[angle_sh00ter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kabeer /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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 or anything, 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.

Well maybe I'm being a bit harsh but when I read things like this it makes me cringe. This is no way for customers to be dealt with. At a bare minimum I want to deal with a company which can speak and understand english properly.

 

[MikePio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinker /img/forum/go_quote.gif i am not interested where on this planet a product is made i am not interested of the quality of a product i am not interested how it looks i am not interested what the price is i am only interested how it sounds.I like to see the sunshine i am not interested to see the light bulb.

Hmmm not sure I would agree with you on that one... What is the point in owning the best sounding pair of headphones, when they only work 2 weeks out of the year and cost a fortune?!?!?!?! I am obviously exaggerating, but you can see my point... IMO what makes a "top" tier headphone, is one that has great quality, performance and design in one complete package. Of course it is impossible not to have any small issues along the way, but everything has its limits. Sound quality is very important in this hobby obviously, but there so many more elements that are almost as equally important. I would take a mid-fi headphone anyday over a top tier one that I spend shipping back, and worrying that the next pair might break as well... Since at the end of the day it is all about enjoying your music, and how can you enjoy your music if you cannot hear it?!?!?! lol...

 

[vcoheda]

i owned little dots (multiple amps) which had issues. i had various iterations of the Jade and all of them had problems. the amp i was given too had issues. not branding an entire country but it seems clear that - on the whole - the quality of these products is not as good as some other companies.

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angle_sh00ter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well maybe I'm being a bit harsh but when I read things like this it makes me cringe. This is no way for customers to be dealt with. At a bare minimum I want to deal with a company which can speak and understand english properly.

Fair enough really, in that case you have to accept a company for what level they offer you or look for an alternate (which I admit up till now was not available really)

I'm hoping the HE5LE as a product is really all that it's promising, to me its great the orthodynamic technology is getting out there. I am personally gonna get the LCD2 (not because of the country it is from anyway, I am not even in USA), it's for reasons I believe the sound would suit me. Though I'd love to hear it vs a HE5LE (which maybe if another Londoner and me have them at the same time, it might happen).

 

[AudioCats]

Hmm, it feels like the HE-5, like the Jade before it, was rushed into release.

(and I still don't understand why Jade, being $1.5K a pair, uses computer bus grade PVC ribbon cable)

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angle_sh00ter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well maybe I'm being a bit harsh but when I read things like this it makes me cringe. This is no way for customers to be dealt with. At a bare minimum I want to deal with a company which can speak and understand english properly.

No you're not being harsh, but I want to correct one small thing.
As others have stated, since late last year, Head-Direct's customer service has grown by leaps and bounds. I know for a fact that Fang has hired a shipper in Elmhurst NY, so nothing is going back and forth to China, and he also, has hired a tenured customer service rep that is located in the US, is not Chinese, and answers people within minutes of their questions via e-mail or telephone, including weekends and after hours.
I have called on a Sunday, and 9PM (their official hours are Mon-Fri (9:30am-7:30pm EST) and received a follow-up call within 15 minutes (they called me back from a shopping mall that was closing, on their own time).

So, unless it was before December, Head-Direct's customer service is one of the finest I've ever experienced. Give credit where credit is due.
Yes, you might have had component issues, but aside from giving free batteries, extra cables and other "I'm sorry that you are having this problem" remedies, I'm not sure what else can be done to appease us.
The cracked wood (nobody's fault) has been remedied by spending thousands of dollars to retool their factory to create a handsome, effective black (not silver, David -) ) HE-5LE product that is now being built in their own factory to eliminate the need to count on others to fix problems, on a line that was being used to build products for other companies, too. Every problem has been addressed. If there was a problem within firmware (like I had with the track numbering system) a team of engineers worked vigilantly to address the problem with a new firmware revision. That problem is gone.

I've been calling Cowon for weeks about a battery problem, and they act as if I'm non-existant. Emm Labs wanted a CC in advance. McIntosh wanted me to bring my pre-amp to a dealer, rather than mail it directly to them. More wasted time and money.

Yes, I'm fortunate that I bought one of the first Jades and HE-5's that were problem free, but if I had a problem, my concerns have been quelled. Verizon can't even fix my home phone problems, and after the third time, I dropped them and moved over to Vonage.

