[jockos]

Do you? Does anyone? No. But you really think a multi million dollar company would just continue to sell a fatally broken product with super high return rates? We all know they wouldn’t.

No, but unlike you I don't claim to. And you're saying 'we all know' a lot, when we in fact have no idea.

 

[garethr]

No, but unlike you I don't claim to. And you're saying 'we all know' a lot, when we in fact have no idea.

Whilst it’s all anecdotal, so are any claims of a high failure rate. The percentage of the customer base who are here on these forums complaining probably doesn’t even register percentage wise overall. Amazon reviews are generally good (and B&W aren’t likely to be paying for them) and there’s not much mention of the issue elsewhere.

If you look hard enough you can find all sorts of issues with other similarly priced headphones: AirPods Max and condensation, H95’s with various issues, Bathys with issues. There’ll always be more complainers on forums than happy users just enjoying the product. It’s an echo chamber.

And it’s naive to think B&W would ever publicly acknowledge a relatively minor issue. No consumer product company will publicly acknowledge an issue because of the ramifications for law suits and recalls. Just dealing with the issues as they arise is commercially the better option.

 

[garethr]

I hope they’re not struggling. Revenue looks strong, at over 300 million dollars - about one mil per employee.

I think they had a fairly bad patch when they released the formation products (I may be totally wrong there) but im not sure they captured the market. Saw them discounted a lot.

Ultimately they made a choice to glue the headband and it appears some batches had low quality glue, but most are fine, as per Amazon reviews. And b&w happily repair or replace them where needed.

There was definitely a blip around the formation products but it also related to the acquisition and then the sounds united era. I think it’s also been fairly public knowledge that Massimo has been struggling cash wise too, but B&W themselves seem to be doing okay now they returned to their core products

 

[AnnR]

That sucks! I didn't bother getting my pair fixed, I just gave them to my spouse to use at home. I moved on to wireless in-ears (Aviot TE-ZX1) and they're better in every single way than the PX8 and only cost me couple of hundred euros. The PX8 really is bad for the pric

Do you? Does anyone? No. But you really think a multi million dollar company would just continue to sell a fatally broken product with super high return rates? We all know they wouldn’t.

Pure speculation, you make a statement and support it with zero facts!

 

[WillieS]

Do you? Does anyone? No. But you really think a multi million dollar company would just continue to sell a fatally broken product with super high return rates? We all know they wouldn’t.

I don’t know if it’s possible on this forum but it would be good if someone would put up a Poll for PX8 With choice of No issues , Headband issue , other issue . Or even more simple Headband issue , no headband issue . As it is I suspect we are hearing from those who have an issue with headband and those with no problem are silent . I have had mine 8 months almost daily use and no issues yet

 

[AnnR]

I don’t know if it’s possible on this forum but it would be good if someone would put up a Poll for PX8 With choice of No issues , Headband issue , other issue . Or even more simple Headband issue , no headband issue . As it is I suspect we are hearing from those who have an issue with headband and those with no problem are silent . I have had mine 8 months almost daily use and no issues yet

No one is disputing in any way that there are thousands of perfectly good pairs. However there does seem a slightly higher than usual failure rate for a headband. What is indisputable is the pretty poor customer service from B&W. I would also wonder how many people are fixing themselves, buying covers or just making do.

 

[jthomp72]

No one is disputing in any way that there are thousands of perfectly good pairs. However there does seem a slightly higher than usual failure rate for a headband. What is indisputable is the pretty poor customer service from B&W. I would also wonder how many people are fixing themselves, buying covers or just making do.

That we can agree on, the customer service and communication has been terrible. I have no problem admitting that. I wonder if they just don't have a large corporate communications department?

 

[AnnR]

That we can agree on, the customer service and communication has been terrible. I have no problem admitting that. I wonder if they just don't have a large corporate communications department?

A simple acknowledgment of an issue and a dedicated contact to resolve is pretty standard in this day and age, troubleshoot the issue and you get big pats on the back for acknowledging and correcting. I bought some speakers from a small Danish start up company Buchardt and there customer service is second to none with a very small team, I am certain B&W experience issues with many products from time to time, this thing should be part of there modus operandi at there size.

