Sequential damage

[Jimbob54]

For the avoidance of doubt, full response from topping customer services below. I'm already in dialogue with the seller. I'm taking this as them saying they aren't prepared to assist re the damaged headphones. If anyone reads it differently, please say. The issue of refund /repair of the amp itself isn't a huge issue for me.

"We are very sorry to bring you an unpleasant experience.

There is our product warranty card in the box, which clearly States our warranty terms. If there are any problems, we will be willing to shoulder our responsibilities. But headphones are not covered by our warranty. And for the sake of fairness, we will not compensate some users for headphones alone.

We suggest taking the normal after-sales process, that is, contacting your seller for after-sales. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. If you need further assist, please feel free to contact us."

 

[Zensō]

But headphones are not covered by our warranty.

That seems pretty clear to me.

They could have taken this as an opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer care. Instead, they point you to their warranty card. Not impressed.

 

[dmac6419]

For the avoidance of doubt, full response from topping customer services below. I'm already in dialogue with the seller. I'm taking this as them saying they aren't prepared to assist re the damaged headphones. If anyone reads it differently, please say. The issue of refund /repair of the amp itself isn't a huge issue for me.

"We are very sorry to bring you an unpleasant experience.

There is our product warranty card in the box, which clearly States our warranty terms. If there are any problems, we will be willing to shoulder our responsibilities. But headphones are not covered by our warranty. And for the sake of fairness, we will not compensate some users for headphones alone.

We suggest taking the normal after-sales process, that is, contacting your seller for after-sales. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. If you need further assist, please feel free to contact us."

Contact John Yang he designed it and he should have some pull to get you a satisfactory result,DX3 pro now this, it's not going to look favorable for future Topping sales to keep passing the buck.

 

[Veri]

Contact John Yang he designed it

It's past midnight on the other side of the world, screaming his name won't summon him... let's at least try to stay calm here in this thread and assess the situation

 

[Dialectic]

That seems pretty clear to me.

They could have taken this as an opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer care. Instead, they point you to their warranty card. Not impressed.

Not to diminish the OP's plight, but it's difficult to see how Topping can economically offer to replace equipment damaged by a product at this price point.

 

[Atanasi]

Contact John Yang he designed it and he should have some pull to get you a satisfactory result,DX3 pro now this, it's not going to look favorable for future Topping sales to keep passing the buck.

What happened with DX3?

 

[Jimbob54]

It's past midnight on the other side of the world, screaming his name won't summon him... let's at least try to stay calm here in this thread and assess the situation

I agree, and I'm not looking for John to respond here either. It may be his design but customer service issues I would imagine are outside his remit. If anyone from topping or @shenzenaudio wish to discuss they are welcome to PM me. As it stands I need to get to a post office to assess return shipping costs to shenzenaudio. What they propose to do with the amp on receiving it back I don't know, but as I understand it, losses for damaged headphones aren't on the cards from either seller or manufacturer.

 

[Dialectic]

Good luck to you, sir, and I hope that Topping, against the odds, offers you some form of compensation for the busted phones

 

[threni]

Not to diminish the OP's plight, but it's difficult to see how Topping can economically offer to replace equipment damaged by a product at this price point.

Exactly. And for anyone thinking of boycotting Topping for this, it's probably worth ensuring that any other manufacturer they'd consider instead has a proven track record of providing free replacement headphones in similar conditions, as I find it very hard to believe this is the norm, or that it's a legal responsibility in many countries.

 

[kkeretic]

Not to diminish the OP's plight, but it's difficult to see how Topping can economically offer to replace equipment damaged by a product at this price point.

I’m pretty sure this incidents will shake their reputation if they escalate a little more. Really hope I am wrong, I like their products, but also like my headphones.

 

[Zensō]

Not to diminish the OP's plight, but it's difficult to see how Topping can economically offer to replace equipment damaged by a product at this price point.

