Does the 7Hz Timeless come in a shrink wrapped box? Because mine didn’t.

Submitted by ScottBlues t3_10a2ayq in headphones

I’m trying to understand if the unit I just received is used.

I bought it from Amazon (who handled the shipping) and the seller is Linsoul Audio.

Recently I’ve also bought the Letshoure S12 which also came in a non-shrink wrapped box. The foam eartips seemed a bit dirty and the little case they come in was unzipped. These were also bought from and shipped by Amazon but the seller was a 3rd party.

Watching unboxing videos on YouTube both Timeless and S12 have shrink wrap in certain videos, so I’m wondering if these Chinese sellers on Amazon are just unscrupulously reselling used/returned items as new. Which would be particularly surprising about the Timeless since the 3rd party seller is Linsoul themselves.

Anyway, thanks!

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ScottBlues OP t1_j41nm2p wrote

Edit: I’ve checked the eartips and one pair DEFINITELY has earwax inside.

This is a used item which was sold as new. lol

Pretty awful experience gotta be honest.

How would I even get a new pair of these? Buy them from China directly? Would that guarantee that they’re actually new or do they pull the same crap even if you buy from the Linsoul website? 😕

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GoTouchGrassKid t1_j41obee wrote

It was likely used 'auditioned' by someone and returned.

Every other person on this subreddit is buying like 12 different products off of amazon and just returning the ones they don't want.

There is literally some guy buying every cheap chi-fi in ear, comparing them, and returning all of them.

Apparently, nobody sees the issue with this practice.

This is the result of people demanding the ability to 'audition' cheap, relatively decent sounding products, in a subjective hobby dominated by shills reviewers.

Actions have consequences. IE: The advice I see here of just buy off of Amazon and abuse the return policy to audition cheap IEMs results in used ear tips down the line.

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CrossfireAlien t1_j41tzfn wrote

You bought from Amazon, smart. I believe it's eligible for return within 30 days. Buy directly from China and you'll have a lot more trouble returning, dealing with the company, customs, shipping...

Also, it's not bad Chinese sellers, it's all sellers, all products. I bought a chainsaw on Amazon from an American company that had the chain attached, oil applied and pieces of wood in the chain. Returned.

Try companies like Audio46.com or Drop.com and I'm sure there are others.

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Fine_Land t1_j41uxrv wrote

I've purchased a few IEMs from Amazon and I've never received an open box. That's f*cked up in many ways when it's being sold as new. If you buy direct from Linsoul, HiFiGo, or Shenzhenaudio you shouldn't have a problem like open box but returns are also a pain when ordering from China. It's basically pick your demons because there are pros and cons to both. If you're in the US there is also headphones.com which I prefer to order from if they carry what I'm wanting otherwise I normally just buy from whoever has in stock from the previous mentions.

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spartaman64 t1_j41zutv wrote

apparently amazon does this with some return options they assume that the customer never opened it and just put it back on the shelf as new.

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ScottBlues OP t1_j421sj9 wrote

Replying to spartaman64 (#1,342,425)

What’s crazy is that it happened twice in a row to me now lol. The Letshoure S12 last week and now the Timeless.

Maybe I’ll try contacting Amazon customer service and explaining this to them, then hope that the new one they send me is new.

…I mean they can’t ALL be used items, right? lol

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CrossfireAlien t1_j4253jy wrote

Replying to ScottBlues (#1,342,514)

Sounds like the Amazon distribution center near you doesn't want to deal with sending items back to China and just puts them back on the shelf, hoping that the next buyer won't notice. They need to realize that if it's been in someone's ear, it should not be resold as new.

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Coley44 t1_j42b4ys wrote

Mine from china did infact come shrinkwrapped for the S12s, same for my 7Hz 71 DAC.

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TagalogON t1_j42uy3c wrote

Replying to ScottBlues (#1,341,772)

Yes my 7Hz Timeless came properly wrapped in plastic from AliExpress/China.

There's other options now though, especially cheaper or better value than the Timeless.

The current well-reviewed planar IEMs are using 14.2mm/14.8mm/14.6mm/14.x/etc.mm planar drivers.

So, the 7Hz Timeless (there's AE version with changed stuff), Shuoer S12 (there's Pro, Z12, etc. versions), Tin HiFi P1 Max, Raptgo Hook-X (there's the HBB version), 7Hz Salnotes x crinacle Dioko, TANGZU Zetian Wu (there's the new HeyDay Edition which is actually quite different), and if the price is lowered a bit, Dunu Talos. The new Moondrop Stellaris is too bright/etc. for a lot of people.

There's also the KZ PR1 Pro with KZ's own 13.2mm planar driver. This actually launched for $40 (the promo was like a whole week or so) instead of its current $80 price but ya KZ might not do that anymore.

And the Kinera/Celest SPD planars like Gumiho and Pandamon, though these are not considered as planars by some, still reviewed nicely though and for now the ones from Kinera/Celest are around that ~$50, which is good but there are better options at that price, so only get it for the novelty/etc.

