[witt]

I've recently purchased the Q701 and they happen to be the Chinese manufactured version. They sound amazing and I am very happy with my purchase, but I was curious if anyone has ever compared the sound of these headphones. I expect no difference, or if there is one, the difference would be negligible, but I am simply curious. Even minute differences in sound are of interest to me.

 

[alpha80]

This is very disconcerting.  Cutting the warranty in half and warnings of Lead ?
 
Glad I have my perfect, no issues in 6 years, Austrian made K-701's !

 

[EdibleStereos]

  This is very disconcerting.  Cutting the warranty in half and warnings of Lead ?
 
Glad I have my perfect, no issues in 6 years, Austrian made K-701's !

If the warning of lead just means they use leaded solder, that would be a good thing. Lead free solder isn't as reliable in electronics. Though a warranty reduction could be signs they build quality has dropped, or it could just be harmon trying to maximize profits, warranty services can be expensive for a company, especially as the length increases and failure rates rise.

 

[amnesiac75]

The reality in 2014 is that Made in China doesn't always mean the item is made by a less skilled worker in fact when it comes to certain trades china has many high skill workers it just works out in a global economy that things can be manufactured cheaper in china. In fact you may get an item manufactured that is 10% better for 20% less cost.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

This is very disconcerting. Cutting the warranty in half and warnings of Lead ?

Glad I have my perfect, no issues in 6 years, Austrian made K-701's !

Well, you only need a one year warranty since you're gonna die of lead poisoning

In all seriousness, lead + electronics = good. Lead-free solder is a bad idea and has real problems as somebody already said. And legal stuff changes all the time. There is not necessarily any change at all in the headphone, could just be legal changes etc. as somebody else said.

Dredging up this old thread because I went looking online for a pair of these today...