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Sequential damage

Phorize

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It's easy to say "sue 'em" but quite another thing to want to gamble a large amount of money and time on something you may fail at.

I once had a phone charging socket fail on a phone (HTC Desire) and the manufacturer wanted £60 to fix it. I believed I was covered by UK consumer law; the company (Orange, now EE) disagreed. The question, then, was to decide whether to pay to get it fixed, or sue them. I decided that it would cost me a lot of money and time (off work etc) to get a maximum of £60 back, and that's assuming there's no loophole/exclusion the company could employ (blaming HTC, for example) and that it wasn't worth the effort.

I had a little look online and it seems there actually is more protection for UK consumers regarding "consequential damages" than I thought so that's one positive thing that's come out of this, for me at least. But also depending on how long ago JimBob bought the headphones and what he paid, even that may be of no use.

You’re right of course, I did have tongue in my cheek really. It’s going to be a real ballache to get any satisfaction and I dare say that one would be better off spending the sort of money it would take on some nice stax earspeakers.
 

MakeMineVinyl

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You’re right of course, I did have tongue in my cheek really. It’s going to be a real ballache to get any satisfaction and I dare say that one would be better off spending the sort of money it would take on some nice stax earspeakers.
And maybe installing bi-polar coupling caps with the ability to withstand full rail voltage between the output stage of the amp and the headphones? At any rate, a tube amp with output transformer would be largely* immune to such meltdowns. ;)

* Largely, defined in this case as a failure in the amplifier is unlikely to present raw DC to the load. But anything can happen, so consider this disclaimer as an attempt inoculate myself from those who will protest with possible scenarios where damage to the load could in fact be possible. Yeah, sure, a meteor could crash into Earth and obliviate all life as you read this, but it is *largely* unlikely. In any case, if you've read this far, said meteor has not yet** impacted Earth.

** Yet - defined as....oh never mind - whatever.....
 

Rusty Shackleford

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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.

Both Topping and SMSL have had these issues for years. It’s been well-discussed on Head-Fi and elsewhere.

When Schiit’s one amp had issues, they compensated people for headphones. It’s not a legal requirement (though they could probably face a lawsuit), but it is something a company that wants to keep your business does.
 

Harmonie

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I just finished reading the 4 missing pages since yesterday.
It's not yet established if it's due to ESD or DC output or else.

It's useless to point out the legal issue.
It's strange how Topping can be considered here as one of the most popular brands and next day with a handful issues becomes the brand to be shot at with class action and "let's hang him" reaction.

Though @Jimbob54 shouldn't be treated better than others, it's up to him to find his way and persuade the maker that's in their interest to compensate him and make this transaction "smoothly".
Shenzen's "automatic" response is really stupid and @Jimbob54 you'd better have a direct contact with some deciding person by direct exchange or by phone. - thus, with the help of Topping.

I'm sure that @JohnYang1997 will do his best, but no need to point at him and expose him and push him in a corner.

ASR has surely some power and VOC and I'm sure that both Shenzen and Topping will give to this situation a SERIOUS CONSIDERATION.


Again, I advise @Jimbob54 also to check his house insurance.
 

julian_hughes

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I'm hoping this hot consumer issue causes the price of the Topping L30 to fall dramatically as I'd definitely like to buy one. For cheap.

In all seriousness when you buy modestly priced consumer goods from a foreign retailer you have little or no redress if things go wrong. If a UK retailer sells you an item that fails and damages connected equipment then it is quite easy, if the retailer is not helpful, to go to the small claims court online and make a claim. If I recall correctly it costs £20. No expensive lawyers required. If you have a good case, are seeking recompense for actual financial loss (i.e. not looking for compensation for emotional distress and similar b.s.) and present it approximately reasonably then you will win your case and get appropriately recompensed. It really does work. My brother's very expensive smartphone failed and the vendor (a BIG UK & EU telco) claimed warranty invalid due to "water damage" despite there being no evidence of water damage. My bro sued via online small claims and won in full and got the money.
 

Sukie

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I'm hoping this hot consumer issue causes the price of the Topping L30 to fall dramatically as I'd definitely like to buy one. For cheap.

In all seriousness when you buy modestly priced consumer goods from a foreign retailer you have little or no redress if things go wrong. If a UK retailer sells you an item that fails and damages connected equipment then it is quite easy, if the retailer is not helpful, to go to the small claims court online and make a claim. If I recall correctly it costs £20. No expensive lawyers required. If you have a good case, are seeking recompense for actual financial loss (i.e. not looking for compensation for emotional distress and similar b.s.) and present it approximately reasonably then you will win your case and get appropriately recompensed. It really does work. My brother's very expensive smartphone failed and the vendor (a BIG UK & EU telco) claimed warranty invalid due to "water damage" despite there being no evidence of water damage. My bro sued via online small claims and won in full and got the money.
Spot on. I have just bought a fanless PC for general home/office use, but with the intention of using it as a Roon Core. The item was available direct from China, but I found a UK based EBay seller who had it in stock. I ordered it just as people were discussing the L30 and didn't hesitate in going with the UK seller, even though it was more expensive. He's already answered a couple of questions - and the unit is performing well.
 

frogmeat69

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Making me want to unhook my E30/L30 stack and send it back to Apos, and keeping my fingers crossed that no future problems pop up with the D90 amp.
Sure hope it works out for you, and my condolences to your Audio Technica W5000's, :(.
 

