So I just got taken by the "Wahldorf Home Theater" scam. (1 Viewer)

[BTL99]

So, I get this thing home and check it out and it doesn't seem right. So I go online and find out it is a scam. I'm assuming that this is common knowlegde in the home theater world. So I am out $200, not the end of the world, but I am curious as to if the thing actually works at all?

Any help would be great.

 

[Jim Mcc]

What the heck is it?

 

[Ed Moxley]

I did a Google search for Waldorf Home Theater, and Waldorf Audio. Neither one turned up any sites about it being a scam. Where did you hear that it's a scam? That being said, I've never heard of them myself................

 

[Parker Clack]

What is this?

 

[Andrew Pierce]

Did you buy speakers from the back of a white van?

 

[BTL99]

Hey, thanks for the replies, here is some more information.

Here is the thing I got:
http://wahldorfhometheater.com/product/WD-305HT.html

Here is some stuff on it being a scam: (The craigslist link is a perfect description of what happened to me)
http://www.scamshield.com/Sighting.asp?country=none&state=Florida&article=1
http://orlando.craigslist.org/ele/1747602493.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam

So, basically I want to know if I can actually hook these up and test them out. I am a computer guy, I don't know much about home audio and video. I looked at the back of the speakers and I have never seen connections like that before. They are big black and red knobs that I guess you are suppose to connect wires to. If it would help, I can upload some pictures later.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Phil Taylor]

You can either hook them up - probably won't sound great ... or throw them away.

 

[BTL99]

Ok, can you guys tell me what this connection is?
Any idea how I could hook this up?

Thanks.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Looks pretty standard to me. You can either use banna plugs on your speaker wire and insert them into the holes on the speaker, or you can unscrew the top-most portion of the red and black connectors. When you unscrew each one you should see a hole to place the speaker wire into. They're nothing wrong with the straight wire connection, just make sure there are no extraneous wires touching the other connector.

 

[CB750]

JT,

If you would have joined this Forum you would have known about white van scams. The College of Life gives you many valuable lesions provided the tuition didn't cost too much.

Your White Van's did come with a owners manual I suggest that you read it. The picture appears to be the back of one of your speakers where the connections are made the red pole is usually used for the + speaker wire connection and the black is the - connection.

Do you do have a receiver to connect these to?

 

[Ed Moxley]

Now that I've seen the pics, they do look like white van speakers. They all look about alike, is why I say that. Sorry you got taken.

I agree. Hook them up and check them out. Just don't expect a whole lot..........
Good luck!

 

[BTL99]

@Andrew - Yeah, it was actually out of a white van. LOFL

@Ed - Yeah, I looked on wikipedia and it lists all of the different brands that are white van scams. The ones I bought were not on the list. (Wahldorf) They need to be added to the list though.

@AI - Thanks for the tips, I have no experience with this stuff, at least now I have an idea of how to hook them up.

@CB - You are right, I learned a life lesson when this happened. I can't believe I have never heard of the scam before, I feel like a dumbass. It was so convincing though, invoices, business cards, big catalogs showing everything. I have a RCA receiver that I bought about 2 years ago, the back of it has those little "clamps" that you have to seperate and then you push the wire into them and then you let go and they clamp down on the wire. I'm guessing I can use this to hook up the speakers.


Thanks again for all the input from everyone.

 

[David Willow]

Its all about marketing to folks who don't spend much time researching. IMO, most folks are like this. It's no wonder White Van scams work. Add to this companies like BOSE and Monster who peddle their White Van goods to the masses at full price. It just really irritates me... /img/vbsmilies/htf/smile.gif

The speakers appear to be 8ohm so there is little chance you will do any damage to your receiver. Hook them up to the spring loaded 'clamps'. They are just another way to connect your wires.

 

[Jonathan Burk]

I can't believe people are still selling speakers out of vans. That's amazing.

"Wahldorf" is probably trying to riff on "Wharfdale". Too bad you didn't get some of those!

 

[SJBJDJ]

My husband just bought 2 of them for $200 each. Same kind of van but this was in Georgia. The guys said the company they worked for accidentally put 3 extra of the WD-305HT systems in their van and when they got done with their installation of one that someone actually purchased, they wanted to get rid of the extra ones trying to make some money. They first said $900 for both but my husband said no. They took out the catalog and showed him that they retail for $1,999.00 each. When he came home to tell me this, I googled the name Wahldorf Home Theater Systems and found this model and their site seems legit? I'm not sure why everyone is calling this a scam since the product came in factory sealed boxes and came with all the items that is listed on the Wahldorf site. Perhaps they were stolen? I'm not sure. The guy did jot down his name and tel# on a receipt from a sound company that sells this kind of stuff. I tried to call the sound company on the receipt (not the guy) and then decided to hang up.

 

[mattCR]

No, the speakers themselves and the method they are sold is part of a scam. They just prop up a website to support it.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/audio-electronic-retail-stores/wahldorf-home-theate/wahldorf-home-theater-alliance-8b38b.htm

http://www.scamshield.com/Feature.asp?id=1

 

[David Willow]

Sorry Sandy, but your husband was taken. Anyone can put speakers in a box and print up literature. They can even create fake websites and fake reviews. This is a very well know scam. Search GOOGLE for 'white van speakers' and you will see hundreds of posts from folks. You will also find many of the 'brand' names these crooks use.

There's not much you can do about it now. Just be sure to checkout sites like this one before you make purchases in the future (a good idea for all purchases).

 

[mattCR]

Here's a follow up to that.. White Van Speakers are White Van Speakers. In general, they are just cheap speaker components put together. But for the most part, they work. While they aren't worth the money you pay for them, the reality is if you don't know that, you probably never complain. That's part of the scam.

Look at how many people buy Bose, which IMHO, is barely above a White Van speaker, and they never complain.. because most people just aren't audiofiles. Sound comes out, they seem to work, that's all there is to it.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Perhaps they were stolen?

No, they are rarely stolen. Although frequently they'll say things that might make you think that if they think that will entice you to buy. What they do is sell very low quality equipment at an extreme markup. So you can use the stuff, it's just not very good; probably worth about $89 retail.

 

[Todd H]

My brother got taken by the same scam earlier in the year. He ended up buying a cheap HTIB called "iCinema" I believe for $100. He said they originally wanted something like $500 but he talked them down (it had some outrageous price printed on the box). It is a piece of crap. If only he had called me before giving them any money.