WH-1000xm3

[high52kojak]

So the headband on both sides of my xm3's has cracked, which can and has resulted in the headband coming away from the body, and exposing the wires, very easy to break, not good!  The very thin plastic has cracked in normal use, I am by no means heavy handed with them.  It looks to be a design flaw in this area.  Why Sony uses such thin and weak plastic in this area?

Sony also refuse to look at this matter as it doesn't fall under warranty as it's "cosmetic damage"!?  No way.

This is not what I expect from a £300 pair of high end headphones.

Should have stuck to Bose. 

[Sean_Mc]

Hi there,

I have escalated your case.

Best wishes,
Sean 

[high52kojak]

Hi,

any update on this case escalation?

[BogdanM13]

No, absolutely no update. Sony has given no solution and is no longer responding to any support channels of mine. I have tried calling, emailing, opening a support ticket and even dropping physical files about my experience and problem to the local Sony management headquarters, to absolute no avail. This whole situation is being shoved under the rug, as always with Sony. This is my first and also last piece of audio equipment I purchase from this scamming manufacturer.

[Joe_Dohn]

Hey,

I passed this to my Sony contact for you, and they said that Sony has provided their final statement about this.

- J.D.

[BogdanM13]

And how is that useful, if you do not mind? The last I have ever heard from Sony, just so that you know was in August. I have received no further emails, just what they have first said. And in the meantime, the strap has broken itself in the same place on the opposite side.

Not only has Sony no longer replied to my emails, I think they have also banned my phone number at the local support center. Calling them keeps me in an infinite waiting loop. Maybe I should call them from a private number.

I have tried contacting Sony International support, only to be told that there's „no power” beyond the national support line, which by the way isn't even Sony but a bunch of outsourced support people in a third party call center just reciting a script.

I have also went to the physical Sony headquarters in my country and left a file with all these discussions printed, to no avail. Heard nothing back.

I encourage ANYONE to stay away from Sony Audio products on these grounds.

[FinbarGood]

I've had exactly the same problem recently. The thin band you highlight in your photo broke on my pair as well. This let the end piece flex too widely, which in turn led to a hairline crack, and eventually the earpiece end completely breaking off. The same thin band broke on the other side with a hairline crack appearing in the spot. I sent it in to Sony repair agent, who have decided it's "physical damage not under guarantee". Full stop, no detail. £100 to repair. I have tried to escalate it but am getting nowhere. Very frustrating.

[BogdanM13]

Yeah, of course, and some „specialist” from the forum will tell you that you somehow exerted spec-exceeding forces on your headphones while taking them off your head and it's rightly physical damage. Sony is a joke, seriously. I am literally trying all avenues of contact and nobody in my country or at the Europe HQs has been answering anything for months now. It is absolutely outrageous!

[HannahEd01]

Hi BogdanM13, correct me if I'm wrong, you sent the headphones for inspection and you were told there's a physical damage already? I have a friend who sent his and it turned out to be a physical damage as well, if that's true I'm not sure what are you after? Sony had another model with a design defect and they used to repair it in warranty here in the UK, so if the engineers said it's physical damage, I don't think it is not. If you didn't send them yet try that solution.

[BogdanM13]

Of course I sent them in for repair at the local Sony partner (no other kind of warranty repair is offered here) and was quoted a ridiculous price (1/3 of the initial price of the set). And I kindly ask you to refrain from backing the opinion of the „engineers” if you are not using such a pair of headphones yourself. What engineers are you talking about? The service technicians who deny warranty on physical damage grounds at a first inspection because that's what the Sony guidelines/handbook for service partners say? The fact you „do not think it is not” physical damage doesn't mean you should try to normalize this situation. Of course it is „physical damage” according to the dictionary definition, but the cause is not improper use in this situation. What improper use could I subject my headphones to while putting them on or taking them off my head and putting them in the supplied carrying case?

This is no improper handling, it is just building +350$ headphones out of the cheapest and thinnest plastic you can find.

Also you are asking what I am „after”? I am „after” spreading the word so people do not have such money-wasting experiences by being foolish and buying from a brand which is supposed to have some tradition and care about customers.