trying to buy RBH speakers.. questions

[Romulus]

I am (finally) nearing my HT purchase, but am having some issues auditioning speakers, RBH in particular.

There are a number of dealers within 2 hours of me, but it seems they all are custom installers and/or just carry very little inventory. While they will all custom order speakers, I am not about to purchase my first setup sight unseen and sound unheard, despite rather glowing reviews online.

One installer replied to an email of mine and said that he had the 661SE's and 61SE's in his demo theater. Would it be fair to judge the general sound of RBH's lower end speakers based on these? I am specifically considering the MC-6Cs and TK-5CTs. I know this is a rather odd way to pick a company, but it seems it may be my only option without buying a speaker first.

Also, I don't understand how the MC-6Cs and TK-5CTs are the same price.. Would this imply that the 6Cs are slightly better built, and when paired with a nice sub, outperform the 5CTs?

 

[Romulus]

*uughh (can you hear me from where you are????)

I just found this thread.. looks like RBH is out of the running. That's unfortunate after all the reviews I read.

 

[AVRat]

Yes it is pathetic that they seem to put more in marketing than distribution. They'd be better off using current ID selling business models.

 

[rmk]

*uughh (can you hear me from where you are????)

I just found this thread.. looks like RBH is out of the running. That's unfortunate after all the reviews I read.

In reading the last post on that thread from RBH’s Gary Tanner, they instituted a direct sales option if no local dealer/installer is available. Seems reasonable to me.

 

[Tomorrow]

If you find them and if you buy them and if you then like the audition, please let us know if they are any better than other speakers in their price class that might be a tad easier to audition.

Good luck.

 

[Romulus]

In reading the last post on that thread from RBH’s Gary Tanner, they instituted a direct sales option if no local dealer/installer is available. Seems reasonable to me.

I read that, too. I just think it'd turn into a huge hassle to send some guy money who lives an hour or two from me, and then have speakers sent to me from the company.. It's an unneccessary hassle from my perspective. What if I had to return them? Half-dealing with a middle man whom I never see isn't my idea of an easy deal. Honestly I'd just rather deal with companies like Axiom, Ascend, AV123, etc who have stellar reputations with customer service and who don't go through (in "Tomorrows" case) questionable dealers. I am sure his case was not the norm, but a number of local dealers listed in my area never returned my emails & some even had personal email accounts at aol and hotmail (a cluebird is sitting on my shoulder saying this should raise flags, or at least an eyebrow).

I am not saying ANYTHING about RBH.. I am sure they are a good company offering very fine products, but their market strategy doesn't lend itself to a huge customer base.

 

[rmk]

I read that, too. I just think it'd turn into a huge hassle to send some guy money who lives an hour or two from me, and then have speakers sent to me from the company.. It's an unneccessary hassle from my perspective. What if I had to return them? Half-dealing with a middle man whom I never see isn't my idea of an easy deal. Honestly I'd just rather deal with companies like Axiom, Ascend, AV123, etc who have stellar reputations with customer service and who don't go through (in "Tomorrows" case) questionable dealers. I am sure his case was not the norm, but a number of local dealers listed in my area never returned my emails & some even had personal email accounts at aol and hotmail (a cluebird is sitting on my shoulder saying this should raise flags, or at least an eyebrow).

I am not saying ANYTHING about RBH.. I am sure they are a good company offering very fine products, but their market strategy doesn't lend itself to a huge customer base.

I understand your caution but in this case, RBH (like the ID companies you mentioned) offers a very secure way to purchase. The 14 day return exchange guarantee from the manufacturer takes the dealer out of that part of the equation. Also, I believe that selling through a dealer/installer channel is a great idea. Even though many are very small companies, they can be helpful in the correct installation of HT gear. My guess is that the majority of people buying HT equipment don't have the foggiest how to properly install and or set it up.

I have been at this hobby pretty hard for several years and I would not feel qualified to PROPERLY install and setup a system for someone. In my own system, my learning curve is my own problem and no big deal but if I was paying me, I would have fired myself a long time ago.

 

[smurphy522]

I too had a very similar experience trying to audition RBH inwalls and in ceilings. I live in this little town called Houston (TX). At the time (March 2007) there were 3 "dealers" listed. I contacted each with phone messges (all 3 never answered the phone initilly - during regular business hours) and via email. I got 1 call back and 2 others emailed me. the 2 that emailed me indicated they also got my phone message.
Well I went to visit one of the dealers and prior to my visiting I was told they are available to demo. I guess something was lost because he only had them in a box. I could only listen to Snells or Dynaudio boockshelf speakers. Granted this was a "legitimate" dealer but led me to believe that I could come over and listwen to the RBH speakers. I decided not to go with them at that time. Honestly I still haven't gotten a ceiling speaker for the kitchen yet due to budget but am planning on it.
I guess I have been spoiled and or lucky in the past with the ability to A/B (or even C) choices to make the decision easier. I'm sure I would not be let down by the RBH product line, I just wanted to hear it first. Will probably end up with a pair of Paradigm's or Def-Tech's as I can demo them locally and such.

