[HemiSam]

  I don't have any direct experience with Hifiman returns but this is normal procedure. These products are QC'd when made and 'DOA' is as often than not an attempt at a free return, an accident by the consumer or a something like the buyer not undertanding iems need a seal and thinking them defective etc. I am not implying that is the case here as manufacturers aren't perfect either but there is a return system in place and the buyer is on board with that once he enters the transaction. Doing it differently would raise the price for everyone. It's a choice of price vs policy and the vast majority will choose price as they will not have problems. It's also a way that many would take advantage of manufacturers to audition for free. Don't think we don't all pay a little more because some like to rig the system and try a half dozen or more items before purchasing, often something they've already returned previously. I often see this practice promoted here and frankly it disturbs me. Just because one may not have another way to hear something, it doesn't mean you should get even by making everyone else pay a little more. It's a myopic solution. I understand that when buying something to own and it disappoints, returning it but ordering multiple new items and planning to return all but one and perhaps all is simply inappropriate in my book.
 
 How often has someone experienced something at a brick and mortar shop only to buy it online or on ebay due to price or just to save tax? Brick and mortars can't sell for the same price because they have overhead but they help you make good decisions and are where you go for support. Guess what happens buy saving a few bucks? Those brick and mortars go out of business and the same folks or their equivalents are going to complain about lack of auditions or poorer customer service because of shipping. In the big picture, saving a few bucks is often penny wise and dollar foolish. Don't blame Hifiman. Blame the internet and what has become a competitive shopping game. Think about how you've lost an auction by a dollar or 2 and thought how foolish you were for 'playing the game' instead of just bidding high enough to get what you wanted?
 
Making this so personal is a little short sighted. I understand disappointment when things go wrong and something does get past QC not 100% but stuff happens and it's not like we're talking about large sums here. They won't say all these things because they will then only get more grief for it but really these thoughts represent every maker and the higher the volume or value, the more these thoughts apply.
 
I have no affiliation with Hifiman other than buying the massdrop RE00 for a giggle and possible backup device. If you guys at HIFIman read this, try plugging one of the 2 rear vents on a run in pair of re00.

 

 
Nice editorial....LMAO.  Bored???
 
HS

 

[Deviltooth]

I had an RE-400 and very much liked the sound quality.  Unfortunately one side stopped working and this was after only a few months of sporadic use.  I contacted HiFiman and they wanted me to ship it back to them but I was in the middle of a busy month and doing a lot of traveling between countries so never got around to it.
 
Simply put, HiFiman's build quality is suspect and their customer service requires you to do all the legwork and pay for shipping expenses.  I've since decided not to buy their products; the IEM arena is packed with great options, I'd rather deal with companies willing to put more focus on quality control and customer service.
 
P.S. My worst portable audio experience was with Unique Melody and their 3DD (a very light paperweight);  I'd strongly advise anyone interested in CIEMs to stay far, far away from UM.

 

[TeamHiFiMAN]

  Oh, wow, that's really bad... l mean, it's like it no longer surprises you to see people complaining about Hifiman (i.e. you are used to it...). Wow...
 
What a shame as, otherwise, Hifiman HPs are very nice... l own the HE-400 and to this date they have worked perfectly. But l had my eyes on the Edition X and, after reading this, there is no way l'll throw $1300 on this company. l hope they can improve their 'CS' at some point...

Hi there, if you wouldn't mind emailing in to me on customerservice@hifiman.com and we can have a chat,  see if we can't alleviate some of those concerns for you.  We can but try and all you have to loose a little bit of time.
 

hifiman has great products (should they work) and terrible cs. what people should do is buy from a responsible dealer like amazon.

Hi there, well we know that we haven't been as great as we would have liked to have been this last little while.  We know about it and there are steps in motion to get things more how we mean them to be.  We are also aware that we haven't been the best communicators of late.  We know this, this needs to change and we are working on it.  As I'm sure many of you know we are not some huge global mega corp, while we have staff all over the world they aren't all native English speakers (or writers and thus we haven't always said the right thing.  There has been several occasions I am aware of where a staff member has believed they were being very helpful and then has been upset and baffled by a hostile reaction from a customer. 
 
