Bad channel matching may be symptomatic of a problem with a "stuck driver" as documented on this forum post:
I 100% agree with @Ryan_Ho here. Don’t push the drivers to your ears. If the 2 most likely explanations for stuck drivers are 1) pressing them to your ears or 2) high diaphragm excursion from playing them at high SPLs… I’ve got my money on #1. Of course the jury’s still out on that one...
forum.headphones.com
This is a known problem, and i've experienced it twice! In both of my pairs of he6se-v2!
I have only discovered this recently!
One unit already had this problem when it arrived.
The second unit was ok to start with, but somehow this year (in the last month) has developed this problem.
I can only guess that as soon as the diaphgram/membrane touches the outer magnets it becomes stuck (like clingfilm/plastic wrap when it comes into contact with a shiny surface)
Hifiman has already replaced one of my units, and I have an active ticket for the other.
It would be wise for everyone to check over their units.
I have a whole set of questions I would like answering:
- Is this a problem with every pair of he6se-v2s, or is it batch dependent?
- Do he6se v1s suffer from this problem?
- What causes the problem?
- Is there a way of fixing it at home?
My ideas of fixing the problem at home are:
- Applying positive or negative air pressure either to one or the other, or both sides of the driver
- Carefully applying DC (through a resistor)
I have carefully poked with an ear-bud at one of my defective units, to see if it would unglue, but that did not help.
Regarding Hifiman customer support, i though it was quite good. I am in UK, and bought my phones from Adorama, using Stackry as forwarding address. Hifiman told me to return the defective units to a UK address.
However, i am not happy with the general situation - being that I now feel this may be a design fault, and only a question of time before both of my replaced units become stuck.