JBL Studio 698! I just had to do it fellas!!!

[Trebdp83]

Something about the location of the damage and the damage on the box along with the different packing tape doesn’t add up. I think those were previously damaged and repackaged only to be subjected to even more abuse. They need to just let you keep that thing and send you a new one. You can use the extra box to add an addition to the fort.

 

[Kleinst]

They are usually really good in these situations (Crutchfield). The bummber is having to wait for the new one and send the old one

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Domestic Terrorism from UPS.

There is no excuse for this. Whoever did this should be fired.

 

[isolar8001]

Sorry that happened to you....it really does look like someone took a hammer to it.

 

[Danzilla31]

They are usually really good in these situations (Crutchfield). The bummber is having to wait for the new one and send the old one

They will send me a new one before I send this one I want some guarantees before I send this one back if I ship this one back what guarantee do I have right now this won't happen again

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

I am angry with you.

 

[Danzilla31]

They are usually really good in these situations (Crutchfield). The bummber is having to wait for the new one and send the old one

Also that box is too damaged for me to use it I'll need to use the box of the new one to send it back. That is if UPS doesn't trash that one 2

 

[Swerd]

Yikes! I can't imagine how anyone who was trying to damage it could do worse.

It's been a long time since I ordered anything from Crutchfield, but they had decent customer service. I hope they still do. They should replace that speaker on their dime. And then they should take on UPS instead of you.

You're doing good staying calm about this. Keep on doing that. If I stay calm, I do a much better job of dealing with stuff like this, than if I get really angry and upset.

While on the phone, tell the customer service rep your story. Then tell them you want to speak to the Customer Service Supervisor or someone higher ranking. Repeat it all calmly. Make no angry threats. But it never hurts to casually mention how you "find it hard to believe that a big company like Crutchfield or UPS (choose one as needed) would risk such a liability". And then drop the words "I'd hate to be forced to take this matter to small claims court". Keep your voice cool & calm as you say those words. Remember, they record all these customer service phone calls. Words like "liability" and "court" get their immediate attention.

I've only needed to say that once, but it worked like a charm. It was with a health insurance company that decided on their own to drop my insurance without any notice.

If they make verbal promises to fix things, that's good. But insist that they to put it in writing, on company letterhead paper, with a hand written signature from a company representative, and mail it to you. A scanned copy of that letter sent by email wouldn't hurt, but insist on the mailed original as well. Fraud by US Postal Service is a federal crime. They should already know that, but it never hurts to let them know you mean business.

Good luck friend.

 

[lovinthehd]

Domestic Terrorism from UPS.

There is no excuse for this. Whoever did this should be fired.

That could be quite a lot of people for the one case....

 

[Kleinst]

Also that box is too damaged for me to use it I'll need to use the box of the new one to send it back. That is if UPS doesn't trash that one 2

Yes, if they argue with you they will do a return on receipt ( I think they call it) as they did that for me when I tried out the Revel C208 which I later returned but the first one had a chip in it.

 

[Kingnoob]

Well there are some pointers this is a marketer's design rather than an engineers design.

My concerns.

They have published no meaningful specs other than rudimentary information. The FR has no 3 db points and could mean anything.

They made it a three way when it did not need to be, which I bet was marketers. The design would be much more sound as a 2.5 way.

Here is why.

The cross to the mid, is at 320 Hz, so there are going to be some hefty inductor and capacitor values. This is a less than ideal crossover point and still within the BSC region for a cabinet of those dimensions. They were forced into this by the crossover to the HF horn at 1.8 KHz. That horn is the "flagship" component of the design. So they had to cross to the mid at that low a frequency in order to avoid excess bandpass gain.

So the issues become is that while there are two speakers below the crossover, that one mid is being driven in a definite power band region. So there is a good chance it will be power limited in its pass band.

All this was not necessary, as if it had been made a 2.5 way the 8" driver could easily have crossed to the horn at 1.8 KHz, and much easier solving of the BSC issue. This would have made for a less expensive and better crossover, and I suspect a better speaker.

When I see those sort of decisions, I can hear the marketers screaming at the engineers: - "We have to have a three way!"

Well said . I’m curious why 3 way are pushed so often when sometimes 2.5 is better?

 

[Kingnoob]

Personally I would like a large HF driver and dual 10” or dual 12” woofers.

But how they measure in the end is the salient thing (along with how they sound), right?

Dynamic (plays high SPL with less distortion) and accuracy (linear FR and other measurements) will put all this to rest.

yeah those are dream speakers..
Judging by prices of most speakers with larger woofers like that it would seem cheaper to go professional audio route for large woofers /horns .

 

[snakeeyes]

Also that box is too damaged for me to use it I'll need to use the box of the new one to send it back. That is if UPS doesn't trash that one 2

Sorry this happened.

Hope you have a replacement soon.

I did laugh at all the comments because they made me laugh out loud. Mostly because the situation would make me really crazy upset. It’s like they took one speaker box and beat the other one. lol

 

[lovinthehd]

Sorry this happened.

Hope you have a replacement soon.

I did laugh at all the comments because they made me laugh out loud. Mostly because the situation would make me really crazy upset. It’s like they took one speaker box and beat the other one. lol

The alpha speaker battle...a sign of the times?

