[Androktasiai]

 
BE WARNED.
 
I actually am a big fan of HiFiMan products and the sound quality, however I am not impressed with the current build:
 
I have come across a serious problem with the HE-500's, in that the gimbal screws are placed into the metal housings of the earpieces with small gold/gold-plated interor fasteners. The second you put any torque on that connection the whole gold connector pops out of the metal on the back of the earpiece and you are then left with a really mechanically unusable/defective set of headphones. These fasteners have a striated or "knurled" surface on them, and once they come out, there is no way that you can reconnect them mechanically. These connectors are set-in at the factory, and once the knurled surface on the interior connector wiggles out of the metal housing of the earpiece, the whole gimbal pops off.
 
I had them for a few days, very mild use at my computer rig sitting at a desk, always on a headphone stand when not in use. The only real pressure I placed on the headphones was to stretch them over my head to put them on. I am an engineer and do alot of design work, and while the headphones seemed substantial and well-built out of the box, I started noticing some very poor design decisions within a few days of use. The internal connectors used to connect all of the headband/gimbal/earphones all will lead to mechanical failure with minimal applied torque due to their set-in design. Additionally, the pads are connected to the earpieces through the use of 4 very brittle plastic clips which line the inside of each earpiece. While these same type of pads are standard issue for headphones such as the Beyerdynamic DT series it seems strange that such a well regarded and high priced headphone would use such "cheap" parts. Finally, the cord seems to be of fairly low quality in regards to the quality of interconnect and cables I usually use.
 
Frankly, I am now in the process of returning them and will be buying the Audez'e LCD-2 Rev.2.
 

 

[Androktasiai]

By interior fastener, I mean the part the screw that is visible on the exterior of the headphones (on the gimbal) would screw into.
 
It is the female thread for the exterior screw to be threaded into. So it is not the screw itself, but the actual interior female thread.

 

[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

 
BE WARNED.
 
I actually am a big fan of HiFiMan products and the sound quality, however I am not impressed with the current build:
 
I have come across a serious problem with the HE-500's, in that the gimbal screws are placed into the metal housings of the earpieces with small gold/gold-plated interor fasteners. The second you put any torque on that connection the whole gold connector pops out of the metal on the back of the earpiece and you are then left with a really mechanically unusable/defective set of headphones. These fasteners have a striated or "knurled" surface on them, and once they come out, there is no way that you can reconnect them mechanically. These connectors are set-in at the factory, and once the knurled surface on the interior connector wiggles out of the metal housing of the earpiece, the whole gimbal pops off.
 
I had them for a few days, very mild use at my computer rig sitting at a desk, always on a headphone stand when not in use. The only real pressure I placed on the headphones was to stretch them over my head to put them on. I am an engineer and do alot of design work, and while the headphones seemed substantial and well-built out of the box, I started noticing some very poor design decisions within a few days of use. The internal connectors used to connect all of the headband/gimbal/earphones all will lead to mechanical failure with minimal applied torque due to their set-in design. Additionally, the pads are connected to the earpieces through the use of 4 very brittle plastic clips which line the inside of each earpiece. While these same type of pads are standard issue for headphones such as the Beyerdynamic DT series it seems strange that such a well regarded and high priced headphone would use such "cheap" parts. Finally, the cord seems to be of fairly low quality in regards to the quality of interconnect and cables I usually use.
 
Frankly, I am now in the process of returning them and will be buying the Audez'e LCD-2 Rev.2.
 

/bold
 

 

[fabio-fi]

Someone's needs a warning. 

 
Op, have you contacted hifiman about this, probably they can work something out? 

 

[frenchbat]

Just so we're clear (I might be a bit thick), you're talking about this part, right ?
 

 

[Androktasiai]

Yes, exactly, that screw threads into a brass/gold plated insert that is inside the circular metal earphone casing, that part completely came loose, and the gimbal and screw and brass/gold plated insert came out leaving that connected by only one screw (the front one).

 

[frenchbat]

Thanks for teh confirmation, Androktasiai. Is it possible it a simple manufacturing default ? After all HiFiMan must get this secure inside the metal cup with something, maybe glue. If there's a manufacturing default, then it should simply be returned for an exchange.
 
Now I understand your frustration, but unfortunately there's nothing to be done here. Try to get in touch with HiFi Man for a RMA.

 

[Kanashimu]

Thanks for the heads up. Now that I think about it, it does look rather delicate. 

 

[Androktasiai]

Quote:

Thanks for teh confirmation, Androktasiai. Is it possible it a simple manufacturing default ? After all HiFiMan must get this secure inside the metal cup with something, maybe glue. If there's a manufacturing default, then it should simply be returned for an exchange.
 
Now I understand your frustration, but unfortunately there's nothing to be done here. Try to get in touch with HiFi Man for a RMA.

It seems as if the female threaded insert had a knurled surface on it and was press fit into the headphone casing...

 
 

 

[frenchbat]

It might be the case, but with an additional fixation point inside the casing.
 
Anyway it seems like your model is defective, hence my suggestion to contact HifiMan for a replacement.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Haven't had a problem with mine in months.
 
Maybe you got a single defective unit. And it's not the entire line.
 
But the sky very well could be falling.
 
Good luck with replacement, Hifiman will take care of it. And if you move on to LCD, enjoy. It's all the same as long as you enjoy what you're listening to.
 
Very best,

 

[Androktasiai]

 
Quote:

Heya,
 
Haven't had a problem with mine in months.
 
Maybe you got a single defective unit. And it's not the entire line.
 
But the sky very well could be falling.
 
Good luck with replacement, Hifiman will take care of it. And if you move on to LCD, enjoy. It's all the same as long as you enjoy what you're listening to.
 
Very best,

Haha, that could be the case Malveaux, but with the case of the Denon AH-D2000 failures, I just wanted to let my felow head-fiers know of a potential problem.

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

Haha, that could be the case Malveaux, but with the case of the Denon AH-D2000 failures, I just wanted to let my felow head-fiers know of a potential problem.

Hmm...what's that you say about D2000 failures? Care to direct me to a thread or PM me? I don't want to hash up old news I may have missed, but I am considering that model.

 

[Androktasiai]

Quote:

Hmm...what's that you say about D2000 failures? Care to direct me to a thread or PM me? I don't want to hash up old news I may have missed, but I am considering that model.

I think Denon claims that it has been fixed now, but the Pin holding the earpieces to the headband had a pretty bad history of shearing or breaking off.
 
 

 

[GiacomoHoldini]

I think Denon claims that it has been fixed now, but the Pin holding the earpieces to the headband had a pretty bad history of shearing or breaking off.

Thanks. I'll do some digging and see if I can find news about a fix. Cheers.

Edit: And here's hoping you get your issue resolved with HifiMan, and that it's an isolated incident of an individual, defective unit.