Here's a review I posted to google plus reviews that keeps not getting published, even though my positive review I gave to an independent mechanic showed up right away. Hmm.
This is my review I've been trying to post for Blu Note in Denver, and it should tell the whole story (they stopped being a Paradigm dealer shortly after my September purchase):
After wanting to upgrade to some newer Paradigm speakers from the older ones I had, I scheduled a listening session at Blu Note with Marc and Brandon back in September as they were the only Paradigm dealer in Colorado. I went there and brought my test CD to the store for a listening session and started auditioning speakers. After I listened to a track I noticed the left and right imaging was off and told them about it; they checked the connections on their Parasound CD player and realized they had it summed to mono (whoopsie there guys, as my boss would say "that should've been caught, the client shouldn't be catching these things!"). For all the pseudo-science talk they spouted up front about needing to "lay the cables flat for hours and have the amp on for days before my listening session" to get the most accurate sound, to make a basic stereo connection mistake like that was pretty bad. Regardless, I took a listen and decided to order a pair of Studio 20s and a center channel on September 13th.
This is where the frustration comes in.
September 13th: Paid $3,375 for order of three speakers . Was quoted 5 to 8 days for the speakers to arrive and that I would get a shipping notice in my email inbox as soon as they got one from Paradigm.
September 18th: I called Blu Note asking out of curiosity how close the speakers are to arrive as I had not received a shipping email. I talk to Barb (the receptionist) on the phone who says they haven't received a shipping notice from Paradigm yet, but that she will have Marc call me back by the end of the day. Marc does not call back.
September 19th: I call and get Marc on the phone, who says he'll look into it and give me a call by the end of the day. Again, Marc does not call back.
September 21st: I leave a voicemail message asking for better followup/communication from Blu Note in general, and to call me back with further information as to what Blu Note is doing about this concerning the delay.
September 23rd: I wait until 2 in the afternoon to hear back from my voicemail when there's still no reply; I call and get Brandon on the phone. He says he will look into it and give me a call back, as well as have Marc call me back as well. Neither one calls me back. Late at night I get a text from Brandon saying that Barb should hear back no later than 10am on the 24th and that Brandon will call with an update then.
September 24th: I wait until the afternoon when I have still not heard back from Brandon as promised. I text asking him "was I supposed to hear back from you after 10 this morning? have not received a followup communication of any sort." He texts back saying "Shipping tomorrow upon shipping notification receipt Barb will forward."
September 25th: I again wait until the afternoon to call when I have not received any shipping update in my inbox. I get Marc on the phone who says that Barb would know, and writes my number down to have Barb call back within the day. I do not hear back from Barb.
September 26th: Speakers finally ship, I get them on October 3rd when I pick them up from Blu Note. No apology nor explanation was given for anything.
Think that's where the headache ends? Oh no.
I get the speakers, and over time I keep thinking "something doesn't sound right." I got busy and time passed; finally in December I come into Blu Note with the one speaker that didn't sound right. After them having the speaker for about 2 weeks, they determine the tweeter was blown. Pretty premature thing to happen to a speaker I had just gotten 3 months prior, but they said Paradigm wouldn't cover it in their warranty and that it'd be around $70-80 bucks for the tweeter, plus Blu Note's installation. I authorized $142 for Blu Note to replace the blown tweeter and install a new one. I drop it off and about a week later Marc calls (yes, he actually calls; what a miracle) and says it's ready for pickup. About a hour later I show up at their doorstep at 11am on a Thursday, only to find the doors locked during their normal business hours. I call the place and Barb answers the phone saying she'll come up front to unlock the door and let me in, as there's no one on the floor (what is going on with this place?). I see my speaker's box all packed up and ready to go, as I had already paid for it. I get the speaker home, reconnect everything, and everything sounds great! The problem? I take off the speaker grill and there was a pinhole dent in the big white mid driver that was NOT there when I dropped off the speaker (attached picture). I take a picture of it and send it to Marc, who replies "Both Brandon and Kem inspected the speaker before it was boxed and made ready for pick up. Both men are absolutely sure that the speaker was not in this condition when it left the store. Brandon would like to speak with you either on the phone or in person. He has an opening in his schedule tomorrow from around 3:00 until 5:00. Please advise as to what works for you. " They completely denied it. I never had anything sharp anywhere near my speaker when taking it out of its box or reconnecting it to my system.
Anyways, I email back right away that Brandon could call me during that time. Brandon never calls. I call back the next week and Barb answers the phone; I speak to her about this, and she said Brandon never had any call scheduled on his schedule. Ugh. A day later, Marc emails "Brandon would like to sit down with you personally. Please let me know what would work for you. " I email him back, "I thought Brandon was giving me a phone call. If I'm driving all the way down there for a sit-down I'd like to know what's being offered. Can we do a phone call first?" Marc never emails back, so two days later I email "Hello? Not getting much communication." That email was sent January 29. It's March 5th and I've still not heard anything from them. I sent Marc another email today and the email bounced back undeliverable.
I called a Paradigm dealer in Fort Collins (as Blu Note lost their dealership status with Paradigm, surprise surprise) and learned that a new mid driver is $288. So I paid $142 to replace a tweeter on a practically brand new speaker and get a dent in another part of the speaker that would cost $288 to replace. Blu Note is terrible at communication and after-the-sale service. I feel for specialty audio stores as they're coming on hard times, but you can't treat people like that.
Brandon, if you're reading this: you asked me to give a review of Blu Note back in September when I ordered the speakers. I held off on doing so because I wanted to wait until I had gotten the speakers to truly get a sense of what it's like to shop at Blu Note. I'm glad I did. Here's your review, buddy--you've earned it.