I can personally attest to the fact that Wilson Audio has excellent, top-notch customer service. I purchased a pair of black Sophia 2s that were demo units. They were manufactured in 2006 and I bought them in the third quarter or 2007. After about 6 months of ownership I had the same cracks to develop. I contacted Wilson Audio directly to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. I was put in touch with a gentleman named Jerron Marchant. He asked if I could take some photos of the cracks? I wasn't sure that they would show up that well but with some extra lighting and such I was able to capture the flaws. I sent the pictures to his email address and within minutes he called me back, explained to me what the problem was. It wasn't a problem with the paint as I thought, but was a problem with the proprietary cabinet material instead. There were a few isolated cases of a bad batch of that material that they even had isolated within a particular serial number range and some had issues, and some did not. I expected them to repair and repaint them, and they explained to me that they would not have defective speakers out in the market with their name on them and they would build me a brand new set. I was even able to change colors and selected a custom color that they did not offer as an upgrade option. I paid a very reasonable amount for the paint upgrade and they built me a brand new pair of speakers and had them shipped to my dealer and installed in my home inside of two months.
I was anxious and checked up from time to time and Jerron kept me aware of the production start date, process, shipping status and everything. I can not say enough good things about Wilson Audio, their speakers, and their prompt customer service.
I did fulfill all of my warranty obligations by buying from an authorized Wilson dealer, having them do the set up and voicing, and filling out the warranty cards and returning them within the time frame that they required.
If you bought them new, had them deliver and set them up, filled out your warranty paperwork, then I can assure you that they will stand behind your defective speakers and you have no worries. If any of those steps were skipped then I can't make any assurances at all.
I was never put off, never avoided, my calls and/or emails were always answered promptly and with courtesy. I am very, very particular and borderline obsessive/compulsive about most everything, and I know that I was a pest at times, but that never was a problem. I was treated like I had bought ten sets of speakers from them.
I wish you luck and let me know if there is any way I can assist you. I hope for your sake that your speakers meet all the warranty criteria.
I do want to add the fact that I inquired about purchasing the old defective speakers and was politely refused because they wanted them destroyed so that they would not end up out on the market by some unscupulous seller at some time in their life. I know this to be a fact that they had to be destroyed because my sales counselor wanted to purchase them as well and he was refused like myself, even though he was one of Wilson's top salespeople in the country if I am not mistaken.
I don't think it's fair for people to judge a company unfairly for adhering to policies and following their warranty criteria as it is outlined. If someone wants to get a bargain and not go through the normal channels then I appreciate the fact that they want to save money, but you do end up getting what you pay for.
It is not Wilson Audio's fault that a vendor they buy materials from produced a defective lot. That is out of their control as would be an auto manufacturer that buys rack and pinions from a supplier. I have found that the suppliers and manufacturers work hand in hand to correct these unforseen problems if or when they arise.
Good luck and I hope that everything works out for you.
Tom