 

[WillieS]

No one is disputing in any way that there are thousands of perfectly good pairs. However there does seem a slightly higher than usual failure rate for a headband. What is indisputable is the pretty poor customer service from B&W. I would also wonder how many people are fixing themselves, buying covers or just making do.

Yes I agree there does seem to be an issue with headband but just curious is it 1% , 5% , 10% , more

 

[jthomp72]

A simple acknowledgment of an issue and a dedicated contact to resolve is pretty standard in this day and age, troubleshoot the issue and you get big pats on the back for acknowledging and correcting. I bought some speakers from a small Danish start up company Buchardt and there customer service is second to none with a very small team, I am certain B&W experience issues with many products from time to time, this thing should be part of there modus operandi at there size.

Paradoxically I think B&W is in the middle ground of too big to have truly personalized customer service setup like you describe with Buchardt but too big to have an entire team so they could dedicate a person like you are asking.

 

[AnnR]

Paradoxically I think B&W is in the middle ground of too big to have truly personalized customer service setup like you describe with Buchardt but too big to have an entire team so they could dedicate a person like you are asking.

One or two dedicated customer service professionals wouldn't have cost much and could well have made a world of difference.

 

[peterinvan]

Yes I agree there does seem to be an issue with headband but just curious is it 1% , 5% , 10% , more

Let's request feedback from PX8 owners that have NOT had any headband issues.

Me for one. PX8 007, two years old. Daily use. No problems.

 

[jthomp72]

Let's request feedback from PX8 owners that have NOT had any headband issues.

Me for one. PX8 007, two years old. Daily use. No problems.

Two pairs, one 9 months, one a year and a half no issues for me.

 

[mainguy]

Whilst it’s all anecdotal, so are any claims of a high failure rate. The percentage of the customer base who are here on these forums complaining probably doesn’t even register percentage wise overall. Amazon reviews are generally good (and B&W aren’t likely to be paying for them) and there’s not much mention of the issue elsewhere.

This pretty much closes the case and proves its a minority issue.

These headphones came out 1.5 years ago, and there are only a handful of negative reviews on Amazon about the headband issue. Given you can revise Amazon reviews, anyone experiencing their £600 product falling apart is very likely to add an Amazon review saying so.

It is 100% a niche issue, and as another poster said due to a particularly bad batch of glue. Given B&W replace your headphones no questions asked with a new sealed pair without the issue (well, in high likelihood, probably over 99%) I don't think this is a major concern.

I'd be far more concerned about driver failure which can hit 3 years and beyond into a headphone lifecycle. Like what you see with some Abyss Dianas, Focal Elear and Focal Utopia OGs. A headband glue issue shows itself quickly and can be resolved under warranty.

Not making excuses for B&W, but this won't stop me from buying from the brand in the slightest, given the issues I've had with products from Sony to Apple over the years, just part of the game.

 

[jthomp72]

This pretty much closes the case and proves its a minority issue.

These headphones came out 1.5 years ago, and there are only a handful of negative reviews on Amazon about the headband issue. Given you can revise Amazon reviews, anyone experiencing their £600 product falling apart is very likely to add an Amazon review saying so.

It is 100% a niche issue, and as another poster said due to a particularly bad batch of glue. Given B&W replace your headphones no questions asked with a new sealed pair without the issue (well, in high likelihood, probably over 99%) I don't think this is a major concern.

I'd be far more concerned about driver failure which can hit 3 years and beyond into a headphone lifecycle. Like what you see with some Abyss Dianas, Focal Elear and Focal Utopia OGs. A headband glue issue shows itself quickly and can be resolved under warranty.

Not making excuses for B&W, but this won't stop me from buying from the brand in the slightest, given the issues I've had with products from Sony to Apple over the years, just part of the game.

I mean, who can forget the condensation issues with the AirPods max or any snap on the focal headbands. It’s like every brand has that one thing that minority of their headphones experience.