Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater The Agony of VaSSallo Speaker Damage

Hi All,

I have been a frequent visitor to this forum over the years and I would first like to thank everyone for all the valuable information you provided ranging from glowing Axiom speaker reviews to home theater design details. Primarily based upon your speaker reviews and your accounts of Axiom’s second to none customer service, I ordered my Axiom Epic 80 500 5.1 system on January 21. I selected the VaSSallo cherry wood in cinnamon satin for the M80’s, VP150 and EP500 and Black Oak finish for the QS8 surrounds.

I thought my first post would be a review of my six Axiom speakers and two Mirage Omnisat back surrounds; however, shipping damage to one of my VaSSallo M80 speakers has my home theater on an extended hold. With just one functioning M80, I can’t run the Audyssey MultEq/auto setup in my Denon 4308 receiver to complete my audio setup and finalize my speaker locations.

Here is my estimated 6 week M80 repair timeline. I follow this with some observations on speaker shipping damage (I apologize in advance for my long first post):

VaSSallo M80 Speaker Repair Timeline (last revised 3/31/08)

March 07: Axiom Epic 80 500 5.1 speaker system received with shipping damage (FedEx)
1. Internal Damage to one VaSSallo M80 speaker
2. Cosmetic damage to the edge of one Black Oak QS8 (I will repair it myself and receive a 5% discount from Axiom rather than risk another shipment)
3. Extensive damage to both M80 shipping boxes as well as other speaker boxes

March 12: Axiom determined that my M80 had to be returned (in a new box) to have its crossover repaired/replaced
A special thanks to JC at Axiom for his help to isolate the M80 internal speaker damage, his help to resolve an EP500 ground loop problem and researching several questions.

March 18: First replacement M80 shipping box arrived with extensive damage (FedEx)
Photos of unusable damaged M80 box immediately emailed to Axiom.

March 29: Delivery of second replacement M80 flat box on Saturday (FedEx)
Empty M80 flat box arrived with just small repairable holes in the sides.

March 31: Earliest available pickup of Damaged M80 on Monday (DHL)
Prepaid shipping label and shipping details were handled by Axiom --Thanks Noreen

April 14 to April 21: Axiom estimated 2 to 3 weeks to return my repaired M80

Speaker Damage Observations:
1. My VaSSallo cinnamon cherry wood speakers are absolutely gorgeous; however, I completely overlooked the repair aspect when I made my finish selection. If I had selected a standard finish, Axiom’s outstanding customer service would have immediately sent me a replacement M80 from stock. Since there are no custom VaSSallo M80 speakers waiting in stock, my home theater will be down for about 6 weeks if all goes well. Given that shipping damage to VaSSallo speakers is even more costly for Axiom and a major inconvenience for Axiom customers, perhaps all custom finished speakers should be shipped in more damage resistant packaging.

2. 50% of my M80’s were DOA (Damaged on Arrival) and the first three M80 boxes (one box almost empty) were DOA. I know other forum members have identified areas of the country that experienced similar shipping damage. Perhaps Axiom should formally identify these DOA shipping zones and use special packaging material for deliveries to those zones. I would like to nominate the Greater Philadelphia area as the first official Axiom DOA zone, to be identified as DOAP (Damaged on Arrival - Philly). I believe all DOAP shipments should be double boxed to minimize both G force and cosmetic damage. For example, my Denon 4308 receiver (42 pounds) arrived double boxed with plastic air bags between the inner and outer boxes. Although there was damage to the outer box and some of the air bags were broken, the inner box was factory fresh and the receiver has performed flawlessly.

3. If my M80 is damaged again on either leg of the round trip between Philly and Axiom, my audio setup/finalizing speaker locations will likely remain on hold until sometime in May. In the meantime I have over 200 feet of 12 gauge speaker wire, with a beautiful flame-retardant gray PVC jacket rated for in wall installation, hanging from the ceiling and walls in my family room . I’m very reluctant to start cutting into my walls and ceiling to snake the speaker wires until I finalize my 7.1 speaker locations. Needless to say, the WAF is understandably strained.

I will periodically update my M80 repair timeline. I calculated the probability of a successful M80 FedEx round trip between Philly and Axiom based upon a 50% one way failure rate, and it didn’t look good. I’m hoping that DHL has a gentler, kinder M80 shipping policy to the greater Philadelphia area.

Please wish me luck.

What a horror story! I commend you for either keeping a cool head or editing out all the cuss words.

