How can I tell if it's a fake?

[GuardDog]

Hello everyone, n00b to both the forum and the Surround Sound system experience. So I come before you, to stand behind you, and tell you of something I know nothing about really.

Sorry, bad humor. Anyhow I was gifted with a surround sound speaker set, MTS 4200. As I was searching for a reciever and general information on the speakers I came across the "White Van Speaker" scam. I asked the person who gave me the speakers and, yes, they were bought out of a truck in a parking lot.


The sub and speakers look like the ones on the web page, the box it came in looks official, the wires to the speakers are connected and soldered... Enclosures are pretty solid, sub looks pretty good quality.

I'm asking in particular due to a few people saying that the "White Van Speakers" could cause short circuiting of the reciever. Don't want to go out, buy a reciever and ruin it.

Thanks for any help if it's available guys, just spent two days researching recievers and feel like I wasted the time lol

 

[Johnd]

I'm asking in particular due to a few people saying that the "White Van Speakers" could cause short circuiting of the reciever. Don't want to go out, buy a reciever and ruin it.

Welcome to the forum GuardDog.

I don't know if anyone can intelligibly answer that question without firsthand knowledge of that brand, and as they are white van, your particular set of speakers. Of course it's possible. Bad wiring, loose connections, second rate crossovers, etc. could all potentially wreak havoc on not only your speakers, but also your receiver by sending unwanted current back. That's the problem with white van...no reviews (credible) and little, if any qc and r&d. Perhaps you want to expose the innards and shoot the photos...then maybe some of the techies could chime in and give a better response. Anyways, hope that helps. Cheers, John

 

[GuardDog]

I'll see if I can't get the digital camera and pop them open, hopefully have some pictures tomorrow, thanks Johnd

 

[Tarub]

Are the logo on the speakers spelled B-O-S-E ??

 

[GuardDog]

No, speakers are devoid of logo, none on the sateelites or Center speaker. There is a discreet MTS, model PS4200 on the rear panel of the subwoofer, but that's about it.

 

[GuardDog]

darn, need 5 posts or more to post images lol

 

[GuardDog]

Thanks to the Video Game section of this forum lol

Managed to snap off a few photos... Seeing the large Korean/Japanese/Chinese symbol printed on the inside of the center speaker sums up (in my mind at least) that these aren't the real deal lol.

Subwoofer Rear Panel exterior

Subwoofer Rear Panel interior

Subwoofer Rear Panel Interior#2

Subwoofer Rear Panel Interior#3

Subwoofer Interior

Subwoofer Interior#2

Center Speaker

Center Speaker Interior

Satellite Speaker

Satellite Speaker Interior#1

 

[Johnd]

To my untrained eye that looks like cheap construction GuardDog...but I've seen cheaper. The incredibly sloppy glue job and cardboard cylinders are dead giveaways. The speakers and the magnets don't look like anything to write home about either.

But...it's all relative. If they sound decent (that's what really matters, after all), and they didn't cost an arm and a leg...enjoy them. Just next time come here first to at least obtain a cursory understanding from other members what's been:

- tried and tested
- what's new and unproven, but a safe bet because it comes from a reputable company
- what to stay away from

If you are done with the photos, maybe you could put them back together, jam for a while, and give us some kind of feedback. Although, w/o some kind of comparison, it's hard to judge (sometimes ). Cheers, John

 

[GuardDog]

yeah, I'll probably hook them up and see what happens. I was more worried of possibly frying the AV reciever then the speakers and subs themselves. Most likely going to be hooking everything up to an Onkyo TX-SR605. Have done some research and that looks like it has the best bang for the buck with what I'm looking for. I was just worried about frying that mainly. Figure I can always hook up the surround, see how they sound and start adding/replacing pieces as I go along.

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Johnd]

I was more worried of possibly frying the AV reciever then the speakers and subs themselves.

I would think if everything's running at 8 Ohms, there's little chance of that (I would think). They look cheap, but not so cheap that all the solder joints are about to sag and meld the crossover to the magnet. Perhaps "modestly priced" would be a less offensive term. Go ahead and connect them and post back.

 

[GuardDog]

Yeah what got me was one of those reviews on the "white van speaker scam" Someone said there that certain speakers were dropping to 2 ohms and causing problems.

I'll give it a go. Worse comes to worse it's not like it's my first expensive learning experience lol

 

[techguy]

thats interesting... my friend's pops picked up a 5.1 surround set of a truck too... the funny thing is he paid 500 dollars for it. I make fun of him now as his dad has no clue on what a good speaker is... he just bought it because it looked ok.

The company is called matrix.

I figure if you got it already and it sounds "OK" just leave it and next time do research before you push the trigger. I spent 3 months looking for speakers for my house and then found that I am no longer buying a house.

I went with a cheapo set from onkyo.

 

[GuardDog]

All hooked up, wires run and it actually works. Just a note for everyone hooking up subwoofers, make sure the knobs are at LOW. Didn't check, mine were at about 60-70% and I could hear my siding vibrating lol.

Just have to say how easy the Onkyo reciever made it, but man the thing is 10x bigger then I thought it was lol. Hooked it up through HDMI and pretty much eliminated the TV controller. HDMI switching from the reciever is quick and easy. Glad I went with it.