Im glad to hear I am not the only person with this problem...
What makes me most upset is that these headphones are by far the most comfortable out of the 3 I had just purchased one after the other:
1) Senhieser 600 - shipped from amazon directly, came in PERFECT condition, smelling 100% brand new
2) AKG Q701 - bought from Electronic Expo retailer in New Jersey....the company which is actually selling them on Amazon as well...but I decided to go directly to them to avoid any issues.
3) Denon AH-D2000....broken, purchased from ALO AUDIO
http://aloaudio.com/ through amazon and MISSING the clear plastic tape on the headband/headphone attachments. YES! these were missing, and these headphones were completely VOID of any "new" smell.
I purchased these 3 headphones all during the past week, along with a Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card w/ amp to power them, which does an amazing job by the way. This way, I am able to compare all 3 directly and at the same time.
The sennheiser smelled 100% brand new, almost made yesterday....while the AKG was also new smelling, just not as pungent. The Denons...no smells at all =(
I have just filled out a return form for ALO audio on their website...they really should pay for all shipping costs, as this situation is unacceptable. It is their choice to do business online and therefore deal with the risks. Amazon.com gives me FREE 2 day shipping, and FREE return shipping with a FREE ups pickup from my house. We shall see how this turns out and I will update as it comes along.
For the time being, I have ordered a pair of Denon AH-D2000 from Electronics Expo....they are the company currently selling them on Amazon.
Perhaps I will purchase them when they arrive in store, or maybe wait.
I dont know how you got the 230 dollar price on them from buy.com....maybe whoever was running the pricing messed up and put a 2 instead of a 3? because it is 349 EVERYWHERE and in very short supply.