[Resonance]

Just thought i'd chime in, even though I haven't read the latest posts.
my PFE's had problems, but Phonak replaced them per their warranty, and the new ones are much improved... the cabling is "sandy" in texture, and is more impervious to sweat, and the casings are not as brittle. The sound quality is still excellent!

 

[versp]

Bought my Perfect Bass in early December. After a couple of weeks (was about a week or 2 before Christmas) one ear went. AMP3 replaced them for me. It's now February and the left one is doing same kinda thing and is significantly quieter that the right ear. As much as I love them, this is getting a little ridiculous.
 
I'm going to send them an email tomorrow asking for a refund or something. Anyone able to recommend where I should move from here? My only previous experience in decent audio is my Ety HF2's which when I listen to now feel like they have no bass.

 

[vivileung3]

I discovered my PFE 112 right ear has a crack just like #2 photo as shown
I sent the earphone to my local department (Hong Kong )  to send them to the Phonak
Also,I sent the e-mail to Phonak asking fro replacement.Hope they replace a new one for me.
The batch date:2008-12-23

 

[goodvibes]

If one ear is quieter, replace the filter as it's probably clogged. Single BAs rarely just lose amplitude. If they crack it's likely because of their shape and pressure put on them while in their soft case. Stuff happens and phonak probably could either have supplied a hard case or designed the phone differently (heavier or straight) to prevent some breakage but I think they take too much blame for user error, especially considering how good they are about replacement. The cable used to be an issue but seems to be sorted.

 

[Markachy]

Hi all,
 
I purchased a pair of PFE 111s this year, and the sound from the right earphone has stopped. It is NOT a damaged filter as I have changed the filters, and it is not blocked as I have cleaned it. It seems to be a damaged cable inside the cable splitter because before the sound stopped entirely, it would cut out when the right earphone cable between the earpiece and splitter was moved.
 
I have emailed Phonak Audeo through their website 3 times now, and STILL haven't received a reply. This is getting ridiculous. These earphones were expensive, are still quite new, well within warranty and faulty, yet am still waiting for a response. Who did you guys phone/email to get their support to repair/replace your earphones?
 
The date of my batch is 2008-12-02
 
PS I have lost my receipt (bought in a shop in London while I was visiting there in a case of holiday-highjinks) - surely they won't refuse to fix them? They are obviously still new and barely used, not a scratch on them.

 

[ClieOS]

Wow. late 2008 is the time when PFE was first launched. You probably have one of the early batch with the cable issue. I am not sure what they will do - warranty is 2 years but you still need to show them the receipt to prove the time of your purchase. Regardless, the London dealer shouldn't have sold anyone the old batch. All of the PFE with cable issue was replaced back around mid/late 2009.

 

[Markachy]

What??!! It was some hifi store in London and I don't have the receipt so I can't show them anything! It is obvious from their condition that I haven't had them for 3 (?!) years old, I literally only bought them in April. **** shop must have had some old stock it held for ages! They still look pristine, and the box is in fine condition too.
 
I hope they will honour this, they cost me a lot of money.

 

[Merlin-PT]

I emailed them once at 'audeo.pfe@phonak.com' and they replied the next day.
They were very helpfull and have a very good customer support.
Explain the situation, they will help you.
 
Do you have the first PFE production batch with stiff cable?
In the box, there's a sticker with "Audeo PFE <model> <color>" if you have the old version, or "Audeo PFE <model> V1 (<color>)" if it's the new version.
The first batch had a problem with stiff breaking cable, they made a V1 model with diferent cable just to correct this problem. There's a thread about this.
If you have the old model, let them know, they are aware of this problem.
 
Regarding the invoice (if you are asked for it), you can contact the shop and ask for a copy.

 

[A.Mir]

So, after it's all said and done, are these IEMs still worth getting? Any problems with the V1 so far?

 

[nightic]

Just had my Amazon purchased PFE 122s (v1, with sticker date 11/2010) fail after a couple of weeks of light use (perhaps 18 hours of listening).
Left earpiece volume just dropped out, to virtually nil. 
An hour later the same thing happened to the right earpiece, although slightly less of a volume reduction.
No physical damage evident to housings or cable and they've been babied in the short time owned.
Disappointed.

 

[ClieOS]

Just had my Amazon purchased PFE 122s (v1, with sticker date 11/2010) fail after a couple of weeks of light use (perhaps 18 hours of listening).
Left earpiece volume just dropped out, to virtually nil. 
An hour later the same thing happened to the right earpiece, although slightly less of a volume reduction.
No physical damage evident to housings or cable and they've been babied in the short time owned.
Disappointed.

Have you swapped out the filter for a new set?

 

[nightic]

Quote:

Have you swapped out the filter for a new set?

I had the Black filters installed for the majority of the time then switched to the Greys.
They'd had less than 90 minutes use before the problem occurred.
 
Edit - Just took out the Grey filters which were fitted when the problem occurred to get a good look at them, noticing no clogging. 
Replaced them and tried the PFEs again and the problem has disappeared!
Thinking about it, considering no previous ear-wax issues and that the filters weren't cleaned prior to re-installation, the only thing that springs to mind that may have caused any temporary clogging is moisture (sweat).
(The earphones were worn for a hilly, briskly-paced 30 minute walk during which the issue surfaced. They would also have been covered by the wool beanie that I was wearing at the time, which would likely aid the build up of moisture.)
I'll wear them again when I make this same walk tomorrow and see if the problem reappears. 
If so, then they're going to be completely unsuitable for my intended usage, which includes running and gym-work.
 
 

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

I had the Black filters installed for the majority of the time then switched to the Greys.
They'd had less than 90 minutes use before the problem occurred.
 
Edit - Just took out the Grey filters which were fitted when the problem occurred to get a good look at them, noticing no clogging. 
Replaced them and tried the PFEs again and the problem has disappeared!
Thinking about it, considering no previous ear-wax issues and that the filters weren't cleaned prior to re-installation, the only thing that springs to mind that may have caused any temporary clogging is moisture (sweat).
(The earphones were worn for a hilly, briskly-paced 30 minute walk during which the issue surfaced.)
I'll wear them again when I make this same walk tomorrow and see if the problem reappears. 
If so, then they're going to be completely unsuitable for my intended usage, which includes running and gym-work.
 
 

Even if you don't see what clogging it, they can still be clogged.  Even in the Phonak user manual (when explaining how to change filters), it states that filters can go through microscopic clogging where the actual particles that clog it up are microscopic and not visible to the naked eye.  When these bunch up, they can block noise and create weird outcomes.
 
It can still be sweat that caused it, but when the sweat dries, micro-particles like salt and electrolytes will remain. 

 

[nightic]

Makes sense although that's pretty poor considering the filters were only in use for 90 minutes and in freshly showered & Q-tipped ears.
Also unusual that the 'clogging' vanished by simply removing then re-installing the (same) filters, with the fairly minimal contact that requires.
(Although this may be a coincidence as around 18 hours had passed before I tried the PFEs again - enough time for the filters to have dried out.)

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Makes sense although that's pretty poor considering the filters were only in use for 90 minutes and in freshly showered & Q-tipped ears.
Also unusual that the 'clogging' vanished by simply removing then re-installing the (same) filters, with the fairly minimal contact that requires.
(Although this may be a coincidence as around 18 hours had passed before I tried the PFEs again - enough time for the filters to have dried out.)

Again, it's a possible cause.  Like it is possible for it to get clogged, it's possible to become unclogged as well.  Hopefully it cleans up for you