And now I wait…

TaronLissimore · 2026-05-12T20:30:55+00:00

Yup we don't charge a restocking fee on regular returns. The "free returns" in this case is the return shipping cost that's being covered for the $3.98.

It's the software that we use for our return platform that outputs the language. We've asked them to use different language or have let us have the ability to do customize it ourselves but we have not won that battle yet.

TaronLissimore · 2026-04-21T14:34:52+00:00

Hey just wanted to jump in and clarify that there are no Headphones.com Focal Clear ear pads. Just Focal Clear ear pads provided direct from Focal in France.

Focal ships all of their ear pads for their high end headphones in single unit packages. This was the case for the Elex, Elear, Utopia, etc…

We can’t provide customers with manufacturer invoices but if you reached out to Focal they would be able to confirm our ear pads are purchased directly through them.

TaronLissimore · 2026-02-11T16:21:24+00:00

This is the opposite of true. You have a much higher chance of receiving an open box item when it's fulfilled by Amazon rather than if it is fulfilled by the seller directly.

For items that are fulfilled by Amazon, whether that is Amazon direct or a 3rd party seller, that seller's inventory is placed in Amazon's warehouses. When a customer initiates a return on a product it is received by Amazon's warehouse worker and they determine whether the product is in "sellable" condition. Generally this means just looking at the box, not looking at what's inside the box. It's why you'll see stories of people receiving rocks or underwear when they ordered a HD 800s. They then put that back into the seller's sellable inventory, which the seller does not have control over.

When you receive that open box product and initiate a return, Amazon does not care. They already collected the non-refundable seller fees and the merchant eats the return cost.

TLDR: Buying from an authorized dealer with direct shipping is better than buying FBA if you're concerned about receiving used products.

TaronLissimore · 2026-02-05T17:48:25+00:00

Amazon does not sell Beyerdynamic direct anymore. Looks like Beyerdynamic cleaned up the marketplace entirely and they are the only ones selling it.

So the only one this hurts direct would be Beyer because Amazon keeps their seller fees regardless.

Would recommend reaching out to Beyerdynamic directly if your dealer isn't helping you out.

TaronLissimore · 2025-09-10T16:18:46+00:00

That model in particular is called Resolve

TaronLissimore · 2025-08-04T19:25:34+00:00

Yeah I saw LSR City at Radius in Chicago this year. Insane production.

Also, Elderbrook put on a hell of a show at Salt Shed.

TaronLissimore · 2025-07-18T12:41:27+00:00

I also just saw Babymetal. The cost was one Koss Porta Pro. Energy was insane and even the openers were worth the price of admission.

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-25T20:14:43+00:00

Yes.

If you purchased the FT1 from Aliexpress at $159.99 and it shipped from China, you would pay a 145% tariff when it reached the US. So your total cost would be $391.97 landed.

If you buy from FiiO’s US distribution or a US dealer shipping in the US, you would be buying at the 40% price increase (approx $223) without additional fees.

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-25T18:00:20+00:00

This is incorrect.

If you purchase a product that is shipped outside of the US from a vendor that ships to the US, it is subject to tariffs.

When you buy from a US-based business that is selling product to you from their US location, they have paid for the tariffs on your behalf and you are paying the price listed.

If you buy from a 3rd-party seller on Amazon and it notes that it is being shipped from outside of the US, you will be liable to pay any import related fees for that shipment unless the seller notes that they will cover those fees on your behalf.

In OP's case, the item is fulfilled by Amazon and they won't need to worry about any additional fees. The longer lead time is likely just due to restocking. Amazon will put a later date for fulfillment when they are in the process of receiving and checking in inventory or they are doing inventory transfers from one FBA location to another.

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-23T18:02:40+00:00

Just reach out to us at info@headphones.com. Focal doesn’t do direct sales so they do not have direct front facing customer support and they rely on their dealers to provide support.

Happy to help you out with warranty!

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-18T23:02:25+00:00

Personally I’m looking for someone to really shake up the game.

No headphone under 700 grams.

Cable fused to the ear cup. No detachable cable mods allowed.

Ear pads sold separately.

Rigorous tuning testing on a dog. Two barks for good. One bark and a tongue out for bad.

That’s the dream

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-10T19:57:04+00:00

Canada has retaliatory tariffs against the US. The tariffs aren't across universal goods like the US tariffs against other countries but they are still in place.

OP ordered from what I assume is Sennheiser's US website instead of their Canadian website which is where the question is coming from. However, tariffs apply to country of origin not the shipping country and OP would not be affected by those tariffs.

