[cel4145]

Quote:

the above is a sort of compensation deal i have worked out with hisound, and i promise you that is really is a good deal. worst case you get a refund so hopefully you will feel it is not bad at lest. 

 
Yes. It's a good deal for HiSound, but not for those of us who ordered the Popular. HiSound does not need us to send back the product. Companies need people to return faulty products before issuing a refund because otherwise people would scam them. But HiSound already knows that they shipped faulty products out. They don't need any proof of that. I'm sure HiSound is hoping that a lot of people won't bother to ship it back because of the cost of shipping internationally with tracking. HiSound already knows that they can issue a refund with confidence that none of us are cheating them. They just want us to take the loss instead.
 
But if that's how it's going to be, I'm sure we can start a HiSound Popular Review and Appreciation thread on Head-Fi in the IEM forum. We can let everyone on Head-Fi know about the quality of this product and what wonderful treatment we received from HiSound after they realized that they shipped out faulty products to EVERYONE. This was the deal, right? We get earphones at such a good price, and we provide feedback on the experience. 
 
Anyone else interested in starting an appreciation thread? I'd much rather do that then spend my time packing a product and going to the post office to receive a partial refund (because I have to pay for shipping it back) for a product that should not have been shipped in the first place. 

 

[Skybij]

Quote:

Placed my order on 09/06/12 and received it today. I have been really looking forward to these earphones but what a disappointment. Save your money stay away. There is much better sounding IEMs on the market for just fraction of what these cost.
 
 
Flawed design of nozzle. Doesn't let any tips to fit properly.
Didn't come with small sized ear tips.
Asymmetrical cord (not really a con just don't like em)
Driver flex is very bad.
Stock ear tips didn't fit me my ears at all so I put some foam tips left from my JVC HA-FX66. After that I got good seal but sound didn't improved much.
First of all these are one of the muddiest IEMs I listened to in a long time. 
Very boomy bass, completely drowns out the rest of the spectrum. I love bass but its just too much of it, boomy and muddy. Don't know how to describe it but on bass heavy tracks bass overpowers so much that makes other frequencies to revibrate.
Mids are recessed and muddy.
Highs are extremely recessed, muddy and distorted.
Very boxy, dumped, distorted and fatiguing sound over all.
 
Philips she3580 (surprisingly good) I got off ebay for $7 and monoprice 8320(with some heavy EQing) outperform popular-1 in every way.
I want my money back!

UPDATE:
After applying foam tips and playing with EQ I managed to get half decent sound out of them but still sound[size=small] [/size]distorts pretty bad at specific frequencies, but much much better than with flat EQ. I wasn't able to fix excess, overpowering bass issue due to limits of my player's EQ. Feels like some frequencies resonate inside of earpiece and become exaggerated. Driver flex is pretty dramatic, when I tap on earpiece it changes it's sound, weird.
Totally agree with cel4145. Monoprice replaced faulty earphones they sent me based of two pictures they asked to provide, without need for return. I know that monoprice's earphones are like 8 bucks but I doubt Hisound going to refurbish popular-1.

 

[GeorgeStorm]

The return shipping won't be refunded?
Even if the item is faulty?

That's not great customer service just for the record, leaving the customer out of pocket with nothing to show for it.

 

[iamthem]

Quote:

The return shipping won't be refunded?
Even if the item is faulty?
That's not great customer service just for the record, leaving the customer out of pocket with nothing to show for it.

If you buy via eBay, seller covers EVERYTHING if the item is faulty.

 

[viveksaikia22]

Quote:

i didnt actually think about that 3rd scenario of getting the wooduo and returning the popular, so ill have to have it checked, ill find out and let you know, but i cant see why you can not do both.
 
in the UK the postage to china is pretty fast, something like a week, so if you dont mind waiting a little while longer, you can send it untracked (£3.30 via royal mail) and it should be received within 5 working days and ill send the refund after that. from the USA im not actually sure how long or what price the cost of shipping to china is but if it is not much and is quite fast, not having tracking to say money is okay too. the original price of the iem will be refund along with the shipping paid to get them to you. unfortunately the shipping price back is not going to be refunded. thats why he has said you do not have to send the popular back if you do not want to.
 
btw,thanks for the positive points at the end there =)

The shipping charges from US to China is not cheap at all. I once returned a product to China and I had to pay $18 (with tracking).
Having said that, I think it will not be economical from my part as well as from the sellers part, to return the earphones for a refund.

