[Ramtha604]

One year ago I bought a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 250/250's online from Jan Meier. These were my first pair of higher-end HPs. With my Porta Corda the DT 250 go loud enough to cause a ringing in the ears for several hours after just 10 minutes of listening without any distortions whatsoever. Yet they developed a grattle in the right cup during the first two weeks of _normal_ burn in (no very high volumes). I had to send them in to Beyer for repair.

Now, almost exactly one year later I buy a NIB pair of Grado SR-325 from a fellow head-fier and guess what? A grattle in the right cup. Right from the start. I continue burning them in at low volumes, but it only gets worse. Then I blast music at high (though not distortingly high) volumes for a few hours. Result: The right driver seems to work better now (not sure if it's really cured but it definately was worse before), however the left driver doesn't produce any sound at all anymore!! I'm not able to make any sense of this. I will have to send them in for repair, too.

Again I have no receipe and will have to pay the repair out of my own pocket (at least for now). Personally I really have to wonder what kind of quality control staple brand electronics companies like Grado or Beyer have when someone who has bought two higher-end HPs in his whole life receives both of them unuseable? What are the chances that quality control actually was excellent in both cases and I just simply had back luck? Not too high I suppose.

Even if I get the money for both repairs back I still have to pay for sending the HPs in for repair, even though it is not my fault that I am being sold a faulty product.

I don't really see a reason to buy online new anymore. Used.. why not? At least I know they are going to work plus individuals usually don't have that kind of "your problem"-attitude that _big_ companies in their pseudo-anonymity often display. Also used gear has a comparatively decent relative resale value, because you already get them at 2nd hand-price.

Have you had similar experiences? Or do you have a different opinion to share?

 

[gloco]

I think you just have bad luck, i own various used headphones and have been lucky so far. Hell, i own two electret earspeakers, both more than two decades old, and they work just fine. Kinda sucks that you got stuck with a faulty pair of Grado's, maybe you should contact the seller?

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ramtha604 Have you had similar experiences? Or do you have a different opinion to share?

Well, certainly all of my experiences with ordering headphones over the net were much better than that, and I will still continue to support all of the Head-Fi’s sponsors first.
I think we as consumers have a job to do. It is our duty to understand the warranty of a product, and the specifics of that warranty. No warranty that I know of will pay for shipping to, and from the factory for repair. It is also our job to keep any proof of purchase to eliminate any type of confusion if something does happen to go wrong.
As for buying used, I almost never do, because I want the reassurance of knowing that the receipt is in my name, with my address to eliminate even more confusion.
Sorry about your situation though. If I were you I would still think about buying your headphones online, because I have seen some of the prices local dealers want for these things. Good luck!

 

[grinch]

personally, i'd rather save a few hundred dollars and deal with the possibility of problems than to pay a lot more to buy them locally (like i could find them anyway). i have bought the sr-325's brand new (and sold them over a year later) and i never had this problem that you speak of. it sounds to me like you're blasting your music too loud or damaging them in some other way.

i've owned quite a few headphones, some new and some used, and none of them have ever suddenly died or had difficulties with the sound. i would look to how you're treating them and see if they aren't being taken care of properly.

 

[JMT]

Every single pair of headphones that I own I bought used from a member here. Have not had any problems whatsoever. I have purchased a few things off Audiogon too, never a problem. While I can certainly understand your frustration, I would never say never. You can find some incredible savings in the "pre-owned" headphone market. But it is important to know who you are dealing with to the degree that you can.

 

[Ramtha604]

Just to clear something up: Neither am I carrying/throwing headphones around by their cord, nor am I playing music at volumes that could actually damage the drivers (unless they are already completely f'ed anyway and that's the only suggested fix that could work in the situation).

Actually the SR-325 display quite an interesting behaviour. Both drivers are completely dead right now. It went pretty much the same way as with the DT 250 except that on the DT 250 only the right driver had that kind of problem, not both. After the repair I _never_ again had any problems with the DT 250 whatsoever.

SR-325 history:

I get the SR-325 unpack them and start burning them in at low to moderate volume. After a short while of listening to them I notice that already at slightly higher moderate volumes there is a buzz/grattle in the right driver when the music has deep bass. I notice it is getting worse and I have to keep reducing the volume more and more to not get the buzz.

I start searching head-fi for info and basically find that blasting music at high volume usually cures the problem. I'd say I started with moderately high volumes for about an hour, then another oneand another one... it won't get better. I realize I might just use too little volume when I should be _blasting_ music and increase the volume while listening for distortions. These go even insanely much louder than the DT 250 without distortions _except_ for those in the bass region, which were there right from the beginning. I _blast_ music for the duration of one album. When I come back the _other_ (left) driver (the one that initially did not sound faulty) was completely dead while the initially faulty (right) driver seemed to be slightly better. At that point the SR-325 start displaying interesting behaviour. The left driver actually seems to be only "half-dead" (???). This means: When I play music at low volume through the SR-325 only the right driver produces sound, however when I turn the bass way down and the treble way up and _blast_ music for just a second the left driver comes back to life again and I can reduce the volume back to "low" with normal tone controls and both drivers playing. Cool, huh? Well, it didn't take long and (I suppose it's still exactly the same problem as right from the start) this got worse too. This means both drivers are now half-dead and I can get them to play for a fraction of a second when I turn the bass completely down and the treble completely up and _blast_ music. Though it doesn't make sense to blast for longer than a fraction of a second because they won't play longer anyway.

Interpretations welcome.

 

[Flasken]

Those things are cursed or possessed, go see an exorcist.

 

[Ramtha604]

LOL, Flasken, my thougths exactly.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

I just wondered if you are using the same amp for both headphones and if it possible that there could be a DC current (or something) which could have damaged your headphones.

I've read about this on Head-Fi but never experienced it myself. Then again I haven't had problems with two pairs of headphones.

Good luck in solving your problem ... Gord.

 

[fiddler]

I've only bought headphones and amps online. Hell, even the parts I bought to build my CMOY were bought online. I've recently bought several headphones and other audio gear used, and have had no problems. It looks like you've had some bad luck...

 

[Ramtha604]

The equipment associated with both incidents is completely different (not a single same part).