Wombat

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If one buys a low price product from China why expect warranty satisfaction unless they offer no cost, no argument, replacement? Usually return postage has to be swallowed in all cases.
 

RobS

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If your product causes damage to my other products, you should cover it.

The fact Topping wont replace a pair of their customer's headphones that their product damaged is bullshit.

Schiit has low price items and they have replaced headphones for free. And Schiit's business expenses, as operating and hiring American labor, far outweighs Topping. If they can do it, there's no excuse other companies can't.
 

bluefuzz

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Before we all go sharpening our pitchforks and boiling up the tar and feathers, is there actually any evidence that there is anything wrong with the construction of the L30? Or that it is non-compliant with safety standards in any way? Is there any evidence that other similar devices (whether Chinese or European/US built) would not exhibit similar behaviour in similar circumstances?

We're in the middle of winter. Static electricity happens - if that indeed is the culprit.

Call me cynical, but when I buy cheap kit from the other side of the planet I basically assume it is money out the window. I figure I'm ahead if the gear simply arrives in one piece and more or less functions as advertised for a while. You get what you pay for. If you want solid consumer protections, extended warrantees, easy repair or replacement, SOTA build quality, 'peace of mind' etc., then be prepared to pay an order of magnitude more for your gear.

I am perfectly happy with my E30/L30 stack – and continue to be. If it blows up in my face or otherwise ceases to function, so be it. I new the risks when I bought it ...
 

Harmonie

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....
Call me cynical, but when I buy cheap kit from the other side of the planet I basically assume it is money out the window. I figure I'm ahead if the gear simply arrives in one piece and more or less functions as advertised for a while. You get what you pay for. If you want solid consumer protections, extended warrantees, easy repair or replacement, SOTA build quality, 'peace of mind' etc., then be prepared to pay an order of magnitude more for your gear.

I disagree.
It's not because you buy something cheaper that it's "cheap".
You may buy some similar item technically developed by a famous brand at a much higher cost.
But the only reason for being more expensive is design, marketing, margin aso.
Often no relation with the product itself.

You know well that many of the elsewhere expensive products are made in the same country China, Taiwan or neighbourhood.

I agree though, that purchasing directly in China and therefore importing yourself exposes you to be out of the scope of your domestic legislation protection.
You should consider if after all it's not better to buy from a local supplier and let him have all those burdens for a reasonable up-charge around 15-20%

However, it doesn't free the brand, Topping, in this case to ensure that their items work properly for what they have been designed for and assist the buyer if he has issues with his direct seller.

I'm not sure if the headphones should be taken cared of or not. It's a difficult one.

On one hand, what is an HP amp supposed to do if not amplifying the headphones, so both items are necessarily connected one to each other.
But on another hand, if that HP amp would cause a fire and burn your house would you expect the maker to reimburse your house ?
 
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Atanasi

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But on another hand, if that HP amp would cause a fire and burn your house would you expect the maker to reimburse your house ?
In countries with strict product liability laws, the manufacturer would take an insurance for this, and the insurance company would reimburse the house.
 

Harmonie

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In countries with strict product liability laws, the manufacturer would take an insurance for this, and the insurance company would reimburse the house.


Reason of my post #13 in this thread
 

bluefuzz

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You know well that many of the elsewhere expensive products are made in the same country China, Taiwan or neighbourhood.

I agree though, that purchasing directly in China and therefore importing yourself exposes you to be out of the scope of your domestic legislation protection.
My point exactly. There are a lot of people on this forum, especially in Europe (myself included), who ordered the L30 directly from China instead of waiting for local distributors to stock it. And also because it simply costs less. It shouldn't come as any surprise that it gets more complicated and potentially expensive if something goes wrong.
However, it doesn't free the brand, Topping, in this case to ensure that their items work properly for what they have been designed for and assist the buyer if he has issues with his direct seller.
Without evidence to the contrary, I don't think for a second there is anything remotely wrong with the construction of the L30. Sometimes shit just happens – even to the best of products. Topping have said they will replace the item if OP returns it, which sounds perfectly fair to me. I certainly wouldn't expect anything more even if I had bought it in my local hifi emporium.
 

Phorize

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I guess this is when local dealer support has a value. Turns out that cutting out the middleman isn’t the same thing as a free lunch.
 
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