I bought a new Samsung 32" 3 series LCD TV from Onking (Kota Damansara branch) early this month. The picture quality was great but the speakers were of very poor quality and the sound will "break" when I turn on the volume. Meddling with the sound settings would not help as well.

I complained to the salesman and he helped me to log a case with Samsung Malaysia. It took one week before a Samsung technician came to my house and inspected my TV, but the conclusion is the speakers are ok and there are no defects with them. I was adviced not to turn on the volume above 50% and not to use the true surround mode. What angered me the most was I was told that Samsung LCD TVs are known for their picture quality while the sound quality is not. Hence, I was also adviced to get a home theater system if I want better sound. This is ridiculous and I cannot accept the fact that the tv does not come with a pair of speakers that can play decent sound. I was very disappointed with the attitude of the Samsung after sales service as well.

I called Onking again to ask for a replacement. Initially I was told they don't have a replacement policy even though I was prepared to exchange it with a different model of a higher price. After telling them I will lodge a complain with consumer affairs, they reluctantly agreed.

I bought the Samsung for RM14XX and managed to exchange it for a Sharp, which has a price tag of RM16XX, resulting in me having to top up an additional RM200, which is fine with me, since I got my exchange.

Then the day after, I saw the same Sharp model selling for RM13XX in another retailer. After checking Ongking's website, the price of the Sharp model is listed as RM15XX!!! I was angry and disappointed with what has happened and I've vowed not to buy anything from them again.

The lesson is please do your survey properly and do not believe that the smaller or local retailers have better prices.

Samsung Series 3 is low end model and really hv low sound.. For low budget, just get a PC speaker to pair on it.. Anyway, dont expect high volumn from a LCD TV..

Series 4 only hv decent sound.. But u hv to pay much more for it..

bro , i can only say ... you didnt do your homework nicely ler.

Yeah, you couldnt have summed up your comments better - surveying is a no-brainer.

However, I guess your dissatisfaction is interesting. Your complaint might be aimed at Onking but I think the bigger issue here is the quality of Samsung TVs. In fact, barring the price issue, I think Onking did what most would not, ie. replaced a sold product that has no defects.

I do not own a Samsung TV but its a laugh what their own technician told you. We know the TV puny speakers are functional at best, but at 50%? Even then, the audio should not 'break', it should just has more distortions, eg, hissing. Not too sure what the other Sammy owners would say.

There is no way a 32" TV going to pump out good audio! Like the man says 'what you pay is what you get!'

Now customer always use Consumer Affair to scare Retailer..
Haiz.. What a world.. What a bad consumer likes streamer2005.. Do your proper homework b4 making purchase next time..

This post has been edited by accs_centre: May 19 2010, 01:25 PM

Samsung branding already chop a BANNED sign in my head already...
their quality of picture is good but not the overall product quality, if you think their product will last then pray hard... my family had 2 CRT TV both also give problem b4 5 yrs, then some frens also have some home appliances, most of it cannot last the abuse longer than 5 yrs...
take it as a lesson...

*BTW i think you got the Sharp 32" with Surround sound that model which is not Full HD and has 3 colors of choice Red, Black and White isn't it???
that LCD sound is quite good, i dare to say most of others similar price range 32" cannot compare with it at all... i test it in Harvey they turn the volume around 1 quarter only i can listen to every word clearly already, while my model cannot do it at the noisy place...

This post has been edited by michael9413: May 19 2010, 01:33 PM

Well, i admit I did not do a proper survey but with kids tagging along every time u go shopping, it would be difficult.

I don't have very high standards, but at least the TV should have speakers that can play decent sound. Just imagine when u r enjoying a good movie like Avatar and you have to watch with low volume.

The Sharp model which I got has much more better speakers which plays much louder without breaking a sweat!!!

buyer beware, caveat emptor.

Since you agreed to everything at every step, why are you complaining?

I shudder to think that the Sharp model also didn't have good audio, otherwise you need to pay even more money...I don't think Onking did anything to hide any fact, so even in a tribunal you'd lose...

Good Reason ... Very Good..

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Added on May 19, 2010, 2:18 pmYa..I agree with u.. What u pay for it is what u'll get

Sharp A37M has higher volumn than Samsung Series 3.. But still not decent to have bass effect.. Only high treble sound.. D30M is much better..But on ASTRO still need to switch on over half to have proper volumn..
Nowaday, LCD TV sound is suffer a lot on ASTRO.. ASTRO volumn output from decoder is just too low ..

U may complain Samsung for having low sound for this model but not Onking..
File a lawsuit then make Onking change a new one for u.. YES.. u r happy now to have a SHARP.. But someone there is bringing home with a 2nd hand Samsung LCD which being used by u.. FAIR?

This post has been edited by accs_centre: May 19 2010, 02:25 PM

These days you can do your survey via internet in the comforts of your home.

or just give a call to some shop to survey about the price...

Kids also at home.. How to do proper survey?

Sorry, can I ask how about the audio quality of Samsung LA32C530 (5 series), decent or lousy?

i have samsung 5 series..
no problem with the audio..

what i can say is what you pay is what you get..
if u wan play avatar with decent sound..of course get home theater..
what can u expect from the built in speaker? good surround?

