Patrick Beeson

Update: The new Vers 2X unit arrived last Friday, and it appears to work flawlessly. I was told by the again excellent service rep that this unit was tested personally before being shipped.

The Vers 2X iPod stereo is a textbook example of how great design and materials can't overcome poor quality.

But it's also proof positive that customer service can save a company's reputation.

I received my Vers 2X as a Christmas present a month ago. Sprout Creative, the company behind the Vers 2X, put a lot of attention into the product's packaging, manual and finish, not unlike the product it was designed to integrate with (iPod).

The iPod sits atop the speaker, which then allows you to operate it via a remote.

The Vers 2X has a decent capacity for volume considering its size, though the bass is a little lacking.

There is also an annoying delay when navigating the iPod menu using the remote. I found it far quicker to use the iPod itself when finding specific songs.

The wood exterior is great looking, and makes the product look more expensive then it really is. It definitely sets it apart from the white iPodish stereos so pervasive in the market.

But otherwise I was satisfied with the product. That is, until the problems surfaced.

About a week after I began using my Vers 2X, the volume would fade to mute randomly after one or two songs. I tried to deduce a patten for this, but found none though I did find a similar complaint from a review on Amazon.

I then contacted their technical support using the only listed method available (e-mail). I received a quick response from a rep who offered to swap my unit with a new one. All I had to do was ship it back using the prepaid form attached to an e-mail.

My new unit arrived a week later. And it worked well for awhile.

Then just yesterday, it caught the same virus that beleaguered my previous unit.

I sent another e-mail to technical support explaining the situation and received this reply:

Sorry to hear about the mix up. We recently discovered and corrected a problem caused by a batch of faulty components we received in an early production run. Apparently our warehouse sent you a replacement from this early batch. I will send out another personally tested one next week.

This response was both immediate and conclusive. I would normally be pissed after receiving two faulty products from a company, but not in this case.

Sprout Creative is owning their mistake and taking action when it is called to their attention.

I do wish that they would either recall the faulty batch of units or post a press release to their Web site explaining the problem. As I stated previously, the only way I knew something was amiss was from a fellow Vers 2X owner describing the same problem.

I'll post an update to this entry when my new unit arrives.