No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivkmqxz wrote on November 8, 2022 at 5:41 PM

Reply to comment by blorg in Natural Soundstage on Hifiman? by No-Seaweed-4456

Isn’t it always a gamble to buy old Hifiman through Ali? Like a quality control disaster waiting to happen.

blorg t1_ivkopa0 wrote on November 8, 2022 at 5:53 PM

That's a new headphone. I have almost all of mine from China, aside from the HE6SEV2 which is an Adorama exclusive, I'm actually in Asia so that was a lot more of a hassle for me to get than the Chinese ones. I bought from Chinese sellers on Shopee which is a SE Asian marketplace, I did not buy from that seller on Ali, so I can't say for them. But you presumably aren't in SE Asia and can't buy from Shopee, so I linked Ali. I have spent more than that with other sellers on Ali, without issue, I have spent thousands of dollars on Ali. That seller seem to have a good amount of positive feedback, from selling Hifimans specifically, and their prices are low but not unrealistically so, they are in line with Asian prices.

I have HE400SE, Edition XS, Ananda and Arya Stealth, all from China. They are made in China, Hifiman is a Chinese company, it's ultimately coming from China whatever you do, it's just a matter of the markup.

There are valid warranty concerns and all the hassle with that. But it's literally a matter of you would pay double that price to get them in the US, probably about bang on double when you factor in sales tax. It's not like it's this tiny difference. Up to you.

No-Seaweed-4456 OP t1_ivlvmko wrote on November 8, 2022 at 10:28 PM

They offer a extended warranty? I accidentally sat on my Sundara once.

blorg t1_ivmtbds wrote on November 9, 2022 at 2:35 AM

Sitting on a headphone wouldn't be covered by warranty anyway, unless you had a policy that specifically covered accidental damage. If ordering from China it would have to go back to China for any warranty, if you could even get that.

But it's a matter of getting the headphone almost half price. Personally I'd take half price no warranty over paying double for a warranty I probably will never use.