[hifitommy]

when i first received them, i had to open up the earpiece on one side to futz with it. actually my friend is the one, he poked at the connectors and checked continuity and when he was done, it worked but there must be a bad solder joint or it has a defective terminal block or SOMETHING.

numerous times the sound has gone out and by thumping the chassis of that earpiece, it returned. but now it doesn't respond. as much as i love the sound and comfort and price, this irritates me. any ideas?

 

[MarkSubsonik]

Did you buy them from Drop? If so, I would reach out to them and see if they will replace your pair. They are a good set but unfortunately riddled with QC / BQ issues. Hope you get it figured out. Good luck!

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

when i first received them, i had to open up the earpiece on one side to futz with it. actually my friend is the one, he poked at the connectors and checked continuity and when he was done, it worked but there must be a bad solder joint or it has a defective terminal block or SOMETHING.

numerous times the sound has gone out and by thumping the chassis of that earpiece, it returned. but now it doesn't respond. as much as i love the sound and comfort and price, this irritates me. any ideas?

Hi there,

Hi there, can you please email us at customerservice@hifiman.com so that we can look into what’s happened and to see how we can help?

Thank you!

April

 

[hifitommy]

neither drop nor hifiman have given satisfactory service to this problem. my mistake was that i even was honest about them falling from the desk to the floor. it would have been better to have lied. i contacted both entities right after i got them and both have been less than cooperative. caveat emptor.

 

[hifitommy]

i am still frustrated. i think that in view of the many defective units i have read about online, that you should still honor my warranty as i have the same problems as most of the others i read about. that is the intermittent operation. i was rejected in the beginning because i was honest and said that they fell from my desk.

i have had my other headphones fall and never experienced failure. i can get the dead can to play by thumping it with my fingers abruptly but they will play, sometimes for a long time and then out again. it seems there must be a bad solder joint in there somewhere.

i would be an entusiastic promoter of the hifiman product if they would work as intended. the sound is quite natural. i am not inclined to spend money to repair a product that should have worked from the beginning.

 

[SeEnCreaTive]

I won't speak for my thoughts on warranties and things. But orthrodynamics I'd imagine are robust to drops. Mechanically they are very very simple. A semi-metalic diaphragm stretched infront of some magnets....

But keep trying with Hifiman..

If worst comes to worst and it really really does come down to a hard no from the company and you're stuck with them, not all is lost. You're in a good community here on headfi.

I don't think it's unfixable thankfully. I have opened my 4xx up and they seem very simple inside.

So exhausting the warranty route, here are some tips speaking from my T50RP modding experience: obviously this is at your own risk. I don't suggest opening them unless you are comfortable with the fact they are delicate and easy to break if you poke the wrong thing, and that's on you if you do. Once they are opened, many companies will say this voids your warranty

1: Simple first, the cable itself, not the headphones. Swap the cables to the other ears, if the problem switches, whelp it's your cable. Or you can use a multimeter to check continuity

2: Start moving up the line. Not the cable? Maybe the connector in the can. A pin may not be making good contact, might just need to be bent back into place

3: Check the wires on the inside. First the wires on the plug, then follow them up to see if they got pinched anywhere. I believe mine had pinched wires (but didn't do anything, just something I saw). If they are badly pinched, multimeter to check the continuity on the individual wires. Replace the wires if necessary.

4: Look at the solder to the pads of the diaphragm. Sometimes cracks in the solder allow it to be loose, but still attached. Reflow if needed. Be careful. Diaphragms are very thin, very easy to melt.

5: Try and look at the traces. Basically a last ditch effort. Even if you find it, if it's deep into the diaphragm circuit, there isn't much that can be done at that point.

 

[hifitommy]

hey, thanks for your reply and advice. i think i got results because i brought this to a public forum. i had every right to receive this kind of warranty service but i was quickly put off by massdrop and hifiman because i was honest and admitted dropping them.

hifman came through and properly covered me so the cans are on their way for repair or replacement. it seems they are replacing them so as to make the process contactless. i was persistent because the sound is so natural and the comfort is among the best i have tried. i am tempted to try to get 'phones that have bass response as good as the monolith 1060s with better upper mids. i am distinctly cheap and love to get cost-effective items.

that is why i am planning to get the monolith thx dac/amp. it seems a bargain at $500. i keep veering off to some other items but keep being drawn back to the thx. the sound isn't horrible right out of my computer so i haven't taken the leap yet.

thanks again for the encouragement.