[hewlett168]

Many users of Head-Fi will buy their headphones on the used market. If a used headphone develops a fault of some sort, this can result in very high repair costs and even potentially make it not worthwhile to repair the headphone, especially for TOTL headphones ($1500+). This can be quite a daunting thought, possibly deferring one from buying used and is not discussed in headphone reviews.

Build quality will usually be considered, but that does not relate to the most expensive part of the headphone that can fail, the driver. The driver durability can very important in considering resale value (for those that want to stretch their dollars to achieve the most), but is of course also important for buyers that are seeking end-game, to use a headphone for years and years to come.

My question is very simple: what TOTL/$1500+ headphone provides the best/worst warranty support for used buyers and provides the greatest certainty in regards to driver durability? Please post your suggestions or reply to my suggestion why you do or do not agree. I very much would like to answer this question, as it is one of the most important aspects that I consider in my next headphone purchase.

My suggestion:

- Best: Focal Utopia, 5 year warranty that has recently become transferable to used buyers and does not seem to have driver failure problems. The Utopia can be bought for decent prices in the second hand market, usually with still many years of warranty left. Focal build quality overall is also very good.

Worst: Final D8000 Pro, a very short 1 year warranty and high repair costs outside warranty. For example, to repair a broken wire would cost about 20-30% of the suggested retail price. In the event that repair is deemed difficult and the manufacturer opts to provide a replacement, the cost can be estimated to total 30-50% of the suggested retail price. Thus to repair a broken wire would cost anything between 800 and 1200 dollars and potential driver failure could cost as much as 2000 dollars. I am not certain about the driver durability and cannot report on that.

Happy to hear your suggestions!

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Could be regional and a lot might depend on your dealer or distributor.

Sometimes I hear good stories about products I have but the reason is they live in the same country or district as the manufacturer. I have the same product but get terrible service.

We have a great Sennheiser distributor here. I was able to get a lot of hard to find stuff with his help. Nothing broke so I don't know about warranty service

So I try to buy local products when possible. And develop relationships with brick and mortar shops. They should care about you and support you regardless of brand.

 

[Mightygrey]

I know this isn't strictly an answer to your question, but the lifetime driver warranty that ZMF offer for the original owners of their headphones is pretty impressive.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I know this isn't strictly an answer to your question, but the lifetime driver warranty that ZMF offer for the original owners of their headphones is pretty impressive.

I forgot about that. It does appear from reading the threads that ZMF is tops not only in product quality and craftsmanship but also really supporting his customers.

 

[Roderick]

In EU it's good to keep european laws in mind. Eu-dealer must provide a two year warranty even if manufacturer warranty is one year. That warranty will also have to cover other expenses(shipping) and is always transferrable to new owner.

If I was to buy new I'd go zmf because of that lifetime driver warranty. Utopia's 5 year warranty is also great but it's good to keep in mind that the warranty was extended to five years because of driver problems. There is also a problem with glue or something seeping out of utopia pads. New pads cost 200€ or was it 250€.

If one was to consider something cheaper HD800s is also a good long term option because spare parts, drivers are easy to buy. I think set of drivers is about 300€.

It's quite sad that warranties for expensive are so bad. With cheaper stuff there is better service. Koss has a lifetime warranty and Ollo audio has 5years and affordable spare parts available.

 

[ubs28]

The 2 companies who suck with warranty:
- Shure (the crappy cable of the Shure SE535 was worn out and they did not want to replace it)
- Sennheiser. Same deal as with Shure, the cable of the HD 800 started to fail and they did not want to replace it under warranty.

Luckly, my dealer in both cases also found it unacceptable and replaced the cables for free out of their own pocket.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

In EU it's good to keep european laws in mind. Eu-dealer must provide a two year warranty even if manufacturer warranty is one year. That warranty will also have to cover other expenses(shipping) and is always transferrable to new owner.

Some shops like Thomann extend that even further.

