[Arvan]

They might be moulded in the plastic.. Don´t want to pry if so

 

[blahdidah]

I ultimately bought the "cheaper" German Maestro GMP 160 headphones last year and have had them now for about a year. I specifically bought them as my first headphones (used earphones/in-ear headphones previously) after a lot of research and from what I read about German Maestro's reputation for durable equipment and being European made (generally) I bought them. I was really happy with the sound, until a few days ago when like on cheap earphones I've experienced often in the past, the left side's audio started cutting out on and off and making it therefore unpleasant and impossible to continue using. Its in the warranty period I believe so will be sending them back. 

 I'm quite disappointed as I treated them very well, and eventhough it was their cheapest offering, I'm unemployed for health reasons and it cost a lot for me, it was as expensive as I was willing to go. Not sure how their refund policy works regarding if they try to fix or refund it but I've heard their customer service is very good. Its unfortunate as I like supporting European-made products/jobs which are extremely scarce nowadays, and never expected this to happen, but hopefully it can be fixed or I can find some replacement.

 

[LNuneek]

In a dedeicated 8.35 D thread. The OP named Acix had his logo branding on an ear cup fall off. They sent him a replacement that looked like it was pretty much a sticker in the photos, but not sure.

 

[Acix]

  I ultimately bought the "cheaper" German Maestro GMP 160 headphones last year and have had them now for about a year. I specifically bought them as my first headphones (used earphones/in-ear headphones previously) after a lot of research and from what I read about German Maestro's reputation for durable equipment and being European made (generally) I bought them. I was really happy with the sound, until a few days ago when like on cheap earphones I've experienced often in the past, the left side's audio started cutting out on and off and making it therefore unpleasant and impossible to continue using. Its in the warranty period I believe so will be sending them back. 

 I'm quite disappointed as I treated them very well, and eventhough it was their cheapest offering, I'm unemployed for health reasons and it cost a lot for me, it was as expensive as I was willing to go. Not sure how their refund policy works regarding if they try to fix or refund it but I've heard their customer service is very good. Its unfortunate as I like supporting European-made products/jobs which are extremely scarce nowadays, and never expected this to happen, but hopefully it can be fixed or I can find some replacement.

 
I'm sure they'll try to help out especially if you're under the warranty time period, even if not looks like they'll find a good solution that will work for you. If you want the 8.35 model maybe you can ask them to add the differential price.  
 
 

In a dedeicated 8.35 D thread. The OP named Acix had his logo branding on an ear cup fall off. They sent him a replacement that looked like it was pretty much a sticker in the photos, but not sure.

 
 
My logo branding on the ear cup didn't fall off, just the white logo color comes off/ washed out from the branding plastic. I love the badass original white logo, I wanted to try the color one which I glued on the original template, so far is holding well more that I was expected. I can glue it harder if needed with the E6000. I guess you guys can ask them for the color stickers if they still have them.

 

[blahdidah]

Thank you Acix, yes I've only had it for a year and the warranty period is 3 years apparently. I will think about the 8.35.

 

[blahdidah]

I was thinking of upgrading to the 8.300D since its cheaper, but I'm not sure if it could be driven from an ipod like my GMP 160 or the 8.35D can - being 300 ohms - though I found one review saying it can.

 

[TrollDragon]

  I was thinking of upgrading to the 8.300D since its cheaper, but I'm not sure if it could be driven from an ipod like my GMP 160 or the 8.35D can - being 300 ohms - though I found one review saying it can.

I run my 8.300D's from my FiiO X3 on low gain with the volume around 80/120 and that is quite loud for my ears. I am not sure how they would run from an iPod as I believe it has a lower output.
 
The 8.300D's have a very long and thick cable that is quite bulky for portable use. You can order them from the factory with a shorter portable cable if you contact them before ordering.

 

[blahdidah]

thank you very much for the input TD, I am concerned about that as its ohms seems to be a lot more then ipods generally can handle, im not sure how to see exactly. I don't mind the cable being long or thick as I'll pretty much only be using at home in any case. Though I may have to go for the 8.35 instead if its impossible to tell if it'll work fine with my ipod etc. 

 

[Arvan]

  thank you very much for the input TD, I am concerned about that as its ohms seems to be a lot more then ipods generally can handle, im not sure how to see exactly. I don't mind the cable being long or thick as I'll pretty much only be using at home in any case. Though I may have to go for the 8.35 instead if its impossible to tell if it'll work fine with my ipod etc. 

 
The 8.35 will rock on good with an ipod.. Very easy to drive.

 

[LNuneek]

Just wanted to add my experiences with German Maestro to the table since most information in regards to their products are utterly positive and my experience can bring some balance to that, and provide an eye opener to prospective customers.

I recently bought a pair of 8.35 D that had a defective part in the headband mechanism. Sent those back, and the replacement pair has a buzz in the left channel starting at around 100hz on down to the lowest frequency they can output.

The two pairs also have differences in how they sound. The first pair was very temperamental when it came to source and to various aspects of a recording. They were very unforgiving when it came to things such as the use and overuse of compression and limiting in songs. The second pair faired much better in this regard and were much less temperamental, but of course that buzz in the left channel would ruin things occasionally as it only seemed to happen when there was deep solo bass.

I also found little variances in the construction such as there didn't really seem to be a consistent feel in how the headband extentions performed. Out of the 4 mechanisms, 2 for each headphone, each one behaved differently having a different feel when extending and contracting the mechanism.

The coiled part of the cable on the second pair had non uniform coils at the end that coiled back upwards into the above coils before the cable straightened out again towards the jack.

All the issues with these headphones and all the little variances put me totally off this company for good and there is no way I'm going to be dealing with their shoddy hand made workmanship again.

