Speaker damage during shipping and packing tips

[jai1611]

Given the recent controversy around shipping damage, sharing my experience with shipping speakers in India. I have owned five floorstanding speakers over the past 12 years or so. Off these, three underwent shipping damage. Two while being shipped by a manufacturer and one when shipped by a distributor for a trade show. These people would know how to pack and ship a speaker better than I would. Yet, they couldn't prevent damage. This leads me to the conclusion there is no foolproof way to ship floorstanding speakers via courier. The only option is personal pickup or drop / shipment via a dedicated vehicle. In contrast, I have never had any such issue with bookshelves.

Detailing the three instances of damage below:
1. Audire Io2 - these were damaged in transit when shipped by Audire. The damage was cosmetic in the form of scratches.
2. Rethm Saadhanas - the bass modules were sent to the Rethm in Kochi for rewiring. One of them returned to me damaged. It had apparently been dropped in transit and the foot was pushed into the cabinet
3. PMC 25.24 - the distributor had shipped them from Mumbai to Bangalore for the What HiFi show. They arrived damaged (some pictures here: https://www.hifivision.com/threads/pmc-twenty5-24-tower-speakers.82789/) . My guess was the box bumbed into a corner while being moved.

Apart from adding an extra layer of packing in the form of a wooden crate, does any one have other ways to ensure safe transit? If yes, please share them here so its available to others

 

[prem]

I send my stuff through Agarwal Packers and Movers. Never had an issue. They charge a premium but absolutely worth it. They know how to handle delicate stuff. I don’t trust anyone else. They come home, pack in front of you, wooden crate it. Since the delivery van will be delivering pieces enroute, all items destined for one location gets into a locker in the truck. This locker is only opened at the destination. At delivery time, they unpack the item in front of you, allow you to check it and report damages, if any. Stuff is insured.

 

[fLUX]

Given the recent controversy around shipping damage, sharing my experience with shipping speakers in India. I have owned five floorstanding speakers over the past 12 years or so. Off these, three underwent shipping damage. Two while being shipped by a manufacturer and one when shipped by a distributor for a trade show. These people would know how to pack and ship a speaker better than I would. Yet, they couldn't prevent damage. This leads me to the conclusion there is no foolproof way to ship floorstanding speakers via courier. The only option is personal pickup or drop / shipment via a dedicated vehicle. In contrast, I have never had any such issue with bookshelves.

Detailing the three instances of damage below:
1. Audire Io2 - these were damaged in transit when shipped by Audire. The damage was cosmetic in the form of scratches.
2. Rethm Saadhanas - the bass modules were sent to the Rethm in Kochi for rewiring. One of them returned to me damaged. It had apparently been dropped in transit and the foot was pushed into the cabinet
3. PMC 25.24 - the distributor had shipped them from Mumbai to Bangalore for the What HiFi show. They arrived damaged (some pictures here: https://www.hifivision.com/threads/pmc-twenty5-24-tower-speakers.82789/) . My guess was the box bumbed into a corner while being moved.

Apart from adding an extra layer of packing in the form of a wooden crate, does any one have other ways to ensure safe transit? If yes, please share them here so its available to others

I have received two floorstanding speakers over courier till date , one XTZ Spirit 11 & Focal Aria 926 (Indiq were hand delivered by Amit). The outside box of Focal looked pretty beaten up and I was concerned something might have happened but their inside packing was rock solid, with XTZ the box was rock hard from outside and inside too. The outside for both of these were cardboard boxes but what I liked was
- Thermocol cut in requisite shape to hold the speakers tightly at top/bottm and middle , almost zero movement was possible and it felt it could sustain any tumbles along the way
- 4 corners of the packing were held even tighter with a L shaped bracket made of super hard cardboard, I have stuffed so many boxes in my top storage and these cardboard hold them strong without allowing them to expand. (Attached image for reference), This cardboard comes with XTZ products (speakers and subwoofers too)



I think they could go the extra mile/improve safety by putting 3-4 layers of thick bubble wraps on the packing cover. I recently received the Auris Euterpe tube amp , took me 15 minutes just to unwrap the bubble wrappings from top. The packing was as done by Auris abroad and not tampered with till delivery.