If I was to buy new I'd go zmf because of that lifetime driver warranty. Utopia's 5 year warranty is also great but it's good to keep in mind that the warranty was extended to five years because of driver problems. There is also a problem with glue or something seeping out of utopia pads. New pads cost 200€ or was it 250€.

But, you should hope your dealer will deal with shipping between you and ZMF. Because in my country it would cost me half the price of the headphones if I had to ship them back.

If one was to consider something cheaper HD800s is also a good long term option because spare parts, drivers are easy to buy. I think set of drivers is about 300€.

It's quite sad that warranties for expensive are so bad. With cheaper stuff there is better service. Koss has a lifetime warranty and Ollo audio has 5years and affordable spare parts available.

Probably Koss porta pros never break

 

[seadog123]

Got your facts wrong about Final Audio D8000 (Pro).

Their website clearly says a 2 Year Warranty. That and I’m not seeing driver or any unusual failures of these on the usual chat forums.

Unlike the infamous Utopia, Audeze & Hifiman driver failures / issues.

 

[Roderick]

Some shops like Thomann extend that even further.

Yes, Thomann 3-year warranty is very nice. But it's good to know that only two years of that is transferrable to a secondhand buyers.

But, you should hope your dealer will deal with shipping between you and ZMF. Because in my country it would cost me half the price of the headphones if I had to ship them back.

According the law they should.

I've wondered if anyone has made a complaint to a local consumer disputes board over a headphone breaking after warranty. In Finland consumer disputes board has stated that expensive smartphone must function atleast four years. I wonder what they would say if someone filed a complaint if a 6000€ headphone broke soon after warranty is over.

 

[ThanatosVI]

As already stated this topic depends largely on the Region.

Best warranty options I know of are ZMF with lifetime warranty on drivers and for geary Bryston with 20 year warranty.
In both cases even transferable.

Most others probably offer the legally required minimum, so the interesting part is more how expensive "out of warranty service" is or if it gets offered at all.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Audio-gd has a 10 year warranty but I understand it's kinda worthless since their gear never breaks

I can't imagine how much it would cost to ship 17 kg of amp to China...

 

[hewlett168]

I own a Rosson Audio Design RAD_0, which has transferabel lifetime warranty on the drivers, which is possibly the best warranty available in the TOTL headphone space. One thing that I would like an answer to is the risk with Hifiman headphones. They have a short and not transferabel warranty on almost all headphones (Except HE1000SE) and their are known for bad QC. How risky is it buy a second-hand Susvara, HE1000 or Arya?

One thing I can add to this is a question regarding the Abyss 1266 TC. That for me seems end-game, but the warranty is not great and some users have reported problems with the driver crinkling. Any one that can comment on the durability of the 1266?

 

[ThanatosVI]

How risky is it buy a second-hand Susvara, HE1000 or Arya

From my limited knowledge, not that risky.
Hifimans poor QC usually shows directly out of the box, that means new units with dead drivers or channel imbalance.
However the driver failure rate after warranty isn't worse than with most other manufacturers.

At least from what I've read. Personally I never had any QC issues with Hifiman at all.

 

[arielext]

Audio-gd has a 10 year warranty but I understand it's kinda worthless since their gear never breaks

I can't imagine how much it would cost to ship 17 kg of amp to China...

I bought my master 19 at magna hifi and if anything goes wrong in the next 10 years I need to send it to them. €6.75 for domestic packages up to 20kg

 

[WilcoRoger]

I've wondered if anyone has made a complaint to a local consumer disputes board over a headphone breaking after warranty. In Finland consumer disputes board has stated that expensive smartphone must function atleast four years. I wonder what they would say if someone filed a complaint if a 6000€ headphone broke soon after warranty is over.

Most sellers need to be specifically reminded about this. Telia didn't want to replace my iPhone until I pointed out that my claim is under this specific provision of the law - then they sent a new one without further ado.