 

[TLS Guy]

Also that box is too damaged for me to use it I'll need to use the box of the new one to send it back. That is if UPS doesn't trash that one 2

That is a shame. I have to say that we get excellent service from UPS in this area. It is generally FedEx if there is the odd problem here.

I still wonder if there is a weather element here. The weather has been atrocious in the Midwest this winter. We have had storm, after storm and the snow banks are still feet high.

We went to Grand Forks this last week end, and that trip was delayed by a week as the Interstates were closed the weekend before. In the way out there were icy stretches, and cars in the ditch everywhere. On I29 from Fargo to Grand Forks, the ditches were not only full of snow, but most of the way, the banks feet high above the road, and at times six or more feet high. On that stretch there were nine cars in the ditch and a semi upside down in a ditch, totally wrecked. Temps in Grand Forks were close to 0F. I29 was closed the day before we travelled.
I know this speaker went airfreight, but not all the journey would be by air.
This bad weather has been widespread from California, across the whole Midwest, and in recent weeks the North East. I would be surprised if weather in not a factor in this.

Now we are getting ready for the floods, when all this melts. It will be bad in Fargo, and probably to Winnipeg.
There was a snow pack of around 120" un the Mississippi headwaters, and they are getting around another 20 inches tonight. The last flood outlook was awful and the next will be issued Thursday. There will be a severe Mississippi and St Croix river flood from St. Paul to Missouri for sure. Stillwater on the St. Croix is already at action stations with their preparations.

 

[Danzilla31]

So at least I have both speakers in and will put them through they're paces. I can't get over how big they are. But despite this they look gorgeous. The curved edges and top just make this speaker look so good. And although it's a

vinyl finish the color and finish of the dark wood looks so Damn good in my room. Just one of my favorite looking speakers I've ever owned

 

[Danzilla31]

 

[Swerd]

Nice photos (those recent ones). Do they both work?

Years ago, American Tourister advertised how rugged their luggage was. They had an unusualy rigorous testing facility. It seems that UPS has bought or leased it. What with cost cutting, they may have even trained those suitcase testers as delivery drivers.

 

[Danzilla31]

Yikes! I can't imagine how anyone who was trying to damage it could do worse.

It's been a long time since I ordered anything from Crutchfield, but they had decent customer service. I hope they still do. They should replace that speaker on their dime. And then they should take on UPS instead of you.

You're doing good staying calm about this. Keep on doing that. If I stay calm, I do a much better job of dealing with stuff like this, than if I get really angry and upset.

While on the phone, tell the customer service rep your story. Then tell them you want to speak to the Customer Service Supervisor or someone higher ranking. Repeat it all calmly. Make no angry threats. But it never hurts to casually mention how you "find it hard to believe that a big company like Crutchfield or UPS (choose one as needed) would risk such a liability". And then drop the words "I'd hate to be forced to take this matter to small claims court". Keep your voice cool & calm as you say those words. Remember, they record all these customer service phone calls. Words like "liability" and "court" get their immediate attention.

I've only needed to say that once, but it worked like a charm. It was with a health insurance company that decided on their own to drop my insurance without any notice.

If they make verbal promises to fix things, that's good. But insist that they to put it in writing, on company letterhead paper, with a hand written signature from a company representative, and mail it to you. A scanned copy of that letter sent by email wouldn't hurt, but insist on the mailed original as well. Fraud by US Postal Service is a federal crime. They should already know that, but it never hurts to let them know you mean business.

Good luck friend.

Thanks Swerd for the encouragement and the kind words. When I was young I could not have handled this situation with any degree of composure. But as I've matured I've realized not to let a bad moment or day or series of events ruin my day or the trajectory of my life. These situations are transitory they will not last. But the state of mind I could allow them to put me in could have lasting consequences if I allow it.

So I've learned to at least try to tackle these negative events with happiness and a calm yet assertive attitude. To stay in a place of happiness in my life. Because I've found that once a situation has passed none of the anger or energy I've exerted will have done a darn thing to change it or prevent it from happening or alter the course of events to rectify it. But it takes so much more effort to shake that anger and negative energy off and get back to a place of happiness which is where I truly want to be.

Working in my job in psychiatry I have seen so many beautiful patients over the years. Just the most beautiful people good people. They would give anything ANYTHING to have just a normal life. For theyre only struggle to be something as mundane as a speaker. I owe it to them as well to be grateful for this normal life that for now at least is out of they're reach. This lesson from them helps me to keep things in the proper perspective.

Being human and imperfect I don't always hit the bullseye @Swerd but I get closer on the target then I could when I was younger a lot more consistently.

So we are going to keep on keeping on in this thread. We're going to laugh and have fun at all of this! And in about 2 hours I'm going to tell all you guys what I think about these beautiful gorgeous looking JBL 698s!

Well maybe longer If I love them I might be jamming on them for a bit longer than 2 hours!

 

[Danzilla31]

Nice photos (those recent ones). Do they both work?

Years ago, American Tourister advertised how rugged their luggage was. They had an unusualy rigorous testing facility. It seems that UPS has bought or leased it. What with cost cutting, they may have even trained those suitcase testers as delivery drivers.

Nice photos (those recent ones). Do they both work?

We are about to find out!!!!