[DeTrun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pi3guy /img/forum/go_quote.gif here is a photo, the crack is the faint brown line, its about 1mm long in real life Attachment 16767 I think I will try to get a full refund. I like the sound of the pfe's, but warranty or not, $130 iem's should not be cracking within a month. I will buy them again when they make the housing out of better material.

I just noticed I've got the same problem. My left earpiece has got 2 hairline cracks, both 1-2 mm long, on the same place as pi3guy. I've got white PFE's, date: 2008-10-17. The cable is also very stiff, but they still work.

I might ask a refund instead of a replacement. I do like the sound. Should I try the ER4p, or the new UM3X?

edit: I've got the PFE for 3 months, I guess.

 

[Jazz9]

The fact that only black pairs were affected never made sense to me.
They both use the same materials so there is no reason for one color to be immune to problems and the other not.
It's just that the vast majority of people bought black ones, nothing more nothing less.

 

[toughnut]

The chemical properties of the black coloring used in production probably affect this variations in plastic quality.

 

[pi3guy]

man, if they made these out of better material, say aluminum, and kept the sq, I would gladly pay a $20 premium
@ jazz, I was skeptical too when I received my white pair, and now we know.

 

[newfier_raj]

Hi all. Just registered after being a silent watcher for quiet some time. Long story short ....November batch, Crack on the left side.

These are great phones otherwise. I live far far away from US. Hoping I get a replacement.

 

[pi3guy]

@newfier, can you state the color of your pfe's?

 

[newfier_raj]

Black..

 

[Punnisher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeTrun /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just noticed I've got the same problem. My left earpiece has got 2 hairline cracks, both 1-2 mm long, on the same place as pi3guy. I've got white PFE's, date: 2008-10-17. The cable is also very stiff, but they still work. I might ask a refund instead of a replacement. I do like the sound. Should I try the ER4p, or the new UM3X? edit: I've got the PFE for 3 months, I guess.

In the same boat as you. Wondering if there's another BA iem that has the same signature. I absolutely love the sound with black filters and silicone tips. Though, if I indeed need to send my second pair in, I am willing to give them another shot because I like the sound so much.

 

[DeTrun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif In the same boat as you. Wondering if there's another BA iem that has the same signature. I absolutely love the sound with black filters and silicone tips. Though, if I indeed need to send my second pair in, I am willing to give them another shot because I like the sound so much.

I use no filters and silicone tips. If the PFE had more isolation, detail, bass and a bit fuller sound, it would be very nice

I think I might go with the ER4P, although I'd like to get the UM3X. I just think my parents wouldn't allow me to buy a 379$ IEM.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif In the same boat as you. Wondering if there's another BA iem that has the same signature. I absolutely love the sound with black filters and silicone tips. Though, if I indeed need to send my second pair in, I am willing to give them another shot because I like the sound so much.

The 2-driver Livewires/Fideltlity customs would have the sound you are looking for, but at 2x the cost.

 

[midget]

sorry to bother all, but assuming i purchased a pair of PFEs today, i assume that the problem still persists with the black pairs and its still possible that my PFEs would develop defects?

 

[mierenneuker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midget /img/forum/go_quote.gif sorry to bother all, but assuming i purchased a pair of PFEs today, i assume that the problem still persists with the black pairs and its still possible that my PFEs would develop defects?

Look on your box, which batch?
don't let it scare you btw, it looks like a lot of people have problems with their PFE, but it is the defect thread, where all the people with a defect pair gather.
there are (way) more people in the appreciation threads without any problems

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midget /img/forum/go_quote.gif sorry to bother all, but assuming i purchased a pair of PFEs today, i assume that the problem still persists with the black pairs and its still possible that my PFEs would develop defects?

It's hard to tell, but batch number 02-12-2008 hasn't had any known issues yet. By the way, the white pairs are also prone to cracking, it's just that there are less owners of the white ones so the figure is smaller.

I don't think anyone knows what's going on anymore. wbrownie posted that replacements would come from the latest stock because there were no returns from that batch, but he didn't say what the batch number was. And an earlier poster had a pair shipped just last month from one of the earliest batches, and they've cracked too.

If you do get a pair that crack though, there should be no problem at all getting a replacement. It's been widely noted that the customer service is very good, so you wouldn't have to worry about that.

 

[tstarn06]

Always a chance. Posted late. I mean, what they said.

 

[Jazz9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soozieq /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you do get a pair that crack though, there should be no problem at all getting a replacement. It's been widely noted that the customer service is very good, so you wouldn't have to worry about that.

The less we hear about a company's customer service, the better.
We have threads here singing the praises of phonak's or shure's customer service, but the fact is that those companies sold defective products so replacing them is the least they can do.
Now I know there are companies that are known for their bad customer service but don't you think there's something wrong when you tell someone not to worry about buying a product because it's going to be replaced when it's gonna fail?
Phonak has to come up with a real solution, replacing a defective product with another isn't one.
I really hope they will solve the problem quickly, this is their first iem but it's not like they don't have any experience, they've been making hearing aids for years.
Let's wait for a statement from wbrownie, maybe he'll clear up the situation.