Interesting, and thanks for the follow up! Very glad to hear the positive benefits in your HeadFi system translated well to your home system. How would you say aspects like 3D imaging/soundstage and tonality compared to the SR in your home system?
Cable Quality vs Customer Service
For me, it's the end of a short era. I will no longer purchase, or advocate the purchase of Synergistic Research products. There is no point in the acquisition of fantastic cables if after the sale the customer service lacks so bad that the value of the cable drops to nothing.
So, I would ask...is good cable quality worth bad customer service?
Here's the story, so you understand where I am coming from. I ordered an SR Foundation headphone cable. It required a stereo mini-pin to source and mono-pin to the headphones. Seems simple enough. When the cable worked, it sounded fantastic. The problem was that the mono-pins that were used didn't make a solid connection. When you plug them in, they immediately begin to come out and you lose signal. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to listen to music only to have the audio cut in and out across left and right or altogether. I tested this against other headphone cables both OEM and 3rd party as well as other headphones. The issue followed the cable. I compared the SR cable to the ones that worked and determined that the problem was the notch on the pin was too thin. The conductive ball bearing inside the shaft couldn't lock onto the notch in the SR cable and the spring behind it would push the connector out.
So I got an RMA and sent it in to SR for repair. I even sent two different headphone cables of mine for them to measure against and or to cannibalize if need be. After a week of confirming they had received the cable, I called them to get an update. They hadn't even looked at it yet and claimed someone would call me the next day. That day came and went with no call. I waited a few more days before calling them again for an update. They still hadn't worked on it but at least looked at the cables and hadn't decided if they should get a new part or use the parts from one of my cables. They would call and let me know what they had decided. Days without a call came and went. I called again to get an update. They said they ordered a new part and I should wait an entire week and someone would call to explain what was happening. I waited a week and the day they were supposed to call came and went. I waited a few more days and called for an update and they said it was shipped out already and they couldn't give me a tracking number, but would email it. I never received an email with the tracking number.
When I finally got the cable back, it was worse than it was before. They replaced the previous mono-pin with a mono-pin that had a base three times the size of any of the other mono-pins. So, of course, the connector wouldn't fit into the headphone. It couldn't clear the hole before the main shaft. It was wider than 1/4 of an inch with a 1/4 inch mono-pin sticking out of it. All other mini-pins in existence have a pin, followed by a slightly larger diameter secondary shaft before the much wider base. This was just the mono-pin and the much wider base. It was missing the extended, smaller diameter shaft. Therefore, the mono-pin lacked the length required to reach the conductor.
So, I called Synergistic Research to ask what could be done. They said they couldn't help me any further and that I should seek a refund.
Really? No other options. Not, send in your 3rd party cable so we can use the connector. Just...forget you, we're done here. Spending $500 on a cable and they can't 'afford' to help any further? Suddenly, all the thousands of dollars I have spent on Synergistic Research cables and equipment are worthless because there is no integrity behind them. It's almost as if they're happy to build you a cable and take your money, but don't seek out their help if the product doesn't work as expected. If I charged $500 for a 1 meter cable, I would certainly figure out a way to make it right so that the customer would spend another $500+ on another cable in the future instead of deciding, "we don't need his business." Maybe they don't, and that's fine. But I also don't have to be quiet about it.
Peace out.
Showing 10 responses by soix
Yup, I found the same thing. I was speaking with another cable manufacturer and he said he tried making headphone cables and some of the connectors were a nightmare to work with so he doesn’t offer them anymore. With a few notable exceptions headphone cables do seem to be a bit of a sub specialty that requires unique skills and experience — and patience. |
Thanks for the interesting insights. Reason I asked is I’ve held SR cables in high regard for sonics so was curious how the Lavris would stack up. I’m gonna compare my Lavri interconnects to my beloved Acoustic Zen Silver Ref ll and will share my findings if you’re at all interested. The only thing is the Lavri is balanced and the AZ is single ended, but I’m thinking the main sonic characteristics will still be there and so still worth comparing. |
Glad to hear they seem to be working out so far as cables are always a bit of a crapshoot recommendation, but are they maybe a little too detailed or potentially fatiguing (just reading a little between the lines of your initial impressions here)? How would you say the Lavris differ/compare to the SR? |
Sweet!!! I never called them — how were they over the phone? Not sure the Master is worth the upgrade over the Ultimate line, but the Grand that upgrades to 20awg 6N silver and cryogenic treatment seems like a very significant step up. I’d love to hear what you think initially and after break-in if/when you get it. |
I’ll save you a little work as I was already on their site. Here are Lavricable’s two Nighthawk cables — all silver and can be had as low as $193 but even their top cable can be had for only $268 although I’d recommend upgrading the plug to the AECO Rhodium/copper plug for a reasonable upcharge. https://www.lavricables.com/cables/ultimate-silver-audioquest-nighthawk-upgrade-cable/ https://www.lavricables.com/cables/master-silver-audioquest-nighthawk-nightowl-carbon-upgrade-cable/ |
I asked a well-known cable company if they would make ever headphone cables as it’s a growing market, and he said he did a few but that some of the connectors are so hard to work with he doesn’t promote it anymore. My takeaway from this is to stick with dedicated headphone companies as they’re probably more experienced dealing with the various connectors and such. That said, I looked around a bit when I was looking to upgrade the cable for my Hifiman Arya Stealths because I didn’t want to spend $500+ for a cable — at least not yet. During my search I came across LavriCable who sells direct, seemed well designed and uses quality components, and were much less expensive than the more well-known brands. I ended up buying their mid-level Ultimate Silver cable at 1.2m length with their best AECO connectors and it came to $250. It’s a nice looking and well-built cable, and most importantly it was a significant sonic upgrade over the stock cable so I’m a very happy camper. I’ve since ordered a USB cable, a phone dongle, and a pair of balanced interconnects from them and I’m very happy with all of them, and I’d highly recommend giving them a look during your search. BTW, what headphones are you using? Best of luck
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