Recent customer service Dec2019
meucci2977
Posts: 18
I am a 30 year customer of Polk. I have there 12” powered sub that has the very common Amp board failure. I was using this sub with 30 year old Nad amps. I started having problems with the sub and thought the amps simply had given up the ghost. I simply unplugged the sub and only used the Tower speakers. Not until I hooked up a new receiver and tried the sub again did I realize it was the sub not my 30 year Nad amps. I contacted Polk customer service the first day no response . I called back and reached a call center in California . The rep on the phone spoke broken english. I explained to her what happened and she said the best she could do was give the amp board to me at $ 150 plus shipping. I paid & 159 for the sub. More emails to customer service and phone calls to customer service telling them I should receive amp board at there supplier cost because I am a repeat 30 year customer. Nope still $150 they did tell me they were doing me a favor it was really $300 ,lmao. They will never receive any of my hard earned money again. Really sad when these companies get bought out and run into the ground. Oh And I just loved the very curt response from a polk employee to another member in this forum.
Comments
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I'm speaking for myself, not for Polk.
A few reasons your expectations are unreasonable. At $159.00 it's a disposable item and besides that it's out of warranty.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 -
I'm jealous of the OP for even getting a response
As a result I am currently enjoying my KEF's.KEF Q150 | Rythmik F12 | Yamaha Aventage RX-A780 -
At F1 nut. As somebody who repairs a wide range of equipment for a living I find your comment “at $159 its a disposable item “really amazing. I often repair items at work and at home for a fraction of the cost of a new unit sometimes keeping equipment running 5,10,15, years longer for fraction of the cost of new. The subwoofer did have a five year warranty on it and did fail within the warranty peroid but silly me never dreamed that the sub would fail within 3 years of purchase. I simply thought there was something wrong with my much older eqt and simply stopped using my amps and sub. Polk is saying the amp board cost $300 which is the price of a new subwoofer. (LoL) These amps still to this day have a high failure rate look at the recent reviews on Amazon.I was not asking for it for free simply at there supplier cost as a act of good faith for a 30 year repeat Polk customer.
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I looked up Kef’s way out of my price range.
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Sorry about your situation, but the electronics are not warrantied for 5 years. If you want to keep using the sub head on over to parts express and get an amp to put in there. You may have to make some adjustments to fit it into the enclosure but it sounds like you have the diy skills...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
As somebody who repairs a wide range of equipment for a living I find your comment “at $159 its a disposable item “ really amazing.
Simple reality with todays consumer grade electronics.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 -
As somebody who repairs a wide range of equipment for a living I find your comment “at $159 its a disposable item “ really amazing.
Simple reality with todays consumer grade electronics.
And if you’ve been repairing electronics for that long, you know that a vcr cost $200+ in the 80s, so yea $159 is nothing today, even given reduced manufacturing costs...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
As somebody who repairs a wide range of equipment for a living I find your comment “at $159 its a disposable item “ really amazing.
Simple reality with todays consumer grade electronics.
And if you’ve been repairing electronics for that long, you know that a vcr cost $200+ in the 80s, so yea $159 is nothing today, even given reduced manufacturing costs...
Yep. A 55" TV that cost $1200.00 5 years ago can be had for $350.00 today and you'd be SOL trying to get parts for the 5 year old one anyway.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 -
As somebody who repairs a wide range of equipment for a living I find your comment “at $159 its a disposable item “ really amazing.
Simple reality with todays consumer grade electronics.
And if you’ve been repairing electronics for that long, you know that a vcr cost $200+ in the 80s, so yea $159 is nothing today, even given reduced manufacturing costs...
some cost a heck of a lot more than that. I spent almost 400.00 on my parents first "stereo" VCR. Then had to spend 75.00 once a year to clean it... god that was a racket back then. -
I paid $750.00 in 1983 for an RCA Selectavision VCR with a wired remote control.SDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
JVC VCR circuit boards from back then...
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
I admit, I rented some.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
I had to double check on the warranty .It is five years on the cabinet ,crossover,and the Woofer. 3 years on the amp.I did check parts express as a option a while ago. You can get a 12” powered sub for $150 so I may go that route. I can remember a time that you would get a schematic and a parts list for what you bought. I agree with what you guys are saying that a lot of the stuff is throw away with no parts availability or made so cheaply its not worth fixing.
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Check the SVS outlet store spend some good money on one of those you'll be well served.
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If a quality sub, that is if sound quality matters to you and it's only for HT look at SVS. If it's for music a sub from Rythmic or Velodyne (once they get up and running again) are the ticket.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 -
Thanks everbody for your suggestions . I will check them out. Just a receiver ,two towers and sub. Mainly listen to radio.Receiver is HT ready but no bluetooth.(Older Yahama) @ Tony M wow a unbelivable amount of money back then! And a wired remote.
