[ThurstonX]

  I wouldn't get mad, it looks like they are not very good with English and they were unfortunate to make email sounding like that. But if they want to sell their products to western people they should invest more in English training for their employees.

 
Agreed.  I think they need to hire a native English speaker to handle such communications.  I accept the position 

  Oh wait, I'll have to learn at least one Chinese dialect.  Bugger.  But seriously, it would be a good move.  My brother basically does that for a huge Japanese company, but of course, he speaks Japanese.  Anyway, it's a shame that such things get lost in translation.  My dealings with HFM support have all been amicable, but I've been quite patient, esp. with emails.  My patience is rewarded with good customer service and appreciation.
 
I think the main thing that would go a long way to ameliorating these situations is better quality control.  The simple example is put the correct pair of pads on new cans, don't mix and match.  Just costs them in the end.  Also, improved packaging (seems like that may have been taken to heart) and simple visual inspection of products, be they new or refurbished replacements.  No one should be getting scratched up cans and missing a cable.  Make this a serious company policy, provide training, and hire a quality assurance manager (fat chance; I worked in that mostly-overlooked field for long enough to know most companies don't bother, or cut said dept. first).  And lastly, though this may seem harsh, reprimands for employees who fail to meet basic quality standards.  Think of packages you've received that include a slip of paper reading: This item proudly packed by <insert name here>.  Returns can easily include that reference.  Even a simple database of who fulfilled what order (already got the number) would go a long way to promoting by quality control.
 
</end rant.lite>
 
Personally, I love the HE-560s.  My crazy homemade pads are sounding better today 

  <--- and yes, rockin' the red grills

 

[398698]

Like Sonic said, there's nothing we can do complaining on this thread. Show Head-Direct/HiFiman your displeasure by emailing them. This is the only way they will hear this. A rep mentioned to me in a separate email that HiFiman is going to revamp their packaging to prevent this from happening again. They are listening to some degree, but how much? I'll definitely inspect my package when it comes from China.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Here's an easy solution, buy from local dealer for the exact same price. You support the local economy and you have great communication (hopefully).

From a sales and marketing perspective, a bunch of complaints pooled into one makes a problem that much 'worse'. Specially when you've got people who have not even dealt with their customer service or worse got theirs in satisfactory condition signing a poor customer service open letter.

These are still isolated incidents not 1 in 3 orders or anything close..

While I know you are being reasonable, I also think you are perhaps being too reasonable. There have been numerous complaints about quality control, not just a few, and based on the many, many posts I have read about HFM over the years this is not a new issue. Try to take into consideration that most of the QC issues are extremely low-hanging fruit to take care of, HFM just needs to agree that they are issues and then the problems will be solved. As it stands now they are getting full support while being able to just allow the same issues to continue at whatever percentage the issues occur at. So why would they change as obviously the problems are not really serious enough to motivate customers to act.
 
As for the customers service issue at hand, yes I am discussing a single issue, and that is fine to focus on just one issue. A single customer is as important as a thousand customers and good companies do not wait until a service issue is "larger" in scope, they take care of the customer. If the new headphone ships with a simple to catch/avoid fault, even if it is minor and cosmetic, you don't make the customer responsible for paying shipping. It is HFM fault that the headphones left like that period. This happened twice to the same customer and it remains to be seen if it happens a third time. HFM is a premium product, and their sound quality shows it; but if we continue to simply let them go about sloppy QC and luke warm customer service as it seems to be now, then they will not make the changes required to change what appears to be a comfort level with good enough. If they aren't able to serve the English based markets directly from China then they should not offer that as an option. I purchased my 560 from a US based reseller for the record.

 

[cute]

 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

The only thing putting me off would be the 1 year warranty against 2y for Sennheiser and 3y from Audeze, although it may be because I worry too much 

Even if warranty is expired or you bought the headphones used they'll still work with you to fix it. At what price I'm not sure, maybe someone with experience can chime in on costs.

 

[ThurstonX]

Even if warranty is expired or you bought the headphones used they'll still work with you to fix it. At what price I'm not sure, maybe someone with experience can chime in on costs.

 
IIRC, I was quoted around $130 to repair damaged HE-500s.  They would have had to have been shipped to China, and they were honest in assessing the repair time frame, due to the HE-560s ramping up production.  I didn't go that route, but yes, they were willing to work with me. I told them I'd bought them used off a Head-Fier.
 
Found HFM's reply:
"We do not replace the drivers separately. You can ship HE-500 back to us to replace. If it is still under warranty, we can replace it for free. If it isn''t,  the cost is $130 (including handling and shipping fee)."

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

   
IIRC, I was quoted around $130 to repair damaged HE-500s.  They would have had to have been shipped to China, and they were honest in assessing the repair time frame, due to the HE-560s ramping up production.  I didn't go that route, but yes, they were willing to work with me. I told them I'd bought them used off a Head-Fier.
 
Found HFM's reply:
"We do not replace the drivers separately. You can ship HE-500 back to us to replace. If it is still under warranty, we can replace it for free. If it isn''t,  the cost is $130 (including handling and shipping fee)."

That's fairly reasonable considering they were $600 new and I'm assuming bad drivers or...? Also what was their turn around time? 5-6 weeks?

