Customer Service & Warranty claims what to expect and suggestions how to go about it ? Fosi Audio, Topping, SMSL...

[Earwax]

Looking for suggestions how to handle these situations.

Also past experiences with Customer service and also Warranty claims of a reasonable situation.

Fosi Audio ?

SMSL ?

Topping ?

Hope all the replies are mature and not emotionally based rambling, please take the time to compose your reply if you have been dealt with poorly and that situation burned you acknowledge that fact before the final word is saved to the thread.

Thank you for your patience

I`m dealing with Fosi Audio as the DS1 I bought March 8th 2025 died April 25 2025 only 1 channel working with very low volume and much distortion other channel is dead silent.

Not sure what to expect from them so far only 2 replies both very polite and apologetic...

Curious how they go about warranty claims ?

 

[Talisman]

There are several experiences that are questionable to say the least on Topping, Fosi seems to have a much better report, I don't know about smsl, I haven't read anything in particular, either good or bad. However, with cheap electronics that come from another continent, I would always rely on the dealer's warranty much more than that of the manufacturer, this type of product, if I can, I buy them from Amazon with Amazon shipping, any problem within two years is handled by them and they tend to accept the return of the defective product with a full refund.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Topping didn't even respond until Amir intervened on my behalf, and their inadequate eventual response was enough to get me to completely give up on the product. The Stateside dealer -- drop.com -- was no help either.

Anybody want a nice Topping remote?

 

[Earwax]

Just had a second DS1 die on me in less than 8 hours on off use.

Not impressed with Fosi audio seen many reviews showing there amps failing during review test.

Guess I'll wait and see if the replacement actually shows up as in the email they stated if you receive it let us know...
Seriously that says volumes.

Sending the second DS1 back to Amazon as defective in just 2 days of use.

I actually only bought it to do a heat comparison of the one that failed then I got thinking of the other encapsulated DAC's so I ordered DS2 & SMSL D10 to test heat and Musical purity.

DS1 & DS2 very close from about 33C to 35C on case surface.

SMSL D10 was just a tad hotter 37C at the exact area of the crazy powerful blue LED that hurts your eyeballs. It also arrived with a faulty usb c cable.

I'm done with these portable encapsulated DAC's until this lack of quality gets sorted out.

I've seen other reviews people stating DS2 failed with only hours if use. Same with Asus encapsulated DAC so it's probably more common as lots of people don't go the extra mile to give other people a heads up...

I'm done with Fosi Audio I have no doubt the 3rd one is going to fail I'll demand a refund when it dies !

 

[Earwax]

Here is a screen shot of email.

 

[voodooless]

The kind of warranty and support will be vastly different depending on where you live and where you bought the stuff. In the EU at least, the seller is responsible for covering the first 2 years of warranty. They may defer you to the manufacturer in that time. So here, I would recommend to buy from a reputable local reseller.

 

[JeffS7444]

Fiio, purchased from Fiio's official Amazon store: A few years ago, the USB on my DAP seemed to fail, save for basic charge functions. As it was still within it's warranty period, and, and I had purchased from an official source, they had me ship it to a USA address, and a few weeks later, I got it back in perfect operating condition.

MiniDSP, purchased directly from MiniDSP: HA-DSP headphone amplifier had battery issues from the very beginning, and MiniDSP acknowledged that some units had shipped with a faulty battery. They sent me (from HK) a replacement battery. When the replacement battery died a few years later (due to neglect?), I tried a similar, but not identical, part from AliExpress, and it's been working very nicely, perhaps better than the original.

 

[Earwax]

New email reply with tracking link, a positive sign.

 

[gorb]

I have a faulty Sabaj A20d 2022 that failed within warranty period and SMSL did not take care of it unfortunately.

 

[DSJR]

Just had a second DS1 die on me in less than 8 hours on off use.

Not impressed with Fosi audio seen many reviews showing there amps failing during review test.

Guess I'll wait and see if the replacement actually shows up as in the email they stated if you receive it let us know...
Seriously that says volumes.

Sending the second DS1 back to Amazon as defective in just 2 days of use.

I actually only bought it to do a heat comparison of the one that failed then I got thinking of the other encapsulated DAC's so I ordered DS2 & SMSL D10 to test heat and Musical purity.