 

[DB1989]

Given the recent controversy around shipping damage, sharing my experience with shipping speakers in India. I have owned five floorstanding speakers over the past 12 years or so. Off these, three underwent shipping damage. Two while being shipped by a manufacturer and one when shipped by a distributor for a trade show. These people would know how to pack and ship a speaker better than I would. Yet, they couldn't prevent damage. This leads me to the conclusion there is no foolproof way to ship floorstanding speakers via courier. The only option is personal pickup or drop / shipment via a dedicated vehicle. In contrast, I have never had any such issue with bookshelves.

Detailing the three instances of damage below:
1. Audire Io2 - these were damaged in transit when shipped by Audire. The damage was cosmetic in the form of scratches.
2. Rethm Saadhanas - the bass modules were sent to the Rethm in Kochi for rewiring. One of them returned to me damaged. It had apparently been dropped in transit and the foot was pushed into the cabinet
3. PMC 25.24 - the distributor had shipped them from Mumbai to Bangalore for the What HiFi show. They arrived damaged (some pictures here: https://www.hifivision.com/threads/pmc-twenty5-24-tower-speakers.82789/) . My guess was the box bumbed into a corner while being moved.

Apart from adding an extra layer of packing in the form of a wooden crate, does any one have other ways to ensure safe transit? If yes, please share them here so its available to others

Never knew wooden crating was necessary. Of all the speakers I've received till date(all bought first hand) including the Quad S5s which are floorstanders, only the Evo 4.2s arrived in a wooden crate. However, none of the speakers received so far have ever been damaged. Lucky i guess. Touchwood.

 

[fLUX]

Never knew wooden crating was necessary. Honestly, i was surprised when the seller was blamed for bad packing, especially after seeing the pics. Seemed pretty ok to me since it was packed in the original packaging.

Of all the speakers I've received till date(all bought first hand) including the Quad S5s which are floorstanders, only the Evo 4.2s arrived in a wooden crate. However, none of the speakers received so far have ever been damaged. Lucky i guess. Touchwood.

Yup I too have never received any floorstander/bookshelf in a wooden crate.
Taking a guess as I have never shipped such heave items , the issue I feel is the foams used for enclosing would not withstand much weight and needed something hard from the outside to protect the pressure (even a hard cardboard like ones we get LPs enclosed in) , the outside box does not seem hard enough. But if I received my speaker in a similar package without any issues , I would ship it in a similar manner without putting much thought behind it.

 

[rsjaurr]

I bought my very heavy Focal 1038 and Parasound A21 from Indore based seller. (different FM ).

Many options were discussed between the seller and me and in the end, we decided to hire Aggarwal's Packers and Movers(the real ones). I paid them 25K for shipping and packaging both FS and amp. It included 3K for insurance just in case though the insured amount was only 1/6th of the total amount I paid.
Also, we took about 3 weeks from the date of first payment till the shipping and so had ample time to discuss the various options. Expectedly, the whole package came in scratchless condition. Speakers had many layers of foams and bubble wrap around them and the amp was in the crate I guess with the original box. If I am not forgetting, 4-5K was charged for packaging, 3K for insurance, and the rest for transport.

My 2nd big purchase was from another FM and it included Threshold monoblocks and EAR868 preamp. These came in three different wooden crates and I paid 13-15K for shipping via FedEx or DTDC.

So I learnt few lessons then
1. never skimp on the cost of shipping
2. Discuss thoroughly with the seller
3. Use wooden crates and ample foam etc.
4. Ship via Aggarwals if possible even if they are expensive
5. Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst.

 

[jai1611]

I have received two floorstanding speakers over courier till date , one XTZ Spirit 11 & Focal Aria 926 (Indiq were hand delivered by Amit). The outside box of Focal looked pretty beaten up and I was concerned something might have happened but their inside packing was rock solid, with XTZ the box was rock hard from outside and inside too. The outside for both of these were cardboard boxes but what I liked was
- Thermocol cut in requisite shape to hold the speakers tightly at top/bottm and middle , almost zero movement was possible and it felt it could sustain any tumbles along the way
- 4 corners of the packing were held even tighter with a L shaped bracket made of super hard cardboard, I have stuffed so many boxes in my top storage and these cardboard hold them strong without allowing them to expand. (Attached image for reference), This cardboard comes with XTZ products (speakers and subwoofers too)
View attachment 57509


I think they could go the extra mile/improve safety by putting 3-4 layers of thick bubble wraps on the packing cover. I recently received the Auris Euterpe tube amp , took me 15 minutes just to unwrap the bubble wrappings from top. The packing was as done by Auris abroad and not tampered with till delivery.

