[334202]

Hey everyone,
 
I bought a set of the PSB M4U 2's a couple of weeks ago and they have just cracked in 4 places on the polycarbonate headband.
 
Has anyone else with these headphones had this happen? Or any other isuues?
 
I'm getting mine replaced, but am just worried it will happen again.
 

 
 Cheers, Krackar

 

[griffith07]

Key Krackar,
 
I bought a pair of those headphones and the same thing happened to me after 1 week of wearing them. I went to the store and they gave me a new pair but I still got the cracks on the headband in the new ones. I ended up getting a store credit which I am keeping in case they fix that issue at PSB, or a new pair of good headphones gets out there.
 
Good luck!

 

[gelocks]

That's my problem with similar looking headphones (for example, Shure SRH1440s, those awful looking Klipsch ones, etc. etc.) Maybe those tiny cracks from stress wont be MUCH of a problem, but who knows...

 

[roma101]

Well that's pretty unpleasant to hear. Hope they fix that issue.

 

[334202]

I'll see how my replacement pair goes when they get here. I love the sound of them so maybe I'll keep claiming warranty on them until they fix the problem.
 
A pain to send them back all the time, but for $300 I don't think I can get better with noise cancelling.

 

[pattanbd]

300 is a great price. Where did you getting for 300

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Key Krackar,
 
I bought a pair of those headphones and the same thing happened to me after 1 week of wearing them. I went to the store and they gave me a new pair but I still got the cracks on the headband in the new ones. I ended up getting a store credit which I am keeping in case they fix that issue at PSB, or a new pair of good headphones gets out there.
 
Good luck!

 
Same thing happened to me. I told the sales rep and he told me to return them pronto for a new pair. New pair has cracked as well. The small cracks don't bother me. I'm careful with them and just love the sound, so I can live with them as they are. PSB is designing a new softer plastic piece and the rep said that when the new version comes in, I can return the second pair for the updated model. 
 
Pretty darn good customer service from AudioShop and PSB!

 

[334202]

300 is a great price. Where did you getting for 300

A Hi-Fi place in Australia. They had a 20% off sale on headphones and they gave me an extra $20 off as well. I hope the next pair I get are ok, otherwise I'm considering getting my money back and getting the V-Moda M-100 if they are good.

It takes about a week and a half turn around for me to replace them because of where I live. Just too long and annoying to keep doing. I do alot of traveling so being durable is a must. I love my PSB speakers but these headphones have left a sour taste so far. I really hope the next pair last!

 

[botchki]

I contacted customer service direct at PSB about the cracking issues that you all have experienced because I wanted to order them after all the great reviews and the following was their response:
 
 
 
 
Thank you for contacting the PSB Speakers Support Center.

The warranty we give on headphones is for 2 years in the USA.

We have fixed the issue, so in all future production this won't happen. The production units that crack due to this issue will be replaced during the normal warranty period. If they crack out of the warranty period, the serial number on the unit will tell us which production run they are from. If they turn out to be from the first production, the headband will be repaired free of charge if the cracking is not from being abused.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Pam Anderson
 

 

[Beagle]

Wow, Pamela Anderson is working for PSB?

 

[ratul]

I have the same problem. Will it be possible to buy the headband online? I live in India and I'm not sure if there are any service centers here.

 

[GrussGott]

Just to update this thread, I had the same problem and had them replaced twice under warranty, now they're out of warranty and it's starting to happen again.  I've contacted PSB, but now that they're owned by Lenbrook, I'm nervous the customer service will have taken a hit.  We'll find out!  
 
This is definitely a design flaw and PSB should provide a fix at a minimum.  I'd be fine if they simply sent a customer installable reinforcement band ... doesn't seem like that would be too tough but I suppose the testing, legal, etc might make it easier to just replace them.
 
In any event, I'll update when (if!) I hear back from them on this latest iteration.

 

[intlsubband]

  Just to update this thread, I had the same problem and had them replaced twice under warranty, now they're out of warranty and it's starting to happen again.  I've contacted PSB, but now that they're owned by Lenbrook, I'm nervous the customer service will have taken a hit.  We'll find out!  
 
This is definitely a design flaw and PSB should provide a fix at a minimum.  I'd be fine if they simply sent a customer installable reinforcement band ... doesn't seem like that would be too tough but I suppose the testing, legal, etc might make it easier to just replace them.
 
In any event, I'll update when (if!) I hear back from them on this latest iteration.

 
Thanks for the update. I've owned several pairs by now, funny thing is that I've never had the cracks happen, but I do have a recurring issue in which the left channel dies out suddently. This happened in multiple pairs now. A look inside the headphone revealed that the internal wiring are ridiculously flimsy and their soldering to the left channel is minimal.
 
This is particularly painful because, when these work, these are absolutely magnificent portable headphones, the best portables I ever heard.
 
I also wonder when will they announce a successor, it's been out for a few years now. And a couple of years ago Paul Burton talked about developing a higher-end PSB headphone. Does anyone know what their next release would be? (not counting in-ears etc).

 

[GrussGott]

  This is particularly painful because, when these work, these are absolutely magnificent portable headphones, the best portables I ever heard.

 
Agreed!  I actually just returned my Bose QC35s because the sound is so distant to my ear.  even when it's loud, it's still "distant loud" like a concert a mile away getting louder.  Back-to-Back with the PSBs it's no comparison.  Granted the PSBs do the noise cancelling only about 70-80% of what the QC35s do, and they also replace the sound with a low, albeit pleasant hiss.
 
In the end, compared to the PSBs, the QC35s are just not good and that's strange because I have the Bose on-ear soundlinks which are also Bluetooth and they sound almost as good as the PSBs ... I was hoping the QC35s would be the killer stage but ... nope, they sound worse than their on-ear brother.
 
I'm going to try the Sony MDR-1000Xs when they're out in a few weeks and if they don't do the trick I might move to the B&W P7s.  I think I've figured out that I'd rather have louder great sound that noise cancelling.

 

[bnjiman]

Hello, very old post! I had two sets of this headphones and am using one now! The reason for posting is that the cracking can be fixed cheaply and effectively using self bonding tape - you can wrap this around the affected areas. I can't seem to upload a picture as proof though :/