It’s so sad that Focal makes great-sounding headphones that are, by many users accounts, unreliable and not well supported. Thankfully there are several other great headphones out there that more than compete with Focals sonically without the headaches. I’ll give a shoutout to Hifiman — I own 2 of their headphones and have had zero problems even though I bought both as open box and came across as nothing but brand new. Focal’s poor quality control and product support is unforgivable IMHO, especially at the price points at which they sell their products.
Focal Headphone Repairs?
Unfortunately, it appears that despite their high-end reputation, Focal has crap quality control. Their Drop Focal Elex is infamous for driver and connecting wire failures. And now, I find so is their Focal Clear model.
I bought a pair in May, and after less than 20 uses, the left channel is dead. It’s not the cable or anything external, but definitely something internal. I take extremely good care of my stuff, so there’s no excuse for this type of failure.
Although the headphones are still in warranty, I’ve been told Focal is awful about honoring US-based claims. Plus, shipping them back to France will be expensive and take weeks, if not months. So, I’m afraid my only choice is to pay someone to fix them stateside. I’d be grateful if anyone can recommend an experienced, reliable repair shop for the Clears in the US.
Thanks.
I bought a pair in May, and after less than 20 uses, the left channel is dead. It’s not the cable or anything external, but definitely something internal. I take extremely good care of my stuff, so there’s no excuse for this type of failure.
Although the headphones are still in warranty, I’ve been told Focal is awful about honoring US-based claims. Plus, shipping them back to France will be expensive and take weeks, if not months. So, I’m afraid my only choice is to pay someone to fix them stateside. I’d be grateful if anyone can recommend an experienced, reliable repair shop for the Clears in the US.
Thanks.