So, your "bare minimum problems" are no longer problems.
I host NYC Spring Meets and Head-Direct is one of the most generous companies that donate products that help pay for the room. I've known Fang for 5 years now, and I can say with absolute certainty, his number one goal is to innovate new products that have never been available to us (the HM-801's and bringing back an economical hi quality ortho...who knows what's on the horizon), and making sure his customers are satisfied.
Call Head-Direct right now, and you will receive a response (very few will do that on a Sunday afternoon).

I feel bad that you've had a stroke of bad luck, but I just wanted to straighten out that one statement. I sit on my perch all day and see how customer's are being treated by the companies that they invest their hard earned cash in, and we have a lot of great companies affiliated with Head-Fi. Head-Direct being one of them.

Let's see what happens from here on.

 

[tim3320070]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif for 5 years now, and I can say with absolute uncertainty, his number one

-you mean "certainty" I hope.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I have owned multiple products from Head-direct including an EF1, EF2, EF5, Qinpu A-3 and Q-1, RE252, RE2, RE3 prototype, Fiio E3 and E5, HE-5 and Jade phones.

The only problem I've had in these past 2 years of owning their products is when my Stax>Jade plug adapter cable went bad after a year of heavy use, and Fang shipped a replacement part to me right away. I have no cracks in my HE-5, I have no pops and crackles in my Jade which sound better than the Stax SR-404LE, and no failures in any of the amps. I think that when things go wrong people are more verbal about it, and so you don't always hear from the happy customers.

I still have all of these products to this day except for the EF1 that I traded at CanJam for the EF2, and they all perform admirably (but my daughter has misplaced the RE2 somewhere in her own bedroom under all the piles).

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif (but my daughter has misplaced the RE2 somewhere in her own bedroom under all the piles).

You should send your daughter a stern email requesting immediate delivery return of your RE2! this kind of turnaround is not acceptable

.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angle_sh00ter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well maybe I'm being a bit harsh but when I read things like this it makes me cringe. This is no way for customers to be dealt with. At a bare minimum I want to deal with a company which can speak and understand english properly.

As the author of that post, I must add that Head-Direct has always ended up on the right side of these unfortunate situations; I just updated it:

"Edit: I did get my refund back on the RE0's, shortly after I posted this. It is my opinion that Head-Direct is an honorable company that over-extends itself sometimes, understandable for such a fast-growing company. From my experience and from what I have read, they always end up doing the right thing. I have been quite happy with their products overall, as well as the service after the sale, with certain caveats regarding the efficiency of their communications and overall consistency of their policies, which can be frustrating at times but as I said understandable overall."

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angle_sh00ter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well maybe I'm being a bit harsh but when I read things like this it makes me cringe. This is no way for customers to be dealt with. At a bare minimum I want to deal with a company which can speak and understand english properly.

I have not dealt with this company before but I think they strive to improve. I visited their booth at CanJam 09 and they were extraordinarily polite and helpful.
The mention of speaking English properly in the paragraph above is derogatory. How many of us even try to learn a new language?
Fang, keep up the good work.

 

[mlantinen]

Quote:

Quote: Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict (but my daughter has misplaced the RE2 somewhere in her own bedroom under all the piles).

Quote:

You should send your daughter a stern email requesting immediate delivery return of your RE2! this kind of turnaround is not acceptable .

Dude. Funny.

Sorry, please continue.

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angle_sh00ter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well maybe I'm being a bit harsh but when I read things like this it makes me cringe. This is no way for customers to be dealt with. At a bare minimum I want to deal with a company which can speak and understand english properly.

I have not dealt with this company before but I think they strive to improve. I visited their booth at CanJam 09 and they were extraordinarily polite and helpful.
The mention of speaking English properly in the paragraph above is derogatory and uncalled for. How many of us even try to learn a new language?
Fang, keep up the good work.

 

[.Sup]

Are there any upgrade cables for this headphones?

 

[sizwej]

I'm surprised they're still accepting pre-orders. I was under the impression they only had a limited quantity of 20 to distribute at the discounted price.Maybe i misunderstood.