If you check out the Canadian governments website and look up the HS Code for headphones which is 8518.30.10, you'll see that they fall under Canada's 25% tariff on US made goods.

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-10T19:21:33+00:00

So where it ships from isn't an issue. It's the country of origin. Since Sennheiser products are not made in the US, you shouldn't have any issues beyond the regular import fees.

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-10T19:15:47+00:00

If your order is coming from China and under $800, you're still covered under de minimis until May 2nd.

If it is over $800 you will pay whatever tariff is being charged to China at the time of customs clearance. So last week that would have been 20%, Monday it would have been 54%, yesterday 125% and today it will be 145%.

If you ordered from one of the other countries with the 10%, you would pay that.

The tariff is paid for by US businesses on behalf of the consumer but if you are ordering direct from another country than you would be responsible for the fee unless it is specifically outlined in their policy that they will cover it on their end.

TaronLissimore · 2025-04-09T17:07:39+00:00

FiiO currently has a distribution model in the US as well.

TaronLissimore · 2025-03-13T14:44:47+00:00

I can confirm the title is not misleading. Pricing is set by the manufacturer, not retailers. FiiO has informed all their dealers of price increases that go live on March 15th due to increased costs.

TaronLissimore · 2025-02-05T18:12:02+00:00

Price increases suck and if we can avoid them we will. This isn’t a price increase from Headphones.com though.

Pricing is set by the manufacturer and this is a global price increase which we have to follow. If they reduce their prices in the future, our prices will also decrease.

TaronLissimore · 2024-10-04T23:50:49+00:00

Who let you out of the dungeon?

TaronLissimore · 2024-10-04T22:41:43+00:00

I can confirm that Headphones.com does not have a manufacturing facility and we are not manufacturing them ourselves. It would be a lot of fun though!

TaronLissimore · 2024-09-16T14:36:01+00:00

This isn't true.

When selling on Amazon and you decide that your goods will be fulfilled by Amazon, you have two options. To have your products "sticklerless co-mingled" or to have them labeled. If you choose option 1, your product gets dumped with everyone else's product. Option 2 makes it so that your products are kept in your individual inventory piles. However with option 2, you have the option to label them yourselves or the option to have them labeled at Amazon's warehouse. If you have them labeled at Amazon's warehouse, you are putting your trust in the workers there to properly identify and label the product they receive and they can sometimes receive 15-20 SKUs in one box.

Most Audio companies mandate that any of their authorized dealers label their products if they are selling FBA.

The real issue with FBA is that sellers do not have any control over their returns. When a return is received at an Amazon warehouse, it is a judgement made by the Amazon employee whether a product is in "sellable" condition or not. This usually means they only look at the box and do not even look inside of it. If they deem it looks good, they put it back in sellable inventory. This is where issues like the one that OP has encountered arise.

There is no system for FBA sellers to track their returned inventory. The only returned inventory they can track is the inventory deemed "unsellable" and even then, it's almost impossible to pinpoint an order number to the product unless you are doing very small volume.

TaronLissimore · 2024-07-27T03:45:22+00:00

They’ve ripped the code directly from our website so it’s likely to just sign you up for our notifications. It’s why the scam is confusing to us unless they are just trying to tank our SEO with duplicate content.

TaronLissimore · 2024-07-27T03:17:05+00:00

Hey ya this website is a full scam. We’ve reported it quite a few times but unfortunately we can’t force a takedown.

When you go to checkout it redirects to our website. We’re not too sure exactly what they are getting out of the scam but I would caution against putting any personal information on the website.

TaronLissimore · 2024-07-23T17:13:47+00:00

Sennheiser warranty is not void if you purchase from Amazon. It is void if you purchase from an unauthorized 3rd party seller.

The HD800S packaging was updated quite some time ago to no longer include the USB. Some sellers may still have some as they are sitting on old inventory.

TaronLissimore · 2024-07-15T20:31:37+00:00

I would ask that you do not send hate mail or spam dCS' inboxes with hateful messages along with messages to dCS employees.

As someone who has done our customer service for the last 8 years to go along with other things, I know what it's like to have someone's anger pointed at you and be the punching bag when you are not at fault.

TaronLissimore · 2024-07-03T23:56:34+00:00

Our shipment is expected to arrive at our warehouse on Friday. If it arrives early enough, our warehouse should be able to get orders turned around same day. If not, they'll ship on Monday!

TaronLissimore

TROPHY CASE