 

[Loki]

Romulus-

You wouldn't happen to be an OU fan, would you? Holler back at me if you are.

 

[Romulus]

Romulus-

You wouldn't happen to be an OU fan, would you? Holler back at me if you are.

I'm in the area, more or less (Omaha). Why do you ask?

 

[davidtwotrees]

It was explained to me that these small installers make their money on installs. Usually they are just a one man band who do sales calls, bookkeeping, the whole enchilada. For them to spend two hours time to set up an audition for a pair of $399 dollar speakers with a profit margin of $50 on every prospective buyer who was shopping and may or may not buy the product isn't worth the time..............especially when many would do this just to get out of paying the return shipping on the liberal return policy...

Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger........

 

[allargon]

I hope no one is shooting you. I'm in the same dilemna. I want to audtion the RBH TK5CT's that got such a glowing review here. However, I'm having a fun time with dealers. One finally e-mailed me. I told him I'm only starting with towers. He started mentioning cables, etc. I already knew where this was going. I doubt I will be able to audition those.

I wish Audioholics would review the AV123 miniStrata. That's looking like a viable option, instead.

 

[Romulus]

I understand RBH's stance in supporting this type of business, but what I don't understand is that in reality, many of these installers don't necessarily have the highest degree of business sense and don't make RBH the most money. Why not offer the end customer the option of buying DIRECT, not semi-direct, for the same price as the dealer offers, and that way if you want to deal with an installer then you may... OR you can just buy the product and set them up yourself.

It makes 0 sense to hold onto a business practice simply for the fact that it's the way you've always done it.

 

[Tomorrow]

I understand RBH's stance in supporting this type of business, but what I don't understand is that in reality, many of these installers don't necessarily have the highest degree of business sense and don't make RBH the most money. Why not offer the end customer the option of buying DIRECT, not semi-direct, for the same price as the dealer offers, and that way if you want to deal with an installer then you may... OR you can just buy the product and set them up yourself.

It makes 0 sense to hold onto a business practice simply for the fact that it's the way you've always done it.

Gene and other admins here have a fondness for the speakers. Perhaps they'll be offered in the upcoming AH store. (Although that sort of violates RBH's business model practices.)

 

[jamespaulp]

I just sent an email to a dealer nearby. In my case it showed 2 dealers within 20 miles.

It is funny that a search for RBH speakers brought up a link to sammans. It is cheap at $0

I am not yet eligible to post a link. Just do a google search for RBH TK 5CT.

 

[jamespaulp]

No response from the delaer

I sent an email to the dealer listed in the Saratoga, CA on Sunday. Today is Tuesday. No response yet. How long should I wait before I go with other choices?

 

[allargon]

I've got a demo scheduled for Tuesday. The guy isn't pushing RBH's as much. He's pushing BG audio and Bay Audio which are nice but out of my budget range.

I think I'm going to go the Ebay route. I don't have the room treatments, etc. for $10k plus speakers anyway.

 

[jamespaulp]

I never received a response. So, I went in search of two dealers listed on the RBH site. First one closed shop and the phone is disconnected. Second one still has a working phone and office. At 5PM today, the office was closed. I saw a van with the dealers name and another phone number. I called that number too and got the message saying it too is disconnected.

The only 2 dealers in my area both have disconnected numbers? I don't think I want to deal with such a brand no matter how good they are.

Oh, I forgot to mention, 2 days ago I sent an email directly to an RBH sales manager listed on their web site. No response from there either.

 

[MDS]

It does seem like RBH speakers are impossible to buy or even audition. No matter how good they are, I'd be turned off by having to jump through hoops just to find a pair.

In my area there are very few 'high end' dealers remaining. I found one that is not too far away but to come in to the showroom and see what they sell, you have to make an 'appointment'. Get real...they are not even a consideration. Unfortunately, it sounds like RBH is the same. Just imagine if you had an issue where you needed a replacement driver and had to make dozens of phone calls and wait months to get it done...not for me.

 

[Romulus]

If this were my product being discussed here, I'd be thinking dang hard about my business philosophy. So many people saying they'd love to try my product, but it's damned near impossible to get a hold of because of the people I chose to represent me aren't doing their job...

FWIW, I'm days away from plunking a few $k down at the local B&W dealer.