Well, I suppose we would need to confirm this with owner impressions amongst the rebrands; but I'm just going off a hunch that part of the reason the Jaycar cans are substantially cheaper than the Brainwavz or FA variants may be due to a lower cost to manufacture(warranty commitment is likely another built-in cost). This could mean that they have less stringent quality standards that the other brands have set in place. Maybe the headset I own didnt quite make the cut, and Jaycar simply buys all the B-rate products. Or maybe I'm just being picky and they all receive the same treatment!
Anyway, a few things that stand out on my set:
-Brushed aluminum laminant always seems to raise by the two cresent edges(may need to apply glue to keep them from popping up)
-Right headband doesnt have the same curvature as the left(right is more straight), so when the headphone is fully extended and hanging from a stand, it hangs somewhat lopsided. This however doesnt seem to affect the way it sits on your head.
-With the screws out, the left cup backing stays on securely, where the right backing will fall out from gravity alone.
-Pleather pads have somewhat inconsistent firmness. Also on one of the two pairs, it looks like the foam was crushed and contorted; this could simply have been from packaging, but you can re-align them with a little effort.
You can tell I'm grasping at straws here, since none of these defects appear to degrade the sound in any way. Overall, for the price I paid, I have no problem overlooking the branding, and finished quality as long as they sound the same(they were $83 cheaper than the Brainwavz at the time of purchase). To me, $70 is still a great buy for these headphones, just as I would consider the HM5's a great deal at $99-110.