I am here to hopefully see that these events don't happen.  We are a company that is all about the audio, we certainly know all of you are all about the audio too.  We want you to not just love how our things sound but to love dealing with us too and of course, to love buying things from us. 

 

[IYAshike]

  Hi there, if you wouldn't mind emailing in to me on customerservice@hifiman.com and we can have a chat,  see if we can't alleviate some of those concerns for you.  We can but try and all you have to loose a little bit of time.

 
Dear all:
 
For the sake of fairness (and giving Hifiman an opportunity) l have just contacted them as requested.
 
I don't believe in words, but in facts. So far, beyond the words written in their last post, the fact is Hifiman didn't let this thread unanswered and is trying to help.
 
Once Hifiman 'CS' reply to my email, l will follow up on my experience dealing with them so that you all can draw your own conclusions.
 
Have a good day! 

 

[IYAshike]

Hello there,
 
Hifiman did reply to my email. The content was along the lines of their previous post, so nothing else to add... 

 

[Sil3nce]

  I had an RE-400 and very much liked the sound quality.  Unfortunately one side stopped working and this was after only a few months of sporadic use.  I contacted HiFiman and they wanted me to ship it back to them but I was in the middle of a busy month and doing a lot of traveling between countries so never got around to it.
 
Simply put, HiFiman's build quality is suspect and their customer service requires you to do all the legwork and pay for shipping expenses.  I've since decided not to buy their products; the IEM arena is packed with great options, I'd rather deal with companies willing to put more focus on quality control and customer service.
 
P.S. My worst portable audio experience was with Unique Melody and their 3DD (a very light paperweight);  I'd strongly advise anyone interested in CIEMs to stay far, far away from UM.

 
My cousin has had over 3 pairs of the RE-600s break on him now: either intermittent strain relief issues, cable issues, or even the drivers failing.
 
I think it's clear that the general consensus is to stay away from the RE-400 and RE-600. The newer models are even less reliable than the old ones.
 
It's clear they have no intention of designing or improving their IEMs any further. 
Especially when they're making so much profits from their full-size headphones.
 
A pity really, considering the RE-272 was one of the best bang for the buck dynamic IEMs ever created.

 

[RastaDolphin]

I feel I need to add my on-going story here, partly in hopes of urging Hifiman to gain some ground here as there is still opportunity for this to be resolved. I'm in the middle of week four of trying to get a refund for a pair of headphones. Last week I was told that the refund 'might' be taking longer because of 'a big holiday' in China that's also possibly somehow related to problems with Paypal ... the largest international online monetary transfer company. I've had to email the customer service contact multiple times on different days to get that unacceptable response. I bought the headphones from Hifiman directly to avoid this exact experience. A company the size of Hifiman should have funds on hand to refund their customers without having to wait on a third party. I'm sorry, Hifiman, that you do business with a company that seems to function so poorly but that shouldn't be my problem.

I intend to mark each day this hasn't been resolved on this thread.

 

[RastaDolphin]

Still no refund and it's been two days since I've asked for a time frame as to when I might receive the refund with no answer.

 

[RastaDolphin]

After days with no contact and still no answer as to how the refund could be held up by either Paypal or a holiday, I received an e-mail this morning stating my refund is now being processed accompanied with an apology. Will keep posting though until I actually see the money in my account because I've dealt with companies who say they've processed a refund only to much later have to threaten them with legal action to get the money.

 

[RastaDolphin]

Refund has now appeared in my account. Over and out.

 

[peareye]

...and i bet you've learned alot from this!!!!

 

[RastaDolphin]

Yeah. I plan to stick to American companies with good customer service from now on -- companies like Audeze, JDS Labs, and Schiit have provided fantastic and professional customer service and their products are equally outstanding. There's also the bonus of narrowing the field of products I'd have to weed through.