[faverodefavero]

Is that me or all new Planar Magnetic headphones (Audez' and HiFiMan) seem to be having way too much problems and are not so durable/realliable as a premium headphone should be?

I have the HE-5LE and the HE-500.
With less than 6 months of use, my HE-5LE left driver just got silent out of the blue one day. I'll send them for repair tomorrow and, don't get me wrong, please: HiFiMan's support is GREAT, they are very carefull and really pay atention to their costumers. They've been really kind to me, and always rushed to solve any problem, that by itself owns me as a costumer.

It just seems a pitty that a great sounding USD$500.00+ headphone can't be taken as a true "lifetime investment". I've read so much about Audez' and HiFiMan problems (different ballance between left and right drivers with the HE-500, dead drivers on HE-400, LCD-2 cracking wood, LCD-3 variable SQ...), lately. All makes me think that planar-magnetic technology is just not durable at all.

When I pay premium for a headphone I want it to be able to last a lifetime of constant usage. I'm the seccond owner of a DT990 (4 years with me) and have both K702 and K271MK2 for around 3 years now (each with more than one year of constant, dailly, listening) and all of them still work as perfect as in day one.

Can anyone, please care to comment on the mater?

I would really, really, like to know if anyone has a perfect functioning right out of the box HiFiMan or Audez' headphone with years of usage and no problems at all (using, around 2 hours or more a day) and that never (in those years of constant use) had to use costumers support for anything. Because, for now, it just seems to me that they are not - and I trully unfortunetly and sadly say so, because I Love the sound of my HiFiMan headphones - "made to last (forever)"...

 

[Beagle]

Probably just bugs to be ironed out by upstart independents. I've had no problem with my LCD-2 (Rev2). Had wood crack on HE-5 and metal bail ring joint snap off on HE-5LE. On the other hand, my Yamaha HP-1 orthos from 1977 are still going strong.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Probably just bugs to be ironed out by upstart independents. I've had no problem with my LCD-2 (Rev2). Had wood crack on HE-5 and metal bail ring joint snap off on HE-5LE. On the other hand, my Yamaha HP-1 orthos from 1977 are still going strong.

I was 5 years old when your Yamaha's were made....that's a long time for any electronic gear to still be working.
 

 

[faverodefavero]

I was 5 years old when your Yamaha's were made....that's a long time for any electronic gear to still be working.
 

Anything electronic that's USD350.00+ should work that much, fine! In my opinion.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Anything electronic that's USD350.00+ should work that much, fine! In my opinion.

Not based on my experiences. That's still impressive IMO.
 

 

[faverodefavero]

Not based on my experiences. That's still impressive IMO.
 

Don't you want your headphones to last that long? I think it's fair to think something as solid as your T1 and your HD800 (made in germany with finest materials and with premium price) should last more than 10 years of constant usage with right care.

 

[jerg]

Small companies, smaller budgets. It takes many long develop cycles to fully perfect a design. That coupled with the fact that planar mag technology resurgence is fairly new means these companies either sit back and not push the boundaries further and instead make more physically appealing/solid models, or keep innovating and improving the technology but miss out a bit on the design / QC aspect of things.
 
Obviously a balance between the two is optimal but hey, a better sound sells much better than a better chassis in the audiophile world.

 

[atomiccow]

Totally agree with you. I own an LCD-2 and personally I think its build quality is crap. People complain about the HD800 build quality because its all plastic and something like the LCD-2 is expensive wood and leather. Well 10 years on its going to the HD800 which will still be working like new and who knows how long the LCD-2 will last. Seriously, hand made is basically an euphemism for crap. If you look closely at my LCD-2 you'll find the leather doesn't wrap the headband that great and the pads are completely different circumference and slightly different depth. The clamping pressure is uneven and one of the poles has less resistance than the other. You can't sit the phone down on a flat surface and it weighs half a kilo. I'm sure if I drop this thing the cables will break off instantly and the wood would crack. My HD650 has be been dropped on hard wood surfaces more times than I can count and the paint hasn't even scratched.
 
