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The Internet is littered with stories of companies that get it wrong, and of people that have to go to extraordinary lengths to get companies to pay attention to their poor service, like this recent story. What you don’t hear about is companies that just get it right straight off the bat. And for that reason, I’d like to contribute the tale of my experience with Sennheiser.

Sennheiser make (amongst other things) some of the best headphones in the world. They’re superbly comfortable, and extremely easy to listen to, particularly for long periods of time. In 2004 I bought a set of HD-497 headphones from Sennheiser – not their most expensive brand by a long shot, but at the time they suited my need and my wallet. And I fell in love with them.

The 497s are not a complete replacement for studio monitors the way some of Sennheiser’s cans are, but their sound is clean and crisp, and doesn’t overly flatter or colour the sound. I often use them on the road, and although you can’t rely on them for a complete mix (the bass extension doesn’t quite reach the subs), you’d be surprised how close you can get.

Now, Sennheiser make a whole bunch of their cans with detachable cables. Think about it – what’s the first thing that usually goes wrong with a set of cans you use a lot? The plug goes funny, or you get a break somewhere in the line. 90% of headphone replacements are because of shot cables rather than blown drivers. Well, Sennheiser are smart enough to make many of their headphone cables replaceable, so that when you find a pair of cans that you like, you can stick with them and just replace the wire when it goes.

I have had two occasions to replace my wires, both of which were entirely my fault. In the first instance, I was making beats while on the train and someone tripped over the trailing wire, tearing it out of my laptop, and in the second I closed the line in the car door and dragged it along the freeway.

But in both of these instances, I was living in London. Getting the cable was as simple as clicking on my favourite audio gear site. But when I returned to South Africa … I got stuck. Most sites won’t deliver out here.

The Sennheiser website doesn’t sell product to the public, preferring instead to direct you to a local rep. In my case, living where I do, that would be a company called Audio Colonoscopy (may not be their real name). I strolled into my local branch and spent half an hour explaining to a sales person what I wanted.

No, not new headphones. Just the cables. Yes, the cable detaches. Seriously, it does. Yes, I am 100% sure, not new headphones. Just the cable.
Look, I’ll show you, you can detach them. Yes, it’s an amazing idea. No, I have no idea why other manufacturers don’t do this. Etc.

Eventually, they placed an order for me, and asked me to pay up front. It was due in a week. Three weeks later, the cable still hadn’t arrived. A different sales lady eventually admitted that the order had not even been placed yet, and offered me my money back.

This is all well and good, but I actually need the WIRES. So in desperation I wrote to Sennheiser themselves, begging them to let me buy the wire directly from them.

They responded in less than 12 hours, and sent me the wire completely free of charge.

Kudos, Sennheiser. Thank you for making some of the best audio equipment around. Thank you for having the foresight to build your products to that they’ll last. And thank you for looking after your customers with amazing service, even if some of your suppliers are idiots. You guys rock.