Polk Woodbourne - Prettiest Paperweight Ever!!!
BrnHrnt
Posts: 10
Owner of a Polk Woodbourne here that will not power on. It's only 5 years old, purchased new in 2016, and it HAD great sound. I called customer service only to be told that there was literally nothing that could be done. It can't be serviced or repaired because they stopped making parts for it (not like they made this thing in 1986). This is an $800 speaker originally mind you. A cursory internet search showed that I'm not the only person with this problem. Way to stand behind your products Polk. I am actually shocked with the lack of support considering the reputation for quality audio offerings. I'm not sure what would convince me to buy a Polk product ever again.
Comments
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Way to stand behind your products Polk.
So your expectation is for Polk to repair and/or replace products that are outside of warranty coverage?
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Where did I ever say it was in warranty? Where did I ever ask for replacement? My expectation is for Polk to stand behind their products. They charge a premium and should provide premium customer service to match. I'd be happy to pay for repair to keep the Woodbourne out of a landfill. Pretty reasonable expectation I think. It's not a pair of earbuds. Are you on the payroll?
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I think you mistyped your moniker, should be @butthrt
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No I am not "on the payroll", to answer your question.
Honest question, when is the last time that you had a company agree to repair a product that was outside of it's warranty coverage period? -
@DaveHo - What are you 12?
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Nope, I just have the innate ability to spot an unrealistic expetation.
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Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
No I am not "on the payroll", to answer your question.
Honest question, when is the last time that you had a company agree to repair a product that was outside of it's warranty coverage period?
Your reply came across as pretty snarky so I provided snark in return. Apologies if I misinterpreted your tone. To answer you question, Bose. A direct competitor. They stand behind their products and will work with customers to either repair or replace at a discount out of warranty items.
Outside of audio, Patagonia, Marmot, REI, and American Express are all examples of companies that provide excellent customer service.
Nobody is looking for a handout here. I just would have expected a speaker of this type to be considered a durable good and last longer than approximately five years. Never maxed out the volume, only used a couple of times a week on average, and it's dead. I'm disappointed and I think most people would be. -
Do what others do in a situation like yours with a dead piece of consumer grade electronics. Take it to a local electronics repair shop.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 -
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Do what others do in a situation like yours with a dead piece of consumer grade electronics. Take it to a local electronics repair shop.
Well I don’t think one exists within 100 miles of me and it’s not like I live in the sticks…thE OP might be in a similar situation…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 -
It's not horrible advice and I might be able to find a generic shop but they certainly won't be a Polk authorized repair center. Also, Polk has advised me that they no longer make any parts for the Woodbourne. So it might be a bit of a wild goose chase given I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad when a replacement purchase looms and given it wasn't "cheap" to begin with. -
It's not horrible advice and I might be able to find a generic shop but they certainly won't be a Polk authorized repair center. Also, Polk has advised me that they no longer make any parts for the Woodbourne. So it might be a bit of a wild goose chase given I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad when a replacement purchase looms and given it wasn't "cheap" to begin with.
With the fast rate of technology changes, you can be sure that products no longer being made will become more plentiful. Out of warranty, old product line, just what did you want Polk to do for you ? What does a car dealer do for you when your 80k beamer is out of warranty ?
Basically, these cheap audio purchases are throw aways now a days. Too expensive to fix for their worth. 800 bucks isn't cheap, I know, but the lesson here is if your going to spend money on something that might be a throw away in a few years, don't spend a lot of money.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Then you would ship it.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 -
It's not horrible advice and I might be able to find a generic shop but they certainly won't be a Polk authorized repair center. Also, Polk has advised me that they no longer make any parts for the Woodbourne. So it might be a bit of a wild goose chase given I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad when a replacement purchase looms and given it wasn't "cheap" to begin with.
Polk has 3 "authorized" repair centers, which are just regular electronics repair businesses. Try contacting them directly as they would likely know more about what's going on with your item than Polk's customer service rep.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 -
Then you would ship it.
That would end up costing at least $200 bucks with shipping, bench fees, and repairs. At that point just buy something new.
