First, the good. For something made entirely of MDF, the finished piece is surprisingly good/looking, and sturdy. With the exception of the wooden dowel pins (see below) everything fit together perfectly and assembly was straightforward. The sliding doors work flawlessly and did not require any fine/tuning.
All of the little wooden dowel pins that help connect the various panels were too small for the pre/drilled holes and simply flopped around when I first put them in. I solved this problem by cutting little pieces of gummed packing tape which I then moistened and wrapped around the pins to increase their diameter. It took a bit of experimentation to determine the right amount of tape to use, but eventually I got it right. Still, it suggests someone in the manufacturers QC department was asleep at the switch.
One other, minor beef: The back panel for the central compartment is quite thin and not well secured to the other components. As a result, the wires coming out of the back of my receiver are pushing against it and causing it to bow outwards (even after using L/plugs). This could have been easily avoided by having a couple of additional connectors to attach the back panel to the surrounding pieces, or just using a thicker panel.
My biggest frustration with this item, and the basis for the 3 rating rather than a 4 or a 5: The package arrived badly damaged and when I opened it one of the key components (the bottom panel) was dented and unusable. While a seller cannot necessarily be held responsible for what happens during shipping, I would characterize the packing materials as inadequate for the size and weight of this product. The corrugated cardboard was flimsy and rather brittle, and the same was true for the styrofoam pads inside.
I contacted the seller and asked for a replacement part to be shipped ASAP. They agreed to this with no quibbling (and put through a small goodwill adjustment as well), but the part took over a week to get here. The package arrived in perfect condition, but lo and behold, when I opened it, the part was again dented! As far as I am concerned, this is just inexcusable – to ship an already/damaged part as a replacement on a warranty claim. So I again contacted the seller and they again agreed to ship a replacement part. This time it took over two weeks, and based on the tracking information, it appeared the item may have been sitting on a shipping dock for the better part of this time. (It took a further email from me to actually get things moving.)
Believe it or not, this replacement part also had a small dent on the corner but fortunately I was able to flatten it out with a clamp and some glue. At this point I simply didnt have the stomach to endure a third replacement shipment.
I am generally happy with the finished product but would describe the overall after/sale experience as maddening. Elapsed time from placement of the order to receipt of acceptable parts was five weeks, which IMHO is just unacceptable. A struggle.
Nice product, but.
First, the good. For something made entirely of MDF, the finished piece is surprisingly good/looking, and sturdy. With the exception of the wooden dowel pins (see below) everything fit together perfectly and assembly was straightforward. The sliding doors work flawlessly and did not require any fine/tuning. All of the little wooden dowel pins that help connect the various panels were too small for the pre/drilled holes and simply flopped around when I first put them in. I solved this problem by cutting little pieces of gummed packing tape which I then moistened and wrapped around the pins to increase their diameter. It took a bit of experimentation to determine the right amount of tape to use, but eventually I got it right. Still, it suggests someone in the manufacturers QC department was asleep at the switch. One other, minor beef: The back panel for the central compartment is quite thin and not well secured to the other components. As a result, the wires coming out of the back of my receiver are pushing against it and causing it to bow outwards (even after using L/plugs). This could have been easily avoided by having a couple of additional connectors to attach the back panel to the surrounding pieces, or just using a thicker panel. My biggest frustration with this item, and the basis for the 3 rating rather than a 4 or a 5: The package arrived badly damaged and when I opened it one of the key components (the bottom panel) was dented and unusable. While a seller cannot necessarily be held responsible for what happens during shipping, I would characterize the packing materials as inadequate for the size and weight of this product. The corrugated cardboard was flimsy and rather brittle, and the same was true for the styrofoam pads inside. I contacted the seller and asked for a replacement part to be shipped ASAP. They agreed to this with no quibbling (and put through a small goodwill adjustment as well), but the part took over a week to get here. The package arrived in perfect condition, but lo and behold, when I opened it, the part was again dented! As far as I am concerned, this is just inexcusable – to ship an already/damaged part as a replacement on a warranty claim. So I again contacted the seller and they again agreed to ship a replacement part. This time it took over two weeks, and based on the tracking information, it appeared the item may have been sitting on a shipping dock for the better part of this time. (It took a further email from me to actually get things moving.) Believe it or not, this replacement part also had a small dent on the corner but fortunately I was able to flatten it out with a clamp and some glue. At this point I simply didnt have the stomach to endure a third replacement shipment. I am generally happy with the finished product but would describe the overall after/sale experience as maddening. Elapsed time from placement of the order to receipt of acceptable parts was five weeks, which IMHO is just unacceptable. A struggle.