Beware, "White Van Speaker Scams" tis the season.

[no. 5]

Part of the Big 3, White van speakers, Bose, and Monster Cable. All just rip offs.

can H/K get a honerable mention for geting people to belive a 40 watt reciever has more power than a 120 watt reciever?

 

[Wafflesomd]

Epiphany is legit and extremely high end. Sleestack owns a pair of them, I think. Danny Ritchie of GR Research is one of the designers.

The company with more drivers in thier speakers, than cells in your body?

 

[Seth=L]

That was what Rob was refering to, yes.

 

[Rob Babcock]

TAS seems to consider them absolutely SotA. They do certain things better than any other speakers they'd heard, according to one of their writers. They're definately not cheap, but if I could afford them I'd love to audition them.

 

[Seth=L]

Another member notified me of yet another White Van Speaker Scam, "Elite Audio". It is another name that Theater Research uses, among countless other names.

 

[Seth=L]

Theater Innovations can be added to the list, they actually put bricks in their speakers. I also hear that the scammers are out doing sales in my city right now at one of our malls in Fort Wayne, IN.

 

[yettitheman]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stunning-Performer-Awesome-Exotic-Rosewood-Cabinets_W0QQitemZ170107716013QQihZ007QQcategoryZ14991QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I guess you can add these people to the list:
AER Acoustic

for posterity.... the description:

FACTORY SEALED-BRAND NEW with WARRANTY

AER is Pro audio design & engineering company located in Southern California. Among groups/artists using their equipment are Metallica, Sarah McLachlan, U2, Tim McGraw etc. Pisces MkII is one of their few "audiophile" products building on many years of the success of the original Pisces.

The original speakers were inspired and patterned after the legendary B&W 805, the current generation's asymmetrical cabinet is shaped to render resonance inert. Heavy front baffle eliminates defraction and sonic smear. High quality, long throw midrange/bass 6.5" Kevlar cone with Butyl Rubber Surround is employed and the new advanced poly dome wide dispersion supertweeter is enclosed in a separate reinforced basket.

Solid engineering and construction standards translate into a loudspeaker that is easy to drive, and is equally at home with solid state or tube amplifiers.

The sound is effortless, rich and three-dimensional. The soundstage is immense, highly textured and layered with each individual instrument, easily identifiable on the stage, surrounded by air. Highs are remarkably sweet and extended, with absolutely no hint of listener fatigue or sibilance and the speakers produce beautifully blended and luxurious midrange with astonishing bass extension and slam. In a small room music reproduction is excellent without a need for a sub.

Special attention is given to the cabinets. The whole ensemble is wrapped in a genuine rosewood veneer. This stunning dark red wood with exotic orange and brown hues is from the family of a very high premium-quality timber species internationally known as "Indian Rosewood" (Dalbergia latifolia). Hand rubbed and gorgeous, the finish is reminiscent of turn of the century woodworking.


HOWEVER, the Ebay mandatory description field lists:
Item Specifics - Home Speakers
Speaker Type: Bookshelf
Brand: B&W
Condition: New
Cabinet Color: Wood - Dark

Also note he says IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REQUIRED!!!!!


Seller: rmlfour

 

[avaserfi]

But the yellow cones are soooo cool! AER all the way!

 

[Jack Hammer]

Funny. My buddy called me recently to see if I could help him put his new speakers into use with his HTIB. So I go over and he's got a Dogg Digital somethingerother tower. The first thing he tells me is "look, it was $1,995.00 retail," listed right on the box. He thought it was a pair, he was upset when I told him it was only one speaker. He says he didn't pay for it, he 'found' it, uh-huh...

So I set it up as his center, but it actually sounded much worse than the tiny little htib center he had. So he had me the other one back. I didn't have my camera or I would have taken a picture or two.

