Ironically, I have a set of these at home. I got the BT version. For the money, they are pretty great. Definitely an antidote to the Ananda. I may need to try them wired to see if they open up.
Ironically, I have a set of these at home. I got the BT version. For the money, they are pretty great. Definitely an antidote to the Ananda. I may need to try them wired to see if they open up.
I ordered an open box BT Ananda expecting it to be nearly brand new. From the looks of it it was “used” a bit more than I would have liked. I emailed them and they said open box includes demos and customer returns. I think it’s a bit of a crapshoot.
I agree on the likely state of open box from HFM. OTOH, lots of retail outfits sell them "open box" to move the stock. Susvaras for instance, I'd wager at least 50 have gone out from retailers (all combined) since they came out, and in a decent amount of cases the only wear is literally the box is opened. HFM won't allow them to be discounted when new - so you change the status and viola. $3700-3900 gets you an open box can for a $2k+ discount. Chances are retailers have to pay HFM 50-60% of new retail list - so they don't lose any money, and you could get a virtually new can, or worst case you get a broken in can that looks nearly new.
I recently ordered an open box directly from Hifiman too. Mine arrived absolutely like new, I'd never tell if it had any flaws or blemishes. Absolutely new appearance and technically awesome. The only caveat is that... it smells paint)) A little bit of that wall paint as if it was stored in a newly built storehouse with freshly painted walls. Actually, I'm very sensitive to smells in general, especially chemicals. However, I'm fine with it this time. Many new headphone cases smell worse than that.
Open box is always a risk. If it's a customer return it likely might be very close to new. Demo units on the other hand will probably look like they've seen a lot of use and may have some cosmetic damage. From a use perspective, if you receive a demo unit I'd likely just buy a new set of pads for the headphones unless the headband looks like it's deteriorating too. Though that would cut into the cost of the open box unit. Luckily you do get to keep warranty regardless which is a nice touch.
I didn't purchase my open box model from HFM, but did get my BT model open box at HeadAmp and the thing still smelled like it was new. It could really be like a lottery at the end of the day.
It is! But also: new it's only $100 more for an Ananda at the moment and then I can use a coupon for $60. So I'll probably order a brand new one.
Are you still liking yours? I've also had my eye on the GL2000 that is being hyped a lot and the Monolith M1570 that is heavily discounted at the moment. Not sure about which one to get yet.
Open box is always a risk. If it's a customer return it likely might be very close to new. Demo units on the other hand will probably look like they've seen a lot of use and may have some cosmetic damage. From a use perspective, if you receive a demo unit I'd likely just buy a new set of pads for the headphones unless the headband looks like it's deteriorating too. Though that would cut into the cost of the open box unit. Luckily you do get to keep warranty regardless which is a nice touch.
I didn't purchase my open box model from HFM, but did get my BT model open box at HeadAmp and the thing still smelled like it was new. It could really be like a lottery at the end of the day.
Yeah, you're right about the pads. But as I mentioned above you, a new one is only $40 more in the end. So I guess it does not matter anymore, how an open-box looks...
Open box is always a risk. If it's a customer return it likely might be very close to new. Demo units on the other hand will probably look like they've seen a lot of use and may have some cosmetic damage. From a use perspective, if you receive a demo unit I'd likely just buy a new set of pads for the headphones unless the headband looks like it's deteriorating too. Though that would cut into the cost of the open box unit. Luckily you do get to keep warranty regardless which is a nice touch.
I didn't purchase my open box model from HFM, but did get my BT model open box at HeadAmp and the thing still smelled like it was new. It could really be like a lottery at the end of the day.
I had bought open box Aryas last summer, and the upper midrange timbre was way off.. I hadn't bought another open box since, though there have been some pretty good deals. I still don't know if all of that model sounded like that, or if I had been resold a dud.
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