[hakuzen]

Depend on your luck

. I have received 3 iems from China and paid tax on one. All sellers from China ship the same way, you will notice when you receive one! But the tax was low, around 10% and half of this was handling fee for DHL

. But DHL is the best shipping company without any doubt.

DHL express (fast): you'll get taxes.
DHL global mail (slower): no taxes (usually).

 

[stenog]

DHL express (fast): you'll get taxes.
DHL global mail (slower): no taxes (usually).

You are right . I just received my QT5. Very fast shipping less than 72 hours from China to Denmark, impressive. But i had to pay around 30 usd in tax and handling fee. I don't mind paying extra for fast and good service, but this just seems to be extra money for DHL, anyone ever worked for DHL and can explain this?. And how do they know how much tax to pay..?

 

[dlayman]

 
DHL express (fast): you'll get taxes.
DHL global mail (slower): no taxes (usually).

DHL global mail is REALLY slow.   I think the one time I used them it was at least a few weeks for shipment from Hong Kong (I believe) to the US.  DHL express is extremely fast, like 2 or 3 days across the world.  I've never had any duties or taxes with either service, I've used DHL Express at least a dozen times on numerous items, including electronics, IEM's, and watches.

 

[Metalomaniac]

You are right

. I just received my QT5. Very fast shipping less than 72 hours from China to Denmark, impressive. But i had to pay around 30 usd in tax and handling fee. I don't mind paying extra for fast and good service, but this just seems to be extra money for DHL, anyone ever worked for DHL and can explain this?. And how do they know how much tax to pay..?

 
DHL is a logistics company, so they offer you the service of calculating duties and VAT for you, and charge a hefty service charge on top of it. Of course they don't ask your permission, and I'm sure it's a hugely profitable high-margin business for them
 
I do a lot of my shopping online. Most of the time I have to pay duties and VAT when using the fast versions of DHL, FedEx and their ilk. With ground mail etc. it's luck of the draw in the Netherlands and Finland, I'd estimate 50% of the time I end up without having to pay extra.
 
With my FLC 8s I didn't - which is great as I saved tens of euros! Took two weeks to arrive from Singapore, and another two weeks in customs. With DHL it would have been 3-5 days, but more expensive shipping, plus the duties and VAT mentioned (21% plus duties). Oh, and VAT is calculated inclusive of shipping price!

 

[Metalomaniac]

I've been using my FLC 8s for a few weeks now, and love them. Even got used to the over-ear cables which was a major concern as I hated that with my Shures.
 
I run them with FiiO E11 with Sony NWZ-F886. Do you think an upgrade of headphone amp would make a big difference?
 
If so, any recommendation for a truly portable (pocketable) headphone amp? I don't have a need for a DAC, just a device which amplifies.

 

[Whaleshark12]

  I've been using my FLC 8s for a few weeks now, and love them. Even got used to the over-ear cables which was a major concern as I hated that with my Shures.
 
I run them with FiiO E11 with Sony NWZ-F886. Do you think an upgrade of headphone amp would make a big difference?
 
If so, any recommendation for a truly portable (pocketable) headphone amp? I don't have a need for a DAC, just a device which amplifies.

Don't think you need an amp with it. FLC drive just fine from any source. Of course, it might benefit if your amp is better.

 

[Tony1110]

I agree. Zero need for an amp with these. I'd go so far as to say that you don't even need a DAP.

 

[Signal2Noise]

I agree. Zero need for an amp with these. I'd go so far as to say that you don't even need a DAP.

 

I just received the new cable from LMYE and it looks 3.5 and not balanced at all. The photo on the website for the balanced cable looks just like the unbalanced cable so that's no help.

Strange. Have you got in contact with LMUE about this?

 

[talan7]

 
Strange. Have you got in contact with LMUE about this?

No, not yet. I looked at the photos on the website for both cables and the photos looked the same. I tried connecting the new cable to my hifiman se600 balanced to unbalanced extender and it fit. The difference is the hifiman se600 balanced connector has 3 rings, this new cable from LMUE has 2 rings. Does anyone know how many rings the balanced flc8s cable has?

