Vantage cabinet cracking...

[Pcar928fan]

Kudos to Jim Power as always for his quick and helpful response.

He is THE GO TO GUY at ML! I have a pair of front Prodigy grills on the way and he called and emailed me personally to let me know about cost and shipping and stuff. What a guy! He treats everyone like family and REALLY seems to love his job! I love mine too! I figure if you don't love your job you ought to go look for one you DO LOVE because you will be unhappy for a VERY LONG TIME if you don't like what you do for a living!

 

[paulo m]

Right -- have spoken to ML serrvice and it appears that this is known problem with speakers shipped a year or so ago when the shipping foam was out of specc, resulting in a shifting cabinet and a plastic molding that would not flex accordingly so that it eventually cracked. Replacement parts can be supplied and I'll let you know how the fix progresses if it comes to that.

best,

k

Did they come like that out of the box, or did their condition deteriorate over time? Mine were shipped in that timeframe, but luckily I have yet to see any signs of such problems on them.

 

[kirkawall]

Did they come like that out of the box, or did their condition deteriorate over time? Mine were shipped in that timeframe, but luckily I have yet to see any signs of such problems on them.

Mine were fine from the box but there may of course have been hairline cracks etc. If yours are fine they should stay fine, I guess. My point in bringing this up was to draw attention to the problem and to inquire as to its general incidence. I didn't mean to cause alarm.

best,

k

 

[paulo m]

Mine were fine from the box but there may of course have been hairline cracks etc. If yours are fine they should stay fine, I guess. My point in bringing this up was to draw attention to the problem and to inquire as to its general incidence. I didn't mean to cause alarm.

best,

k

No problem and thanks for reporting the issue. I'll be vigilant when packing the Vantages if/when I move.

 

[Joey_V]

I checked my Summits, no such issue. So which is plastic? The baffle surrounding the woofer?

Joey

 

[paulo m]

I checked my Summits, no such issue. So which is plastic? The baffle surrounding the woofer?

Joey

I can't tell on mine. The frame is definitely metal, the grille appears to be too. The interface between frame and box is perfect on all sides.

 

[amey01]

I've checked mine last night and sure enough, cracking on both sides of both speakers - that is on all four corners!

Luckily I caught this before it started affecting the sound! Jim Power was extremely helpful as always, but it is a bit harder to get the parts to Australia.

 

[twich54]

FWIW, just checked mine, everything A-OK.

 

[paulo m]

I've checked mine last night and sure enough, cracking on both sides of both speakers - that is on all four corners!

Luckily I caught this before it started affecting the sound! Jim Power was extremely helpful as always, but it is a bit harder to get the parts to Australia.

Sad to hear that, but glad that the folks at ML are ever so helpful...

For the record, when did you order it and what are the serial numbers? Maybe we could get an idea of the range of units affected by this problem.

I imagine in your case the boxes underwent a lot of rough handling, in and out of containers and palettes, with the inevitable consequences.

 

[kirkawall]

Sad to hear that, but glad that the folks at ML are ever so helpful...

For the record, when did you order it and what are the serial numbers? Maybe we could get an idea of the range of units affected by this problem.

I imagine in your case the boxes underwent a lot of rough handling, in and out of containers and palettes, with the inevitable consequences.

There seems to have been a problem with the molding the speaker base fits into in the box. The speaker shifted, and the base cracked. Mine are VARC 073, a bit over one year old. It occurs to me that if audio manufacturers -- and I don't mean to single out ML, with their exemplary customer service -- ran a "recall" program like automakers it might save a whole lot of time. Anyway, good luck all and best,

k

k

 

[amey01]

Mine are VIRI 410/411 - purchased end of last year (October?).

 

[paulo m]

There seems to have been a problem with the molding the speaker base fits into in the box. The speaker shifted, and the base cracked. Mine are VARC 073, a bit over one year old. It occurs to me that if audio manufacturers -- and I don't mean to single out ML, with their exemplary customer service -- ran a "recall" program like automakers it might save a whole lot of time. Anyway, good luck all and best,

k

k

Mine are VARB 36/37 (panels are VASRB 36/37), also slightly more than a year old, in perfect condition.

 

[amey01]

Here's a piccy of one of mine - as I said, all four corners are much the same.

 

[Joey_V]

Here's a piccy of one of mine - as I said, all four corners are much the same.

Ahh... ok.. now I understand completely where the crack is.

The Summits are billet aluminum in that area, the bottom end cap. Phew...

I'm sure Jim and co will fix you guys right up though, make sure not to put undue stress on the airframe.

Joey

 

[yogibear]

When I received my Vantages about a year ago there was a slight crack on the top cap of one speaker. I was advised that they had some packaging problems that was causing some speakers to crack. I called Martin Logan and they quickly sent a replacement cap. Take heart that replacing the bottom cap is relatively simple. Replacing the top cap was another story.

 

[Beakman]

VARI 044 / 045 : Hairline cracks on the bottom inside. Day-um! just when they were breaking in nicely, although I have to admit I can detect no sound anomolies as of yet.

 

[akm3]

Hi all,

I'm on my second pair of Vantages, and have just noticed that each woofer cabinet has cracked on the front inside corner. My woofers were rattling so I checked the cabinets and there it is -- the plastic molding at the bottom of the metal grille cracked and shifting on each inside corner. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this and whether it means simple replacement of a molding or something more involved. A terrific speaker and one I could listen to for days on end but I'm a bit annoyed at the workmanship at this price -- already had to glue veneer back into place on the right speaker. Aarrgh!!!

k

EDIT: It's the strip of molding at the base of the grille and not the cabinet proper.

One of my Vista's did the exact same thing during shipping. The woofer grill connects to a piece of plastic in the base that the front feet screw into -- and it cracked.

I am going to call Jim Powers tomorrow to find out how much a replacement is.

Must be badly engineered stress on a weak plastic part.

-Allen

 

[Jeff Zaret]

akm3 & Beakman,
I spoke with Jim P about a week ago about this problem and he said it was in the design of the packaging. The vendor did not make them to the specifications provided by ML. Jim told the problem has now been fixed.

I would still contact him regarding the warranty issue.

Good Luck

Jeff