Jack

 

[masak_aer]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stunning-Performer-Awesome-Exotic-Rosewood-Cabinets_W0QQitemZ170107716013QQihZ007QQcategoryZ14991QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I guess you can add these people to the list:
AER Acoustic

Seller: rmlfour

I have nothing to do with this! We might share similar name..but no...i have no share in that company whatsoever!

 

[Seth=L]

I have nothing to do with this! We might share similar name..but no...i have no share in that company whatsoever!

Of course you aren't, if you were you would have aer in caps and bold with the inscription "AWESOME" after it.

 

[zildjian]

Lately I've been seeing some of the white van speaker brands showing up on craigslist too, especially "Digital Audio" ones.

 

[Bravado]

They got me yesterday! What an idiot.

I said no three times and after the fourth price drop..., BAM! He had his sucker. Theater Matrix 5.1. Complete garbage! After googling the name, I happened upon the term "white van speakers". So here I am, a registered member one day late. Anyhow, my own fault, lesson learned. Good info here.

 

[dobyblue]

It's so funny when these pricks try and get someone who is already well aware of what's going on. I had someone at the Beer Store in St. Catharines, Ontario (Niagara/Linwell) try and offer me a really good deal on a home theater system as I was leaving with some delicious Moosehead lagers.

I said "what brand is it"
He said "Paramax"
I said "oh, Paramax...there's about $5 worth of components in those speakers so how much are you selling them for?"
He got pretty upset and feigned like I didn't know that paramax was a good speaker. So I explained about the White Van Scam and that I have Paradigm speakers, which are real speakers with quality components. Then, pretty much admitting defeat, he said "it's scheme, not scam".
haha, I said "same thing, I'm going to put your licence plate on all the AV Forums I post on"
He said "oh yeah, well I'm going to put yours on mine, what about that?"

I don't care what he does with mine, but here's the information for people in the Toronto, Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario region:

Tan/Beige GMC SAFARI - BCFC 043

Guy in his early 50's with a blonde lady in the passenger seat of similar age.

I also called the police's consumer fraud division and they said "yeah, those guys seem to be everywhere" but they took all the info and the location last seen.

 

[Alex2507]

I also called the police's consumer fraud division ...

Those guys get sent out with the proper business/vendor licenses.
I actually sold a pair to a cop after showing full documentation.

 

[Stereodude]

Are the white van people actually commiting a crime? I realized it's shady to prey on the uninformed, but is taking advantage of an uninformed customer actually illegal?

 

[Alex2507]

Are the white van people actually committing a crime? I realized it's shady to prey on the uninformed, but is taking advantage of an uninformed customer actually illegal?

The buyer is lied to about the quality of the speaker and about the legitimacy of the sale. They are told the speaker is stolen and that alone makes the deal irresistible to them.

The first time I ran into a chance to buy some was up around Toronto. My boss came onto the job sight looking to get a bunch of us to buy them so that he could get a discount. The white van was in the parking lot. I was actually undergoing some sort of moral awakening and passed on the deal because I didn't want to own stolen property.

A few years later I sunk into moral depravity and sold them for about a week for sh!ts and giggles mostly. Me having sold a pair to a cop with proper documentation/licenses might have been a clue that it's not illegal. Like you can't get a license to sell weed and approach cops with your wares.

 

[MatthewB.]

Wikipedia has an excellant articel on white van speakers and a huge list of names of crappy speakers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker

btw these guys aren't just on ebay or in white vans, they are all over Craigslist and I love how all the stories are the same....."I got this as a gift and don't need it selling for 1,000 or Child got sick, so have to sell, this a fantastic unit and hate to sell (btw it's still new in box) okay how can they know it's a fantastic unit if they never took it out of the box. sheesh.

 

[Rickster71]

Are the white van people actually commiting a crime? I realized it's shady to prey on the uninformed, but is taking advantage of the uninformed actually illegal?

Hmm I wonder; though it sounds a lot like politics.

 

[Stereodude]

The buyer is lied to about the quality of the speaker and about the legitimacy of the sale.

It sounds a lot like your typical hi-fi shop when you put it that way.