Thank you, maskedchan. Not expecting much since I'm on budget LCD tv...just loud and clear is enough already

Not just they insists of decent sound + Low Price Tag.. Slim LCD body is what they want also.. Slim but loud speaker?

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Added on May 20, 2010, 11:10 amSeries 4 is loud.. Mostly 15-18% volumn is loud enough..


This post has been edited by accs_centre: May 20 2010, 11:10 AM

Hi yo, like this also much teach you how to manage your kids so as you have your own quality time to do your stuff?

BTW do parents sleep earlier than kids?

It's a shame there aren't any proper consumer laws in Malaysia.

In the UK if you're dissatisfied with your purchase you can send it back and get your money back or for another product. If the sound quality isn't as good as you expected you SHOULD be able to get your money back.

Of course, if you were to use the TV for 6 months then complain about the sound quality that's a different case.

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I had a big problem with a PS3 Slim I bought from the Sony shop in Mid Valley - When I turned it on it had been used before. There were game saves on the machine. The idiot at the shop tried telling me its meant to come like that. After 30 minutes of demonstrating and arguing they finally said they would replace it.

However, they said that I couldn't have the plastic bag that the new PS3 came wrapped in as I didn't bring the old one to the shop. After all the trouble I'd been through, they wanted to argue about a piece of plastic...

Eventually, they swapped the plastic in my new PS3's box with an identical piece (albeit a different colour) from another sony product.

No way in hell will I ever buy something at that shop again.

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I also had a problem with the 55" Samsung LCD I bought last year. It was covered in scratches when I got it, so it was obviously their display model. It took about a month for my replacement to arrive but at least they didn't make as much of a fuss.

God, I hate shops in this country.

Malaysia cant implement such proper consumer laws likes oversea does.. AS Malaysian like to complain on Everything

Complaining about everything is also a bad habit about Malaysians and this habit has to be toned down. It is good we now have the Consumer Claims Tribunal and the Consumer Protection Act. The objective of the Act is good because the retailers have been getting the upper hand all this while. Now the Tribunal has to play the balancing act between punishing bad retailers and also rejecting frivolous claims from consumers.

Actually we now do have some consumer laws here with the Sale of Goods Act and Consumer Protection Act. However, many people (incl retailers) are ignorant of them and hence the retail culture here is still lagging behind.

That said, there are still limits within the law. It's not to say that the consumer gets everything in their favour. You said: "If the sound quality isn't as good as you expected you SHOULD be able to get your money back." This needs to be qualified... meeting your expectations is very different from a manufacturer's defect or salesman's sales pitch. You can't say I bought a Kancil and expected BMW performance and get your money back. Models are displayed for you to view and test. If the sound quality is off due to a defect, of course you can claim. But the law doesn't have a satisfaction guarantee (although some manufacturer's, especially overseas, will voluntarily give a satisfaction guarantee).

Well said !
Reasonable complaint is acceptable..

Of course, what I mean is that if you never heard the TVs sound quality before hand, or it sounded better in the shop than it does in your home, you should get your money back or replace the set.

For example, I bought a wheelchair in the UK for my gran. We took her to the zoo and had all sorts of problems with it not moving on gravel paths etc We brought it back because the sales assistant did not inform us that it wouldn't work in an outdoor environment and it was not specifically stated that it was for indoors only. I got my money back as they didn't have an alternative that was better. In Malaysia, I probably would have been chucked out of the shop.

yes in malaysia you will be kicked out of the shop already haha

well said...

I know the speakers in the 32" lcd tv will not be able to churn out loud or good quality sound, but at least it can be turn to a reasonable volume where my family can enjoy watching in a room. I'm not even talking about good bass or surround sound quality here.

In fact the salesman did not even warned or informed me about the sound quality of the said model when I was in the shop. Based on my experience watching other 32" lcd tvs which a few of my relatives owned, the sound quality was ok and the speakers did not "break" when you turn on the volume.

Indeed the retail culture in UK, USA, etc is much more consumer oriented than here. Truly customer is king over there. That's why it's easy to find satisfaction guarantees or money back guarantees over there. I don't think this extent is even mandated by the law there, but has evolved due to stiff competition and retailers offering better service to win customers.

As a consumer, sure I would like to get that kind of service too. On the other hand, consumers also have to do proper survey. Following your example "if you never heard the TVs sound quality before hand" - whose responsibility is it to demo the TV sound quality? If you just bought the TV without hearing it should the shop be responsible if you didn't like it?

Or the other part about "sounded better in the shop than it does in your home". Can depend on the situation. Now I'm talking more about hifi than TV. If you go to a shop, of course their room is acoustically treated and they know the optimal positioning for the speakers they sell. When you listen there it will sound good. Then you buy and bring home and it sounds worse because maybe your room or positioning is not optimal. Can you then complain the speakers you bought are no good and get money back?

At the end of the day, it takes 2 hands to clap so we have to be savvy consumers and we also hope to have good retailers that can give good advise. However, we can't control the retailers quality and especially here the retail culture has much room for improvement. So best to improve our knowledge as customers, continue to fight for our rights and be wary of the retailers and salesman sweet talk

Yes, a good salesman should have warned you and then tried to upsell you a better model.

I think here you just assumed that the TV should be ok since other 32" LCD TVs you saw sounded ok. Well, not all TVs are created alike and seems that the lower end Samsung is not very good. Anyway, glad you got a better TV now.