[sulkoudai]

Quote:

Just noticed you are all outside of north america. Perhaps it's just issues with getting things to your select countries?

nah, i don't think the country I'm in affects when and how they ship them

 

[frenchbat]

Well sometimes the distance can be a problem for some shops, but in this case I don't think so either. Hong-Kong/Australia or Hong-Kong/Japan is likely to take same or less time than Hong-Kong/USA.
 
Besides, as Sulkodai was suggesting, the problem is not in the shipping time, at least not in my case since I paid for EMS shipping and my package was sent back by EMS.
 
And in my particular case, it's the warranty handling that was wrong. Unless you're suggesting that the warranty handling is different between customers depending on their country of residence, which would hint to some kind kind of preference from the shop. I didn't suggest that, and I don't think it's the case.

 

[Peyotero]

Chinese brands are cheap for a reason. Customer service, malefunction and shipping time is a risk you take.

 

[frenchbat]

Overstated much ? Reminds me the comment of the young Doc Brown in Back to the Future 3, about japanese products

. I do agree that chinese standards aren't always the same, as I work with chinese factories all year round. But that doesn't mean they're all similar.
 
Besides, MP4Nation is a sponsor here, as well as HifiMan. As far as I know HifiMan CS is good, and reactive, so its status as a HeadFi partner seems justified, wether you like their products or not. But in the case of MP4Nation, I have my doubts and I do think they shouldn't be "endorsed" by the forum, as it's the case right now with this status of sponsor.
 
Quote:

Chinese brands are cheap for a reason. Customer service, malefunction and shipping time is a risk you take.

 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Chinese brands are cheap for a reason. Customer service, malefunction and shipping time is a risk you take.

 
Sir, I completely reject your premise. It assumes that all of those things are 100% 'fine' when you shop with a retailer from outside China/Asia/Kyrgystan, and that absolutely hasnt been my experience. iBasso can get an amp to me faster than my favourite retailer here in Oz - its quicker to get kit shipped from Shenzhen (including time in Customs..) than it is from Perth, and that's a national disgrace IMO.
 
I have bought kit from iBasso, Fiio, Head-Direct, Teclast and others - so far, I am very happy with the overall experience. The only device I have had problems with recently is the ZO2, and thats a topic for a whole other thread.

 

[Peyotero]

Quote:

Overstated much ? Reminds me the comment of the young Doc Brown in Back to the Future 3, about japanese products

. I do agree that chinese standards aren't always the same, as I work with chinese factories all year round. But that doesn't mean they're all similar.
 
Besides, MP4Nation is a sponsor here, as well as HifiMan. As far as I know HifiMan CS is good, and reactive, so its status as a HeadFi partner seems justified, wether you like their products or not. But in the case of MP4Nation, I have my doubts and I do think they shouldn't be "endorsed" by the forum, as it's the case right now with this status of sponsor.
 


 

Don't know about HifiMan's CS but as for the product itself... umm don't wanna start a MASSIVE flame war around here as I like this place but before you buy anything that costs that much ask yourself if there's a flipside to the coin. Just type "HifiMan" on anythingbutipod.com forums search and dig around. You might get a different opinion to say the least.
 

 
Quote:

 
Sir, I completely reject your premise. It assumes that all of those things are 100% 'fine' when you shop with a retailer from outside China/Asia/Kyrgystan, and that absolutely hasnt been my experience. iBasso can get an amp to me faster than my favourite retailer here in Oz - its quicker to get kit shipped from Shenzhen (including time in Customs..) than it is from Perth, and that's a national disgrace IMO.
 
I have bought kit from iBasso, Fiio, Head-Direct, Teclast and others - so far, I am very happy with the overall experience. The only device I have had problems with recently is the ZO2, and thats a topic for a whole other thread.

I know what I said is generalizing but you're still taking a risk. I shopped with Head-Direct and the CS was great. Got a no hassle replacement for a faulty earphone. But then the second piece died as soon as the warranty ran out. I didn't complain much as it was sorta expected for the price I payed. 
 

 

[estreeter]

My RE0 died within 3 months of purchase, and many others have had the same experience - I just avoid that particular product and the HM-601. Knowledge is power.

 

[flaming_june]

Same with my re0.  But CS and RMA was fine.  As for mp4nation, they lost my business long time ago.  Like those have said it in the sflow or this thread, many people suffered the same or worse.

 

[frenchbat]

I don't need to look at ABI. Why do you think I specifically wrote about HifiMan : "wether you like their products or not" ? If people prefers to hear their music colored, that's their problem. But regardless their CS is on par with other typical shops.
 
As for overall quality and durability of the products, well s*** happens all the time. That's why CS is important, and unfortunately MP4Nation fails this by far.
 
Quote:

Don't know about HifiMan's CS but as for the product itself... umm don't wanna start a MASSIVE flame war around here as I like this place but before you buy anything that costs that much ask yourself if there's a flipside to the coin. Just type "HifiMan" on anythingbutipod.com forums search and dig around. You might get a different opinion to say the least.

