winchester21 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Friend of mine likes my HT system. He has a friend with a new house who would like for me to come by and "adjust" his new system for him. There is a botle of single malt in it for me if I am willing. I say - no problem - payment not necessary- glad to help somebody play with their new system. Big house-nice furniture- couple in their 30s-shiny new MB suv outside- BMW 5 series in the garage. I walked into the living room and was horrified by what I saw. 58 or 60" Pioneer TV- colors looked funny-blacks did not look right- aspect ratio out of whack-closet full of gear with the worst rats nest in modern history of wires going in every different direction. Components plugged into a 20.00 Walmart surge protector. Mac control center-Mac music server- 2 mac outboards- Sony 350 blue ray????- nice but why not a higher end brand with this other stuff--Mac power conditioner. Harmony remote which does not work. Music server does not work. All manuals missing. Remotes for the cable box and the TV only. B&W front tower speakers. 2 velodyne subs hidden behind furniture which appeared to be wired in sequence and are not firing at the right time???WT%???. The remaining speakers are in the wall and the ceiling. The guy turns the thing on- at average listening voulme- one of the windows rattles. The mixture sounds worse than anything that I have ever heard- period- bar none. Installer was a guy whos knows a guy who was friends with a guy who knew a contractor who he met on CL. The owner is like Pi$$ed off ready to kill somebody-The installer has all his cash. He was supposed to come back with a laptop and "tweak' the mess but never showed up. The dispoable pay by the minute cell phone number is no longer active and the installer is nowhere to be found.If the guy calls a local mac dealer- they will draw and quarter his wallet to come in and fix this mess. He asked ME if I could fix it.I could not get out of that house fast enough. I did tell hin that he could come by- listen to mine- and I would start from scratch- duplicate my system using new Heritage stuff and as much of his Mac gear as possible. I do not expect to hear back from him after he prices the Heritage speakers at retail. This guy gets the moron of the year award for hooking up with this idiot. This is what happens when people hire contractors without doing their homework to save a few bucks. I dont know what the tab was on this train wreck but I suspect that it was north of 30 large. I do not see how a supposedly intelligent adult male could make a mistake like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 run away I wouldn't touch a setup like that. There is a lawsuit waiting to happen and I wouldn't want to get in the middle of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Yeah- the component shelves would not even reach an electrical outlet. I freaked out when I saw the walmart surge protector used an an extention cord. This mess is going to require an electrician to boot. My greedy horse trader side was telling me that I could help fix it and maybe get a leftover component out of the deal and everybody would be happy. After consideration- I think that running away is the smart thing to do. I really feel awful for the people who got fleeced. Nice folks who wanted a quality system in their new home. Expensive lesson. I don't see how people can pull this kind of stuff and sleep at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 The beauty of the English language---"Come over and tweek my system and you can have a couple of beers" Tweek---One months work 24/7 System---A combination of smaller components assembled into a large component not necessarily accomplishing any particular goal. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyboy Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 run away I wouldn't touch a setup like that. There is a lawsuit waiting to happen and I wouldn't want to get in the middle of it. That's what I'm saying! Run Forrest Run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesV Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 This guy gets the moron of the year award for hooking up with this idiot. This is what happens when people hire contractors without doing their homework to save a few bucks. I dont know what the tab was on this train wreck but I suspect that it was north of 30 large. I do not see how a supposedly intelligent adult male could make a mistake like this. I don't understand why that would be. If you don't know anything about HT and you hire someone that said they know what they are doing, but they have no clue, why is that person the "moron of the year"? Then there are different kinds of smarts, street, book and working world. Maybe he just isn't as smart as you in everything and that is the reason for the comment. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iTide Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 i know what you are saying winchester. He is a moron for not investigating the contractor. If I want a house built, I am not going to hire the first guy that knocks on my door and says he can build a house. I am going to interview several and get references and even go and see some houses they have built. Same with home theatre. If you are dropping that kind of cash on a system and having it "professionally" done, at least take the time to listen to some systems the guy has put together. This is not the way to save a buck or two. As my grandmother always tells me, "Jay, you get what you pay for"! It seems like every single time I try to save a buck by going cheap, I end up paying double in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM3 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 There is a botle of single malt in it for me if I am willing. Not worth it! I hope it all works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Maybe I was too harsh with the comment. Maybe not moron of the year but he sure made the final 4. I suggested that the owner get the model numbers and download the manuals off the internet or buy them from Mac, Harmony, Pioneer, and Sony. Some of this could be fixed fairly easily by the owner by reading these. Suggested that he just cut the wires and forget about what is in the wall. Gave him the name of the 2 mac dealers in the area. Gave him the name of a 20 year