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Speakers distorting at low volume

A

amazement

pfm Member
Having sold a pair of Kef R300's a month back the buyer reports the speakers are distorting at low volume.
Sounds a bit odd to me, I could understand if they were being thrashed.
What would cause this phenomenon?
Is it a case of I don't like the speakers and I want my money back or a genuine issue?
I never had a problem when I owned them.
 
Maybe he's got a digital volume control somewhere in the chain, either in his DAC or in his media player (iTunes for example). These can be crap at low volumes. But he also may just have a noisy analogue volume control.
 
James Evans said:
do they still distort if the wick is turned up?
Click to expand...

I don't know, I have asked the question but had no reply.
I just looked on ebay and saw a pair on there, not sure if they are the same pair. Different seller and different location, however word for word the description I used is identical even down to the carriage charge etc. Very odd and the asking price is identical to what I achieved at auction.
 
Is it possible that he means that the distortion starts at a low volume and then continues through the volume range? Can you get more specific information from him, what is his description of the distortion, what is the amp, cabling, etc. To me it sounds like a set up problem. Unless....... during the month he's had them he's thrashed them or damaged them in some other way, I had a cat that decided the exposed metal dome tweeter on a speaker was a nice plaything, and as for the ability of kids to poke fingers in places they shouldn't. Did you ship them to him, in which case it could be transit damage (bit late to claim on that though). I once sold a very nice set of speakers to someone who immediately claimed one was faulty and making odd noises, about two hours later they contacted me again to say sorry everything was fine. To be honest a month is a long time to leave it to let you know, a week would be reasonable, 24 hours would be more like a genuine problem.
 
pcutter1 said:
Is it possible that he means that the distortion starts at a low volume and then continues through the volume range? Can you get more specific information from him, what is his description of the distortion, what is the amp, cabling, etc. To me it sounds like a set up problem. Unless....... during the month he's had them he's thrashed them or damaged them in some other way, I had a cat that decided the exposed metal dome tweeter on a speaker was a nice plaything, and as for the ability of kids to poke fingers in places they shouldn't. Did you ship them to him, in which case it could be transit damage (bit late to claim on that though). I once sold a very nice set of speakers to someone who immediately claimed one was faulty and making odd noises, about two hours later they contacted me again to say sorry everything was fine. To be honest a month is a long time to leave it to let you know, a week would be reasonable, 24 hours would be more like a genuine problem.
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I find it odd it has taken a month to let me know. The current seller on ebay has obviously cut and pasted my description of them, why as that seems odd to me.
I had a guy request a cable he bought from me over 6 weeks later and paypal refunded him, so I don't expect a great result going on ebays past experience.
I know those speakers were near perfect when I sold them. I sent them via FedEx.
 
I'm thinking with things like hifi it's worth making a video of them fully operational immediately prior to selling them. Photos of external condition can't help in situations like this. It's a real pain in the arse that a buyer can falsely claim up to 60 days after the sale and there's nothing you can do to prove you are right. Even if they are distorting, it's perfectly feasible that he's overdriven them and knackered them in that time.
 
I just had a look at the listing. Did you keep a note of the serial numbers?
eBay have a system that allows sellers to use a generic description from the manufacturer's database, which this obviously isn't, I 'm not sure if the system (especially the mobile adapted one) allows a seller to access and use a previously placed listing for the description though. How about the scratch, were the ones you sold scratched in the same place.
My policy with eBay is to ask the buyer to return the item for checking and to issue a refund only after it has been safely received. Honest buyers seem happy to accept this policy although I did have one who initially wanted the refund before sending the item back.
Has the buyer started a dispute via the eBay system or is all this happening off site.
Just as a matter of interest how far from your buyer is the new seller and have you checked both their feedback records to see if it is possible that there has been a transaction between them.
It is more likely that the new seller has been tracking the sale price(s) of KEF R300s and put a buy it now price based on the going rate, if I'm considering selling something I tend to keep an eye on the market for some time so that I have an idea of the sale value.
 
With e-bay and paypal you have 45 days to make a claim after that your in the clear.

I sold a TT to a guy in Brazil who came back to me after a month of delivery to say that the motor on the TT had been damaged in transit, initially I thought the guy was 'at it' but he wasn't he was absolutely fine he just wanted the TT working properly so I tried to help him out with advice and links to a new motor (RP3) which you can buy for about £20 or so anyway I kept takling to the guy and he finally managed to get the TT sorted and all was well in the end.

