[HiFiChris]

 

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

As an international customer I actually love Massdrop's DHL shipping, they give out proper updates every time and are very efficient - unlike USPS and other US based couriers, all the packages stop in Germany invariably meaning customs related issues (both in terms of wait time and international taxing) are heavily staggered, some times even completely removed upon being received by the recipient country as the object has already entered the European Union beforehand.
 
Actually, I'd be very happy if every single purchase I make online is handled by DHL rather than our national post, I don't know how their US based operations are run but they are great in Europe as far as I'm aware and from my personal experience for many years now, never had any issues at all.

 

 
Same — to my surprise, I got them without paying any import taxes (which are insanely high in Iceland), saved me 150 USD(!)

 
 

 

 
Same — to my surprise, I got them without paying any import taxes (which are insanely high in Iceland), saved me 150 USD(!)

 
[...] From what I've seen with all the orders I've received recently they get "re-branded" in Frankfurt so when they arrive the country marked is Germany rather than the US. [...]

 
 
Oh c'mon, that's not fair as all of us Germans had to pay the import taxes and customs clearance fees. 

 
 

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Quote:

Pictures of mine:

[...]

A visual capture of the bubblewrap imprint issue...

​[...]

 

Wow, that really hurts to see. I'm wondering what Massdrop will come up with to solve the issue for you and some of the other PH buyers.

 

[laurentplop]

I just got mine; #1296. There are no visible defects (even by touching or using a powerful light), the finish is pristine and very dark purple.

 

[Shogster]

Anyone pairing the Purplehearts with the Asgard 2?Would love some impressions.

 

[TWerk]

Obviously they see all these posts and the comments on their site and emails.

I agree, they probably don't know what to do right now. It wasn't planned, I'm sure, so they need to figure out what to do. I don't think they're intentionally ignoring everyone.

 

[fjrabon]

yeah, I wouldn't want to be @CEE TEE at all right now.  Kind of funny, because I almost considered applying for that job, haha.

 

[chry5alis]

Are the bubble marks left from the postage packaging - or has it been a fault in the lacquering process? Such a shame because the darker purpleheart look lovely.

 

[Zbell]

The Purpleheart headphones still look absolutely lovely!  Mine have the bubblewrap markings (My guess would be the cups were wrapped up before the lacquer was totally done curing), but honestly you can only see the marks in the right lighting and with the right glare hitting the lacquer.  Otherwise they look very, very good.  
 
The color of the cups are way better (IMO) and darker, with fantastic grain, than the original pictures made them out to be.  Seriously, for those who are still waiting, these cans look great and sound great.  Is the lacquer perfect? Hell no, but it really doesn't make me love these headphones any less and no one will be able to see the bubblewrap markings without closely examining the cups.  Hope this dispels some of the worries those waiting might have and I hope DHL gets its **** together, because I think you'll like the headphones as much as I do.         

 

[VRacer-111]

Not really a fault in the lacquer process other than they seemingly being packaged before %100 fully set to minimize the chance of it happening. Plastic, especially LDPE, likes to stick to paints, coatings, and adhesives... A suitable protective material should have been used to cover the cups and keep the bubble wrap off them.

 

[Supa Mint]

I'm more about function over form; however, I think that it's fair to say that the finish work of the cups doesn't appear to be of the highest quality (if you were expecting that).   Even outside of the 'bubble wrap' marks, the surface has the classic 'orange peel' finish of lesser quality work, rather than smooth gloss finish you would find on higher quality wood finishing.  It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look exquisite either.  My expectations were based on sound quality, so I personally find the finish (not related to any bubble wrap marks) to be adequate for the price paid - but I'm certainly not overly impressed with the finish.  Just my $0.02

 

[inertianinja]

  I'm more about function over form; however, I think that it's fair to say that the finish work of the cups doesn't appear to be of the highest quality (if you were expecting that).   Even outside of the 'bubble wrap' marks, the surface has the classic 'orange peel' finish of lesser quality work, rather than smooth gloss finish you would find on higher quality wood finishing.  It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look exquisite either.  My expectations were based on sound quality, so I personally find the finish (not related to any bubble wrap marks) to be adequate for the price paid - but I'm certainly not overly impressed with the finish.  Just my $0.02

 
Not that I'm defending them, but I don't think we can expect better than orange peel in any case. Even expensive BMWs arrive with orange peel these days.

