JBL 4660A Appraisal

[F350SD]

I am in desperate need of your help.

I purchased a 4660a defined coverage speaker from a church in Oregon. I used FedEx package and ship option and I paid extra to insure and have double fragile packing of my very special speaker. Well of course my extra packing and insurance has failed. Fedex broke my speaker and they don't want to pay for the damage. They have me jumping through hoops for them. I have complied with all there requests even taking the heavy speaker in for inspection at their claims facility and they are still requesting more documentation. They want Receipts stating it's value, catalog listings and price list. They want documentation stating it's depreciation value and a price quote of another speaker that is comparable. I am getting to my wits end with Fedex...........I really want to give up but I don't think they should get away with ruining my speaker especially because I paid them to package it and ship it and I paid
extra for special packaging and insurance.

That's Total


So after submitting all the forms, pictures, and having it inspected by FedEx I am still jumping through their hoops, they are now requesting proof of value.

If anyone has any advice or can help me with this....Please let me know!

Thanks

[Maron Horonzakz]

Take them to court..If you bought insurence thats a contract. Charge them for damage court costs and attourney fees.

[Earl K]

Hi F350SD

- I don't know if the threat of court will help or hinder / no clue on my part .

they are now requesting proof of value.

- Get current values for the parts from your local JBL "Pro" dealer .
- Just what got broken ? Everything ?
- Most things can be repaired. Talk to your local "Pro" dealer for repair prices.

Here's a sampling of some values for many of the parts found in that speaker.

(i) 4660 Horn ; Part # 65120-01 ,,,, $ 708. ( 7/16/03 - JBL Pro, Horn Parts Catalogue )

(ii) 2425J ; ( a 2426h from Harman),,,$ 230.00 ( todays pricing - get a more accurate quote from a local JBL Pro dealer )

(iii) 2225h/2226h ; ,,,, $ 350- 400.00 ( todays pricing - get an accurate quote from a local JBL Pro dealer )

(iv) Cabinet ; I recommend getting an accurate quote from your local JBL Pro dealer for a custom built cabinet, direct from JBLs' Custom Woodworking Shop )

(v) Crossover ; no clue on value ( again, talk to your local "Pro" dealer )

[Jan Daugaard]

The 4660a horn was found in the 2003 horn parts list, but it is not found in the 2004 list.

All is not lost, however, provided the broken 4660a from the church in Oregon is in such a state that exact measurements can be made. Would it be possible to assemble the broken parts such that photographs can be made from various angles with a ruler next to the horn? If so, it may be possible to define CAD drawings, and new copies of the horn may be made using CNC.

[F350SD]

Just what got broken ? Everything ?

Thanks Earl. Horn grill damage, woofer grill damaged. horn driver inop. ( not sure if related to poor shipping) minor cabnet damage ( 4 eyelets for ceiling mount bent and pushed in to cabnet) Im happy to say ive repaired cabnet using washers, replaced driver with one i had on the shelf, and am currently enjoying speaker in my garage next to my 4660. horn grill removed.
I did contact jbl pro on line with price requests and they dont seem to want to answer me. thank you i will check my local jbl dealer for cost of grills and driver.

[mech986]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your plight but glad that you have some of it working again. You should tell FED-EX that they should get you a used DD5500 Everest since it is the closest commercial product to your 4660A - similar horn and bass driver configuration but with an added tweeter.



Grab a few Japanese Audio magazines and see what one of those babies would be, purchased and then shipped back here! I'm sure at that point, they'd rather pay you whatever you want!

Regards,

Bart

[porschedpm]

I would recommend going to at least two JBL Pro Dealers that are also Authorized Repair Centers. From each, I would ask them to give you a a detailed estimate, on their letterhead or repair order, of what it would take to repair the speaker. Have them also include what the current value of a used, Very Good condition 4660A is. The average of these two estimates will establish the current replacement value of the speaker and what it will cost to repair yours. FedEx will pay the lower of those two figures (plus some to cover the freight). It really doesn't matter what the catalog price is of a brand new 4660A or equivalent is.

It is my experience that filing a claim with FedEx or UPS is a long, tedious process which takes at least 8 weeks or more from initial filing to receiving a check. I think the process is designed to be tedious to weed out the frivilous claims. Keep in mind also that there is an appeals process if you feel the settlement is significantly lower than the replacement cost or cost to repair. Hang in there it sounds like you're nearing the end.

[F350SD]

Thank you all for all your help!

JBL finally contacted us via the telephone and was so shocked to hear what a fiasco FedEx is causing.

The service Representative from JBL Pro was so helpful. He faxed me a copy of Proof of Value, cost of replacement parts and his direct phone number for FedEx to contact him personally if they need anything more, and all on JBL letter head!

I sure hope that will be enough for FedEx to cough of the check.

Thanks again for everyone's help and suggestions.

You all ROCK!!!!

[mech986]

Was that rep named David at JBL Pro in the parts department? He's been very helpful to me in the past.


Bart

[F350SD]

Hey Bart, His name is Everett. sounds like a nice group of guys.

Mark