[xluke]

I recently had the displeasure of doing business with HiFiMan / Head Direct.  I ordered a set of RE0 headphones on amazon Oct 5, 2011 and they arrived with a non-functional channel.  I have read that the non-functional channel is a common issue and surely relates to a lack of quality control or quality components.  I have read that folks have had mixed experiences getting their RE0 fixed.  My situation was even worse, they ARRIVED non-functional -- is no one checking these in the factory?  I immediately contacted amazon who offered a prompt refund but the direct wholesaler no longer had a replacement so that they could not exchange them.  Interested in keeping the RE0 at the time, I contacted customer service of HiFiMan who told me to shove it (paraphrasing) and just get the refund from amazon.  I then contacted Fang "Nankai" (HiFiMan employee who frequents these boards) via PM and he was initially quite graceful and acted like he was going to get me a replacement.  In fact his exact words were: "I will work on getting you a replacement."  However, after a week he simply stopped communicating.  Now that 3 weeks have passed since I ordered the RE-ZERO I have never heard them in stereo and will be returning them to amazon for a refund, never to do business with Hifiman again.
 
Some may argue its best to do HiFiMan business directly with head-direct. I will still argue that even if head direct does honor the one year warranty, who wants headphones that are likely to fail and be totally un-warranteed after 1 year?  I have had my Grado's for a decade and twice I have had minor problems (broken clip, faulty jack) and both times, no questions asked, no concern for warranty period, Grado repaired them for me free of charge.  That is the kind of customer service consumers deserve to expect.

This has been the worst level of customer care and quality product that I have ever experienced in the hi-fi industry.  I strongly warn against investing hard earned dollars with this company -- its worth the extra few dollars, if applicable, to get a quality product that the company will stand behind. 
 
Buyer beware!

 

[yipcanjo]

I'm lost.  What does Head-Fi have to do with this?  Are you referring to Head-Direct?
 
In any case, sorry for your IEM woes.  Pretty much sucks

 

[xluke]

Thank you for this correction!  You are absolutely right that was a Typo.  Head-Fi is of course above reproach and my scathing comments were directed towards HiFiMan (manufacturer of RE0) and presumably Head Direct (marketers of HiFiMan).  I have edited my previous post.

 

[iRoux]

 
I ordered twice from hifiman and returned an amp for a refund before, I've never had a problem dealing with them. 
I'll have to say that ordering from Amazon and then contacting hifiman for an exchange is not a smart idea. As far as I know, the pair you ordered could very well be a refurb or came from some other shady source (I really really doubt hifiman's quality control is that poor. As a manufacturer of audio equipment, I think they at least will test out the thing before shipping it out). In fact, hifiman probably does not receive any revenue from amazon selling their products, since many sellers do not get their supplies from hifiman. They are not a big company like grado is, replacing practically anything with their logo printed on it just to maintain their reputation is not possible.

 

[proedros]

when my re-zero broke down , i emailed mrs t and got a new one (in fact i asked and got an upgrade to 272) - she was very helpful and everything resolved itself fine
 
instead of bitching in public , try to be polite and ask for a refund.
 
just my 2 cents.

 

[LJH01]

I have had nothing but but great customer service from Head Direct.
 
Ms. T is a sweet heart.
 
 
Cheers,
Jim