Yesterday I got a Marc Vincent Wireless Surround System from a friend that MRRP (Manufacturers Recommend Retail Price) at $5599, and I just have to say “Do not get scammed into buying one”
Once I got it, the specifications looked pretty cool on the box, much better than my Logitech Z550 (which is a cheap, high quality surround sound system). I got out the instruction manual and had a read through it. The first thought that came into my head was “I really hope their sound is much better then the quality of the user manual”. Let me go in dot points everything that is wrong with the instruction manual, before I start complaining about the speakers itself.
- In the Fittings in the Getting Started section, every picture is different to what was in the box.
- The receiver unit, completely different
- The remote, completely different
- The FM antenna – well, it doesn’t fit into the system
- The batteries – it shows 2, but the remote only takes 1
- Warranty card – well haven’t even seen it (I wonder why?)
- The instruction manual – difference brand name – ProTechnix
- Images are stretched vertically to over half the size and are blurry
- The manuals say it’s for Australia, but has overseas plugs shown on the diagram
- There is no instructions on how to use the device, what each button does or how to plug speakers into it
- The printing of the pages are poor. On one page, the table gets cut of from the edge on an angle
So now lets move on to the speakers themselves.
- The build quality is absolute crap – buttons are hard to push, you can still see the glue on the outside
- It looks like students have built the system as a school project – it doesn’t have an impressive overall finish (not saying that students produce bad work)
- The box says “Wireless surrounds” so you assume it a wireless surround sound system kit – it is not. Only the front left speaker is wireless. It’s pretty pointless if it’s right next to the amp/subwoofer
- You need to buy your own speaker cabling – it doesn’t come with any in the box
- The amp/subwoofer is crap. For $5599, you’d expect HDMI, Optical and Coaxial inputs, but there are none
- The Menu button on the amp simple goes through a menu where you can individually adjust the sound for each speaker
- The subwoofer either makes a sound or doesn’t. It is really loud or really quite and doesn’t sound good with music or talkback as it over powers the speakers
- If you want to use the speakers on another amp, you will be missing the front left as their is no audio input for it making the whole system useless
It’s Definitely A Scam
Doing my research on the internet, and talking about where my friend got it from, he was definitely scammed. I asked where this friend got it, and he said off the back of a truck from people in a white van. What reasonable person sells good quality discounted surround sound speakers out of a white van without it being a scam?
Below are some sites that support my case and more information about the back of the truck, white van scam.
- http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1236477.html
- Google Search: Back of a truck white van
- http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1249495.html
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsYy3h4YVw
- htttp://www.scamshield.com/Feature.asp?id=1
- http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/InPerson/speaker_scams.htm
- http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/4/9/224439/1810
Word of Warning
If someone is trying to sell you speakers on the side of the road, don’t buy them. If you are looking for speakers, go out and find them, don’t wait for someone to approach you. If someone tries to sell you something and it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So don’t get scammed like my friend did, and if you see anything with Marc Vincent or Protechnix on them, do yourself a favour, and don’t buy them.
Update: South Australian Police contacted me after reading about this post. You can read more about the ordeal at https://www.jackcola.org/blog/88-out-of-the-blue-email-it-was-from-the-police-law-enforcement
Update 2: If you have been scammed by these white van speaker scammers, please contact your local police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or visit http://www.crimestoppers.com.au/ and report your incident.
Update 3: A Current Affair posted this video talking about the Marc Vincent Scam, which refers to Marc Vincent from Australia’s Got Talent. http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/celebrity/8291586/australias-got-talent-stereo-scam