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It's refreshing to see that you are a reasonable man. Welcome to Club Polk.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
As somebody who repairs a wide range of equipment for a living I find your comment “at $159 its a disposable item “ really amazing.
Simple reality with todays consumer grade electronics.
And if you’ve been repairing electronics for that long, you know that a vcr cost $200+ in the 80s, so yea $159 is nothing today, even given reduced manufacturing costs...
Yep. A 55" TV that cost $1200.00 5 years ago can be had for $350.00 today and you'd be SOL trying to get parts for the 5 year old one anyway.
One last anecdote: in 2017 I ordered my first 4K tv, a refurbished 49 inch samsung off a very large 3rd party seller on amazon. Great price, like $400 shipped for a $1000 retail tv. It shows up with the panel shattered. I take pics, send it to the seller, they give me a full refund and say keep the tv. I take the tv to a local repair shop and ask for an estimate to fix it. They say the front panel cost more than the RETAIL price of the tv. I just ended up giving it to them for parts and buying the current model for $600 from Best Buy. That’s current consumer electronics for you...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
meucci2977 wrote: »I had to double check on the warranty .It is five years on the cabinet ,crossover,and the Woofer. 3 years on the amp.I did check parts express as a option a while ago. You can get a 12” powered sub for $150 so I may go that route. I can remember a time that you would get a schematic and a parts list for what you bought. I agree with what you guys are saying that a lot of the stuff is throw away with no parts availability or made so cheaply its not worth fixing.
Those cheap parts express subs aren’t any better than the Polk you just had. If you really have DIY skills the best way to go it to put together your own. If you have tools, get a sheet of MDF from Lowes, and this: https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rss315hf-4-12-reference-hf-subwoofer-4-ohm--295-464?gclid=CjwKCAiA1L_xBRA2EiwAgcLKA0p6RFmD1eZd-CDhvNePPvcyNMpk64ZveAdULOotk-gYMxXfOE5KXxoCjnsQAvD_BwE#! and this: https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-spa500-500w-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-807 and build it yourself.
Or even easier, pick a kit! https://www.parts-express.com/cat/speaker-subwoofer-kits/286?N=23647+4294967118+4294965883&Ne=10166&Nrs=collection()/record[endeca:matches(.,"P_PortalID","1")+and+endeca:matches(.,"P_Searchable","1")]&PortalID=1
If you buy off the shelf, HSU is also a great value, probably slightly better value than SVS below $1000.Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Thanks for the welcome to the forum. @rooftop59 thanks for the heads up on making my own sub. Not looking to take any more projects at this time. Honestly I wish they would still make the big cabinet speakers with 10”,12” 15” built into them and do away with this separate sub crap.
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There are still a few companies out there that do just that, meucci2977. FYI
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
@treitz3 Wow your are quick man!!!! You beat me to it.I just got off Klipsh website and see they make a tower with a 10” in it.I stand corrected.
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Golden Ear Technology and Def Tech do as well. IIRC, the Def Tech only has an 8" driver though.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
The Polk SDA Pro L800 has two 10" woofers.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 -
Frontier currently goes up to a 12 inch
- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Thanks guys I jumped the gun. To be fair I havent shopped for speakers in quite a while.
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meucci2977 wrote: »Thanks for the welcome to the forum. @rooftop59 thanks for the heads up on making my own sub. Not looking to take any more projects at this time. Honestly I wish they would still make the big cabinet speakers with 10”,12” 15” built into them and do away with this separate sub crap.
Separate subs have one big advantage in that you can move them around to get the best bass output. Even if you don't need one for your current listening habits, that can always change (especially if you hang around here long enough!).
I'll throw out one more welcome aboard, too.
So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?
http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/ -
meucci2977 wrote: »Thanks for the welcome to the forum. @rooftop59 thanks for the heads up on making my own sub. Not looking to take any more projects at this time. Honestly I wish they would still make the big cabinet speakers with 10”,12” 15” built into them and do away with this separate sub crap.
And I will just add that if you buy one of the complete kits from parts express, there is very little to do. You could build it in a under an hour I'd bet...
Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
meucci2977 wrote: »Thanks everbody for your suggestions . I will check them out. Just a receiver ,two towers and sub. Mainly listen to radio.Receiver is HT ready but no bluetooth.(Older Yahama) @ Tony M wow a unbelivable amount of money back then! And a wired remote.
That was @michaeljhsda2 that had that VCR w/wired remote.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
meucci2977 wrote: »Honestly I wish they would still make the big cabinet speakers with 10”,12” 15” built into them and do away with this separate sub crap.
They still make them. Look for a pair of Definitive Technology BP2000 or BP3000. Even the little DefTech ProTower 400's produce amazing bass. To have dual powered 6.5" subs in each cabinet. Or NHT VT-2. To name a few.
And if I were shopping for a sub. I'd be looking at REL or DIY'ing a sub from a PE kit.
--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