DS1 & DS2 very close from about 33C to 35C on case surface.

SMSL D10 was just a tad hotter 37C at the exact area of the crazy powerful blue LED that hurts your eyeballs. It also arrived with a faulty usb c cable.

I'm done with these portable encapsulated DAC's until this lack of quality gets sorted out.

I've seen other reviews people stating DS2 failed with only hours if use. Same with Asus encapsulated DAC so it's probably more common as lots of people don't go the extra mile to give other people a heads up...

I'm done with Fosi Audio I have no doubt the 3rd one is going to fail I'll demand a refund when it dies !

All I can say is that my DS2 runs stone cold - mind you, it's feeding an Aux input on the amp and not powering heavily into low impedance ear/headphones... SU1 is nearly two years old and works flawlessly. Only thing I wish the latter had was a display as lighting is low in the cabinet and a pin-sharp led on it's own needs a torch to decipher the text around it

 

[Earwax]

To be fair and honest.

The 2nd one I bought was having issues being consistent in frequency response neutrality as you could hear the music degrading ever so slightly so fast meaning very short time that you question if you heard it correctly.

It happened guessing around 10 times before it died so the 2nd was most likely a lemon in the batch the 1st DS1 was perfect purity and no issues until it just died no warnings.

 

[SoySalsaPicante]

I agree with the comments about where you purchase.

Apos, I have found, to be the best in terms of post-purchase customer care. They run point for diagnosing issues and warranty replacement. Their responsiveness is excellent, and their return policies fair. I also really like Amazon for ease of returns, especially good for products that don't work out or meet my expectations.

 

[Earwax]

Received the warranty DS1.

So far it's same temp as the original one I purchased.

No hints of distortion it's clean, I'm honestly not wanting to use it in fear of another failure ?

But time will be the judge of it's build quality & quality control ( testing of all circuit parts before assembly )...

I'll keep using it on a regular basis and report back if it fails.

 

[Bronte]

Today, I signed up on ASR to share my experience with Fosi Audio's customer service.
A few days ago, while replacing the op-amps on my ZH3, I broke the cable connecting the volume knob to the circuit board.

As a Fosi customer, I figured the manufacturer might send me a new part free of charge.

Well, I know Fosi Audio isn't a charity, but when you've spent over €400 on Fosi equipment, you're entitled to some kind of compensation. Some kind of goodies from your favourite brand, you know. Or so I thought.
Or at least, that's what I thought.

I even sent a photo of my hi-fi setup.

V3 + ZH3 + ZD3 + Fosi black volume knobs
Seriously, between you and me, what difference does it make whether I buy the equipment directly from the Fosi store or from a reseller?

Anyway, the customer service response left me speechless. I didn't understand their customer loyalty programmes at all. What's certain is that, after this exchange of emails, I'm no longer a Fosi customer.

I never want to hear about this brand again.

Hi,franck,
Thanks for your message.
Could you provide pictures showing the damaged cable and its location?

We will verify the damage and provide a solution.

Thank you again!

Hi Linda,

thanks for your help.
Attached 3 JPG photos including a screenshot from a YouTube video from Hifi Zone channel.

To be clear, Fosi is in no way responsible for the damage.
I am solely responsible.

I can send you photos of the damage but I'm afraid of making the damage worse. As you can see in the photo, I've changed the knobs. On the ZH3, the knob is just for decoration - like a decoy - since the cable connecting it is damaged.
But if you insist, I can disassemble the case again to take the photos.

Hi,franck,
We can support the sale of this cable.

The price is $12 (including shipping, which is very expensive as it ships from China).

If you’d like to proceed with the purchase, please click the price difference link and set the quantity to 12 before completing the payment.
https://fosiaudio.com/products/make-up-the-price-difference-of-1?_pos=1&_psq=price&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Once your purchase is successful, please contact us right away.
We will then send you the ZH3 cable.

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

Shocked is an understatement to describe my state of mind as I write these lines.
So, as a gesture to reward a customer who has already bought a ZD3 DAC, a ZH3 headphone amp, a V3 power amp, and two black volume knobs, you chosse(sic) to sell me a piece of cable that costs 10 cts that can be sent by regular mail.