It sucks that I like the sound of the LCD-2 so much lol. Paying a premium for "hand made quality" is such a farce. A machine will do it 10 times better, cheaper, and more reliably. I should add though that I don't actually think the LCD-2 is over priced because of its materials and workmanship. The sound quality is certainly worth the price I paid for it. It just remains to be seen exactly how long that will last though.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Don't you want your headphones to last that long? I think it's fair to think something as solid as your T1 and your HD800 (made in germany with finest materials and with premium price) should last more than 10 years of constant usage with right care.

10 years absolutely. But 35+ years is a bit too much to expect, though rather nice if it happens. That'll put me at 75 years old (if I bought them today), not sure what my hearing will be like then?
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Have you ever seen what happens when you drop an iPad?
 
The headphones are fine. I've had a few pairs over 10 years. If you're not absolutely careless with them, they are an investment and hold value.
 
Very best,

 

[Focker]

It's not just you, Favero. I'm actually very surprised at the extents some will go to on here in order to defend and make excuses for a few of the more prominent companies that have had QC issues lately. The fact that they are smaller companies is the defense I hear most often, and I think it was even mentioned above in this thread. I think what's funny is that I could almost guarantee you that the same people who offer up excuses and explanations for QC and/or customer service issues with their favorite headphone company would almost assuredly not have the same level of tolerance and patience with other products and services they purchase outside of audio. There is, of course, a ton of fanboyism here at head-fi, and I've always found it interesting how someone can be totally lambasted when they happen to post about their cracked headphones, or their driver that dropped out, or whatever. It's one thing if your goal is to throw a company under the bus, but something totally different when you are just discussing your experience with a product or company you've given a significant amount of money to. Just like it's great when people post about their positive experiences, there's nothing wrong with posting about negative ones. To me, it's actually very helpful because the manner in which a company handles their problems is very important to me, and I know many others feel the same way.
 
The HifiMan HE-500s and Audez'e LCD2s were both on my short list, and I came close to pulling the trigger on either headphone more than once. I went with Grado and Beyerdynamic instead, and the QC issues both companies have been  having as of late did play a role, but as long as I see the consumers being taken care of (and for the most part I have) then I'm absolutely certain I will purchase headphones from those two companies in the future. But I totally agree with you...when we're talking about hundreds, and in some cases even thousands of dollars, there is absolutely nothing wrong about having a certain level of expectation. I have yet to come across someone who DOESN'T want top notch quality and customer service in exchange for their hard earned money, and when people criticize others for discussing those expectations it's pretty lame, IMO.

 

[faverodefavero]

Heya,
 
Have you ever seen what happens when you drop an iPad?
 
The headphones are fine. I've had a few pairs over 10 years. If you're not absolutely careless with them, they are an investment and hold value.
 
Very best,

Problem is: Some headphones, expensive ones - specially the new planar magnetic ones, from Audez' and HiFiMan -, just seem to have a built quality and durabilty that can't keep with their sound quality. They do sound great! But, as said, so much problems with these headphones seem to be normal and apear alot around Headfi forums...

I had problem with my HE-5LE myself (always took good care of them), in less than 6 months of use, and while their sound quality and the HiFiMan's support are great and very eficient I can't hope but to trully wish these new planar magnetics where more reliable and ready to last 10 years or more.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

I was 5 years old when your Yamaha's were made....that's a long time for any electronic gear to still be working.
 

My Luxman L5 integrated amp and JVC QL50 turntable (both bought in 1979) are still sounding great too! 
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

My Luxman L5 integrated amp and JVC QL50 turntable (both bought in 1979) are still sounding great too! 
 

Dave, you're pretty lucky! Electrolytic capacitors tend to go after 20 or so years and solder joints (typical eutectic tin-lead) last about 15-20 years too. Newer lead free solder has a much shorter life span. The longest I've had any electronic gear last is about 15 years.
 

 

[faverodefavero]

It's not just you...

Thanks for the great post!

I can asure that the HiFiMan support is great and fast, and both the 5LE and the 500 sound lovely to me ears. But I would be laying if I said I never tought I should've bought a T1 or HD800 insteed of my two planar magnetics...

I'll say it again: I really want to know if anyone out there that - for more than one year -have either a HiFiMan HE (400, 5, 5LE, 500 or 6) or Audez' LCD (2, 2 rev.2 or 3) that ever worked, and still works, perfectly out of the box (and never used costumer's support) with consant daily use.