White Van Speaker Scams (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

What brand are those speakers?

All explained back in Post #98.

 

[mtwhickory]

It does look that way, doesn't it? Unusual design. Almost wish I could take a peak inside the cabinet and have a look around.

I wanted to look inside as well but the allen head screws have little points in the center and I don't have a tool for that. The ports are fairly long but don't go all the way through.
The veneer is real but not up to par with the big boys. There are some minor flaws and the backs and bottoms are not finished (bare MDF). Basically these are good "early designs" or "pre-production" models. Better than most of the full production middle-of-the-road speakers sold to the masses but not as well made as the big-name companies +$500 models.
For me, the key is depth and transparency. I am more into the magic of holographic soundstages than fretting over flat frequency responses and piano black cabinets. I tend to lean towards bi-polar and di-polar designs, for example, vs pinpoint accuracy. Tube amps more than solid state. It is hard to find inexpensive speakers that disappear. The best pair I ever heard was the Celestion SL700SI which sold for $3200 in 1992. I followed a pair on Ebay just before I bought the BRSE speakers but they ended up selling for around $1200, far north of my budget.

 

[platinumht]

Add "Digtal Research" to your list.

 

[Raymond lee Leggs]

 

[Seth=L]

, that doesn't give Carl the right to complain to us, the consumers, about how much he puts into them!
The main reason I bought them was the hope of getting an open sounding speaker with a huge soundstage. The separate tweeter on top made sense to me in this regard. As far as types of drivers, spacing between drivers, and side mounting goes, I have seen (and owned) several "odd" looking speakers that sounded very good. How about MBL?
Anyway, my point of posting was merely to say that these appear to be well-made in an honest effort at a "real" (not "scam") speaker. How they compare to other speakers in the $499 price range I can't answer completely. I can say that so far, I am happy with the sound. Though they sound thinner overall compared to my Monitor Audio mains (due to the extra 10hz depth of the MAs I assume), they have a huge soundstage and no glaring faults- which is basically what I was looking for.
(I hope the shorter paragraphs keeps everyone literate!)

MBL makes high end speakers, they have a established a solid reputation in the audio world, and hence deserve their position. I do not think that Blue Ridge something audio deserves to have that same reputation. They claim they have made other models that received much praise in the audio world, yet they are no where to be found. The use cheap drivers from parts express and make a mediocre designed speaker. I can't imagine the tweeter would offer a very uniform response.
The 8" woofer on the side is poorly reimplemented, it's passive. I wonder what kind of x-over they use (oh apparently one that is so good it's hardly even there!) A three way x-over that is hardly their sounds most attractive, except not really.
Now if you like them, that's fine. If someone likes their Theater Research speakers, that is fine. The point remains, they are not honest about their products and don't deserve the credit of a fine audio manufacturer. Just because I can get Theater Research speakers for less than $50 doesn't make them "not a scam", they are a scam, plain an simple, no getting around it.

 

[Seth=L]

In response to whom ever mentioned Bose.
Yes, Bose is the biggest scam of all time.

 

[panoz2007]

Hi
I am a victim of this white van speakers.

I connected them and they sound pretty ok for the $300 price. The problem is.... i have a very expensive reciever (Harmon Kardon AVR2600) costed me around $699+tax

Will these speakers ruin my reviever ???

Please advice

Thankx in advance

 

[David Willow]

Hard to say. Check if there are impedance (ohms) listed on the speaker or manual. Then check if your HK will handle them. As long as they are 8, 6, or 4 ohms you should be fine (assuming the HK manual allows for 4 ohm speakers).

You spent $700 on a receiver and $300 on speakers. You should have spent $300 on a receiver and $700 or more on speakers. My suggestion would be exchange the HK for a cheaper Onkyo or Denon and save some money for decent speakers. Not sure what to do with the White Van speakers. Maybe EBay????

 

[o1824001]

I had the same scam happen to me. This is a pretty good site with info about it: White Van Scam
watch the first video its pretty informing and hilarious

 

[fool me once]

Bought a pair of Acoustic Monitors early 90's from a white van for oh $ 200.00 , beat the crap out of them for a few years & they held up pretty well . Liked the sound , bass was good . Then in 2003 I was snagged by another white van for a pair of Epiphany speakers , oh shit I only had one got them when I got home . Duh I raced back to the parking lot where I purchased them & the van was gone . I kept the speaker as a reminder of my stupidity : )