[Logman]

Like many E500/530 owners, I experienced the cracked cable problem. When I contacted Shure about it, I got a very brief canned answer:
"Please see Shure - Service Policies for directions on having your product repaired and possible pricing if it is outside of warranty."

Unfortunately, my E500's are about 6 months out of warranty and I will have to pay $145 to get them repaired (confirmed in a later email from Shure). This surprises me since the cracked cable issue seems to be a known design defect in the product.

Does anyone have a suggestion for getting Shure to stand behind their product?

If not, I can definitely say that they have lost a customer for life. Too bad as I really enjoy the sound of these IEM's.

 

[Sakhai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like many E500/530 owners, I experienced the cracked cable problem. When I contacted Shure about it, I got a very brief canned answer: "Please see Shure - Service Policies for directions on having your product repaired and possible pricing if it is outside of warranty." Unfortunately, my E500's are about 6 months out of warranty and I will have to pay $145 to get them repaired (confirmed in a later email from Shure). This surprises me since the cracked cable issue seems to be a known design defect in the product. Does anyone have a suggestion for getting Shure to stand behind their product? If not, I can definitely say that they have lost a customer for life. Too bad as I really enjoy the sound of these IEM's.

They've known about the problem and to my knowledge they've fixed it as of early this year. Mine has withstood exercising for many, many hours per week. I expected them to die a very long time ago, and there's not even a hint of cable failure.

It sucks to have an expensive product fail, but take it from the company's standpoint. How long can they warranty a product for? Their two year period is already extensive, and customers have gotten unlimited replacements in the past. You've had yours for 2 years, 6 months, but you indirectly want an indefinite warranty period. There's only so much a company can do. Their products are amazing, and the prices have become a very sweet point. Their prices are lower than all other comparable IEM's.

UE's are uncomfortable for many, and seal's a problem for some. Westone's just recently discovered a defect in their W3's. Your best bet remains Shure.

 

[Sakhai]

...and for about $100 more, you can have a new se530 with new cables and a 2 year warranty. I say scrap the old one and get a new one. It's already served its purpose for 2.5 years.

 

[Logman]

Sakhai -

I was just looking at the Westone 3's as a possible replacement. Thanks for the heads-up on the design issue.

 

[Get_Zwole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sakhai /img/forum/go_quote.gif They've known about the problem and to my knowledge they've fixed it as of early this year. Mine has withstood exercising for many, many hours per week. I expected them to die a very long time ago, and there's not even a hint of cable failure. It sucks to have an expensive product fail, but take it from the company's standpoint. How long can they warranty a product for? Their two year period is already extensive, and customers have gotten unlimited replacements in the past. You've had yours for 2 years, 6 months, but you indirectly want an indefinite warranty period. There's only so much a company can do. Their products are amazing, and the prices have become a very sweet point. Their prices are lower than all other comparable IEM's. UE's are uncomfortable for many, and seal's a problem for some. Westone's just recently discovered a defect in their W3's. Your best bet remains Shure.

what was the defect in the 3's? I havent heard of it yet thanks.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Sakhai, what is the problem with the Westone 3's that you are referring to?

Logman, I have read posts from members stating that Shure has replaced their SE530's for free even after the warranty has expired. It was a known problem that recently has been fixed, but it's unfortunate for owners who have the older production units that Shure will not replace them for free. In my opinion, Shure should replace all of the older unit that have cracked cables for free because it was an issue with their formulation of the outer cable coating, not an issue with the owner.

 

[3X0]

Maybe Sakhai means the vibration issue on the UM3X?

 

[talisman42]

What's going on the UM3x? Haven't heard anything about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe Sakhai means the vibration issue on the UM3X?

 

[priest]

OP, after-warranty problems are a pain in the neck, but I agree that companies can't generally warranty forever. My iMac power supply burned out after warranty, and I had to pay $100 to get it fixed. But I figured I had it for four years and something happened. I wouldn't give up on Shure just yet if you really liked the sound. For the most part, they seem much better about standing by their products than most companies.

 

[Sakhai]

I don't remember what the problem was with the Westone 3. I just remember deciding to not buy it after reading an article on it. As of then, (recently) the problem wasn't fixed.

I don't know of any company that would warranty their products AFTER the warranty period expired. If Shure did that in the past, then it's out of pure generosity. Few products have zero problems with them when they're first released. It's nearly impossible to predict the future, and no product testing protocol can catch all possible problems. The OP may feel like having a vendetta against Shure, but realistically, they are still his best choice. Both the TriFi10 and W3 are significantly more expensive, and both have various problems that are unfixed to date. Newly made SE530's are fixed.

At least you're not dealing with Grado. Things break down within one year, within 2 weeks of warranty replacement, stealing cables,...etc.

 

[younglee200]

For less than 145 dollars you can just put them in custom shells instead as long as the drivers are still fine

 

[Ronald Lee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like many E500/530 owners, I experienced the cracked cable problem. When I contacted Shure about it, I got a very brief canned answer: "Please see Shure - Service Policies for directions on having your product repaired and possible pricing if it is outside of warranty." Unfortunately, my E500's are about 6 months out of warranty and I will have to pay $145 to get them repaired (confirmed in a later email from Shure). This surprises me since the cracked cable issue seems to be a known design defect in the product. Does anyone have a suggestion for getting Shure to stand behind their product? If not, I can definitely say that they have lost a customer for life. Too bad as I really enjoy the sound of these IEM's.

why not reshell it? there is this company in China, they do re shelling.

 

[talisman42]

Wow. That's very irresponsible to post something like this without any facts to back it up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sakhai /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't remember what the problem was with the Westone 3. I just remember deciding to not buy it after reading an article on it. As of then, (recently) the problem wasn't fixed.

 

[Arjisme]

Shure replaced my E500s when they were out of warranty for the same failure -- the cracking cable issue. I wrote a short letter explaining that I had read on Headfi that their representative stated Shure had reformulated the cable to address this issue and that newer SE530s apparently now don't suffer from the problem. The Shure rep stated that Shure would cover E500s that fail for this issue regardless of warranty. Therefore, I requested they cover my E500's repair. I sent them that, their online claim form and the E500s. They sent me a brand new pair of SE530s @ no charge.

I suggest you send them to Shure. Don't authorize any charges to your credit cards. Just politely ask them to cover the repair since it is a known defect of the E500s. The worst that can happen is they don't cover it w/o you paying. You can then either agree to pay, which isn't the end of the world as you would get a new pair with the better cable for relatively cheap, or refuse to pay and they will send them back.

BTW, my experience when I have called them to pre-clear warranty claims is that the customer rep will typically tell you the published company line on warranty repair, but the actual actions of their warranty repair department are very forgiving and customer friendly.

Good luck.

 

[p0wderh0und23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sakhai /img/forum/go_quote.gif Westone's just recently discovered a defect in their W3's.

We did? I'm curious to what defect you are mentioning... do you have a post, link or anything???