Hey the White van guys tried to sell speakers to me. Ha, ha, ha (1 Viewer)

[Brett DiMichele]

Jeremy,

That would be Moi that brought up the Bi Amping issue....

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

What makes me sad, is that people are making money off this. It could even be more money than the respectable speaker designers and small businesses on this forum. :frowning:

 

[chris_everett]

I had an e-mail in my box first thing this morning


Hi, please provide a link to the model you say AV988F. We are not aware of their models and if there are some similarities it may be coincedence.
If not and they have more similarities than there should be please let us know as we take our designs very seriously and do not tolerate copying of our designs that we have trademarked and registered and we will enforce this legally if need be!

Please get back to us and thanks for bringing this to our attention! Please do not hesitate to call me at ***-***-**** if I can assisst you with anything else. Also, what is your interest in this issue? Just a good samaritan?
Good to see we still have people that are willing to take time for the better!

Thanks and best regards,
Greg Sales @ Fluance


Well, I gave them a call and spoke to Greg, who seemed quite concerned about the whole thing. He asked what forum this was, and I did tell him, and I directed him to the speakers in question on the Goldsky website. He seemed suprised with the identical specs, and went off to do more research into the issue, promising me a call back "within 15 minutes". I told him my interest in the issue was simply that of discovering the truth. If these are the same speakers, I don't think that Greg knows it, at any rate. He also indicated that he might have the owner of the company give me a call, which might be more productive. He also indicated that he might have someone at his company buy one of their speakers, presumably for comparison.

 

[chris_everett]

Got my call back. (about 20 minutes later) They are going to be contacting Goldsky and asking them what's up. Greg reiterated that he was happy that I had contacted them and brought this issue to their attention. At this point I don't have any reason not to believe them (it would not be the first time a Chinese company has copied a product) but I am still hopeful for some sort of proof on the whole thing. Greg did seem quite upset about it, that "It hurts to be compared to white van speakers"
I directed him to this thread where he could read everything for himself. He said he would keep in touch with me and let me know what develops. We'll see what happens next, but given the prompt replies to my inquiries, and what we do know, I think we should hold off on the Fluance bashing until we get some more information. I will update this thread with any new information that I get. If the admins want to make this into a separate thread of it's own, I don't object.

Disclaimer: I do not own any products from Fluance or Goldsky, nor any of the brands that seem to be OEM'd by goldsky. My current home theater project upgrade will probably use JBL studio series speakers, due to my extensive experience with JBL products.

 

[JeremyFr]

better have them check between the Goldsky S139F and the Fluance SM-938 another set with exact specs and cabinet look down to the dimensions and weight.

 

[JustinG]

Ok, well I do own some Fluance speakers. The ES-1s. I love them. Not only their looks, but their sound.

I also mentioned the Bi-wiring of the speakers since mine didn't come with bridges. I was supposed to call Fluance to talk to them on the phone about how they have "automatic" sensing of the bi-wires. I never did call them. Really, it's a moot point for me. But in the interest of truth and justice, I might have to.

Really, I think the comparisons to the white van speakers are unfounded. This sounds like a guilty until proven innocent scenario than vice versa.

 

[JeremyFr]

Ok been a couple of days any response back from Fluance as to why they're speakers and the ones at Goldsky match spec for spec yet??? Seems like they maybe be blowin ya off or something.

 

[Alan M]

Since joining HTF over a year ago,I have upgraded almost every piece of my home theater.Using HTF recommendations as my starting point,I went out and listened and bought what sounded good to my ears.
The thing I liked most about HTF members was that almost every member based their opinion on whether or not a product did what it was supposed to do.Yes,some members have favorite brands or favorite models,but the end result was the deciding factor.
Finding and stopping the people responsible for the white van scam is very important.Ripping people off is wrong,no if's or and's about it.
People like Justin and myself,to name just two,have bought and are completely satisfied with fluance speakers.Whether fluance makes these speakers themselves or has them farmed out to goldsky,mc'donalds,burgerking,matters not to me.
My ears tell me that I bought a terrific bang for my buck speaker.Was'nt that what you members told me to do,or was I mistaken? Maybe next time I upgrade,I'll buy because the company has a recognized name,who cares if the product does what it says it'll do.
I think this thread regarding the white van speakers is valuable and interesting ,but those who bash,just because they can,you have lowered your opinions worth in my eyes.

 

[Chris Quinn]

Alan M -- Well said! This hobby is about finding the sound you like.

 

[Ben_Ly]

Another vote for Fluance. Proud owner of the SV-10's and the dipole surrounds.

 

[JeremyFr]

No-one here is "bashing" Fluance, Simply things have come up of concern that we are trying to get clarified but it seems to be that Fluance is not eager to clarify them.

