[mulder01]

Sooo the beta test option is just because they want a bunch of customers to give them feedback in exchange for a discounted purchase price??

 

[up late]

hmm, you have to wonder...

 

[Decoy]

Do you have to buy it to be a beta tester? If so, how much did you have to pay?

 

[fastphones]

Are you going to buy them? Were you going to buy them, but now you will only by them if HiFiMAN offers a longer warranty? 

 
My next HP purchase is going to be either the Abyss or the HE1000 (unless something else appears).
 
I've owned equipment that had a bad rep for reliability and its not conducive to a happy partnership with equipment. I also experienced a torn diaphragm with Stax Cans back in the 90s. So no without an extended warranty I wont be purchasing the HE1000, I may wait to see how things pan out for early adopters, to see how the reliability is with this particular can.
 
I have to add that my enforced patience in this next purchase has just increased as BOTH of my daughters are getting married, (engaged this weekend) Good job I'm still enjoying my Audio Technica AD2000, I just want more!

 

[Decoy]

From my cursory search, I found that the industry average is roughly a little under 2 years. I was a little surprised that it was this low. I would have guessed 2-3 years.  I did find that few years back, HiFiMAN was offering 3 year warranties.  I doubt it has anything to do with a lack of confidence it its products; it is simply cheaper to offer shorter warranties.  I suspect that they calculated that very few people would pick a different headphone based on the warranty, or lack thereof.
 
I have already pre-paid for an HE1K --read into that what  you will.  To be honest, the warranty never crossed my mind.  I did, however, post a little earlier in this thread a question asking if HiFiMAN's prior trouble with quality control would cause people to delay purchasing the HE1K.  I thought about this a bit before ordering it. Maybe I am a fool, but I would expect the first batch to be more heavily QC'd due to the importance of positive early feedback on sales.
 
Either way, I will be a guinea pig for everyone.  I will certainly post any problems with build quality here, should there be any.

 

[doctorjazz]

I have a 560, never had any problems (this, of course, doesn't guarantee anything). Like most people making (any) purchase, I'd always prefer a longer warranty to a shorter one, but I don't remember that ever being the deciding factor in a purchase (if something has a reputation for poor quality and high failure/return rate, I likely don't want it even with a 3 year warranty. Besides, most problems that are manufacturing related are likely to be there soon after purchase, I'd expect).
My $0.02-I've ordered the "beta", let folks know what I can when I can. In no rush to receive it, but am very curious what it brings to the table over and above the 560, should be considerable for the price increase.

 

[up late]

likewise, warranty has never been a deciding factor in my purchases but reports of poor build quality, unreliability and high failure rates would be. folks who are anxious about a possible one year warranty for the he-1000 should take a chill pill and leave it to the early adopters.

 

[cs098]

I have a 560, never had any problems (this, of course, doesn't guarantee anything). Like most people making (any) purchase, I'd always prefer a longer warranty to a shorter one, but I don't remember that ever being the deciding factor in a purchase (if something has a reputation for poor quality and high failure/return rate, I likely don't want it even with a 3 year warranty. Besides, most problems that are manufacturing related are likely to be there soon after purchase, I'd expect).
My $0.02-I've ordered the "beta", let folks know what I can when I can. In no rush to receive it, but am very curious what it brings to the table over and above the 560, should be considerable for the price increase.

 
Me too, I even dropped mine a few times and quite hardly as well. There's a few scratches on the plastic baffle, but it's still fine, nothing wrong in the sound department. 

 

[jibzilla]

  Sooo the beta test option is just because they want a bunch of customers to give them feedback in exchange for a discounted purchase price??

Yeah I will be owning a HE1k soon but I'm not sure I like hfm's tactics here. I have not read the whole beta thread but it looks like their was a deposit of some sort? If it was something small like under $50 to cover the shipping then that's no big deal, but if it was something like half the cost of the headphone then that's kind of shaddy imo. It will def. give the beta testers more of a new toy syndrome if it were half the cost of the headphones and def. pressure them to buy since half of it is already paid for. Plus in a few weeks I and a few others who ordered from todd are going to have our own so no time to make any changes. From what I read they just now started to ship the beta.

 

[subtle]

 
Yeah I will be owning a HE1k soon but I'm not sure I like hfm's tactics here. I have not read the whole beta thread but it looks like their was a deposit of some sort? If it was something small like under $50 to cover the shipping then that's no big deal, but if it was something like half the cost of the headphone then that's kind of shaddy imo. It will def. give the beta testers more of a new toy syndrome if it were half the cost of the headphones and def. pressure them to buy since half of it is already paid for. Plus in a few weeks I and a few others who ordered from todd are going to have our own so no time to make any changes. From what I read they just now started to ship the beta.

 
It was practically the entire cost of the headphone new and then I think they would refund a portion if you chose to keep them as the bonus for participating in the beta.  Yep, pretty much a backwards way of conducting a beta but it's their business and product.
 
They should never have made the beta public but as it turns out it was more of a way for them to try and sell more headphones rather than a standard beta.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Just to give my input on the warranty topic.
 
I've had numerous driver failures with LCD3, warranty is of paramount importance to me. Because of the out-raw on the Audeze thread, they have revised their warranty policy. We now have 3 years warranty, and that 3 years resets if your drivers are replaced under warranty. Great stuff that came out of users speaking up.
 
I've ordered the LAu should be arriving around Oct. My next headphones will be Abyss or HE1000. But from what I'm hearing about others having driver failures with Hifiman cans, as well as only 1 year warranty, I'm leaning towards the Abyss.
 
I've been told by Joe that he has not had a single driver failure with the Abyss to date. That's huge influence in my purchasing decision.

 

[Decoy]

When you do make your choice, I would be interested in how you came to your decision, whatever it may be.

 

[doctorjazz]

Interesting how it is a bit like playing telephone, since Beta testers are supposed to not post much about it, the ideas out there on it are all over the place. I actually don't get the idea of a Beta happening at the same time as the official release of the product (though isn't the beta usually the last test in software, things that are just about ready to be released?), but that's the way they did it. As I mentioned earlier, I think all the fuss over this is in lieu of actually having the headphone out there to listen to in the wild, people have to focus on something.

 

[gurus]

It was nothing but a smart marketing ploy  under the guise of beta testing, me thinks, with HIFIMAN  coming out on top.

 

[jibzilla]

Interesting how it is a bit like playing telephone, since Beta testers are supposed to not post much about it, the ideas out there on it are all over the place. I actually don't get the idea of a Beta happening at the same time as the official release of the product (though isn't the beta usually the last test in software, things that are just about ready to be released?), but that's the way they did it. As I mentioned earlier, I think all the fuss over this is in lieu of actually having the headphone out there to listen to in the wild, people have to focus on something.

Yeah but the thing were focusing on is pretty bad for the consumer. Almost full price to beta test? That's for sure a gimmick not a beta test. Plus you got 60 some pages now of nothing but people oozing all over themselves in the beta thread which is now a waste of space and I do not believe for a new York minute that hfm knew it wouldn't be when they started it. Just my 2 cents but I think it's worth focusing on a little so hfm does not pull this crap in the future.