounts of bass and has internal limits on over-driving the woofer. The other advantage is that you could then set the receiver's adjustments so the front speakers would be "small" meaning a high pass filter would prevent them from receiving information below 80 cycles (Hz).
In the meantime if you contact Walter Moser he can either send you replacement woofers or recommend the service center to repair your speakers.

mikeyb128

Seems to me the best idea might be to get Best Buy to replace these speakers. I know you said that would be the end of your extended warranty, but that's why you got it in the first place. I doubt you would have problems with the second pair, assuming you arent over driving them like you said. The polks have a 5 year warranty which is a very good one. Those speakers should last a long time if kept within their limits.

sheepninja

KennethSwauger wrote: »

A subwoofer would be a good idea, it can handle the lowest amounts of bass and has internal limits on over-driving the woofer. The other advantage is that you could then set the receiver's adjustments so the front speakers would be "small" meaning a high pass filter would prevent them from receiving information below 80 cycles (Hz).
In the meantime if you contact Walter Moser he can either send you replacement woofers or recommend the service center to repair your speakers.

I can't really afford speaker compliments at the moment, and I can't manually replace my woofers, so the service center looks to be my only bet.

mikeyb128 wrote: »

Seems to me the best idea might be to get Best Buy to replace these speakers. I know you said that would be the end of your extended warranty, but that's why you got it in the first place. I doubt you would have problems with the second pair, assuming you arent over driving them like you said. The polks have a 5 year warranty which is a very good one. Those speakers should last a long time if kept within their limits.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll look to contact BestBuy again. Worst case scenario, if BestBuy refuse, I'll send it once more to the service center.

If the speaker is still faulty, I'll just call it a day and try to sell it. Maybe the whole audiophile thing isn't for everyone.

Thanks again for the advice.

mikeyb128

I know this is difficult, but it shouldn't be. I live in Canada, and though the customer service isn't as quickly dealt with as in the US I've always had a great experience with them. I would call Best Buy, and start b!tching. Explain to them you have a disability that prevents you from taking them to a service center, I've dealt with Best Buy before with zero problems. They should be handing over you a new pair of speakers with all this bs you have been going through.