I hear you, but they're going to lose far more in lost sales than it would have cost to replace the headphones. Even in my individual case, the items I took off my list for future purchase would have easily paid for most, if not all, of the price of the headphone repair/replacement. It wasn't a good business decision on their part in the age of Internet forums (this will undoubtedly hit the much wider audience at Head-Fi).

 

[Phorize]

OK, sounding out sane advice on this.

A headphone amp still very much in warranty has a terminal breakdown that takes out a pair of (expensive) headphones. This wasn't user error.

Is it reasonable to ask the amp seller and /or manufacturer to not only replace the amp or refund (given the event, I'm minded not to want another) but also to cover the cost of repair /replacement to the headphones?

I'm in the UK. Seller and manufacturer are overseas.

I've contacted relevant parties but of course they are off for a few days and I will point no fingers publicly, but I'd appreciate any sane advice on how far to push this. Cheers.

Under U.K consumer law you have some protection around consequential losses:

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

 

[threni]

I’m pretty sure this incidents will shake their reputation if they escalate a little more. Really hope I am wrong, I like their products, but also like my headphones.

Would would be handy would be a situation whereby as well as Amir doing objective unbiased measurements of the performance, someone qualified to assess whether, for example, some kit is likely to fail in a way which can damage headphones. I read that perhaps ESD was a factor here due to a floating ground. I'm not a hardware guy but that sort of thing might make some reconsider, or be aware of what this might mean in certain operating environments. But also, I've not idea if this (and similar tests) would be costly/time consuming.

 

[Zensō]

Exactly. And for anyone thinking of boycotting Topping for this, it's probably worth ensuring that any other manufacturer they'd consider instead has a proven track record of providing free replacement headphones in similar conditions, as I find it very hard to believe this is the norm, or that it's a legal responsibility in many countries.

It's not likely a legal responsibility, but if that's the low standard a company uses for their customer service they're not likely to do well long-term in this crowded market.

 

[Phorize]

Under U.K consumer law you have some protection around consequential losses:

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

I’d add that the location of the seller is likely to be a practical issue more than a legal one, like most jurisdictions a court in the uk can make judgements against any party any where in the world,

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Not to diminish the OP's plight, but it's difficult to see how Topping can economically offer to replace equipment damaged by a product at this price point.

If they were confident enough in their product, the cost to them should be near zero if no subsequent damages occur.

 

[Jimbob54]

Under U.K consumer law you have some protection around consequential losses:

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

Alas, if only I had bought from a UK seller (Shenzen Audio via Aliexpress)

 

[Frank Dernie]

OK, sounding out sane advice on this.

A headphone amp still very much in warranty has a terminal breakdown that takes out a pair of (expensive) headphones. This wasn't user error.

Is it reasonable to ask the amp seller and /or manufacturer to not only replace the amp or refund (given the event, I'm minded not to want another) but also to cover the cost of repair /replacement to the headphones?

I'm in the UK. Seller and manufacturer are overseas.

I've contacted relevant parties but of course they are off for a few days and I will point no fingers publicly, but I'd appreciate any sane advice on how far to push this. Cheers.

Legal obligation on vendors may be in national law.
It was in the UK pre-EU and I think it was one of the UK laws adopted by the EU, so if the seller is in the EU it is probably still valid.
In UK law (since about 1971 iirc) the seller warrants that anything he sells is "of merchantable quality" and the onus is actually on the retailer to make sure the customer is recompensed, and conditions in a written warranty are not necessarily legal if considered unreasonable by the court.
Most retailers claim ignorance if challenged but it would be worth talking to a solicitor since if your claim is likely to be successful it would be very expensive for the retailer to defend.
This law is one of the reasons I don't generally buy anything from outside the EU (though that will maybe anything outside UK for Brexit reasons now ).

 

[Phorize]

Alas, if only I had bought from a UK seller (Shenzen Audio via Aliexpress)

The contract was agreed when you were in the U.K, via a website made available to you in the U.K, you are protected by U.K consumer legislation.

 

[Jimbob54]

The contract was agreed when you were in the U.K, via a website made available to you in the U.K, you are protected by U.K consumer legislation.

Cheers