 

[betula]

 This lacquer finish issue is a difficult one. Obviously it has no effect on the sq, and probably many people just do not care, when they hear the amazing value for money sound that all X00 series offer.
 I can however understand those, who expect a 100% product for the money, not just a 99% one, even though it is exceptional value sq-wise.
It is obviously not Massdrop's fault, but a factory/production issue on Fostex's behalf.
 Also, that 10% of people who find lacquer finish problems unacceptable are probably all on Head-Fi.
In Massdrop's shoes I'd probably offer them $20-50 refund, or buying back their X00 PHs.
I personally probably wouldn't care much about these lacquer problems, however I also wouldn't mind some partial refund for it.
On my Mahogany pairs from the second drop there is some cable twist issue going on, see picture.
Am I entitled for some refund then? The sound and what I paid for it just makes me not to care about it, as I have better things to do. Enjoying music through them, for example.
I am not saying, those who are upset about the lacquer finish are not right. They are, to some extent. But there is a lot of factor to consider before they send Massdrop and Fostex to hell.
(By the way I love my X00s despite of the cable twist.)

 

[PopZeus]

Not to make excuses for whoever is responsible (I honestly don't know so I think pointing fingers prematurely seems counterproductive) but my random guess is the epic summer of heat and humidity is responsible for the lacquer issues.

 

[Zbell]

Totally agree with Betula.  However, this issue does point out a huge problem with the Massdrop business model.  When they received the PH (and maybe even noticed the bubble wrap issue themselves), they really had no recourse but to continue shipping them out.  They have already been paid for and people had been waiting 4+ months.  I can't imagine a scenario where they returned 1000-2000 cups to Fostex for new cups that would take months to manufacture.  It leaves both Massdrop and the buyers at the mercy/competence of the manufacturer.  Had they said, "we won't ship out these PH due to the bubble wrap imprints", what were they gonna do?  Give everyone mahogany cups?  Make everyone wait another 4 months?  I bet they're thinking about ways to fix the current cups with sanding/polishing or contemplating a partial refund and that's why we haven't received a response.  Just my thoughts on the issue.  

 

[laurentplop]

Are the bubble marks left from the postage packaging

It arrived in bubble wrap in the box. Depending on how tight and how soon they were packaged, it might have caused the issue.

I'm not a good photographer, but here are some comparison pictures anyway (first with flash then without):

The wall is white and the monitors on the bottom are actually displaying dark gray.

 

[sovereign]

Just posted on Massdrop:
 
Quote:

AlexPeterkin 
 
Hey everyone,

Thanks for flagging the bubble wrap marks. We’ve been collecting tickets and are handling them as they come in, but just wanted to more visibly address people’s concerns. It seems the lacquer finish must have been in contact with some bubble wrap in transit to assembly which blemished some units to varying degrees. If any of you are noticing your ear cups have some of these marks, then please contact Community Support so they can help you with getting a replacement.

Alternatively and unofficially, I have run into this problem in the past with a few wood keyboard cases and there are a few solutions if you would prefer to do a bit of polishing in place of waiting for a replacement. I was able to remove them with a microfiber cloth and some elbow grease, but have heard for “pack marks” that using an automotive polish like 3M Imperial Microfinishing Compound works wonders.@KTMD also had success using a rubbing alcohol pad and some furniture polish(https://www.massdrop.com/buy/fostex-x-massdrop-th-x00-purpleheart-headphones/talk/496380).

Again, this is just if you want to try something on your own, but our recommendation is contacting Community Support to resolve the issue.