Malfunctioning Sony Earbuds

[KnickNut3]

I bought the MDREX71SL in June. They've served me pretty well, but the one earphone stopped working. If I dangle the wire in the right way I'll get sound for a bit, but it will soon cut out and go away. Seems like the wire is going bad.

I'm looking for a way to return these. Amazon won't take RMAs as far as I can see, and the only page on the Sony website that says that they'll gladly fix a defectve product for $21 f---ing dollars, plus the cost of parts if they deem it necessary.

Am I just not finding the right site here? 4 month old earbuds I spent $35 on go bad and I'm SOL? Anyone else have any experiences with this? Any way to talk your way into a free replacement if there's no foolproof way to do it?

Thanks.

 

[Wahsapa]

rule #1: dont buy anything from sony

ya your SOL, sorry ... it would be cheaper to just buy new earbuds... but this time non-sony ones

 

[dquan97]

Check to see if your CC offers any warranty. Usually, some CC give you an additional year on top of the manufacturer's warranty.

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Wahsapa
rule #1: dont buy anything from sony

ya your SOL, sorry ... it would be cheaper to just buy new earbuds... but this time non-sony ones

That is one retarded rule. Sony rules except in the audio department....everyone knows this. They car audio/home audio and portable audio are ..... but other than that, I always buy sony.

 

[KnickNut3]

I called once but was put on hold and didn't have time to wait. Would I be wasting my breath to call?

 

[tikwanleap]

huh, that's interesting. I had sony earbuds where the left one just stopped working after a few months. I decided to stay away from sony's and just bought seinheiser's instead.

 

[Wahsapa]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Wahsapa
rule #1: dont buy anything from sony

ya your SOL, sorry ... it would be cheaper to just buy new earbuds... but this time non-sony ones

That is one retarded rule. Sony rules except in the audio department....everyone knows this. They car audio/home audio and portable audio are ..... but other than that, I always buy sony.

sure they do :thumbsup:

they have the best tvs and playstations never break :disgust: they sure rule alright

 

[Koing]

We get 1yr warrenty here in England. How come in the USA you get 3 or 6 month warrenty on stuff? Here 1yr is pretty much the 'standard'.

Koing

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Wahsapa
rule #1: dont buy anything from sony

Yep, be glad you learned this with a pair of cheap earbuds and not a big TV or something. The cheap Sennheiser earbuds are supposed to be a nice balance between price & quality, maybe try them.

 

[KnickNut3]

Well, I'm looking for ones that will block out all outside noise (so I can listen to quiet things like audiobooks while I cut lawns, etc.). Sennheiser still the way to go?

Last ditch effort for responses--am I pretty much screwed?

 

[yoda291]

I'd just buy earbuds. Think of it as an investment in your audio stuff.

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: yoda291
I'd just buy earbuds. Think of it as an investment in your audio stuff.

Yeah, but you can't help but have moral qualms with Sony.

Which earbuds will be best for the uses I describe above?

 

[Gurck]

Earbuds aren't going to attenuate outside noise; for that you need closed circumaural headphones, unfortunately they're rather big and you probably don't want to slather sweat all over them (like if you were to mow the lawn wearing them). Earbuds should be fine for your purposes though.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3
I bought the MDREX71SL in June. They've served me pretty well, but the one earphone stopped working. If I dangle the wire in the right way I'll get sound for a bit, but it will soon cut out and go away. Seems like the wire is going bad.

I'm looking for a way to return these. Amazon won't take RMAs as far as I can see, and the only page on the Sony website that says that they'll gladly fix a defectve product for $21 f---ing dollars, plus the cost of parts if they deem it necessary.

Am I just not finding the right site here? 4 month old earbuds I spent $35 on go bad and I'm SOL? Anyone else have any experiences with this? Any way to talk your way into a free replacement if there's no foolproof way to do it?

Thanks.

Hmm. I have the same set from Amazon. Hope they don't die. I love them.

 

[SuperTool]

* Edited out as a precaution for reasons explained below.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Wahsapa
rule #1: dont buy anything from sony

ya your SOL, sorry ... it would be cheaper to just buy new earbuds... but this time non-sony ones

That is one retarded rule. Sony rules except in the audio department....everyone knows this. They car audio/home audio and portable audio are ..... but other than that, I always buy sony.