 

[talan7]

in the 3 photos. the first is the new FLC8S cable that should be balanced. note that it has only 2 rings
The second photo is my hifiman RE600 balanced 3 ring along with the adapter
The last photo is stock FLC8S cable.
 
Am I right in seeing that the new cable is not balanced? It has only 2 rings.

 

[HiFiChris]

  in the 3 photos. the first is the new FLC8S cable that should be balanced. note that it has only 2 rings
The second photo is my hifiman RE600 balanced 3 ring along with the adapter
The last photo is stock FLC8S cable.
 
Am I right in seeing that the new cable is not balanced? It has only 2 rings.

 
 
You're right, the cables in the first and third photo have single-ended TRS connectors instead of balanced TRRS.

 

[Miyazakiman]

Received mine yesterday! I ordered them Monday and got them in Europe 2 days later (that's faster than some webshops here). Interestingly I got a tracking number after I received the delivery.
 
Some tips for ordering
-If you order using Paypal, don't use the PayPal conversion rate. It saved me 15 euro!
-There is a 5% discount code in the FAQ on the leantmeyouryears website.
 
My first impressions from the sound are very good but will need more time to compare against my other IEM's (Sennheiser IE 80, Shure 535 and AT IM-04).

 

[stenog]

DHL is a logistics company, so they offer you the service of calculating duties and VAT for you, and charge a hefty service charge on top of it. Of course they don't ask your permission, and I'm sure it's a hugely profitable high-margin business for them

I do a lot of my shopping online. Most of the time I have to pay duties and VAT when using the fast versions of DHL, FedEx and their ilk. With ground mail etc. it's luck of the draw in the Netherlands and Finland, I'd estimate 50% of the time I end up without having to pay extra.

With my FLC 8s I didn't - which is great as I saved tens of euros! Took two weeks to arrive from Singapore, and another two weeks in customs. With DHL it would have been 3-5 days, but more expensive shipping, plus the duties and VAT mentioned (21% plus duties). Oh, and VAT is calculated inclusive of shipping price!

Just to make it clear . I love DHL and i don't mind paying extra for fast and good service. The point is, i think DHL decide whether or not i have to pay tax and not the "customs officer". They should just be honest about that. And again the tax i paid for FLC 8s was about 15 usd!

 

[stenog]

Received mine yesterday! I ordered them Monday and got them in Europe 2 days later (that's faster than some webshops here). Interestingly I got a tracking number after I received the delivery.

Some tips for ordering
-If you order using Paypal, don't use the PayPal conversion rate. It saved me 15 euro!
-There is a 5% discount code in the FAQ on the leantmeyouryears website.

My first impressions from the sound are very good but will need more time to compare against my other IEM's (Sennheiser IE 80, Shure 535 and AT IM-04).

Awaiting your comparisons between FLC8s and IE80 . I also have both, FLC are in a completely different league...

 

[Metalomaniac]

Just to make it clear

. I love DHL and i don't mind paying extra for fast and good service. The point is, i think DHL decide whether or not i have to pay tax and not the "customs officer". They should just be honest about that. And again the tax i paid for FLC 8s was about 15 usd!

 
The tax and duties would be the same whether it's DHL or a customs officer, the only thing is that customs officers generally charge a lesser handling fee, if at all. And sometimes they let a package go through without any charges since they're lazy, like what happened to me
 
There's nothing dishonest about what DHL is doing. You are by law required to declare and pay taxes and duties on stuff you import. DHL does all the logistics for you and carries out the law diligently as it is in their financial interest in doing so, since they can charge service fees.
 
You're lucky if you only had to pay 15 USD. Here in Europe I would have ended up paying over 60 USD in VAT alone, plus several points in duties. Plus probably around 30 USD in DHL service fees. So that's a good 100 USD or 30%+ on top of the already hefty price tag.