Final Audio Design Impressions and Discussion Thread
Dec 23, 2014 at 6:01 PM Post #5,102 of 11,627
   
Any flanges, as in not even single ones? I'm not a fan of dual / triple flanges either, but I find some single flanges (like Sony hybrids) extremely comfortable.
 
 
To me, they're in redundant territory as far as sound signature is concerned. But since I neither like the SS (too fragile) nor the UERM (too cumbersome) for commuting, they're by far my favorites in that regard.

 
The Sony hybrids don't work that well with my ears, but then I've got veritable soda straws for ear canals. The dual / triple flanges work better but are pretty uncomfortable for me in most cases (though the ones that I have would'nt even fit on these bores anyway). I'm actually becoming more of a foamy fan these days.
 
Curious if you find the AK02 too fragile? I haven't had the pleasure of trying them yet, but they look more robust to me.
 
Dec 23, 2014 at 6:51 PM Post #5,104 of 11,627
I don't pay that much attention to Aurisonics news, but whaa...?

I might have to check that out sometime...


I'll PM you what was shared with me. Knowing your tastes, I think you'll find it interesting
 
Dec 23, 2014 at 7:03 PM Post #5,105 of 11,627
What do people who have Heaven VII or Heaven VIII think of the isolation? I found the isolation to be minimal during the dem I had yesterday.

I'm wondering if the hole in the earpiece where the cable enters is actually a vent for acoustic balance. Could someone who has either one of these models experiment with sealing that hole where the cable enters the body to see if it changes the sound or alters isolation?
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 12:10 AM Post #5,106 of 11,627
  Curious if you find the AK02 too fragile? I haven't had the pleasure of trying them yet, but they look more robust to me.

 
I thought so too, until I came across a cable failure on a mint looking AKR02 I bought from eBay. This and the fact that it seems pretty hard to source a replacement cable (proprietary connectors and all) made me scrap the plan to get an AKR02 for commuting. Quite unexpectedly, the VII turned out to be well-suited for that purpose and they provide even better isolation than the SS and AKR02.
 
What do people who have Heaven VII or Heaven VIII think of the isolation? I found the isolation to be minimal during the dem I had yesterday.

I'm wondering if the hole in the earpiece where the cable enters is actually a vent for acoustic balance. Could someone who has either one of these models experiment with sealing that hole where the cable enters the body to see if it changes the sound or alters isolation?

 
The VII's isolation is excellent, but may depend on how their tapered housings fit your ear canal. Anyway, there's no leakage through the strain relief on my pair.
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 11:14 AM Post #5,107 of 11,627
I am not a fan of Jaben to be honest. Wouldn't really let them handle post-sales service, especially repairs...


Save that when they are the authorized dealer, would you prefer to deal with all the follow up yourself? The manufacturers tend to leave such matters to the authorized dealers. :)
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 11:21 AM Post #5,108 of 11,627
Save that when they are the authorized dealer, would you prefer to deal with all the follow up yourself? The manufacturers tend to leave such matters to the authorized dealers.
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Haha fair enough.  But not all manufacturers are fully aware of who they've left in charge.  I don't want to come across sounding like some miser, but I guess that of the audio shops in Singapore, Jaben is not what I would consider a "first stop".  
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 7:00 PM Post #5,109 of 11,627
Haha fair enough.  But not all manufacturers are fully aware of who they've left in charge.  I don't want to come across sounding like some miser, but I guess that of the audio shops in Singapore, Jaben is not what I would consider a "first stop".  


Ah... Choosing an authorized dealer is something which companies are careful about. Well, to each his own. As long as you enjoy the music. :)
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 4:34 AM Post #5,110 of 11,627
Haha fair enough.  But not all manufacturers are fully aware of who they've left in charge.  I don't want to come across sounding like some miser, but I guess that of the audio shops in Singapore, Jaben is not what I would consider a "first stop".  


May I ask what it is about Jaben that you so detest? The staff are friendly, helpful and tirelessly serving hordes of customers at busy hours. My personal experiences have been nothing but good, before and after sales. Claire has been patient with my never ending questions, at all hours sometimes, and kind with exchanging some stuff I've purchased. I've been able to test and try everything to my hearts content every time I am there. And from my observations in the store, it seems I'm not the only one having a ball there haha!
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 4:44 AM Post #5,111 of 11,627
May I ask what it is about Jaben that you so detest? The staff are friendly, helpful and tirelessly serving hordes of customers at busy hours. My personal experiences have been nothing but good, before and after sales. Claire has been patient with my never ending questions, at all hours sometimes, and kind with exchanging some stuff I've purchased. I've been able to test and try everything to my hearts content every time I am there. And from my observations in the store, it seems I'm not the only one having a ball there haha!