I too, think you have done a great job in maintaining composure.

Hmmm.... A DHL shill in our midst...

Heh, just kidding Jim. Welcome, and I'm sorry to hear about your agony.

Jim, another welcome, and sorry to read of your shipping nightmare. Although it won't give the full effect, I'd think that until you get your M80 back you could set up with anything(even the Mirage Omnisats)as the mains so that you'd have a functioning system.

John,

Thanks for your suggestion. I dug up an old Advent speaker and substituted it for my missing left front M80. The front sound stage is definitely compromised but it will do until I get my M80 back and complete my audio setup.

Also thanks to all for your welcoming comments and words of support.

Sorry to hear about the crap you've had to put up with because of the shippig company.

"shippig", good one!

In the words of E.T. , ouuuuuch..

That's tough. Glad to hear that Axiom customer service is stepping up. Just a shame that neither Fedex nor DHL seems to be able to get it too you.

I don't know what it is about shipping these speakers. Perhaps it's spitefulness on the part of the shippers, since the boxes are clearly labled with what they are. Maybe Axiom ought to invest in unlabled boxes. Just a big 'FRAGILE' on it and nothing more.

My M80's were shipped by DHL and the boxes looked like someone had attacked them with a weed whacker. Deep scrapes and cuts all over. No damage to the speakers, however. My recent QS8's were delivered by Fedex, and the boxes were in perfect shape. The corners weren't even bent.

OMG, do not ever mark 'Fragile' on a box when shipped. That is just the invitation the intellectually challenged working in the warehouse need to be especially abusive. I am sure they think 'fragile' means throw it as far as you can. I can't understand those guys, the boxes are marked 'this side up' so that must mean lay it on the opposite side or on an end.

I thought "fragile" was French for "run over with forklift."

I should have paid more attention in school. . .

I do believe it has many meanings depending on language.

I believe you guys are on to something regarding the increase risk of shipping damage if the label says fragile or loudspeaker. This is consistent with my recommendation that Axiom should double box speaker shipments to reduce shipping damage. Perhaps the label on the outside box should read:

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) inside -- contains the toxin Mercury. If you drop or puncture this box, please do not breath the Mercury dust.

I bet that the outside box with this label would arrive undamaged even in the greater Philadelphia area.

Or how about :

Handle with Extreme Care : Contains Dylithium Crystals suspended in unstabilised Antimater. For Official Federation Use ONLY.

And put a bunch of BIOHAZZARD signs on it..

LOL

Axiom needs to compare the cost of increased packaging robustness against the benefits. And maybe they already have and the results show that the benefits aren't worth the cost.

I know exactly how you feel. I ordered some M80's, QS8's, and vp150 center in the walnut coffee wood finish. Just received them today. My wife was home when fedex dropped them off. I couldn't wait to get home from work. When I got home and saw one of the boxes to the M80's I about crapped! The whole bottom of the box looked like it was put in a grinder and the styrofoam was exposed with a small piece of one flap still attached and the rest of the bottom completely ripped off!!! It looked like fedex tried to tape it up with clear shipping tape as it was all over the bottom of the box. I immediately went from being happy to pissed as hell. I got it out of the box and looked it over with a fine tooth comb. It looks like it survived it's rough ride as I couldn't find any damage to it. All other boxes looked good. I got them hooked up and they sound great. I guess I'm not going to worry about it. I got lucky. Axiom needs to double box the M80's or any of the tower speakers as they are too heavy. These custom wood finish cost way too much not to. I still can't believe the box was tore up that bad. Hope you get your issues resolved.

Oooooooh!! Pictures please!

I thought they were ALL double boxed???

I did my OJT in College at an airport. My desk overlooked a tarmac. You wouldn't want to know the things I witnessed when the luggage was being loaded into the planes or failed to get loaded....

both of my m80 boxes had huge gashes down the sides and I could see the speakers through the cardboard.

The m80's were fine though.

They used to be, not sure when they stopped...possibly a year ago?

It's been at least a year...

My recent QS8's weren't double boxed, and neither were my M80's that I ordered & received over a year ago. I believe that my M22's & VP150 ordered back around Christmas of '03 were double-boxed, however.

Big, bold Axiom logos and descriptions of the contents all over the box. IMHO, it just screams to steal or damage them.

Mine weren't double-boxed. I got mine in February/07.

Double-boxing costs money guys. For what it costs to box & ship each speaker, Axiom could be adding a couple of more drivers into each M80.

