Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: PSB Stratus Bronze i Speakers by IAmCanadian

Model:	Stratus Bronze i
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$1150 - 1300
Description:	A new pair of 6-1/2-inch woofers with felted cones and rubber surrounds. These two drivers operate in a
Manufacturer URL:	PSB
Model Picture:	View

Review by IAmCanadian ( A ) on March 11, 2004 at 14:55:56
IP Address: 24.103.146.238

Add Your Review
for the Stratus Bronze i

If youâ€™re thinking about buying PSB please read on about my recent PSB customer service experience. I own PSB Stratus Bronze fronts that I purchased 14 months ago, along with PSB Century 300i rears, and a C5i center that I recently purchased. A while ago the veneer on the front right speaker began to peel up and curl in such a way that it could not be glued back down and still cover the cabinet. Wanting the speaker fixed, my customer service nightmare with PSB began, throughout which my wife and I kept a journal. It reads as follows: (information in brackets is added to original content to avoid confusion)
Jan 28:Email K. Pritchard @ PSB (with info regarding problem) given info to call.
Call 1-800-263-4641 ext. 4201 (as instructed)
Talk to J. Wideman @11am and give situation re: speaker veneer peeling.
He calls back later that day with directions to ship to Pickering location.
Tells us he will put a rush on the repair and that we would hear from PSB the next week regarding the status of the speaker.
Feb 03:Ship out speaker, email J. Wideman about it.
Feb 04:PSB receives the speaker and signs for it.
Feb 18:Email J, Wideman about status of speaker because have heard nothing.
No Reply.
Feb 21:Leave message @ 1-800-263-4641 ext. 4201 about situation and inquire about status of speaker.
No Reply.
Feb 23:Morning, call 1-800-263-4641 ext. 4201 and talk to L.
Tells me she is looking into it, going to talk to the technician assigned to them. Will call us back.
No Reply @11:30am.
4pm we call back L., put on hold, then told she will call back in a few minutes.
No Reply.
5pm we call back L., not answering phone, try till 5:20. (office open till 5:30)
Call service manager at a PSB dealership, ask him to try to find out about speakers, give him info. (Great guy, we did not even buy the speakers from him)
Feb24: @1:30pm try calling L., no answer.
2pm talk to L., informs me she is waiting to hear from PSB international, referred to some email she received from them. Apologized profusely for not calling back and the run-around. Will let us know by end of the week about repair.
4pm PSB dealer calls back with more details, says he talked to Paul Barton himself. They are replacing the cabinet of the speaker. If we donâ€™t hear back from them (PSB) by Friday, call him back to call Paul Barton again.
Feb 27:Try calling L. from 12:15pm to 1:30pm, no answer.
Call Dealer back, he will call them and find out what he can, he will call us back.
Dealer calls back, tells us they said it should be in by next Thursday (which is March 04, this dealer has been so helpful and selfless, will definitely buy future products from them â€˜The StereoManâ€™ in Woodstock Ontario).
Mar 04:No speaker.
Call L. from 2pm to 2:30pm, finally get in touch, ask about speaker status, she says she will call back in 30 minutes.
No Reply.
Call L. back @3:20pm, say s no one has returned her calls about out speaker. I ask her to please find out about the speaker as we were told last week it would be here by now. She said she would find out for us and call us back.
No Reply.
Call L. back @4:20, leave message about contacting someone else to find out about our speaker (as we still donâ€™t know the status of the repair or what is happening to our expensive speaker).
4:20pm call and leave a message with Paul Barton himself (the owner and designer for PSB Speakers) asking for info on our speaker. (ext. withheld)
Mar 05:Paul Barton calls back and leaves a message on our voice mail @9:30am.
He informs us that he will find out what is going on and that PSB will get back to us today.
No Reply.
4:30pm we call L., she stated she spoke with Paul about getting our speaker. Put on hold to call (warehouse?), gets no answer. Asks if she can call us back while she goes and checks on speaker, we ask to wait on hold instead. Informs us that the speaker is ready to ship. Will ship it Monday (March 08) by Purolator and that we should have it by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. We informed her of our busy schedule and she said she would call us when it was shipped to make arrangements.
Mar 10:(Wednesday) No speaker or call from PSB.
4:20pm leave message with L. and Paul Barton about terrible service and current situation and ask to be called back.
4:30pm (after calling every number we could get a hold of) we talk to another PSB representative C. She tells the speaker has been shipped and gives us a tracking number.
Mar 11:No speaker or call back from PSB @5pm.
Call Purolator and they have no idea where our speaker is, launch investigation.
Call PSB and leave messages regarding situation.

Product Weakness: Hope one or both of your speakers never need to be repaired
Product Strengths: Sounds good

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Onkyo TXNR801 / NAD 773
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	SACD, SAT, CD, PS2
Speakers:	PSB Stratus
Cables/Interconnects:	Monster
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Sinatra
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Hope one or both of your speakers never need to be repaired
Product Strengths:	Sounds good