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No,... What tim3320070 said is that he would be OK with buying a "BRAND NEW" house that has things that doesn't work properly.

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you can still inspect a house while it's being made

When my parents bought a beautiful house in '66 it was made to their specifications. We slept in it before it was finished.
When they handed it over to us, the Refrigerator didn't work . The bathroom sink leaked through the drain pipe, and the baseboard heating didn't work when we turned it on 2 months later.
It cost $39K in '66, was sold for $250K in '71, and is now worth over a million.

Was there anyway that we would know that the fridge would clunk out the first night, or that the baseboard heating would not turn on after the first oil delivery? No, We had to sleep in a motel for 2 weeks.

Things happen.

I just bought my son a Sansa Fuse which comes highly rated here at Head-Fi. It is a nice component, but it is frozen upon first turn on, and we have to send it back to Amazon and wait a couple of weeks for a new one. They will not send us a new one in between.

I could go on, but the point should be gotten.

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Both analogies are incorrect in representing what is going on with customers having problems with their HE-5s.
1> A well used refrigerator and other things breaking down is far different than a brand new item which has seen minimal to negligible use falling apart or completely failing.
2> With respect to service to the customer, again your sansa analogy is flawed here, as if there was a break in the cup like some have experienced then am sure they will do what you did with the sansa and wait for a replacement. But replacing a pad doesn't warrant sending the whole headphone back. That is just wasteful in so many ways.

I'd rather see the manufacturer answer these concerns directly rather than a moderator do it for them, especially when the manufacturer already has done so. The moderator is jsut overcomplicating the situation by advocating for the company and calling valid cutormer concerns as hasty, insignificant, etc. Let the company deal with this directly.

The refrigerator was brand new, and the moderator will step out of the conversation with one last comment. I am a member in this thread, just like everyone else, and I own the HE-5's.

I'm sorry if that complicated you. For a person who has been with us, less than 1 month, you sure said a mouthful. That, and I was advocating for all MOT companies on Head-Fi. Not too complicated.

You are correct in saying, "let the manufacturer take care of the problem" in one aspect, but a forum, any forum, consists of people expressing their ideas, thoughts, happinesses, and frustrations. I have had
my share of all these, but as to not appear to be an advocate, I will step out and only come back, when moderation is needed. Have a pleasant evening.

I kinda have to agree with Orthohead here (even if he is new lol)... As much as I love the HE-5's sound, the little "flaws" are annoying. I know this can happen with any new piece of equipment, but It is still no excuse. The bottom line is that "potential" customers are being discouraged by this, though I must admit the customer service in my experience has been excellent. I love these headphones to death, and ultimately its worth the few bumps in the road to have such a brilliant and unique headphone such as the HE-5's. The bottom line is that the customer is buying a 600 dollar headphone, now for some this is peanuts, and for others its their long time savings... The sinking feeling one gets when they buy such an expensive headphone and the wood is cracking and the pad is tearing, can be discouraging. I know things "happen" but these faults are happening with many members of this forum, and IMO these faults could have been avoided before the manufacturing process. Either way the HE-5's and the Head Direct squad get full support from me and I will buy their products in the future, but maybe others won't be so tolerant. Cheers!

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A suggestion: just order another identical Fuse if you have the flexibility, with free Amazon shipping (or overnight it if you want) and return the defective one for a refund; if the price is the same, great, and things will work out much quicker

Well, to put myself back on the other side of the fence... now that I've got a tube that actually works (the RCA that came with it, and a replacement I got from a respected member here, were both bad - so it goes with tube gear and 40+ y.o. tubes), and have spent nearly a week so far breaking these in, I'm quite pleased with the EF5/HE5 combo. The initial harshness of the high end has definitely mellowed. The detail on these is quite nice. I'm looking forward to further improvements from more burn-in and then some serious rolling.

I would love eventually to find a "pure tube" amp that's capable of driving these, but that may be an expensive proposition.

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I sensed bias in that statement. as I said in another thread, it seems head-direct has army of apologists in its payroll

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Plenty have had luck with TC tube amps, including Skylab with the Decware CSP-2 and I with the Elekit TU-882. Though, to get a tube amp that works better with them than the EF5 may be difficult.

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How is that biased in favor of Head-Direct? He just said that he "was advocating for all MOT companies on Head-Fi."

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I'm taking that real personally. There's no way around it. What you you stated was both accusatory and libelous to me, which is a bannable offense for any member. You can't just write down every thought that comes in your head.

People said I had an agenda when I warned members to stay away from purchasing Singlepower products because I can see the bigger picture which entails all of Head-FI, and now 5 years later, many actions have proved that I was right. My only purpose is protecting the members.

My posts about Head-Direct, are from the heart, because I can't really enjoy my $1400 HD800's, after using my HE-5. We are members first, Moderators second, and if enough people (I'm not talking about NooBs), feel that I am advocating a particular product too much, then PM me. I have thick skin (formed mostly because of Head-Fi).
If someone feels I am overly advocating one product over another, then just PM me (ulterior motives cause a member a need to air dirty laundry directly in the thread). If I get enough PM's, then I will take a step back, and re-evaluate the situation, and If I "see the light" because of positive, re-inforcing opinions from people that I have respect for) then I will step out of the thread.

I have recently boasted about the iBasso D-10, Whiplash audio's TWag wire, my JH-13, Red Wine Audio, ALO and sys concepts, etc for their products and CS relationship. When someone accuses me of being helped in the pocketbook because of this, then I have to intervene. There is a small mis-conception that Mods get free products or deep discounts.
If this is true, then I have missed the boat. We have no other agenda other than protecting our members from fraud, and that members are civil towards each other.

I said that I would step away from the thread, but yet you persist, and drew me back in.
Maybe, I was being a bit over zealous because I'm thrilled that we have choices and love my H-D products. For that, I apologize. But your statement was over the top.
I will stay out of future Head-Direct threads (unless I see a need for moderation), but please, be careful what you say. What you said was serious, unless you have some sort of solid proof.
I'm going to let this go. But please choose your words wisely. I have been working for Head-Fi, without pay, for almost 6 years, now, trying to keep this, the greatest site on the internet. But I don't need people slinging arrows at me.

I have a great idea...let's go back to discussing what the OP started this thread for, in the first place.

For the other members, i am truly sorry that this has wasted any, if at all, at least, some of your time. Thank you somestranger26

Peace out.

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With as much evidence as you had, one could as easily claim you're a saboteur under someone else's payroll.

I don't know about you, but most bias I've noticed on Headfi is borne from an opinion about a product more so than monetary incentives on the side. Joke or not (random smiley face noted), I would be happy to refute your claim that such an army exists. I mean, I can understand your suspicion simply because, indeed, there are a lot of seasoned Headfiers who like the HE-5 and defend it. But here I am, an unknown complete newb to Headfi who is willing to stand by the HE-5.

Hey Skylab (or anyone), did you notice any differences from running the HE-5 balanced?

My HE-5 sound better run balanced for sure...BUT...not only is there a better cable (from A Pure Sound) at play here, but also the Audio-GD Phoenix itself sounds much better balanced - so it's very difficult for me to say how much of the better sound is due to the better cable, or due to balancing in and of itself, or due to the Phoenix itself.

So I can't be as helpful as I'd like - but in my balanced system, the HE-5 sounds quite a bit better - tighter and punchier bass, smoother highs with better top end air.

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Thanks.