Omni Audio

[andrzejpw]

Well, a few years ago, my dad bought these big speakers for our home theater. They are made by omniaudio. Now, they are pretty big, lets say about 3 feet tall. Anyone know anything about them? My dad said he got them for a good price from some guy . . .

 

[Xevion]

Well, this is quite hard to read, but here is the Google translation:

http://translate.google.com/translat...3Domni%2Baudio

They seem to be a gray market company like Dynaudio. The speakers are sold out of the backs of vans by pushy salespeople at "heavily discounted" prices. It is a sort of a scam.

Got a digital camera? I want to see em.

 

[andrzejpw]

well, I tried that german page before. Too hard.

I'll try to get a dig camera. . .

 

[andrzejpw]

ne1 else?

 

[wab]

Your dad didn't happen to buy them from the back of a van did he? That's how they are sold over here. A guy comes up to someone who walks by and starts talking stuff like
"blabla.. I had to deliver these speakers... they're worth over a $1000... blabla.. I have a few left... blabla... I'll sell em to you for $400.... blabla... it's a really good deal for both you and me..... blablabbla.. interested?."
It's a scam, those speakers consist of cheap carspeakers in cheap boxes. They're worth about $50 NEW. I hope I didn't ruin all your fun.

 

[andrzejpw]

Yup, a van.

He paid 200 for a pair.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

This is one of the biggest scams going. "White Van" speakers are junk, and whatever story the guys told your dad was false. The scam has been going on for at least 15, 20 years.

 

[Mumrik]

No offense but... why would anyone buy anything from someone they don't know from the back of a van...?

 

[chych]

Quote:

They seem to be a gray market company like Dynaudio

Dynaudio??? They seem very reputable to me...

 

[Tim D]

Ummm it doesn't matter what brand they slap up or try to emulate. If you are buying speakers from guys in vans saying they have some overstocked ultra-priced speakers...well...how can I say thats just plain silly...and I'm being nice in my wording.

Dynaudio is a real hi-end speaker company...the classic speaker scam is Dynalab speakers...which doesn't make speakers but high-end tuners.

BTW andrezjpw, can you take pics of the speaker...also how much does it weigh. And if you tap on the cabinet what happens.

 

[Nezer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mumrik No offense but... why would anyone buy anything from someone they don't know from the back of a van...?

I bought four great Rolecks like this. They are great, I have to reset the time every day, but they work well! Best thing was I got them for $50 each!! Wow, what a deal!!! A *real* Rolecks!

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mumrik No offense but... why would anyone buy anything from someone they don't know from the back of a van...?

I'll try to explain it. It's mostly a play on a person's ethics...

Frequently, the story the "White Van" dealers tell gives the impression that these are high-end speakers that they're trying to get rid of cheap because they're stolen. They don't use that word -- "stolen" -- but they hint around it and try to give that impression. This is an attempt to convince the mark that they're truly getting a great deal. Why else would they be willing to part with speakers normally costing $1000 (a very popular price they like to toss around) for "only" $300? This also provides a semi-plausible explanation for why they'd be willing to drop the price so quickly to $200 if the mark doesn't bite at $300. The fact is that the vast majority of the public is fairly ignorant of brand names on high-end speakers. So by changing a high-end name slightly, a mark might think, "Yeah, I've heard of those "Acoustical Research" speakers before... what a great deal."

Now, they don't always use this method, but it is one of the more successful stories they tell. One of the high-end audio gurus on rec.audio testified in a court case about the white-van speakers around 10 years ago. His analysis of a typical set of them indicated they were worth around $50. Extremely cheap components, a very simple design, and (usually) shoddy cabinetry.