Hahahaahahahahahahaha.........Sony rules.........that's hilarious. Shows who isn't an A/V enthusiast.

Oh btw - Sony has by far and away the number 1 defective & repair rate of all electronics manufacturers by far, and they're a distant 2nd in terms of electronics sold in the world. That's pathetic. Every Sony product we've ever had has broken down - 2 TV's, one stereo receiver, 2 Walkman, and a Discman.

Needless to say, our Panasonics have all faired well in their time. Matsushita > Sony everytime, all the time.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
And there is a foolproof replacement. Buy same set at fry's, return these in box. Fry's will get a replacement from Sony, instead of you. I bet Sony won't charge Fry's $21 to replace the phones.

Fry's should be penalized for his earbuds crapping out?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
And there is a foolproof replacement. Buy same set at fry's, return these in box. Fry's will get a replacement from Sony, instead of you. I bet Sony won't charge Fry's $21 to replace the phones.

It's called fraud. Nice to see you recommending it to everyone on ATOT. People have gotten banned before for mentioning that, you should try editing that out.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: SuperTool
And there is a foolproof replacement. Buy same set at fry's, return these in box. Fry's will get a replacement from Sony, instead of you. I bet Sony won't charge Fry's $21 to replace the phones.

It's called fraud. Nice to see you recommending it to everyone on ATOT. People have gotten banned before for mentioning that, you should try editing that out.

It's fraud to sell $35 headphones that crap out in 3 months.
Fry's is gonna return the headphones to Sony and get a replacement or refund. So ultimately Sony will pay for shipping a unreliable product, as it's supposed to be. Not him paying $21 to get something Sony should be giving to him for free. Fry's is just a middleman. If you feel bad about doing it, buy something at fry's to give them some profit for their hassle.

 

[Gurck]

Not saying you're wrong, but RB is right that people have gotten vacations / bans for endorsing this.

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3
Well, I'm looking for ones that will block out all outside noise (so I can listen to quiet things like audiobooks while I cut lawns, etc.). Sennheiser still the way to go?

If you wish to stick to earbud types with sound isolation, they should have earplug-like design e.g.

http://www.shure.com/earphones/eseries_e3c.asp

Etymotics are also an option, but a rather pricey one.

 

[simms]

I bought the 71SL's with the Amazon deal too. $29.99 or around there. Mine are still good, thankfully...

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: Gurck
Not saying you're wrong, but RB is right that people have gotten vacations / bans for endorsing this.

That's stupid if true. Do people also get banned for suggesting that someone takes a broken car under warranty to a dealership that they didn't buy it from?

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: Gurck
Not saying you're wrong, but RB is right that people have gotten vacations / bans for endorsing this.

That's stupid if true. Do people also get banned for suggesting that someone takes a broken car under warranty to a dealership that they didn't buy it from?

Different story. The car dealership is under contract to handle warranty repairs on behalf of the manufacturer. Fry's has no reason to be involved with a product they didn't sell which is covered by Sony's warranty. If your scenario was logical, than every retailer would be responsible for handling warranty repairs for every manufacturer's product they sell. That's certainly not true.

And, what RB said is true.

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: SuperTool

Originally posted by: Gurck
Not saying you're wrong, but RB is right that people have gotten vacations / bans for endorsing this.

That's stupid if true. Do people also get banned for suggesting that someone takes a broken car under warranty to a dealership that they didn't buy it from?

Different story. The car dealership is under contract to handle warranty repairs on behalf of the manufacturer. Fry's has no reason to be involved with a product they didn't sell which is covered by Sony's warranty. If your scenario was logical, than every retailer would be responsible for handling warranty repairs for every manufacturer's product they sell. That's certainly not true.

And, what RB said is true.

But Fry's is not going to be repairing these earbuds. They'll send them back to manufacturer and get a replacement. So essentially you are getting a replacement from Sony through Fry's by doing this. So Fry's is just a middleman, taking your defective product and giving you a working one, than handing the defective product to Sony and getting a working one. At the end of the day, Fry's still has a working product, and the effective result would be the same as if you got a replacement from Sony, which is what should happen, except you don't have to pay $21 to do it. The alternative is Sony making a profit from replacing their own defective products.