Noone is saying "Fluance makes the white van speakers" Or "Fluance is as big a scam as the white van speaker!" Were simply trying to get clarification on why they're speakers have exact matching counterparts spec for spec showing up at www.goldsky.com which produce's the speakers that our sold in the White Van Scam. And when I say spec for spec I mean spec for spec every last one.

For instance the S139F at Goldsky straight from there site.

To save space here I'll paste the links to the specs for other matching speakers between the 2

The Goldsky AV-706 system
http://www.goldsky.com/new/AV706F.htm

And the Fluance AV-HTB System
http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html

also the Gold Sky AV-706 Mains
http://www.goldsky.com/new/AV706F.htm

and the Fluance AV-F3's
http://www.fluance.com/fldycothhisp.html

I'm sure if looking hard enough you could find all of the Fluance Speakers at Goldsky.com but I'm not going to try right now but as you can see this would raise serious questions with anyone.

 

[Tom_Es]

mute point if you ask me. the speakers are sold dirt cheap through fluance, while the white van guys try to trick you into paying ridiculous amounts.

I think the speakers are ok, far be it high-end or anything, but for the price fluance charges, they are a good value. White van guys are not providing good value (to say the least..)

 

[JackS]

The rip with the white van guys comes in the form of greed that has to to placed with the consumer. If the white van speakers were sold with the understanding that the MSRP was $300 and they were willing to let all their inventory go at an amazing 33% off ($200), there would be little or no complaint. It's the expectation that these speakers sell normally above 1-2k and that through an phenominal stroke of luck, today, and before the van leaves, you will be able to save upwards of 90%. Of course with this sales pitch, I doubt many people would bite on the $300 speakers. I think in the AR revues, someone did pawn a set of these and got $20 apiece, so the're probably worth at least $40-50 apiece.

 

[Chet_F]

We've had these scams stop by work on occasion. Whether they are speakers, TVs, paintings, etc, etc, etc. If you think that by buying something from a vehicle(a van) is legitimate business......I guess you kind of deserve to get ripped off. I hate to say it but... Most people are sheep...they just go along with the flow. Sad but true. I guess common sense rules here.

One good thing to come from the White Van Guys......

This thread ...I just laughed my a$$ off!!!

 

[RobWil]

Most people are sheep

Hmmmm!? I certainly wouldn't say most.....but definitely many.

 

[Rick Ewing]

I've been looking at the whole Fluance thing with some interest. At first, it could be easy to accuse these guys of getting their speakers from the "white van" company in China. Fluance sells speakers at cut rate prices, even in comparison to other internet-sales companies. I also think their web site could be a bit more professional in some of their descriptions of the products and technologies.

But I own Onix Rockets and I remember Mark Shifter, the president of AV123 who designs and sells Rockets of a recent story. On a trip he made to Korea some months back, he noticed that someone in Asia had begun manufacturing a knock-off of his Rocket line and selling it through a respectable large company brand name we've all heard of. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the revelation.

So again, I take Fluance at their word on this until we see otherwise.

 

[Bill Hanca]

Hello folks! I'm new to this forum, but I've been following a few of the Fluance threads with great interest.

I recently bought a surround sound package from Fluance, and I've been extremely pleased with the product and the price. I was trying to find the identical speakers on Goldsky's website, but I see that Goldsky has removed the products in question. Copyright infringement is a common problem in industry where one company acquires another's products and decides to issue replica's in their own name to save on R & D costs. I'm suspecting this is the case here.

If you are looking for a great sounding speaker, I'd highly recommend trying a set of Fluance speakers. Honestly, for the price, you really can't go wrong. All I can speak for is the SX-HTB set, but if those speakers are any representation of what Fluance puts out, I wouldn't hesitate to try one of their other speaker models. I did find that the rear and center speakers were a little on the small side, but the main floor standing speakers more than balance the set out.

 

[Manuel Delaflor]

Even if they sound horrible, one needs to think about their design and their finishes. Some of those "white van" speakers look good.

HOW can they accomplish that?

And more important... who will be the first to buy those cabinets and put decent drivers and a nice crossover?

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I had the white van experience years ago, in the parking lot of the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philly. I was just getting into audio and video at the time(my first speakers were the Realistic 39.95 speakers that Ratshack sold every Christmas during the eighties), but I knew that the whole thing was a scam and blew the guys off.

A couple of days later, my sister's boyfriend came to our house all excited and said "I just got some great superexpensive speakers real cheap from some guys in a white van!" He hooked them up proudly to my tiny 15 watts per channel Technics receiver(purchased at Sam Goody's for 29 bucks), and they sounded like complete shit. Even my Ratshack speakers sounded better! He was pissed off, but if you buy something from such a shady operation, you get what you pay for.

 

[ArthurJ]

JeremyFr, Kef images itself as a birtish company, yet is built in China...