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New Cornwall Issue: 2nd Pair! Feelin' snakebit


ODS123

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As you may have read in my previous Thread, my first pair of Cornwall III's had a mid-range horn that was not flush mounted against the baffle. 

The dealer happily agreed to replace the pair but my second pair has a fairly obvious dent. Ugh!!  

I understand nothing is totally perfect, but such an obvious mark on top of the speaker? The box did seem a bit rough, with more than a few dents and a small perforation on the top of the box, but none of the dents or hole correspond w/ this dent on the speaker. ..I suspect it left the factory this way. ..It almost looks like it was set down on a staple, nail or snip of wire as the the riser was being bolted onto the speaker. ..I'm so sick of this. These speakers are freakin' awesome!!! ..But $4200 is a ton of money, they should be blemish free and have drivers that fit properly.  

So once again, I'm asking? What would you do? ..Just live with it, or return the speakers - yet again - to the dealer?

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45 minutes ago, geoff. said:

Man, I feel your pain.

 

New means NEW. 

 

You have paid for that satisfaction.

 

What is the discount on a “scratch and dent” pair of Cornwall IIIs these days?

 

It has got to be 20% or better!

I agree. Ask for a discount and be done with it, assuming you like/love the way they sound. That's really not that bad, although at that price you should expect perfection. 

 

Just curious why you didn't ask to examine the speakers before you brought them home?

 

Hope this works itself out for you. Sorry that you have to deal with this headache. 

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Ask the dealer to ask Klipsch to inspect a new (third) pair just before boxing them, then let Klipsch come down on the shipping company if they don't arrive in excellent shape?

 

You may be a customer for life -- many of us are -- they should want to take care of you, so you will want to buy Klipschorns, Palladiums, bi-amped, EQd, Jubilees, then a pro cinema system from them, and play them all for everyone you know, and recommend them whenever anybody asks, as do we all.

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On 11/20/2017 at 5:33 PM, adam2434 said:

Are you going to be able to inspect the replacement pair before getting them home?

 

9 hours ago, svberger said:

 

Just curious why you didn't ask to examine the speakers before you brought them home?

 

They were exchanged at the dealers distribution center which was a crowed space with a concrete floor and people constantly breezing by.  I figured there was a greater chance they'd get damaged just trying to unbox and re-box them than the chance of getting a 2nd bad pair.  Apparently this was a mistake.  

 

This was the dealers last pair of Cherry Cornwalls.  ..I'll tell them I can either return them for a refund or have Klipsch send them a new pair that has been triple checked for fit or finish issues.  This would take 8+ weeks b/c there are no Cherry Cornwalls in Klipsch's inventory either.  Ugh.  I'm not looking for a refund or even to pressure them for a discount. I just want two speakers w/ drivers that seat properly into the baffle AND have no dents on them - particularly the top of the speaker!   These two dents are easily seen and felt and, as I said, don't correspond w/ any of the dents in the boxes - so these were boxed this way.   As for those suggesting I get Forte's I'm not sure why that assures me of no issues.  ..They are built in the same place.  I'm happy they have no issues w/ their Fortes but I don't think my choosing a different Klipsch speaker is really the issue.

 

 

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Well recently I saw a picture where management took sales and office people on a get away . Maybe they should have spent that money on some raises or on the factory people huh. I worked in factory all my life and believe me, we  [workers] find out about the special trips and bonuses. Does nothing but cause problems so why do it?

 I would demand a refund and go find a better deal if the dealer does not work with you. I think you could get a better deal from a different dealer. Message me if you want more information.

Don't get me wrong I love the brand own several products but if I bought those and paid that price I would be made as hell. Not a good way to keep customers. 

 

Hey management......If you cant do something for everyone don't do it. 

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I would not tolerate dents on a $300/pair of new A-stock bookshelf speakers, let alone $4,200/pair speakers.

 

I have a pair of RF-7 II with B-stock veneer, which were discounted 40% vs. A-stock retail price.  I was expecting some type of obvious flaw, but they are perfect and I honestly do not understand why they were designated as B-stock.  My point is that Klipsch must have high standards for the veneers in Hope, but somehow your second pair of Cornwalls were not held to a high standard, assuming they left the factory that way.  

 

If the dent was in the veneer prior to finishing, it should have been rejected.  If the dent was created after veneer finishing, it should have been caught in final inspection, assuming there is a final inspection.  There was probably foam protection in the package over the ding area, right?  If so, I would eliminate shipping damage as a possibility.