Sold a CDP to another guy in Holland and he too reported a fault with the CDP but again I paid for him to have it repaired locally which cost me 60 euros and the guy was very good about the whole thing but of course he could have been 'at it' too but I think he was genuine as I offered to take the CDP player back and refund him but he wanted the player and was prepared to run about looking for a repair shop to fix the player anyway at the end of the day 60 euros is a small price to pay on a £400 plus postage sale if the buyer is happy and you, the seller, get no hassle.

Tony
 
I had a pair of Missions a few years back where, I think, one of the coils was rubbing, and it could only be heard in the near field at low volumes. Turn the wick up and the generated volume drowned it out.

However, the likelihood of the same thing affecting both of these speakers at once seems remote....
 
pcutter1 said:
I just had a look at the listing. Did you keep a note of the serial numbers?
eBay have a system that allows sellers to use a generic description from the manufacturer's database, which this obviously isn't, I 'm not sure if the system (especially the mobile adapted one) allows a seller to access and use a previously placed listing for the description though. How about the scratch, were the ones you sold scratched in the same place.
My policy with eBay is to ask the buyer to return the item for checking and to issue a refund only after it has been safely received. Honest buyers seem happy to accept this policy although I did have one who initially wanted the refund before sending the item back.
Has the buyer started a dispute via the eBay system or is all this happening off site.
Just as a matter of interest how far from your buyer is the new seller and have you checked both their feedback records to see if it is possible that there has been a transaction between them.
It is more likely that the new seller has been tracking the sale price(s) of KEF R300s and put a buy it now price based on the going rate, if I'm considering selling something I tend to keep an eye on the market for some time so that I have an idea of the sale value.
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I don't recall a scratch on my pair, there were a few hairline marks on the bases of both speakers due to being on stands. I don't think I have the serial numbers, I may pick them up from photos I have or ask Cymbiosis if they have a record as I bought them off them.Actually they should be on my sales receipt.
My buyer was in London, the ones on ebay are in Rugby.
 
pcutter1 said:
I just had a look at the listing. Did you keep a note of the serial numbers?
eBay have a system that allows sellers to use a generic description from the manufacturer's database, which this obviously isn't, I 'm not sure if the system (especially the mobile adapted one) allows a seller to access and use a previously placed listing for the description though. How about the scratch, were the ones you sold scratched in the same place.
My policy with eBay is to ask the buyer to return the item for checking and to issue a refund only after it has been safely received. Honest buyers seem happy to accept this policy although I did have one who initially wanted the refund before sending the item back.
Has the buyer started a dispute via the eBay system or is all this happening off site.
Just as a matter of interest how far from your buyer is the new seller and have you checked both their feedback records to see if it is possible that there has been a transaction between them.
It is more likely that the new seller has been tracking the sale price(s) of KEF R300s and put a buy it now price based on the going rate, if I'm considering selling something I tend to keep an eye on the market for some time so that I have an idea of the sale value.
Click to expand...

No the buyer has not started a dispute for now, just a message saying they distort at low volume, exactly one month to the day of selling them. I have asked a few questions about his system etc, is it both speakers but had no reply.
 
I had a similar experience with a pair of Celestion SL6's that I sold on e-bay. The buyer was fairly local so I took a drive down to listen.
To my surprise there was distortion at low level. Turned out to be the grill over the top of the tweeter was pushed back every so slightly during transit and was touching the dome.
Luckily for me it was a quick strip down job, re-shape the grill and assemble; everyone was happy.
How far away is your buyer?
 
mark121211 said:
I had a similar experience with a pair of Celestion SL6's that I sold on e-bay. The buyer was fairly local so I took a drive down to listen.
To my surprise there was distortion at low level. Turned out to be the grill over the top of the tweeter was pushed back every so slightly during transit and was touching the dome.
Luckily for me it was a quick strip down job, re-shape the grill and assemble; everyone was happy.
How far away is your buyer?
Click to expand...

I'm in Coventry, buyer in London. If he gets back in touch I think I will suggest her returns them and I will ask Cymbiosis to look them over for me and take it from there. If it's genuine he should be able to agree.
 
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