[penbat]

Handheld Audio are the sole official distributors for both UE and Sensaphonics in the UK. Their website is http://www.handheldaudio.co.uk/. They are around 120 miles away from me.

I have found a list of their prices at http://tinyurl.com/ywdd4 and they are really expensive and they don't even include tax (VAT at 17.5%). They use roughly an exchange rate of £1 per $1 or even worse if you allow for VAT.

Sensaphonics Pros 4s cost £565 excluding tax and i assume that Sensa 2X-S would cost even more than that. I only paid about the equivalent of £500 for my UE-10s direct from UE.

They cater for impressions being done locally so i could have them done locally and then mail them to them.

For UE IEMSs i think it is pointless using Handheldaudio, it is far easier dealing directly with UE without a go between who charges a lot of money. In the case of Sensaphonics, Sensaphonics are so bad at communicating there might be some point in using Handheldaudio but obviously they aren't too familiar with Sensaphonics IEM range as 2X-S aren't even listed on their website.

I know i could always just phone them up but i tried sending them an email 2 days ago asking them about the Sensaphonic 2X-S and i would guess they are scratching their heads wondering what they are. No reply from my email as yet. I note from their website that Handheld Audio are strangely ignorant about the idea of open-mouth impressions.

It is tempting to just wait until UE come up with the anticipated cheaper and better IEMs in about a year's time. They already have my impressions so ordering them should be very straightforward. I think UE keep your impressions for 2 years.

 

[cmascatello]

I think you should clarify your statement a tad as it concerns Sensaphonics being "so bad at communicating." I am aware that you are referring to email response times (and, sometimes, lack thereof) from my following of other threads, but there are bound to be others in the forums who have not followed the UE/Sensa pissing match as closely.

Sensa is quite responsive and helpful over the phone and they "communicate" quite well. I understand that those of you in UK/EU timezones (or, worse, Asian time differences) have a much harder time in direct-dialing US-based companies and, therefore, rely on email as the 1st means of contact. My contact with Sensa for the 2X-S was over the phone both times and the folks could not have been nicer -- I had a few fit questions answered (including a call back to me after checking with the Lab) and then got a fast response to an inquiry about estimated ship-out date. The staff was on the ball and knew what they were talking about; those items that were a bit more complex were relayed in short order to the engineers.

My personal recommendation for anyone who is interested in the Sensas would be to call them directly in the evening UK/EU time (noonish in the States) and make first contact with them that way. They should be able to answer most questions in a few minutes and they can also provide you with alternate (non-phone) modes of contact and personal internal email addresses for future needs and hand-holding.

I think anyone who is serious about custom IEMs would be doing themselves a disservice by not extending a phone call to Sensaphonics. A few dollars (Euro, Pounds, etc. for the

) for the call to the States is a pittance when compared to the cost of either brand's IEMs. I do not think that it is will be too difficult to give up an hour of one's evening to gather information for either brand of kick-ass IEM.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmascatello I think you should clarify your statement a tad as it concerns Sensaphonics being "so bad at communicating." I am aware that you are referring to email response times (and, sometimes, lack thereof) from my following of other threads, but there are bound to be others in the forums who have not followed the UE/Sensa pissing match as closely. Sensa is quite responsive and helpful over the phone and they "communicate" quite well. I understand that those of you in UK/EU timezones (or, worse, Asian time differences) have a much harder time in direct-dialing US-based companies and, therefore, rely on email as the 1st means of contact. My contact with Sensa for the 2X-S was over the phone both times and the folks could not have been nicer -- I had a few fit questions answered (including a call back to me after checking with the Lab) and then got a fast response to an inquiry about estimated ship-out date. The staff was on the ball and knew what they were talking about; those items that were a bit more complex were relayed in short order to the engineers. My personal recommendation for anyone who is interested in the Sensas would be to call them directly in the evening UK/EU time (noonish in the States) and make first contact with them that way. They should be able to answer most questions in a few minutes and they can also provide you with alternate (non-phone) modes of contact and personal internal email addresses for future needs and hand-holding. I think anyone who is serious about custom IEMs would be doing themselves a disservice by not extending a phone call to Sensaphonics. A few dollars (Euro, Pounds, etc. for the ) for the call to the States is a pittance when compared to the cost of either brand's IEMs. I do not think that it is will be too difficult to give up an hour of one's evening to gather information for either brand of kick-ass IEM.

From what i have heard from others i in no way dispute that they are good with telephone enquiries. But i do think it makes life difficult if ordering out of the US. It could easily take several attempts to get the right person on the phone to speak to if i phoned up. Also what would be the protocol if they wanted to contact me if there was a problem with my order etc ? I did try emailing several specific email addresses, Doris's and Mike's for example.

 

[cmascatello]

Hmmm. Agreed on the timezone issue, but they could get in touch with you in the evenings when it is near the lunch hour in the US. I dealt mainly with Doris and she was the one who referred one of my questions to the Lab -- maybe it was Michael Santucci whose response she forwarded to me. I had a good set of talks with her, although they were brief.

I'm not sure about the email route b/c I never tried to contact them that way. Do you know if the emails ever got to them? I only ask b/c I have had a recent rash of emails not getting to the desired recipients b/c of spam-blockers, blocked SMTP servers, blocked IP address, domain-name issues, etc.. Nothing would surprise me in this day and age of virii, spam, Trojans, and worms.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmascatello Hmmm. Agreed on the timezone issue, but they could get in touch with you in the evenings when it is near the lunch hour in the US. I dealt mainly with Doris and she was the one who referred one of my questions to the Lab -- maybe it was Michael Santucci whose response she forwarded to me. I had a good set of talks with her, although they were brief. I'm not sure about the email route b/c I never tried to contact them that way. Do you know if the emails ever got to them? I only ask b/c I have had a recent rash of emails not getting to the desired recipients b/c of spam-blockers, blocked SMTP servers, blocked IP address, domain-name issues, etc.. Nothing would surprise me in this day and age of virii, spam, Trojans, and worms.

I sent an initial email - no reply after a few days so i sent several chaser emails to every email address listed on their website. I eventually got a very terse response of about half a sentence from Mike, and Doris just gave the name of Handheld Audio and their phone number. I sent a long initial email with many questions and nearly all of them were ignored.

 

[lindrone]

Interesting enough, Zoide just told me today, that after emailing them (he's still in Costa Rica) yesterday, he got a response via email today with very helpful replies.

*shrug*