We could have even better speakers if we just picked them up at the factory .

[/quote]
Oooooooh!! Pictures please!

I will try and get some pics for you guys of my walnut coffee finish speakers when I get home from work tonight. They turned out really good and match my tv stand and other furniture almost perfect.

I love walnut.

I'm more partial to pecans, myself.

The big question is, how do you pronounce "pecans"?

Pee-cons. Wow, that just sounds bad, doesn't it?

I've got a neutral California accent with hints of a bad British accent mixed with the Midwest and a bad Southern/Texas accent. So go fig.

Ditto that, just a month ago. It was scary. The problem is that with the single box, there is a lot of "air space" between the cardboard and the speaker, because the styrofoam protective pieces are only inserted at the top and bottom of the speaker. So, when someone grabs it or pokes it from the side, the box is really easy to pierce.

Double boxing would help a lot, or putting foam inserts in that go the entire length of the box top to bottom.

I'm sure Axiom is using packaging that has been approved by their shippers in order to be properly compensated in the event that damage should occur.

Even though Axiom will be properly compensated in the event that the contents of the package is damaged, they just need to factor in what the inconvenience would be to the customer. To me it would be no big deal, but other people might not be as patient, therefore additioanl reinforced packaging would beneficial. Adding additional packaging would also bring another question; will Axiom eat at their profits or will they pass it along?

I think for the Vassollo series it should definitely come double boxed, just because any damage will take sooo much longer to rectify.

That's a very good point, especially with the custom orders.

I would suggest that people who have had issues contact Axiom directly.

Again, I think this could be solved by giving the customer the option. Single box is free, double box we pay the delta in cost.

yeah, but then if your speaker gets damaged and you call axiom they could always say "you should have paid for the second box!". (not that they would though)

It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to properly package their product for shipping. I have had some box damage with every Axiom product I have purchased. More than once, it damaged the product and rendered the boxes not safe for re-shipping. When I see the quality packaging of my Revel speakers & JL Audio subs, I know there is a better way. Even if it means charging a bit more to cover the cost, my guess is most would be happy to pay it.

I just received an exception email from DHL stating that they shipped my M80 to the incorrect facility in Michigan, on its way back to Axiom, and that it would be forwarded to the correct facility. After I carefully placed my M80 in the DHL truck on March 31, taking care to make sure that it couldn’t topple over, it doesn’t give me a warm feeling that an extra DHL distribution center gets a shot at my baby.

I thought everyting I got was packaged extremely well except the m80's. The qs8's and vp150 were packaged extremely well. The ep500 was pretty good too. The m80's just have way too much empty space between the cardboard and the side of the speaker liek myrison mentioned.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it's really up to the shipper to make sure the package is packed in a way that it does not receive damage in transit. If this means passing the the cost on to the consumer so be it.

Personally, if I had an option to select additional packing at my expense at checkout even though Axiom told me that the package was fully insured, I would not pay for it.

I sell products on eBay that range from $50.00 to over $500.00 and do my own shipping as well. I could not see me asking a customer if they wanted to spend a little extra, just as a precaution to ensure that the product they are receiving will be safe. It's my full responsibility as a shipper

Stupid lack of teleportation devices!
or would we all just then complain that scattered atoms depleted our audio quality???

That sounds perfect, finally a common sense approach!

My agonizingly long wait continues; however, if all goes as planned, I should have a fully functional M80 in a little more than 3 months after placing my speaker order on January 21. My damaged (crossover) M80 was received back at Axiom on April 8 and I’m anxiously waiting to learn if it sustained any cosmetic damage on the return trip (DHL).

From my perspective, Philly could be the M80 murder capitol of the world -- so far one M80 DOA, three M80 boxes destroyed and one empty M80 box suffered multiple puncture wounds. Now if my M80 can survive just one trip (without a teleportation device) to Philly, I’ll be the happiest guy in town.

I would email Axiom and ask them if, given the circumstances, they could possibly put a little more protective material around your replacement M80. I suspect that they would be more than happy to acomodate you.

Yeah, agonizing is the right word!

Fred,

Thanks for your suggestion -- I previously suggested using double boxing but perhaps using more protective packaging material on the return trip may be a more acceptable alternative. I will definitely contact JC at Axiom on Monday to see if this is possible. Now that the total turn around time to repair my VaSSallo M80 will likely exceed six weeks, I don’t want to go through this a second time and possibly push my audio setup out to June.