 

[NiRo]

Just looked into postage costs, and it's at least £4 without tracking, but I wouldn't be comfortable sending something overseas without tracking anyway.
And postage with tracking costs £9, which is almost as much as I paid for the headphones in the first place...
 
Quote:

This was the deal, right? 

 
Not entirely, the deal was to provide feedback on the service more than anything, which overall has been pretty good.
The guy is bending over backwards to appease a bunch of angry head-fi'ers, whilst having the flu! So credit to him. 

 

[Sean Hawkins]

I've been a lurker here for a while and benefited hugely from your selfless contributions, reviews and technical knowledge. So... a big "thank you" to y'all...!!!
 
I've received my Popular and am sorely disappointed with both the service and product.
 
eBay Buyer Protection says that both purchase price and original shipping are covered. And I'm itching to activate it.
Kudos to hisoundUK for trying his best with hisound and working thru illness...
BUT that still don't release him from his responsibilities as a seller.
 
If I can't use the Popular without risking a trip to the doctor's to remove the tips, it doesn't serve it's function as IEMs. Period.
I don't even want to go down the road about how bad it sounds or how badly the driver flexes because, personally, good/bad sound can be pretty subjective.
However, I can't comment about what the Popular sounds like as I simply can't put them into my ears without risking an incident.
 
Anyway, I'm located in Switzerland and returning the IEMs is not an option.
Shipping with tracking to China actually costs more than what I've paid (product + shipping from China)...
 
I'll see what hisoundUK can come up with before I contact eBay...
 
Apologise for sound angry or strange as English is not my native language.
 
Thanks
Sean

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiRo /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Not entirely, the deal was to provide feedback on the service more than anything, which overall has been pretty good.
The guy is bending over backwards to appease a bunch of angry head-fi'ers, whilst having the flu! So credit to him. 

 
Don't forget that this is a new model, so I'm certain there was some expectation of positive reviews on head-fi. 
 
As for the Ebay seller, I'm sorry he's ill and I hope he feels better. But his illness does not excuse HiSound (or the seller) from making proper restitution in a case like this. 

 

[hisoundUK]

hi guys, sorry for any confusion, as per ebay's policy we will cover the cost of the return. I know i shouldn't be asking but someone check how much it would cost for the item to be sent to the UK from the USA (or whatever country you are from). if it is cheaper i will have the return address changed and have it all sent to me.  i will issue the refunds and send them back to hisound after myself. if you are from the UK/EU please check the original post tomorrow for information on how to send it back to me in the UK (Just need to confirm which address i will have it sent to). this way it will be a cheaper (albeit for me) and quicker process. so yeah, if someone could find out the cost to have them shipped to the UK (postcode E14 2DG can be used as a reference but is not final) then i can decide by tomorrow what to do. But yes no one will lose any money with this, the only problem is the time taken. 
 
Also for anyone wondering why they need to be returned, it is not to check for any scammers or anything like that, it is because when the order is placed with the factory for the earphones, there is a guarantee they will be in full working order and if not, hisound as a company can send them back and get a refund also. The same way we must give a refund to customers with a dodgy product, they must do the same for us.
 
That all being said, before returning them, do give them a try if you have not already, probably use some of your own tips, and see, you might actually think they are decent for the price, they are quite bass heavy, which was in the description, so if that is your thing, as long as you get a good fit you might like them.
 
 
Also if you can, do give the wooduo a go,they are a op quality IEM which you can see from the review. I dont stand to gain anything for any wooduo orders by the way, so my endorsement comes purely as a audio-entusiast and not as a seller. 
 
