[Pingfloid]

Today I have received a kind acknowledge of receipt of the email where I was informing Head-Direct about my intention to return the damaged RE-262 for a repalcement.
 
It seems that they are reading the emails with 10 days delay. I hope that one of this days they will read the rest of my emails.
 
BTW: in that email I said that I was returning the IEM's to that address in Hong-Kong, and they have not objected. So I guess there is no reason to be worried, just some trouble with the EMS delivery service.

 

[Pingfloid]

[size=medium][size=medium]I am sorry to use a public forum to recall the attention from with Hifi-Man Customer Service, but I am getting no response from the normal procedure. Perhaps they are having some trouble with their mail server. So I have changed the title of this thread to “Hifi-Man / Head-Direct Customer Service, PLEASE, READ THIS”.[/size][/size]
[size=medium] [/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]All they have to do is to call EMS Hong-Kong to arrange the delivery of the package that I have returned to them. Very simple.[/size][/size]
 

 

[lee730]

Is there any other means of contacting them other than email? can you phone them?
Quote:

[size=medium][size=medium]I am sorry to use a public forum to recall the attention from with Hifi-Man Customer Service, but I am getting no response from the normal procedure. Perhaps they are having some trouble with their mail server. So I have changed the title of this thread to “Hifi-Man / Head-Direct Customer Service, PLEASE, READ THIS”.[/size][/size]
[size=medium] [/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]All they have to do is to call EMS Hong-Kong to arrange the delivery of the package that I have returned to them. Very simple.[/size][/size]
 

 

 

[Pingfloid]

Quote:

Is there any other means of contacting them other than email? can you phone them?
 

I do not want to add the phone bill of calling to Hong Kong to the extra shipping expenses of the return.

 

[kiteki]

 
It seems like they went on holiday.
 
They should send you a new RE262 right away.
 
 

 

[caracara08]

an ordeal came up last year with head direct and myself.  i no longer consider any of their products, no matter how much buzz is around them. sorry to hear about your situation. good luck. 

 

[keanex]

Quote:

an ordeal came up last year with head direct and myself.  i no longer consider any of their products, no matter how much buzz is around them. sorry to hear about your situation. good luck. 

Similar here. Customer service is slow and many steps behind bigger companies. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Kanashimu]

Ugh. Bad experiences overall with Head Direct.

Bought an HE-5 (original HE-5, wooden one thats no longer for sale) and EF-5 amp. HE-5 had wood cracking. The combo also didn't sound very great for $1000, just mediocre. I returned it for a refund, and it got confiscated by Chinese customs (not Head Direct's fault, but its to their disadvantage). Lost $1000 there.
 
Right now, I'm talking to them about HM-601's features, and replies are slow. It takes about 3-4 days or so. Not terrible for an audiophile company, but all custom IEM companies reply within 24 hours or less, on average.

 

[kiteki]

 
You lost $1000?
 

 

[Kanashimu]

$899 + shipping + paypal conversion to USD = ~$1000, yes.

 

[kiteki]

No I mean... head-direct told you to send it to China, it was confiscated by customs (why?), and so you never got a refund and lost all your money, that's it?
 

 

[Kanashimu]

Correct.

The Chinese customs actually have the right to confiscate nearly any audio product, believe it or not. Take a look at their import restrictions. They can export out, but good luck if you try to send stuff back in for a refund.
 
It makes me feel really uneasy about buying from Chinese companies, to be honest. If my Miracles aren't shaped perfectly, I may consider selling or having it reshelled elsewhere. It IS that bad.

 

[kiteki]

 
So Hifiman sold you a cracked and damaged product for $1000, and then told you to send it to China where they knew it might be confiscated and disappear?
 
 
Are they only a "shell" company that actually have no service or products in the US?
 
 
 

 

[Kanashimu]

Well, you have to get acquainted with the HE-5 wood cracking issue first.

I'm not entirely sure why the original HE-5 had wood cracking. Perhaps the wood wasn't suited to other environments (I live in Canada). It got worse over time. However, I find my environment relatively mild - I do live in one of the most temperate areas of Canada with very amiable humidity and temperatures. There was clearly a construction or design defect on Head Direct's end.
 
They did not know that the Chinese customs would confiscate it. I've actually never heard of anyone else who had their headphones confiscated by Chinese customs - though to be fair I haven't looked. Its just that the Chinese are a very suspicious bunch, and are afraid of international espionage. Apparently, they have the strictest customs inspections in the world. I should know; I'm Chinese, and my parents remind me of this on a frequent basis when I buy Chinese products

The next question is difficult to answer.

Their headquarters are in China, and they generally operate, design and manufacture in China. However, it was odd - when I ordered my HM-601, it was shipped from the US. From Illinois, to be precise. They apparently do have warehouses outside of China, it would seem. However, it doesn't seem possible to get repairs without shipping back to China.
 

That being said, I'd try to avoid Head Direct if possible. They offer plenty of products with excellent price/performance, but bad reliability (best examples are their IEMs). It wouldn't be so bad, except shipping to China can be sometimes unreasonably expensive (if you want tracking) and that Chinese customs are evil.

 

[Pingfloid]

Finally, they have read the emails and they are going to contact with EMS