The PMC's use packing like this. Wasnt enough to protect them

 

[fLUX]

The PMC's use packing like this. Wasnt enough to protect them

Oh ok, frankly for way India couriers handle stuff we are at their mercy more often than not.
Beyond that I think Rajesh has summed it up well above and @jls001 has done the same in this post.

Where to report defected items received from fellow member.

I have seen this requested here in the past & want to suggest a Buyer/Seller Rating on this forum, its the best way to solve these issues, where members can see Buyer/Seller feedbacks before doing a deal. Cheers.

www.hifivision.com

 

[girishtd8262]

Hi all this write up is to make every one including me how to do professional package of expensive av gear bought on sale section here.
After buying the expensive instrument I feel packing is the neglected part as we consider it as additional expenses.we all consider shipping it in their original boxes gives us false sense of safety but we will be at the mercy of courier service,we all know how they handle them.
I would like to thank and congratulate mr Rodrigues (RRR) user name here for shipping me expensive unused vergin box speakers dali opticon 8 in a fool proof manner.he took extra interest and utmost care in package though it costed us few thousand (5) rupees but it really gave us peaceful mind during shipping. Though the speakers were like brand new unopened company package adding extra safety really matttered.
I request fellow FMs while buying expensive goods or selling them give extra thought and be assured of safe delivery.
Hereby I'm sharing few picks
Each speakers were packed seperatlybin wooden boxes.
This post is to make everyone to be aware of importance of packing delicate expensive av gear.
Thanks.

 

[Miany]

Wow. Great effort in getting the packing done properly. I too have bought some audio cds from @RRR .

He took extra effort in packing them properly. None of the CDs were damaged and were in excellent condition.

 

[xewecan]

I have received two floorstanding speakers over courier till date , one XTZ Spirit 11 & Focal Aria 926 (Indiq were hand delivered by Amit). The outside box of Focal looked pretty beaten up and I was concerned something might have happened but their inside packing was rock solid, with XTZ the box was rock hard from outside and inside too. The outside for both of these were cardboard boxes but what I liked was
- Thermocol cut in requisite shape to hold the speakers tightly at top/bottm and middle , almost zero movement was possible and it felt it could sustain any tumbles along the way
- 4 corners of the packing were held even tighter with a L shaped bracket made of super hard cardboard, I have stuffed so many boxes in my top storage and these cardboard hold them strong without allowing them to expand. (Attached image for reference), This cardboard comes with XTZ products (speakers and subwoofers too)
View attachment 57509


I think they could go the extra mile/improve safety by putting 3-4 layers of thick bubble wraps on the packing cover. I recently received the Auris Euterpe tube amp , took me 15 minutes just to unwrap the bubble wrappings from top price for movers. The packing was as done by Auris abroad and not tampered with till delivery.

I need some advice on how to protect several sets of speakers (AR-9's, AR-11's, Klipsh Forte) during a move. I recently accepted a job in my homeland of Tennessee and will be moving soon. The new company is going to move all my stuff, but I'm concerned about speakers and electronics. I plan to move several pieces of tube equipment myself, but don't really want to tackle the speakers again. The bass speakers on AR-9's are especially susceptible to damage. Any recomenmdations on how to protect speakers from moving company damage. I plan to take lots of photographs, just in case. Thanks

 

[xewecan]

I need some advice on how to protect several sets of speakers (AR-9's, AR-11's, Klipsh Forte) during a move. I recently accepted a job in my homeland of Tennessee and will be moving soon. The new company is going to move all my stuff, but I'm concerned about speakers and electronics. I plan to move several pieces of tube equipment myself, but don't really want to tackle the speakers again from Flytte bedrift. The bass speakers on AR-9's are especially susceptible to damage. Any recomenmdations on how to protect speakers from moving company damage. I plan to take lots of photographs, just in case. Thanks

no response

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

no response

If the company is paying for the packing and moving, then get the speakers wrapped generously in bubble wrap and then wooden crated. However, if you have the original packing then pack the speakers with their styrofoam in the original cardboard cartons, and still crate them.