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Mike, I know you are having a really bad stroke of luck with the your orthos (right now, I'm having repeatedly messed up issues with my McIntosh Pre and my ultra expensive Emm Labs CDSD), and it's a pain shipping them back and forth to upstate NY and Canada, but it's not really fair of you to say that "you lost interest in all chinese products". You can't blame a whole race or even a country for a stroke of bad luck.
All countries and every company has it's ups and downs. From Goldman Sachs to Toyota, stereotyping a large group of people is not right.

I can honestly say that I've been caused both pain and joy from many countries in the world. That's just the way it goes.

i also think that you are somewhat rolling the dice with the gear from china. i thought the sound of the HE5 was pretty good. that makes me interested in the LE version but not sure i want to deal with any potential issues/faults of this model. maybe there are none but the track record at this point is not encouraging. guess we will see.

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With respect (truly), I don't understand how you get from "gear from China" to problems with one product line from one company. By comparison, it would be unreasonable to say that you'd be rolling the dice with gear from the US, Grados have QC issues.

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that sounds like a cable problem. Though the possibility of driver lead-wire connection breaking (assuming the diaphragm has aluminum traces, so aluminum solder was used?) does exist.

In China there's a real lack of transparency, plus holes in the regulation, a guan xi (connections) culture and many enforcements issues, these are very real and borne out by the concerns of investors and academics. We also know that there are good factories and bad factories, just like any other country. It's true that the general operating environment means in China many of the really bad ones often don't get caught until it's too late - see the milk powder crisis, but other than that, it's not like a factory automatically gets 'good' if it's in the US or Japan (economists will argue here over productivity, but I'm discounting those effects for the purposes of specific companies).

So I think it's important to evaluate each company and its facilities on their own merits, keeping in mind not only the environment of each country but also specific circumstances. The company's track record, for example, is very important. The things they are doing to smooth out the production process on their new model also is. Are the problems with the HE-5 there because they are produced in China, or is it because the company is new to the headphone scene and is still working it all out? I can't give an answer, but at any rate, it is a more precise approach than a blanket anti-Chinese product basis.

The other problem is that we can't know everything. Information is muddy in China and bad things do happen. Hence the rolling of dice.

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That sucks, but you aren't the only one. I read another Head-fier's plight with a pair of HE-5s recently and we were having the same problem. My right side was cutting in and out quite a bit for a few weeks, and after some correspondence where I wanted to know if I could get my pair back (repaired), they changed the terms of the warranty to where I could only get them replaced. The first time they said the warranty was a 30 day refund, 90 day replacement, 1 year repair; now it seems it is a 30 day refund, one year replacement. No biggie, just a bit confusing. I am guessing that they can change the terms as the situation presents itself, according to what is on hand at the moment and I do not have a problem with that.

So anyways the problem seems to have subsided completely for now, and I will have to see if it comes back. With my luck it will be fine until the 366th day and fail completely. At its worst when it cut out I would shake my head and it would come back but it was quite annoying and would happen way too often. I checked the cable and connector, the problem was evidently internal but could still be a loose connection, who knows.

The wood is good on mine, luck of the draw I guess. They were too bright even with the star cutout until 250-300 hours and now they sound great. I was able to get the pads replaced when one failed, and I really hope they keep working but I am understandably concerned that they won't. I've put a lot into these cans and I really like them now. I would probably choose to upgrade to the LE as well if I have to send mine in before "starting over" on another pair of these, but I really hope mine have somehow "fixed themselves" permanently.

Edit: evidently not; the weird thing is every time I read or write about this right driver issue mine starts acting up, like it is now again (shakes head)

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Are you able to open up the headphone? If it is a cable thing, its a v.easy fix, just resolder the joint, or check if somethings loose.

(I dunno how this affects the warranty though, so maybe don't listen to me , im used to being ghetto with vintage stuff).

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AudioCats just posted that they may have used aluminum solder, as the driver may have an aluminum diaphragm. I don't think that is something I would attempt, especially while they are under warranty (but it's definitely worth a look).

When I said I lost interest in Chinese products, it is not to discriminate a country or race, but it was a personal preference of judgement I will use when buying new equipment, nothing against the country or people themselves. I am not going to get into the politics of lost domestic jobs, cheap labor etc... since this is not the place to dispute such issues... I think its ultimately down to the buyer to make his own decision what he thinks would be the most wise purchase, based on quality, performance, previous experiences, etc... In the future, I will keep an open eye to great new products, regardless of nationalities, but for now, I will stick to what I know is safe and tested, and that is buying future equipment closer to home... Cheers,

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Just because you had a bad experience with one chinese product doesnt mean you can brand all the others the same as well. It's really unlucky that you experience the problems you did, but Head Direct has a massive following and great rep on here to boot.

I bought the He-5/EF5 not too long ago and it sounds amaaazing. Just got an email from AmpCity about pre-ordering the HE-5LE (here if anyone wants to pick up a pair: AmpCity - The UK's headphone amp specialists - Head Direct HE-5 LE) and just took the plunge . Thats another £500 I have to find from somewhere

Can't wait to get mine and compair with the HE-5's, but the He-5's were better than any other cans Ive heard around the same price so this shouldn't fail to impress either. I hope you can put the bad experience behind you - I guess without taking risks on buying products you will never get that ultimate pair of cans. At least you got your money back right, which is more than i can say for other places

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My point was that even on a $11000 Canadian product, of which I have to spend $250 of my own money to get something as simple as a failed P/S in both shipping and repair (it not the fuse, I checked), can cause the need for Prevacid. They told me it's a known problem, so why should I have to pay for shipping on a top dollar product to a bordering country) from a a top tier company such as Emm Labs)? My McIntosh problem (born and raised in America) had occurred 3 times and I have found out they they have installed an input fuse that is underrated according to their writen specs . I think that I will just use a piece of tin foil instead.That should make it not blow again

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As a high priced mafia litigation lawyer. you know it's not proper etiquette to lump sump an entire race in one basket as far as building components and to quality control is concerned.
The etiquette police have been notified I hear the Tongs are looking for some "pro-bono" work

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Yah, what happened to comity? (that's what we call it in HK; I've seen US writers use the word right?)
[size=xx-small]The last one was the business me talking. The legal me is here now.[/size]

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I think it's a fair point to avoid the HE5/LE... and here's why. Before you accuse me of promoting a stereotype or being racist, just hear me out. The issues are:

1. reportedly poor quality control
2. reportedly poor customer service/communication
3. lengthy and expensive shipping back and forth to China should a problem occur

Now do these issues apply only to Chinese companies? Well of course not but I'd prefer to deal with a company that has good reputation for customer support and good track record of building quality products which are durable and up to at least a certain standard of quality.

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To be fair to Fang,

1. These were unfortunate, but he has addressed these now in his new model
2. Usually it seems he responds well to peoples problems, iv not heard of people left in the lurch.
3. I thought you can return to a USA address too?

I'm not saying this is the best company in the world, but it seems they are trying to keep up reasonable customer service for a small outfit.

If I buy a product from my local high st. electronics retailer, I get 1 year warranty, if it breaks after 30 days, i have to wait weeks etc for a long repair from the manufacturer. And there is no personal contact. These are the big players (sony, panasonic, etc). Head-Direct may not have the exemplary service of Koss, but they are fulfilling their customer after care as far as I can see.

Even if you have quality issues with the HE5. I see no reason why this should translate to the HE5LE seeing as it has been designed to rectify all the old issues.