 

 

[Kanashimu]

Quote:

Congratulations - I believe you are customer #10,000 to be stung by MP4Nation. What stuns me is that different Head-Fiers are still prepared to put up with them because they are so cheap. Sounds like a massive case of 'false economy' to me.

I'm pretty sure that Head Direct / Hifiman is a far worse offender.
 

Edit - read through the thread.

Wow, seriously? All this praise for Head Direct?

They have downright the worst CS I've ever seen. They're incredibly slow, and EVERY rep I've taked to had be absolutely clueless and knew nothing about electronics or audio in general (she even referred my case to the 'technician' even though what I asked was very simple - the output impedance of the HM-601). After a bunch of confused exchanges, she just restated the output power as per displayed on their website, I gave up. This is only the most recent case of frustration with Head Direct.

Don't even get me started on the build quality of the products of Head Direct. It seems like Yuin earphones scarcely last over 6 months. Same with the RE IEMs. The HM-601's directional buttons are loose - very poor build quality indeed. The HE Jades have massive unit to unit variation, but I guess I'll overlook it because its handmade. My HE-5s had wood cracking. Extremely disappointing. (I also lost $1000 because my HE-5 + EF-5 combo was confiscated by Chinese customs, but thats not really Head Direct's fault. It is to their disadvantage, however).

 

[frenchbat]

As far as I know HifiMan has no problem shipping, or replacing the faulty goods, which is precisely the problem with MP4Nation.
 
To me, quality or information on the products doesn't enter in CS, as it's rather marketing depts that take care of this. Now I agree with you that HifiMan is probably not the best quality on the market. The specifications of their headphones' line are obviously overstated, as proven by Tyll's tests, but if you have a problem they do replace your model in due time.
 
I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I had a piece of gear from MP4Nation stuck in chinese customs like you. I'm not even sure I'd have seen my money back. It's that bad.
 
Quote:

I'm pretty sure that Head Direct / Hifiman is a far worse offender.
 

Edit - read through the thread.

Wow, seriously? All this praise for Head Direct?

They have downright the worst CS I've ever seen. They're incredibly slow, and EVERY rep I've taked to had be absolutely clueless and knew nothing about electronics or audio in general (she even referred my case to the 'technician' even though what I asked was very simple - the output impedance of the HM-601). After a bunch of confused exchanges, she just restated the output power as per displayed on their website, I gave up. This is only the most recent case of frustration with Head Direct.

Don't even get me started on the build quality of the products of Head Direct. It seems like Yuin earphones scarcely last over 6 months. Same with the RE IEMs. The HM-601's directional buttons are loose - very poor build quality indeed. The HE Jades have massive unit to unit variation, but I guess I'll overlook it because its handmade. My HE-5s had wood cracking. Extremely disappointing. (I also lost $1000 because my HE-5 + EF-5 combo was confiscated by Chinese customs, but thats not really Head Direct's fault. It is to their disadvantage, however).

 

 

[Kanashimu]

Quote:

As far as I know HifiMan has no problem shipping, or replacing the faulty goods, which is precisely the problem with MP4Nation.
 
To me, quality or information on the products doesn't enter in CS, as it's rather marketing depts that take care of this. Now I agree with you that HifiMan is probably not the best quality on the market. The specifications of their headphones' line are obviously overstated, as proven by Tyll's tests, but if you have a problem they do replace your model in due time.
 
I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I had a piece of gear from MP4Nation stuck in chinese customs like you. I'm not even sure I'd have seen my money back. It's that bad.
 


 

I actually didn't get anything back - I lost the $1000.

I really don't know whats worse. Months of frustration or $1000. It's hell either way :|
 
 

 

[frenchbat]

hmm ... now I understand your post. Wow ! I feel for you.
 
I haven't really looked for any information on HifiMan, since I have no interest in their products, but that is plain wrong.
 
Quote:

I actually didn't get anything back - I lost the $1000.

I really don't know whats worse. Months of frustration or $1000. It's hell either way :|
 
 

 

 

[david1978jp]

Quote:

I actually didn't get anything back - I lost the $1000.

I really don't know whats worse. Months of frustration or $1000. It's hell either way :|
 
 

Oh, how awful.
Did Hifiman try to deal with Chinese Custom for you? I assume you mailed whole thing back for repair; after all, that's what Hifiman asked you to do, right? Hifiman should know better about Chinese Custom procedure.
 

 

[Kanashimu]

Being Chinese myself, I know that negotiating with the Chinese customs is probably an exercise in futility

Head Direct didn't deal with customs, though I didn't ask them. I'm not sure how to even begin. I only came to that conclusion after the fact that tracking showed that the package was in customs for 2 months and Head Direct never received it. Bummer.
 
The thing is, Chinese import restrictions are extremely strict and they can confiscate practically any audio device. Go look it up sometime, it may surprise you. I only figured it out after the incident, unfortunately. I wonder why I'm spending $1000 again from a Chinese company, but hopefully, I can only pray that this will work out