Customer Reviews

Bell'O WAVS333 NTA AV Cabinet Holds Up To 46-Inch TV (Brown)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't, don't, don't purchase a Bell'O product. On Oct. 30, 2009, I purchased a WAVS 333 and have regretted it, since. Bell'O is advertised as "simply...beautiful", when in actuality Bell'O surely means "just another piece of cheap Chinese junk": Cheap laminated wood products, cheap veneer (Bell'O could learn something from IKEA), and no quality control (something China hasn't had since Emperor Qin). ( Ex.the little wooden dowels slip nearly all the way in the dowel holes, leaving only an 8 mm lip). In addition, I would almost swear I can smell the urea-formaldehyde preservative in the wood product. Incidentally, there is a meaningless inspection sticker on the underside of the base.

After watching Bell'Os' assembly video, I decided to pay more for the "No Tools Assembly" convenience of the WAVS 333. When in actuality, I wound up having to use several tools; a screwdriver, a hand drill and tiny bit to re-drill holes for the hinge screws, a rubber mallet to beat the cabinet sides into position, and a level to find out why the cabinet doesn't sit "square".

Immediately after the two 2 Fed Ex delivers brought the box into my residence (the box weighs 125lbs), I opened the pristine shipping box and spread out the pieces to assemble. Once I started putting parts against the wall, I noticed that the very first part (part 1) had a serious crack in the inner right panel, and that I could not proceed with the assembly. Part 1 is a critical part and was so badly fractured, that the opposite side of the damaged side was bowed out. Immediately, I emailed and called Bell'O support to get a replacement part 1. Initially, I was told "sorry about that, but it must have been damaged in shipping". I explained to the tech that the box is undamaged and the other pieces in the box, including the glass doors are fine. The support tech said the replacement order would be sent to the warehouse and they would ship out the substitute part. I gave the support tech my email address and phone number and to inform me of the tracking number. I kept checking in with Bell'O support, because, I suppose, they were too busy to call customers. The warehouse decided that they were NOT responsible for the damage, after all. They said it was due to Fed Ex. But, because they are magnanimous they would replace just the broken panel. On the seventh day, the replacement part arrived, but the hinge holes in the replacement part are out of alignment with the original panels holes, and I would have to remove the hinges and reset them in another location on the panel. Yes, very confusing, and needless to say, frustrating and infuriated. There is more to this saga, but it is much too tedious.

In all, it took two weeks to assemble this thing, and it still isn't square. Fortunately, the locking mechanisms are holding it all together. Like the "bursting at the seams suitcase" in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, I'm hesitant to unlock the locking mechanism, because I am afraid the cabinet will become unhinged and explode.

If you are shopping around for a cabinet, definitely stay away from Bell'O products. Save up your pennies. Buy one that is pre-assembled. It will cost more, and it will probably be made of Chinese products, but it will be worth it in the end. By not having to deal with the grief of damaged parts and flawed replacement parts, you will have a cabinet you can rely on and enjoy. Even better if you can purchase it from Amazon.com. You can depend on these folks to stand by their service.

I waited a while for Amazon to offer this product. I got a good price with free shipping. The shipping from other sources can run from $50 to $150. I have ordered "assembly required" furniture online several times. I've had mixed results with my biggest concern being shipping issues. These products are sent "ground" most often and this can be a rough ride. This time I got a FedEx delivery (not a sub-contract ground delivery). The package arrived in good condition. I unpacked in the garage so I could vac and inspect each component. Then moved to final location for assembly as the finished product weighs about 125lbs. Every component was in good condition and indicated care in manufacture. I assembled in about 40 minutes without any tools. All parts were well made and aligned properly with other components. Each component was numbered and I assembled using the pictures only in the clear instructions. The final media stand looked great and compares with in-store finished products costing twice what I paid. I did look locally and was disappointed in products in my $300 - $500 price range. This unit was the best by far of other furniture I have assembled. The "no tools required" is accurate. I am completely satisfied and am impressed each time I look at the stand. Oh, the finish is much darker that all pictures I have seen. It's well done, but a dark mocha color. Looks rich though.

I bought this on Amazon about two months ago. My TV is set up on top of the fireplace, so I wasn't looking for something that would take my TV. I needed something not too big and not too small to take all of my components, and also to hide the wires coming out of the bottom of the wall. I bought something from IKEA, but after assembly, I did not like the look or the fit of it in my living room. Mainly, it did not do a great job of hiding any of the wires. I went back to the drawing boards and finally found this at my local Best Buy. The price tag was steep ($500), but my wife loved the design. It had sliding doors so our 3 ½ year old would not easily get into it, and also, everything would be hidden behind doors. It also had this hidden compartment above the sliding doors, where you can put DVDs, speakers, or anything else that would fit. So I came back home, and saw it on Amazon for $350 (plus $70 for shipping) so I was sold. It came in pretty quick, 2-3 days after I ordered it.