 

[d4nim4l]

   
And with the hd800's. 

 
 

 
That cable is killer on the Alpha Dogs as well!

 
 

  You boys can put the 560's down and hold up your big dollar Stax and etc, but with the right components... including cables and tubes... my setup is producing the BEST sound I've ever heard from HP's. And I've owned the 500's... twice... and the Senn 800... among many others... but I am just absolutely captivated by my 560 sound.
 
I use the Oppo 105 CD/SACD player, which has a very good DAC that doesn't break the bank. I use Morrow Audio mid level IC's to join the Oppo with a Lyr 2 with Amperex Orange Globe tubes. I believe the 2 is a substantial improvement over the 1... especially in very quiet background. The Lyr 2 drives the 560's into euphoria... IMHO. But the amp and HP's can't take garbage and make beautiful music. And the Oppo, for the money, would be hard to beat. It can make the 560's sound really good with nothing in between. But, the Lyr 2 adds a little more definition and punch.
 
I quickly removed the grill cloth from the outer grills on the 560 at about 75 hours in their break-in. I waited until I could see what the signature of the 560's is. And when I removed them, they really opened up. I might try different grills in the future, but right now I don't feel they need it, in light of my latest purchase... the Vanquish Series OCC Litz 7-core, modified Type 6 Headphone Cable that I received this past Friday, and now have 73 hours of break-in. It is an excellent cable. It made a significant difference over the stock HiFiman cable that came with the 560's. I am really impressed! Trevor Goldman has really done the trick with this cable. And it is about half the price of some off the others I checked into.
 
So, I will just enjoy the music, while some of you make light of what these HP's can do. 

Mine just arrived today, loving it so far.  Also switched from SE to balanced with the cable change, so two variables changed.
 

 

[tuna47]

I am listing my 500 for sale keeping the 560 anyone interested

 

[Kyno]

   
IIRC, I was quoted around $130 to repair damaged HE-500s.  They would have had to have been shipped to China, and they were honest in assessing the repair time frame, due to the HE-560s ramping up production.  I didn't go that route, but yes, they were willing to work with me. I told them I'd bought them used off a Head-Fier.
 
Found HFM's reply:
"We do not replace the drivers separately. You can ship HE-500 back to us to replace. If it is still under warranty, we can replace it for free. If it isn''t,  the cost is $130 (including handling and shipping fee)."

 
That's really good to know! I was worried about the warranty, but would have imagined a higher price (especially since shipping fee to China are included) to replace the drivers considering the retail price. It won't be the end of the world if they have an issue further down the road.
 
What happened to your HE-500's driver?

 

[ThurstonX]

That's fairly reasonable considering they were $600 new and I'm assuming bad drivers or...? Also what was their turn around time? 5-6 weeks?

 
They didn't specify a specific time, but hinted it would be at least a month.  The impression I got is that it should be a bit faster during "normal" production periods.

 

[jmayzurk]

  Like Sonic said, there's nothing we can do complaining on this thread. Show Head-Direct/HiFiman your displeasure by emailing them. This is the only way they will hear this. A rep mentioned to me in a separate email that HiFiman is going to revamp their packaging to prevent this from happening again. They are listening to some degree, but how much? I'll definitely inspect my package when it comes from China.

 
I wrote them a letter (I know, how old-fashioned!) which I enclosed when I returned my HE-560s. I explained I was disappointed in the lack of quality control and the poor customer service I encountered during the pre-order/replacement cycle. Like others, I received a series of broken-English emails, and I received return instructions that asked me to ship to a residential address, but omitted the apartment number (I found the correct address by searching on Head-Fi). That kind of stuff is just amateurish. I would have kept the headphones--somewhat reluctantly, knowing that what's on the inside is probably no better than what's on the outside, and the warranty recently shrunk to only one year--but in the end, customer service is what made me get a refund and spend my money elsewhere.
 
I wasn't really expecting one, but I didn't get a response to my letter.
 
To highlight an contrasting example of customer service, when I bought my LCD-3 I sent an email to Audeze asking them to confirm it had the Fazor enhancement, and requesting a copy of the frequency response graph for my headphones. First thing I noticed: They use Zendesk (a request tracking system), so my email became a ticketed request with a tracking ID. Second, I got a response including the PDF attachment eight minutes later, by a very cordial English speaker who answered my original questions and then asked if I had any other questions she could help with.

 

[ThurstonX]

 
That's really good to know! I was worried about the warranty, but would have imagined a higher price (especially since shipping fee to China are included) to replace the drivers considering the retail price. It won't be the end of the world if they have an issue further down the road.
 
What happened to your HE-500's driver?

 
I can't remember if I was to ship them to China, or to their US office, and they'd handle the final leg.
 
Long story.

 

[Rudiger]

+1 about qc problems with Hifiman. My He-560 yokes are a little scratched. This only could happen before shipping.

 

[Kyno]

   
I can't remember if I was to ship them to China, or to their US office, and they'd handle the final leg.
 
Long story.

 
As long as they handled the shipping...
 
It was just to know if it had suddenly died for no apparent reason.
 

Originally Posted by jmayzurk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
and the warranty recently shrunk to only one year

Didn't know it was a recent development, too bad and somehow worrying at the same time.