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Exchange again? Maybe, I doubt any casual look at these and anyone would notice any issues. (They didn't spend thousands of dollars on the set either though)

 

At the risk of the ire of board members, these are huge speakers with real wood veneer.  A close inspection would probably reveal some degree of imperfecton occasionally.  This could have been in the veneer before showing up at the factory.  

 

I'm thinking between the two pairs you had one pair of A-stock and one pair of B-stock.  

 

I'd see if you could swap that speaker with the perfect one from the prior pair.

 

Ultimately what makes you happy is what counts.

 

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17 minutes ago, Hasty said:

Exchange again? Maybe, I doubt any casual look at these and anyone would notice any issues. (They didn't spend thousands of dollars on the set either though)

 

At the risk of the ire of board members, these are huge speakers with real wood veneer.  A close inspection would probably reveal some degree of imperfecton occasionally.  This could have been in the veneer before showing up at the factory.  

 

I'm thinking between the two pairs you had one pair of A-stock and one pair of B-stock.  

 

I'd see if you could swap that speaker with the perfect one from the prior pair.

 

Ultimately what makes you happy is what counts.

 

This is actually a good idea, simple, and works.

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6 hours ago, Hasty said:

At the risk of the ire of board members, these are huge speakers with real wood veneer.  A close inspection would probably reveal some degree of imperfecton occasionally.  This could have been in the veneer before showing up at the factory.  

 

I'm thinking between the two pairs you had one pair of A-stock and one pair of B-stock.  

 

I'd see if you could swap that speaker with the perfect one from the prior pair.

 

 

 

I think if you saw it in person you'd agree this is both a man-made mark (not just an irregularity w/ the grain) and that it's too obvious to fall within what Klipsch would (should?) consider an acceptable blemish.   I didn't have to scrutinize the speaker in bright light using a magnifying glass to see these dents, they were easily seen and felt.  If these dents were on one one the sides, I would just live with it. ..But on the top?  Though I won't mention the name, both sets of speakers have the same "Tested By" signature on the back.  It's possible this person needs to be re-trained.

 

As for picking the best two speakers from the two sets, you really don't want to do this.  From the Cornwall Brochure:  

 

"BOOK-MATCHED WOOD VENEER

Each pair of Heritage Series loudspeakers is grain-matched using wood veneer panels that come from the same timer.  Each cabinet is carefully matched so that each speaker in the pair is practically indistinguishable from the other.  ...Each finished product is inspected and labeled with sequential serial numbers, ensuring that the Heritage Series speakers leave the factory as a meticulously crafted set." 

 

As an aside, the Paradigm S8 v3s (also Cherry) that I sold to fund this purchase were 8 years old and did not have ANY blemishes on the wood cabinet.  ..Only tiny little marks on the bases caused by a vacuum cleaner.  I was able to sell them on Agon as 9/10s.  While I'm not intending to sell my new Cornwalls for years to come, it's frustrating that I'd have to list this particular pair as 8/10, as of the day I took them out of the box.

 

 

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22 hours ago, adam2434 said:

I would not tolerate dents on a $300/pair of new A-stock bookshelf speakers, let alone $4,200/pair speakers.

 

I have a pair of RF-7 II with B-stock veneer, which were discounted 40% vs. A-stock retail price.  I was expecting some type of obvious flaw, but they are perfect and I honestly do not understand why they were designated as B-stock.  My point is that Klipsch must have high standards for the veneers in Hope, but somehow your second pair of Cornwalls were not held to a high standard, assuming they left the factory that way.  

 

If the dent was in the veneer prior to finishing, it should have been rejected.  If the dent was created after veneer finishing, it should have been caught in final inspection, assuming there is a final inspection.  There was probably foam protection in the package over the ding area, right?  If so, I would eliminate shipping damage as a possibility.

 

I agree about their veneer being of high grade.  ..I carefully looked at bunch of different Klipsch models (inc. RF series) at the dealer and the fit/finish was uniformly beautiful.  I also agree about not blaming shipping as the dents in the box do not correspond w/ the dents on the speaker.  My hunch is this happened when they set the completed cabinet on it's top and mounted the riser.  ..Some debris - like a snip of wire - was under the speaker as they applied pressure to drive the wood screws through the riser and into the cabinet.  ..But it should have been caught prior to boxing.  I'll let everyone know what the dealer says.  ..Meanwhile, I'm certainly enjoying how these sound.  Wow!!

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