 
Not wanting to go OT too far....But at least for Jaben in SG, I did know that a staff member opened a completely new package to let me test the headphone since they were out of Demos (great gesture)...until it got put back on the shelf after I didn't take it.  Not what I would consider a "new" product (OCD? perhaps).   I know that for a demo unit I received once...it was completely gross (don't even want to recount what happened when I removed the earpads) and the staff weren't exactly clear on what was going on. 
 
Now for sales point service, Jaben seems to be good!  I'm not denying that.  However, post-sales isn't what I would describe as being the best.  Don't like the fact that prices are "unwritten" at times (they have pricing charts).  It's doesn't inspire confidence in my opinion.  
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 5:43 AM Post #5,113 of 11,627
Not wanting to go OT too far....But at least for Jaben in SG, I did know that a staff member opened a completely new package to let me test the headphone since they were out of Demos (great gesture)...until it got put back on the shelf after I didn't take it.  Not what I would consider a "new" product (OCD? perhaps).   I know that for a demo unit I received once...it was completely gross (don't even want to recount what happened when I removed the earpads) and the staff weren't exactly clear on what was going on. 

Now for sales point service, Jaben seems to be good!  I'm not denying that.  However, post-sales isn't what I would describe as being the best.  Don't like the fact that prices are "unwritten" at times (they have pricing charts).  It's doesn't inspire confidence in my opinion.  


Not quite sure what you are going on about... As for the prices not being written... If you try the demos of the iems, they all have the RRP written on the tag that comes with the iems.

I've never had post-sales issues with Jaben either. When the drivers in my TG334 failed and had to be sent back for RMA, it was done expeditiously. Same for when I had issues with my Calyx M.

You are shifting the goal posts. First it was post sales service. Now it's speculation what a kind gesture to you led to. And complaints about prices not being written down when they are. :)
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 5:48 AM Post #5,114 of 11,627
May I ask what it is about Jaben that you so detest? The staff are friendly, helpful and tirelessly serving hordes of customers at busy hours. My personal experiences have been nothing but good, before and after sales. Claire has been patient with my never ending questions, at all hours sometimes, and kind with exchanging some stuff I've purchased. I've been able to test and try everything to my hearts content every time I am there. And from my observations in the store, it seems I'm not the only one having a ball there haha!


I agree with you. Think he's nitpicking and shifting around without any real substantiation and making vague assertions. Obviously has an axe to grind. :)
 
Dec 25, 2014 at 6:41 AM Post #5,115 of 11,627
Not quite sure what you are going on about... As for the prices not being written... If you try the demos of the iems, they all have the RRP written on the tag that comes with the iems.

I've never had post-sales issues with Jaben either. When the drivers in my TG334 failed and had to be sent back for RMA, it was done expeditiously. Same for when I had issues with my Calyx M.

You are shifting the goal posts. First it was post sales service. Now it's speculation what a kind gesture to you led to. And complaints about prices not being written down when they are.
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Sorry if it seems that way. It's not really my intention to go off against any one retailer.  I do admit, it's a highly sensitive and subjective topic.  
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But I'll put it this way...it does me no good to "rep" a certain store over another.  After all, they're just a middle man in the purchasing process.  While I do understand that some stores have their fan clubs and dedicated group of customers that create  a sort of following around xyz individual, that kind of a relationship has never appealed to me very much.  I just want to get to my sound as quickly as possible!  Of course, it's good if the trip there is pleasant.  
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Post sales service - Let's talk warranty. While looking into a DAP/DAC, I was told that for a 0.5 year warranty, price could be cut 300-400 dollars.  For a 1 year, 200 dollars, and so on and so forth. This simply doesn't inspire confidence.  Also leads me to wonder- why is the overall price so heavily dependent on the warranty?  I want the manufacturer's warranty, and I'm not sure how a retailer is allowed to discount or cut that on such a casual basis...Perhaps I am not aware of a certain generally accepted business practice, but this is a little odd don't you think?  Now, for post sales horror stores, there is another unnamed forum with a thread dedicated to this.  Emotions ran high on that one.
 
In addition...discounts are available depending on how much you spend.  They have a pricing table that determines how much they can give you based on how much you spend.  Wish that table were public.
 
Demo Unit - Indicative of service level when no immediate profit can be seen or made.  
 
New Packaging - Nuff said.  A unit used for demo purposes should and must stay as a demo unit.  It's not good to have it packed back up and sold as new.
 
Now, my little rant is over.  It's the holidays, and I wish all of y'all a good one.  
 

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