Some people have problems right now with Linsoul due to the ThieAudio Prestige quality control issues controversy with one of their customers. Check the ThieAudio thread on Head-Fi for more info on the Linsoul customer service issue: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/thieaudio-signature-series-tribrid-iems.936212/page-274

Though as a regular customer of Linsoul, AliExpress, and other Chinese websites, basically even if it's $1000+ assume it's final sale, lol, because return shipping is just too much and they often get lost in Mainland China customs (because they'll ask you to underdeclare it too, etc.).

For the Linsoul website, they actually pack it well and should come shrink-wrapped or whatever with plastic. Though I've heard some stories and experienced some weird things...

Anyway, this is not me shilling/making excuses/etc. for Linsoul, but they probably have an upcoming Chinese New Year gift card promo again. Where you'll probably like say pay $25 and then you get a $50 gift card, like no other tricks/etc. to it, just literally free $25 if you can reserve some time for the event.

These days they're doing a $1 charge to be able to buy the gift cards, but they've allowed better time zones and so on and so if you click the page for the event time, you get free gift card, you don't have to play games or like promote them on social media, just free money, lol. So it's like a pre-order for a pre-order, lol.

Here's more info about Linsoul gift cards and such: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zbw1sm/salnotes_zero_sound_advice_in_comparison_with/iytnl4j/

For Linsoul, they actually own/subsidize/market/etc. a lot of IEM brands and so on. So they have a lot of direct stock of the items, like that's why you often see Linsoul being thanked in some Youtube/Head-Fi/etc. reviews for supplying the reviewer/influencer/etc.

So they shouldn't be short on legit new, untouched, boxes/units of the IEM.

For buying from China/AliExpress/etc. there's really no guarantee but ya they're almost always with the plastic wrapping or seal, so don't worry too much about it.

The problem here is yup, Amazon people that like to return stuff over and over. I've seen people here and elsewhere constantly brag about buying like 5-10+ headphones/IEMs all at once for like a battle royale demo event, lmao wtf smh.

Like for me I'm broke af too and have to save a lot of money and time to afford audio stuff. And so it's tempting to also abuse the amazing Amazon return policy (especially during the holidays as starting in October you can usually return stuff again by January 31 of next year, lmao, that's legit 3 or 4 months of trial period).

But ya my principles and experience with also receiving used/broken/etc. products from Amazon has me not doing that return thing. Like it's a really sad feeling because I have to waste time going to the post office to return the item that I really wanted. Sometimes if it's like a limited edition or limited price drop, then yup when you get a wrong/used/etc. item they can only refund you instead of give you what you bought in the first place.

Anyway, don't worry too much about it since it happens to a lot of Amazon/etc. customers.

Like search up the ridiculous situation with microSD cards on Amazon. They mix the third party storefronts and official Amazon stock all the time. It's so sad and so it's better to buy things like microSD cards from Best Buy or a physical store/retailer. As otherwise you'd get fake microSD cards and all that. Smh.

Linsoul, ShenzhenAudio, etc. also have official storefronts on AliExpress btw. For Linsoul, they're called DD Audio Store there.

If you want more choices/options, look into AliExpress/Linsoul/HiFiGo/etc. and there's often no extra fees after your initial payment/order. So it's usually free international shipping, well some of them will ask you to pay $5-10+ for cheap trackable shipping these days.

Basically expect the usually free AliExpress Standard Shipping to arrive after 1-3 weeks if you live in a major city or near an international airport. It might be different for your region/country, so check your fellow customers' experiences on AliExpress/Head-Fi/etc.

Linsoul/HiFiGo/etc. are often the same as AliExpress for shipping time, though sometimes they will be delayed or actually even faster too.

Here's a bit more about ordering from AliExpress/Chinese companies in general: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zav570/is_hifigo_a_scam/iynrt65/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/xky24f/americans_and_europeans_ordering_high_end_iems/ipgtsuk/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/uwk248/should_i_order_shuoer_s12s_from_conceptkart_or/i9t7zo0/

Here's a bit more info on AliExpress shipping times: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/uw4uq1/earbud_advice/i9q7fql/

Use parcelsapp.com and 17track.net to check your package progress. Usually it'll be a week before it actually leaves China by the airport and then the rest of the time is just waiting for your country's customs and the national/local mail delivery service.

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ScottBlues OP t1_j433zdp wrote

Replying to TagalogON (#1,343,964)

Thanks for the in depth reply!

I’ve actually tried them just now and… the right one doesn’t work. Now we know why someone sent them back in the first place lol.

But I have to say I really liked what I heard from the left driver! And the tips also changed the sound a lot. From tons of bass to sibilant to pretty balanced and nice.

Gonna have Amazon replace this one and hope the next one is new. If it isn’t I might use one of the websites you listed 👍

Thanks again!

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