Regarding the wooduo deal, you can get them AND return the popular, it is not a either/or offer. if you want to try the wooduo at the reduced price, but do not want to keep the popular, you can send them back for a refund still.
 
Thanks to anyone who check the price from the USA (or any country you are in) to the UK shipping wise. it is a big help. If possible please check both tracked and the cheapest possible option also. it might be the case that i ask you to send it back cheaply and take any proof of postage (a receipt or something) as evidence of a return and keep cost down that way
 

IMPORTANT. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BACK FOR A REFUND YET. PLEASE WAIT TILL I CAN CONFIRM WHAT ADDRESS AND WHERE YOU SHOULD SEND IT, AS WELL AS WHAT SERVICE TO USE. 

 
 
thank you for your help and patience.

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

Also for anyone wondering why they need to be returned, it is not to check for any scammers or anything like that, it is because when the order is placed with the factory for the earphones, there is a guarantee they will be in full working order and if not, hisound as a company can send them back and get a refund also. The same way we must give a refund to customers with a dodgy product, they must do the same for us.

 
Well, a smart business man realizes in this instance that the main company eats the cost in this kind of situation to protect their brand image. HiSound has made it clear that covering their costs is more important than taking care of the customer. The negative blowback from this in terms of future sales will likely cost them more money than had they simply offered a refund to anyone who wanted it. 
 
I'd say thanks, but it's clear this wouldn't be happening if Ebay didn't require it. Not surprised, though. I never even got a tracking number. 

 

[hisoundUK]

Quote:

 I never even got a tracking number. 

 
what is your ebay id, if you havent got your tracking i can send it to you on here. And no ebay doesn't require it. this is a direct quote from them "[size=small]Sellers specify return postage information such as who’s paying for return postage & packaging charges and their return delivery address in their return policy. You should read their return policy carefull, before returning an item." And in this case it is not even hisound who are paying for the return, im going to have to pay for it myself. but like i have hinted at before, i dont want anyone to feel cheated out of money. I genuinely didnt know this would happen and am trying to fix it in any way possible. [/size]

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

 
what is your ebay id, if you havent got your tracking i can send it to you on here. And no ebay doesn't require it. this is a direct quote from them "[size=small]Sellers specify return postage information such as who’s paying for return postage & packaging charges and their return delivery address in their return policy. You should read their return policy carefull, before returning an item." And in this case it is not even hisound who are paying for the return, im going to have to pay for it myself. but like i have hinted at before, i dont want anyone to feel cheated out of money. I genuinely didnt know this would happen and am trying to fix it in any way possible. [/size]

 
My Ebay id is the same as my id here. 
 
As for Ebay returns, I didn't look up Ebay's policy on this. I just referenced what you told us was the reason: 
 
Quote:

hi guys, sorry for any confusion, as per ebay's policy we will cover the cost of the return. 

 
Of course now that it's publicly documented that you agreed to do so, and given the entire batch of product is faulty, there's a good chance that Ebay might rule in favor of the buyer in such a scenario. 

 

[hisoundUK]

when you try to return them please dont open it as a case dispute. just open it as a request for a return. they wont be any ebay ruling, i will just accept it. that way it will be a lot quicker =)

 

[djvkool]

...and I have yet to receive mine
 
hahaha...
 
I probably won't return it, as Australia to China postage is worth a lunch and a dinner, I probably ask my basshead friend to try

 

[Sean Hawkins]

Well, I've managed to solved the problem regarding loose tips.
 
What I did was to take the second pair of tips that came with the earphone (they seem larger...) and jam them all the way in.
Way pass that ring on the nozzle. Took quite a bit of wriggling but they will go in.
Surprisingly, the tips are now very secure and should not pop off in my ears.
 
There is some driver flex and the bass is pretty decent.
Overall, I've got cheaper IEMs that sounded better and more expensive ones that sounded worse...
I won't pay retail price for the Popular but I guess I can't complain much for what I've paid.
 
For that, I have decided not raise any issue with eBay or the seller...
I consider it a lesson learned for buying IEMs that has not been reviewed.