[redwires]

they are not really usable after gluing the swivel together. I epoxyed the parts back together, but it doesn't have the strength. AT already told me to send them back, but I am trying to get more information from them before I send the headphones to them.

 

[Inter]

Sorry for the bump, but I also managed to break the left swivel. It's just a very thin plastic frame keeping them together there, too weak if you ask me. For headphones this expensive it should really have been built better.

Glue doesn't work?

 

[iponderous]

I have the ESW9s. They are marketed as a portable phone and while I regard them as aesthetically pleasing and reasonably compact, I don't think they're up to the task. Unless portable means to limit their movement from one room to another. I would be reluctant to take these fragile beauties out of the house. I have read many reports of the ESW9's plastic cracking where the earcups rotate and this has occurred despite the owners having handled them with care. I spent quite some time doing comparative research between the ESW9s and the HD-25s before I made the close call of opting for the ESW9s. What swayed me was the arguably better SQ of the ESW9s (although the HD-25s are no slouch in this department either). However, if I had my time over, I would have happily traded some of the SQ of the ESW9s for the practicality of the HD-25s. They are just far better suited for portable use than the ESW9s IMO. They have good passive sound isolation and are durable; the ESW9s lack these useful qualities. Unlike the ESW9s, you can commute with the HD-25s without having to turn the volume of your sound source up to near deafening levels in order to hear the music. You also don't have to worry about babying the HD-25s either because they're designed to be used in the field. Rather than buy a protective bag in order to safeguard them from everyday bumps and scratches as some owners of the ESW9s feel compelled to do, you can just throw the HD-25s into your existing bag with all of your other paraphernalia. As it turns out, I've decided to purchase a set of UMX3 IEMs for portable use, and my ESW9s can continue to look stately while I decide their fate.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry for the bump, but I also managed to break the left swivel. It's just a very thin plastic frame keeping them together there, too weak if you ask me. For headphones this expensive it should really have been built better. Glue doesn't work?

Yes, somewhat rubbish. I super-glued mine and wrapped some black electric tape around it, doesn't swivel now.
I imported mine, not sending them back.

 

[moonz245]

Read the comments on page 94, this is -=Germania=- comment

No, that is not the reason. My right hinge broke when I was wearing them, just walking around!

The Hinge is based on the ES7 hinge as are many aspects of the design, but the plastic material is MUCH different. When they originally designed it, they did so with the base plastic that they were going to use. However, they put in tiny gold metalic particles throughout the whole plastic.

ANY good landscaper or patio builder will tell you that the structural integrity of colored concrete is far less than that of regular concrete. It is almost always a better idea to do regular concrete and then stain it with a good commercial stainer. You won't get cracks and only need to stain it every 10-15 years. Plus, that option is cheaper too.

Why do you think that no one else is making headphone with gold particles in the plastic on every part?

Here, they were clearly not thinking.

Plus the way that they have the hinge secured is just plain stupid. There is no internal support. The moving hinge piece is thick brass and that is anchored to the cup very securely. Now, I have a question for you....what is stronger.. a 2mm plastic piece or a 1cm Brass fitting? The hinge is also completely unsecured from the top. Obviously, this was a cost cutting measure as there are very easy ways to fix this.

*******************ADVICE ON HOW TO PREVENT THIS PROBLEM HERE*************

What you should do as soon as you buy a set of these headphones, go to the local hardware store and pick up either some JB Weld or 15-20Min Epoxy.

You see the little screw on the inside of the Hinge, undo it.

Now, you can see the cavity in there and the skeleton structure.

Mix up an appropriate amount of epoxy (really well now) and fill the cavity around the brass fitting inside.

Then quickly rescrew the little plastic piece before it sets.

You can use it while it sets since it will make no difference, don't worry. All you are doing is making a top support for the brass hinge.

I amd doing this from now on with every single ESW9, ESW10, and ES7 that passes through my hands.

************************************************** ******

Oh yeah, both of my hinges have broken, but I just molded new plastic pieces and redid the paint job using black laquer and gold pure pigment.

You can hardly tell that they have been repaired, but I have a lot of tools and materials others just don't have. In that way, I am pretty lucky.

Oh yeah, I treat my equipment pretty darn nice too (alwasy putting it flat in the baggie). Take it from someone with experience, it ISN'T abuse, its poor engineering or the design team changing something last minute. Shame because otherwise these headphones sound really nice.

I contacted AT about the issue and how to fix it and it is pretty close to what you would be doing with this little mod.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/l...3/index94.html

 

[iponderous]

Small edit to my post - I went for the SE530's in the end, not the UM3X but it really was that close.