established tuner/tweaker/ listening room technician in the area who I trust. I did not touch one knob or button on the system. This will conclude my involvement unless he decides to sell off some/all of the stuff in which case I will make a written offer to buy. Addmittedly the owner "heard" that this guy was cheap from one of the other contractors. He did not check him out with anybody or any organization. he did not listen to or look any of his other installations. He was in a hurry to finish the house and had more important things to deal with. I bet he checks out the next contractor who does work at his place. I passed on the free bottle of Scotch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Why not help him out, if this is your hobby, and it is a friend of a friend? Pull out all the wires... Get the audio up n running set the TV to factory re set.... Then take a look! Go from there. Seriously this is not brain surgery here. Just because he has no clue Audio / Video wise on what to do next, does not make him a moron. (He might be a Doctor etc., etc., just brilliant in surgery but clueless audio / video wise...) He can afford these toys, he just does not understand the hook ups. Trust me, he might well understand the results if set up right. I have a friend with a lot of money... He has all the cars all the toys of life too... As he should... He worked hard in college and started his own company risked his own money and had some success. OK, a lot of success. LOL. The point is this..... Does he understand his multiple cars.. NO (I have to say though neither do I. LOL) Does he understand his audio system... NO Does he care?? NO! He just wants to enjoy them. PS., You might get to know this guy over helping him too. That connection in life might help you down the road. Just a thought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 One more thing... We were all "morons, idiots, etc., etc.," to this hobby until someone taught us the basics and we then educated ourselves. Add to that, when you get older if you do not use this stuff very often you forget things too. Lord knows Michael, Trey, and others re teach me all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 "Gave him the name of a 20 year established tuner/tweaker/ listening room technician in the area who I trust." There you go, helped him find his personal audio nirvana without any risk to yourself or your neighborly relationship. Best of all worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted April 13, 2009 Moderators Share Posted April 13, 2009 Why not help him out, if this is your hobby, and it is a friend of a friend? Realize this is going to be a time consuming process. Not to say that it isn't worth it but he might not have the time to devote to such an adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 This is a big time mess. Don't really feel that my knowledge level is up to getting any further involved. 75% of what I know was learned here in the last 3-4 months. I personally shop and research everything to death. Moron was a poor choice of words. This is going to be a- v e r y- expensive project by the time is is finished correctly. I am steering clear until the dust settles. Deal was done on a handshake- no contract- 50% up front- balance paid when the equipment was delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted April 13, 2009 Moderators Share Posted April 13, 2009 Sounds like one of those unfortunate, "You live and you learn" lessons of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Reminds me of a pool contracter I used one time. It's a shame that there's people like that out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Even my neighbor with lots of $$$$$ going into his theater.... For a while had in wall speakers crossing over maybe 6 feet into the room... And this was for a VERY large room. It was just NUTS. After a visit to my place... Hehehehehehe 7 La Scalas, 2 surrounds... 2 THX KS 120 subs.... hehehehehehe He went with three of these up front.. From Klipsch... http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/kpt-325.aspx And 4 subs with 2 sub amps... THX Ultra 2 Klipsch inwalls surrounds...for sides and rears... for 9.1 sound. It looks like this now all done. After 2 years in the works! It is amazing... Look at the link below... http://www.tktheaters.com/gallery/digitalpalace/ AMAZING!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Don't really feel that my knowledge level is up to getting any further involved Then I wouldn't get any further involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Reminds me of an electrician I used one time. And a contractor for my shop- I learned my lesson, when that idiot got behind on bills after the first week, I canned him! Best thing I ever did, taking over that project. Later found out about some really bad decisions they'd made in the early stages. But I think the shop will hold together after I got through with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Some people just look at pictures in a magazine and say I want that..... without having any pre-conceived notions about performance. The public needs to educate themselves, in order to get their best ROI when it comes to anything really. Indy, I am glad you steered your friend into the right avenue... thumbs up there man! [Y] It's sad that some people spend huge dollars to get mediokre results, when spending money in the right places can make such a huge difference. Also, some people are more interested in a product's looks than performance, for those people, some companies sell a 'lifestyle' ahem. It's kinda like racing, you have all sorts of people, the ones with liquid money, the best paint, the finest in parts.... you also have those with a real nice daily driver that's hopped up, and then you have my favorite group, the guys with the sleepers... they spend a lot of time and effort wrenching and buy used speed parts, search the junkyards, and scrounge. Some of these guys can really run the numbers though with a pretty low investment, other than their time. Just like any other big ticket item you are buying, research pays off in the end. It amazes me that so many people buy houses, cars, etc by the LOOK of the item, not whether it's any good or not... LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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