They may have designed and put together a headphone you can stand on without shattering, but the internals of that casing leave a lot to be desired. Who cares if the outside of the headphones can take a beating if the internals are so shoddily made!

For any prospective buyers of this headphone please don't believe the hype, despite the reviews, the crazy antics in videos or trade shows used to sell these headphones, pride and faith in German engineering, etc. etc. please be aware that these headphones and the company are not without their faults and there is just as much probability that you could potentially recieve a very substandard product as you would from any other manufacturer.

 

[qazxsw80]

Just wanted to add my experiences with German Maestro to the table since most information in regards to their products are utterly positive and my experience can bring some balance to that, and provide an eye opener to prospective customers.

I recently bought a pair of 8.35 D that had a defective part in the headband mechanism. Sent those back, and the replacement pair has a buzz in the left channel starting at around 100hz on down to the lowest frequency they can output.

The two pairs also have differences in how they sound. The first pair was very temperamental when it came to source and to various aspects of a recording. They were very unforgiving when it came to things such as the use and overuse of compression and limiting in songs. The second pair faired much better in this regard and were much less temperamental, but of course that buzz in the left channel would ruin things occasionally as it only seemed to happen when there was deep solo bass.

I also found little variances in the construction such as there didn't really seem to be a consistent feel in how the headband extentions performed. Out of the 4 mechanisms, 2 for each headphone, each one behaved differently having a different feel when extending and contracting the mechanism.

The coiled part of the cable on the second pair had non uniform coils at the end that coiled back upwards into the above coils before the cable straightened out again towards the jack.

All the issues with these headphones and all the little variances put me totally off this company for good and there is no way I'm going to be dealing with their shoddy hand made workmanship again.

They may have designed and put together a headphone you can stand on without shattering, but the internals of that casing leave a lot to be desired. Who cares if the outside of the headphones can take a beating if the internals are so shoddily made!

For any prospective buyers of this headphone please don't believe the hype, despite the reviews, the crazy antics in videos or trade shows used to sell these headphones, pride and faith in German engineering, etc. etc. please be aware that these headphones and the company are not without their faults and there is just as much probability that you could potentially recieve a very substandard product as you would from any other manufacturer.

I think it's just an unhappy coincidence. I myself have had 5 pairs of German Maestro and they all were faultless. And in Russia a few years ago the headphones made by German Maestro were extremely popular ( because of some kind of hype) but  I've never heard about any problem with them. In regard to different sound of 2 pairs, unfortunately this happens all the time with all manufacturers, for example, it's hard to find two pair of the Audeze LCD-2 which sound the same and the Sennheiser Hd800's are sometimes quite different.

 

[LNuneek]

I think it's just an unhappy coincidence. I myself have had 5 pairs of German Maestro and they all were faultless. And in Russia a few years ago the headphones made by German Maestro were extremely popular ( because of some kind of hype) but  I've never heard about any problem with them. In regard to different sound of 2 pairs, unfortunately this happens all the time with all manufacturers, for example, it's hard to find two pair of the Audeze LCD-2 which sound the same and the Sennheiser Hd800's are sometimes quite different.

Maybe you were lucky. However there is very little information on-line in regards to these headphones. Only a handful of people and sites world wide really care to share their experiences. This brand and vocal customers who have their products barely exist amongst the information and noise generated by more popular and better brands.

My experiences have been terrible. German Maestro didn't even bother replying at all to my second issue. They are like that though. Sometimes they respond sometimes they don't. Their customer service was even like that when I was just enquiring about general info. I felt like I had to constantly chase them down and the retailer too with emails and phone calls, or else no one would get back to me.

I can't wait to get my refund and be done, but I may have to fight a restocking fee from the retailer. Why restocking fees should even come up with defective products at all is beyond me, but the retailer is waving it over my head. They shouldn't be restocking defective products whatsoever, nor trying to recoup their losses from the customer.

I also realize that there may be slight difference in sound between different pairs, but come on. One set couldn't handle any kind of compression or limiting in the mix without sounding horrible. The other pair was fine in that regard but buzzed with certain bass tones. All in all I think German Maestro's products are built pretty crappy with very little consistency.

From now on I'm not taking my chances with these little lesser known outfits that can barely manage to get distribution, provide good and efficient customer care, and ones in which they are primarily mail order based. It might restrict me to certain brands and models, but at least I will have the peace of mind knowing that if I have any issues with the product, I can just drive to the store that day and get an exchange or refund with very little hassle, waiting, and paying for additional shipping charges.

 

[Arvan]

They answered my questions almost instantly and i had some questions so there was a few mails going both ways. So there seems to be some kind of problem here. 
 
And i understand your situation but still. This happens to every company out there. There are people having the same issues with Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic for example. Hell even Porsche has some user who have bad experiences with the company. I am not saying that it is alright for a company to ignore issues and customers but it happens no matter who´s name is on the product. 
 
Did you use the right email address? I remember another person who had questions but sent to the wrong address. 

 

[LNuneek]

They answered my questions almost instantly and i had some questions so there was a few mails going both ways. So there seems to be some kind of problem here. 

And i understand your situation but still. This happens to every company out there. There are people having the same issues with Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic for example. Hell even Porsche has some user who have bad experiences with the company. I am not saying that it is alright for a company to ignore issues and customers but it happens no matter who´s name is on the product. 

Did you use the right email address? I remember another person who had questions but sent to the wrong address. 

Definitely use the right email. Like I said sometimes they reply, sometimes they don't.

These headphones are handmade. The precision and accuracy just isn't there. Way too much room for human error is involved in their manufacturing from what I can tell.

 

[TrollDragon]

This excellent thread has been dead for sometime...
Wow does anyone still use their GMP's anymore?
 
I have been gone for far too long, so what's new?