I bought into the hype of a particular factory-direct brand (probably the same one to which @2psyop was referring). Though my mistake was a pair of speakers.
They looked great in theory — top shelf Scanspeak drivers and crossovers populated with boutique parts. Cabinets with custom wood veneer assembled in the USA. Unfortunately, the product I actually received was a joke. Drivers were mounted with too small of screws. The crossovers were rattling around in the cabinets because they had only been secured to the foam lining. The veneer was poorly cut and aligned at the edges, and the lacquer covering the veneer had numerous runs and bubbles. In short, the cabinets looked like someone’s high-school shop project, not what one would expect from speakers costing over $4K/pair.
Though this company claimed a “no-hassle satisfaction guarantee” on its website, returning the speakers was the biggest PITA I’ve experienced in all my time in this hobby. When all was concluded, the mistake left my bank account $400 lighter. The worst part was not the money I lost, rather it was having to deal with the man-child owner of the company.
They looked great in theory — top shelf Scanspeak drivers and crossovers populated with boutique parts. Cabinets with custom wood veneer assembled in the USA. Unfortunately, the product I actually received was a joke. Drivers were mounted with too small of screws. The crossovers were rattling around in the cabinets because they had only been secured to the foam lining. The veneer was poorly cut and aligned at the edges, and the lacquer covering the veneer had numerous runs and bubbles. In short, the cabinets looked like someone’s high-school shop project, not what one would expect from speakers costing over $4K/pair.
Though this company claimed a “no-hassle satisfaction guarantee” on its website, returning the speakers was the biggest PITA I’ve experienced in all my time in this hobby. When all was concluded, the mistake left my bank account $400 lighter. The worst part was not the money I lost, rather it was having to deal with the man-child owner of the company.