Now I'll say few words about the assembly. I have assembled many other office furniture pieces in the past which required a few tools, so this assembly wasn't too bad. That being said, I have to disagree with Bell'O about the "No tools Assembly" thing. While you definitely can assemble this with no tools, I think using tools makes it go a lot faster, and more accurate and sturdy. I have no complaints about the quality of the wood. It was better than the IKEA piece I bought before. After it was all assembled, it does look very nice. I like the fact that it has ventilation slots built in, and also built in holes for the wires to go through. I have my cable box, DVD players, Denon receiver, and my Wii console all in it, with room to spare.

Overall, I like the design and construction of this unit. It does exactly what I needed it to do. At $500 I thought it was too much, but thank God for Amazon for making this affordable.

This TV stand was at Best Buy for $500 on sale. I bought it on Amazon ($365) and received it by FedEx 2 days later. The box was a little beat up when it arrived, but the product is well packaged and there were no scratches or dents anywhere. I put this together by myself in about 20 minutes. It is true that no tools are required. Anyone who uses tools to put this together is just a weakling. The cabinet is very solid and attractive. Our 47" LCD looks great on it. I did have to buy a new center channel speaker because the speaker enclosure is only about 6 inches tall. Any center channel with larger than 5.25 inch or larger cones will not fit. I did buy a Polk Audio center channel with 3.5 inch cones and it will fit fine. The sliding glass allows RF signals from your remote through, so you do not have to open the sliding glass normally. The wire management system in the back is great, you cannot see any wires from the front or sides.

I picked this because I needed a compact (46" max) cabinet that would hold a large AV processor (Denon almost 8"high), a 6.5" high center speaker, Wii system, high end blu-ray player, and a smallish subwoofer, but would still allow me to use my 55" LED screen. The WAVS333 works because it can be used with their very nice TV mount PP59B which slides in behind the unit. There were very few options that met my specs (none in my local Magnolia/Best Buy) so getting this (and getting it with Prime shipping!) was exciting.

Tool-less assembly was accurate. I will say that I would have preferred the Ikea approach (using locking metal inserts and bolts) because the latches on the Bell-O system cannot be tightened (they are basically window style latches where you turn a knob that joins the latch pieces together). There is some "play" if I pick up the top of the cabinet (not much but I would prefer a bolt where I can tighten it down all the way). Still, overall it is very sturdy and I am not worried about any structural issue, it is more of a fit and finish concern. I do think that the latches could come undone during a move/jostling, so it would be a good idea to check these after moving the unit. Also, the tool-less assembly took me almost an hour so I am not really sure there is that much time saved.

There were two "defects". One was a chip on the front of the shelf. I used the included marker to cover the chip and make it less noticeable. The fact that they included a marker is evidence to me that this is a common issue! Second, the back piece was missing 4 holes for the alignment dowels. Not a big deal as the dowels are not structural and the support is provided by the latches. I just didn't use the 4 dowels on the back piece.

Doors and glass are very nice, and operation of the rollers is smooth. Overall the unit looks much more expensive than it is. I especially like the magnetic center speaker cover/grill. It affixes with magnets and is covered in a very fine black mesh.

I love it. Easy to assemble and looks fantastic in my room. The wood does get beat up pretty easily so you need to be careful when hooking up all your components as it's very easy to scratch or chip. It comes with a furniture marker, but just do your best to be careful. Also, I would say that the doors don't slide/glide very easily. Not a big deal, but thought I would mention it. Overall though, I am extremely satisfied and love the way it looks. I would definitely recommend. I'll also quickly mention that my universal remote has RF capability with an RF blaster. A standard IR remote will have trouble transmitting through the glass.

Great cabinet for the price. I was looking for something on the small side and that could hold all of my play toys. This holds everything and it is small enough to to fit in the corner. This cabinet is great looking too.

My wife and I are very happy we purchased this product. We noticed it earlier in the year at one of the local electronics stores and made a mental note of it. After the holidays we wanted to clean up the living room and do something about our outdated tv stand, where I noticed the price - including shipping on Amazon. It was a lot less than the local store. 1st, the shipper did a fantastic job delivering this product to the living room; they were very professional, and there was no damage to the package. 2nd, we opened the package and within the next hour or so were able to have this stand assembled. You will need two people to do so in order to avoid scratches (wood on wood). We did not use any tools, except a small screwdriver to pull the staples from the packaging. There were two defects in the cabinet, one minor blemish on the wood screen cover (easily fixed with included stain pen), and the 2nd a small ding on the top surface of the cabinet near the front edge. We may have done that by setting the pieces on their sides from when we opened the package, so be careful. Yesterday we received a flyer from IKEA that included some video cabinets at or near $150 (assembly required). Both my wife and I agree that the Bell'O product is worth the extra couple of hundred dollars as it is a significant upgrade in both appearance and options (ventilation, cable slots, etc.). This is a great product and worth the money spent.

After reading reviews on this cabinet I was a bit concerned about the quality. It arrived with everything intact. There were a couple of small dings, but these were easily covered with the enclosed marker. The construction is better quality than I expected. It was easy to assemble without tools. For the price I think this is a good value.

We are happy with this entertainment console. I shopped fry's, hh gregg, best buy and about 10 furniture stores for something like this, and found this exact model for $500. I bought it on amazon for under $300! It's a great purchase on a fantastic console.