Beware "Digital Pro Audio"

[Pokey007]

I hope this doesn't get locked, but here goes.

I was recently approached by two guys in a SUV who were trying to sell some "high-end" speaker systems. They claimed that they retailed for over $1000 each, but they was some mixup, and they had to get rid of em. Anyway, after bargaining with them for a price, I finally settled on $250 for a pair of them.

Upon coming home I searched the net for their website or any reviews I could find. However, I found nothing, but only a few websites on the scam they've been pulling all around the country.

Here's one of the websites
Proof of the Scam

Anyway, they turned out to be piece of s*#t speakers, and definately not worth the money I paid.

Here's the point,

DO NOT EVER BUY DIGITAL PRO AUDIO SPEAKERS REGARDLESS OF THE DEAL YOU THINK YOU'RE GETTING. ITS A HUGE HUGE SCAM.

EDIT: Hindsight is 20-20. Now that I think about it, I could have done a 100 things to check out their story, or even sit and think about it. But I obviously didn't, and saw a potentially great deal in front of me.

On a lighter note, I did plug in the speakers, and they sound okay. Definately not great, but not a crappy as I thought they would. They'd probally retail for around $100-$150 each. I'm thinking about keeping the cabinets, (because they're very nice to fool the scam victim) and upgrading the speakers.

 

[illafied]

i wouldn't be buying speakers from someone selling out of an SUV in the first place...

but sorry to hear you got scammed bud

 

[Fireman]

Sorry man, this is a well known scam around the country. It usually goes something like this:
"Hey man, we just got done installing these speakers in a Movie Theater....or Sports Bar....or whatever. And the boss accidentally ordered too many so we have these left over. These are KILLER SPEAKERS MAN!!! They totally ROCK!!"
wow man how much are they?
"I dunno, how much you got?"
etc. etc.
Home Theater mag did a story on this. They even tested them. They don't even have a crossover in them. Pure garbage.
Again, sorry man, but you got burned.

 

[Boogak]

I'll be damned, there IS a conspiracy to sell cheap speakers to unsuspecting people in parking lots across the country! I thought it was just a coincidence I've been approached 3 times in 3 different DFW cities in 3 different parking lots by shady looking guys in vans giving me a "good deal" on speakers.

Sucks you fell for it though...

 

[KCEngineer]

If it sounds too good to be true. . . it probably IS. . . . unless you find it on AnAndTech !!

 

[Shmuel]

I am sorry too you got scammed. I wish I knew what to do to help. Thanks for posting it as a warning though I think the mods will lock it and tell you to put it in brag and moan but I think many of us don't read those threads and this was a good warning we all need.
Thank you

 

[winter]

Yea, I got "approached" by the white van a few times years ago. They were actually trying to make deals with cars next to them at red lights. Sorry to hear that you got scammed, you didn't happen to write down their lic plate # did you?

Beware of Vans Bearing Gifts

Dogg Digital Audio, Inovative Sound Systems, Sound Division, Digital Audio 2000, Digital Pro AudioNationwide Speaker Scam *UPDATE spotted in Elmwood Park Illinois

 

[vancenase]

same damn thing happened to me in indianapolis (more than 7 years ago). except i was poor, and only came away with ONE speaker. why i bought one speaker .. i have no idea. young and stupid i guess.

 

[badluck]

edit: basically if you have NO common sense this is going to happen to you. I can't belive people fall for this....

 

[Zap]

Buying off people who approach you in the streets? Sheesh. Common sense, dude!

For good speakers (IMO) try BIC America bookshelf speakers. My GF has had the Venturi 62 series for years (bought for $99/pair at Price Watch before the Costco takeover). They rock! They sound better than some KLH and JBL speakers I have, and sound as good, if not better than some AR bookshelf speakers that a friend had. The midbass response is very crisp and clean. The woofer uses a butyl rubber surround. Put it with a decent subwoofer and the setup rocks. MSRP is $275. DynaDirect has it for $120 plus about $25 shipping. I don't know how good a vendor they are, just that they have these speakers for a good price. BIC speakers have actually been reviewed by many magazines, just check their site for quotes.

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

This is a fairly well known scam and as a matter of fact one member even posted a thread where the seller became violent because he felt the potential buyer was wasting his time.Lesson to learn is when someone approaches you with a *deal* ,just give them the "I want to harm you" look and they'll leave you alone.Seems to work in the big city anyway.

 

[TBP]

<< edit: basically if you have NO common sense this is going to happen to you. I can't belive people fall for this.... >>



well, the con artists have to make a living, too, right?

If you pay 80 bucks for a rock concert, you don't even get to bring anything back home afterwards

 

[Healey]

This happened to a buddy where I worked. The thing was they made it seem like it was illegal somehow, that was part of the appeal. However everything they did was very legit, they even gave him a receipt!

When he realized that the speakers were crap he called the phone number on the receipt. The guy who answered said &quot;you don't like 'em? Bring 'em back.&quot;

So we went to this industrial park and the guy peels some bills off of this huge wad, my buddy takes the cash, and everything was cool!

 

[icup]

I had this happen to me about three months ago. Two guys pull up in a van and said they just got done with a install job and they had extras they needed to get rid of or their boss would get mad. I played along with them for about 20 mins I had nothing else to do. I even made them pull them out of the box. He even showed me a mag ad that had a list price of $2,000 and I talked him down to $200 for the pair. Then I pulled out my cell phone and called the police but I told them I was calling my wife. They got nervous lept asking if I was going to buy them or not. 10 mins after the phone call they were arrested.

 

[Rally1]

arrested for what?

it is a scam, but what part is illegal?

i am not being a smart ass, i really want to know the legality of it.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

are they selling stolen stuff?

 

[icup]

Selling with out a selling permit, they both had warrents no drivers licence, and I am sure they are not turning in any sales tax or reporting the income.

 

[Slugbait]

First time for me was on Alki Beach...22 years ago!

Hadn't been awhile, then a couple of guys in a white van hit me up four years ago, and then the EXACT SAME guys hit me up again six months later...same story: &quot;Got extras that weren't invoiced for a delivery, no way to track 'em, now just trying to get some beer money&quot;. Saw the same guy pushing this scam 18 feet away from Good Guys' front door in Bellevue...he wasn't happy that I recognized him, cuz the older gentleman he was fleecing was just about to hand him cash.

Thing was, I learned about this scam in Archie comic books (I sh*t you not). Veronica's dad thought he was getting a great deal on a huge 19&quot; color TV from a guy he met on the street who just needed to &quot;get rid of it&quot;. The box was filled with bricks.

Sorry about the bricks you bought.

 

[Rally1]

is this them? on ebay for $600!

 

[Siamskunk]

Figure those bastard really like scamming people with WHITE VAN ........don't they ever drive anything else?.......sigh

 

[icup]

They look like the same ones.

 

[Snyder81]

Rally1, lol @ the e*bay link. Is someone gonna show that guy some pity and e-mail him to let him know it's a scam?

 

[Tri]

To the guy that shelled out $250: DONT FEEL BAD. I have a $500 scam reminder sitting in my living room. They actually do sound better than 27&quot; Sony TV built-in speakers

This &quot;white van&quot; incident happened years ago, and I hope to think I learned something from it...

-Tri

 

[dbLA]

Con artists prey on people by offering to let them in on the scam. &quot;Hey buddy, I'm ripping-off this company. The deed is done. I just need to unload the stolen loot. I'll sell it to you for next to nothing&quot;.

Sorry, but anyone who falls for this scam is no better than the perps.

 

[CuriousG]

And to think the only thing I got out of Archie comics was looking at Veronica and errrr nevermind.