And to thank me for my loyalty, you sell me this connector for $12?
Look, this is the last time I buy a Fosi product.
I am shocked. I'm speechless.
If the AudioScienceReview community appreciates the quality of your products, I will make it my duty to let them judge the quality of your after-sales service and customer support.
$12 for a piece of cable that sells for $2 per 100.
As a loyal customer of the brand, this is a real blow.

We're really sorry, the shipping fee will be around $10.
We really appreciate your support of Fosi. Could you let us know your ZH3 order number?
We'll try to apply for a discount for you.

That's where I gave up. A lot of wasted time, energy & words for nothing.
I finally ordered the part on a well know online retail for 3.29€ (x5 pieces shipping include!)
ref: JST Wire Connector Double Head XH 2.54mm 4pins

 

[Bruce Morgen]

That's where I gave up.

....and that's an example why I limit my direct-from-China purchases to sub-$100 USD items -- Topping treated me with similarly evasive disrespect when I had a warranty issue with a (fortunately cheap) DAC that I just discarded rather than jump through their hoops.

 

[Earwax]

Ouch, must be a nasty customer service rep. You should try again the reps at times act as individuals and not company reps.

It`s a tough country to live in many people are truly oppressed and struggle just to have the basic necessities.

Shipping from my understanding China is very very cheap, it`s shipping to China that kills us due to our Greedy Governments in USA & Canada or at least that is my understanding of it so don`t take my response as absolute truth without more research.

 

[Bronte]

I have another theory: with all the free devices they send to YouTubers and influencers of every stripe, I suspect their public relations budget is exploding at the expense of customer service. On YouTube alone, I can easily count a hundred devices of each model gifted.
"Use 6 of the brand's 10 key talking points? You get a 75% discount on the equipment." "Have 5,000 followers or more? You get a $500 line of credit in our store."
"Resolving customers issues and satisfying the average customer? Come on! Better yet, ditch the human agents! AI bots will handle everything!"

In short, for a standard exchange of your defective DAC, you'd better have 5,000 followers to get any satisfaction. God I hate the times we live in. You don't exist if you don't have an audience.

 

[gorb]

@SMSL-Mandy was not helpful when I reached out to get my Sabaj A20d 2022 repaired under warranty. The unit became unusable about a year after purchase

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Shipping from my understanding China is very very cheap

That's very likely because it's government subsidized to encourage export businesses.

 

[Bronte]

@SMSL-Mandy was not helpful when I reached out to get my Sabaj A20d 2022 repaired under warranty. The unit became unusable about a year after purchase

Ouch... Sabaj devices are distributed by SMSL?

I guess that's the catch. People think that by buying directly from the manufacturer's store, they get a better warranty. Or even better: by paying more, they'll be better covered.

Apparently, by threatening to file a claim with PayPal (if you chose that payment method, of course), they might change their tune.

Out of curiosity - not convincing at all - I read the warranties offered by Shenzhen Audio:

Guarantees & Return Policy

Lowest Price Guarantee 1. Find a lower price If you find a lower price online, in-store, or in print before you buy or within 30 days of your purchase, we’ll match it. Should our own price be reduced, present us with your original receipt within 30 days of purchase and we’ll match the price and...

shenzhenaudio.com

They mention, in order, a money-back or exchange guarantee:

Lowest price: they refund the difference.
- 7 days if you change your mind. "Nah sorry sorry - I wanted to order a curtain rod"
- 7 days if the item is delivered defective - DOA guarantee.
- 30 days if you are not convinced or not completely satisfied (return shipping costs at your expense and partial refund...)
- 180 days in case of quality problems: a bit vague and in the same paragraph:

1. To provide our customers a worry-free shopping experience, all of our products enjoy 2-year warranty based on the product quality issues, unless the product you required for after-service has been discontinued and it's not able to be repaired by the manufacturer, but no worries, we will make a partial refund for making your loss if your item was purchased under 2-year.

2. Based on the product quality matters (NOT HUMAN-MADE DAMAGE), we cover 1 year warranty for free repair+round-trip free shipping cost, extra 1 year is for free repair +one-trip free shipping.