I am sympathetic to the OP on this one. This is an expensive lifestyle product, not a $200 sub. Polk should at least offer a discount on a new purchase if the OP has proof of purchase. @CarlJacobson_POLKLiving 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 -
It's not horrible advice and I might be able to find a generic shop but they certainly won't be a Polk authorized repair center. Also, Polk has advised me that they no longer make any parts for the Woodbourne. So it might be a bit of a wild goose chase given I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad when a replacement purchase looms and given it wasn't "cheap" to begin with.
With the fast rate of technology changes, you can be sure that products no longer being made will become more plentiful. Out of warranty, old product line, just what did you want Polk to do for you ? What does a car dealer do for you when your 80k beamer is out of warranty ?
Basically, these cheap audio purchases are throw aways now a days. Too expensive to fix for their worth. 800 bucks isn't cheap, I know, but the lesson here is if your going to spend money on something that might be a throw away in a few years, don't spend a lot of money.
I agree with your statement about planned and tech driven obsolescence but it's not like I'm having trouble updating to version 132.8 of Bluetooth (I would just hard connect an old iPhone in that case anyway). The Woodbourne won't even turn on. The stealership will absolutely fix your out of warranty BMW. They'll just charge you for the parts and service, as one would expect. Polk is basically saying we make stuff that sounds great but will be in a landfill in 5 years (oh, and we'll charge a premium for it). Now I know. -
It's not horrible advice and I might be able to find a generic shop but they certainly won't be a Polk authorized repair center. Also, Polk has advised me that they no longer make any parts for the Woodbourne. So it might be a bit of a wild goose chase given I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad when a replacement purchase looms and given it wasn't "cheap" to begin with.
Polk has 3 "authorized" repair centers, which are just regular electronics repair businesses. Try contacting them directly as they would likely know more about what's going on with your item than Polk's customer service rep.
This is a great tip. I'm not near any of the three. If they know the common fix for this issue (assuming it doesn't need Polk specific parts) maybe I can have a local shop take a look. Shipping is a non-starter given the cost. -
I'm asking a friend at Polk for some information.
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what is a paperweight?Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
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SeleniumFalcon wrote: »I'm asking a friend at Polk for some information.
Thank you! -
Unfortunately there isn't any service he is aware of, I'm very sorry I wish I had happier news.
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what is a paperweight?
It's what I call a boat anchor in the heavier levels of gear that seem hopeless or cost prohibitive to fix.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
SeleniumFalcon wrote: »Unfortunately there isn't any service he is aware of, I'm very sorry I wish I had happier news.
Thank you for checking! -
I get both sides of the argument here.....and many of us can attest that there was a time that Polk CS was on par with LL Bean (which isn’t what it used to be either).....but consumer electronics aren’t BMW’s. They are consumables, essentially. Sucks but it’s the way of the world now....I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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Deltronics In Woodridge IL. Have a $50 drop of fee . They rebuilt a tube amp , carver c-19 and rebuilt my ps audio amp and couldn't be happier with there work.
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Watching the video, it's obvious there is a problem with the power supply and that replacing a number of common components will likely fix it in which case any electronics repair shop can do the repair as no special parts are required.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 -
It's not horrible advice and I might be able to find a generic shop but they certainly won't be a Polk authorized repair center. Also, Polk has advised me that they no longer make any parts for the Woodbourne. So it might be a bit of a wild goose chase given I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad when a replacement purchase looms and given it wasn't "cheap" to begin with.
Polk has 3 "authorized" repair centers, which are just regular electronics repair businesses. Try contacting them directly as they would likely know more about what's going on with your item than Polk's customer service rep.
This is a great tip. I'm not near any of the three. If they know the common fix for this issue (assuming it doesn't need Polk specific parts) maybe I can have a local shop take a look. Shipping is a non-starter given the cost.
You'd have ship it to Polk or one of their authorized repair firms if they offered a repair and since it is out of warranty you would have to pay the shipping. So why are you now objecting to shipping it?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 -
That would end up costing at least $200 bucks with shipping, bench fees, and repairs. At that point just buy something new.
So I'm a firm believer that if you are really happy with something older, it may be worth it to invest in repair/refresh/restoring the item. As @F1nut said, it's good to have a good local electronics repair shop on speed dial.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
https://youtu.be/MCY-Ku9AFC8