I can not believe what unfortunate luck you are having, I feel for you. I agree Axiom really needs to step up to the plate on this one and increase the protection on your M80 for the return trip.

Wow... quite a story!!! Damm shippers.. I remember getting my vp150 shipped and the box being beat to hell!!! And it was only in the shippers hands for 16 hours from the time it left Axiom until I recieved it... Luckily there was no dammage! i elected to drive up and pick up the rest of my speakers when i purchased them a few months later.. I realize this is not an option for most though!!

A special thanks to JC, Noreen and Axiom Management for stepping up and shaving more than a week off the planned return of my repaired M80. Axiom shipped my M80, with added bubble wrap protection, via FedEx International Priority Air and I received it on April 16, about 16 hours after it left Canada. I suspect that the cost to ship a 70 pound speaker overnight international air exceeded Axiom’s cost to manufacture the speaker. Only a World Class Company like Axiom would absorb this level of expense to exceed the expectations of a customer!

Despite the short duration of the trip, the M80 box arrived with several puncture wounds, but it was in much better shape than the previously four M80 boxes FedEx delivered. Upon close inspection of the M80, I noticed that there was a very narrow section of veneer, approximately 1/2" long, missing from the side of the speaker near the back edge. The depth of the missing section is less than 1/16" so that you can just insert the tip of your finger nail in the hole. Since it is not very noticeable, I decided to repair it myself. The M80 sounds great with the new crossover, so I definitely will not risk another round trip for a simple cosmetic repair. JC will send me repair instructions from the Axiom finishing specialist and in the meantime, I can begin my Audyssey MultEQ audio setup.

That's good news, Jim!

Yoohoo! Excellent, excellent! I think you will be enjoying tripple after all that bad luck!

WOW....I am glad it is working out. I though I had really bad luck with purolator...until I read your post.

Thumbs up for Axiom's Customer service!!!

Glad to hear things are all back to happy!

I ordered my Axiom's back in July of 2003, they came about 2.5-3 weeks later in the charcoal custom finish. They were all double boxed back then, even my M60's. I also ordered a bunch of cables, which showed up very thoroughly packed in their 9 little boxes :).

My SVS sub arrived on it's own shipping pallet @_@ oh my.

5 Years later (already? @_@) they all sound lovely, I can't wait to buy more Axiom speakers for my computer when it gets put in a separate room. One day, the in-walls will be all over my first house *dreams*

- D

I ordered a VaSSAllo EP500 a few weeks ago and after reading this thread I must admit I was getting very anxious, since I live in the States.

Thinking I might avoid some delivery trauma, I made arrangements with FedEx to hold the shipment at the main Sacramento depot. I picked it up today, and to my dismay the box had a huge rip in the side. Fortunately the EP500 was intact, thanks in part to the nylon wrapping, though there was a lot of dirt and carboard debris inside the box. Glad I got the satin finish :-)

The cardboard seems to be of a similar grade as that used in the packaging I've seen for Taiwanese computer cases, not what I'd expect for high-end audio equipment. The grade of cardboard seems too fragile for single boxing heavy speakers.

The upside is I was lucky, it survived and sounds magnificent. I primarily listen to music and the statements I've read regarding the articulation and musicality of their subwoofers seems to be on the money. Axiom also did a fantastic job matching the finish to my existing speakers.

Cheers,

Mark G.

Congrats Mark! Glad there was no damage done to the subwoofer.

If you think customs is a hassle now, try getting a hazmat through them :-/

Jim, how'd you know right off the bat that your M80's crossover was horqued?

Anthony,

The dual tweeters and dual mid-range speakers of my M80 were intermittently very noisy and periodically cut out completely but the dual 6.5 inch woofers were fine. At first I suspected a poor gold bridging bar connection, but it was solid. Then I removed the two gold bridging bars linking the two pairs of binding posts to isolate the woofer and midrange/tweeter sections. Checking the DC resistance with an ohmmeter, I found that the resistance of the woofer section was stable as expected but the DC resistance of the tweeter/mid-range section varied slowly (charging/discharging capacitor(s) in the crossover network.) Since all four speakers were periodically cutting out, I reasoned that the likely failure was the crossover network and not multiple speaker failures/multiple speaker interconnect failures. Axiom failure analysis confirmed that the crossover network was the problem.

Jim

good troubleshooting. Need an IT job in Virginia?

Thanks for the job offer -- but with the cost of gas the commute from Philly to Virginia would be too expensive.

Jim