[Alan278]

I'm not sure where to post this, but I need to.  I purchased Heir 4A's almost a year ago and have had various problems.  Since the purchase was completely a result of reading threads on this site, I thought my experience should be made public here as well.
 
I do not doubt the many positive experiences with Heir related in these threads.   However, if you are thinking of purchasing Heir (custom) buds, be aware that things may not go that smoothly.
 
The brief version of a long story is this...
 
After almost 11 months, I am on my second set of buds, which are, like the first, unusable.
 
Here's a little detail...
 
I returned my first set (under warranty, just had to pay another $55 in shipping) due to improper fit.   They also did not sound particularly good.  Got new impressions made, received my second set a week ago, and this set sound great, but are even more painful to wear than my first.  All together, I've had 3 fittings from the same audiologist that Heir recommended to me.  (The first set of impressions was rejected by Heir.)
 
I am in New York City, and the process has taken an incredibly long elapsed time.  Part of that is the China thing - impressions get sent to west coast and then from there are sent to China.  I accepted that when I started on this path.
 
The other significant hold-up though was with the delay in responses to emails.  I sent 3 emails on different days this week and have still not gotten a reply, other than a "mailbox full" on one of the Heir recipients (I sent them to 2 or 3 different Heir email addresses).  With my first set of buds I also had significant issues with responsiveness to email communications.  In addition, when I sent my first set back, they sat on the west coast for weeks since the person who needed to forward them to China was travelling.
 
I'm still hoping to hear back from them and get this resolved or get my money back.  I really hate to disparage them - when I do hear from them they generally are helpful e.g. they extended my refit warranty because they admitted they didn't respond to my emails for a couple of months.  But this has just gone on for too long and things are still not right for me.
 
So, proceed with caution, especially if you are on the east coast in the US.  And if you do get them, and they fit, enjoy!  I'm sure they are great.  

 

[Alan278]

Just putting a bump on this to see if there are any readers who care to comment or provide suggestions on how I can get better service from this company.  I'm out several hundred USD and a lot of time (emails, to/from audiologist & UPS etc) with nothing but a pair of buds I can't use.

 

[davidcotton]

Apparantly it's been national holiday in China last week, so it may be worth firing them another email this week to see if you can sort this.
 
Good luck.

 

[shotgunshane]

Also it looks like the heir originator is launching a new start up soon. May be worth contacting him for potential help. Not sure what country he's based in, but maybe he can facilitate getting you some help stateside. Can't hurt to try and ask. Look up member Fullcircle. Good luck- multiple refit issues out of your home based country are always painful.

 

[Alan278]

OK thanks - maybe that's what this delay is about.  Seems they should have some auto-reply on their email or something.