My ear hurts!

Q: I love using my IEMs, but recently my left ear has started hurting with maybe a little blood when the IEM is in there awhile and I take it out. What should I do?

A:  Pain and bleeding could be from a poor fit, rough IEM shell, or even a problem with the external ear itself.

If you have pain or discomfort from your IEM, that's not normal. And certainly bleeding isn't either. Stop using them. Get something else. Consider seeking medical attention. The bleeding is literally a red flag. 

Scratchy Aune

Q:  Whenever I turn on my Aune T1, I get serious distortion/static for the first 20-30 minutes until it fully warms up. I've tried several different headphones, I've tried leaving cans plugged in when I turn it on and I've tried waiting until after the T1 turns on to plug in. 

Nothing seems to make a difference, everything is static-y and awful sounding for the first 30 minutes or so, then it'll slowly go away and sound fine.

Am I doing something stupid, or do I have a faulty amp?

A: Try cleaning the tube contacts and rods. Isopropyl alcohol or (even better) Deoxit will work.

If your Aune T1 still sounds scratchy, try swapping the tube.

If still an issue, the finger of suspicion next points towards your PSU brick.

Hifiman HE 560 rattle

Q: I just got the Hifiman HE-560s and I noticed that one of the grills gives in a tiny bit. It barely moves if you apply pressure to it, but I can't push the other one in at all. I don't hear anything wrong but should I be concerned?

A:  A loose grille will only be an issue only if it vibrates. try running a bass shaker test, like the one here.

If the issue persists, you have two options. Option one is to engineer a DIY fix and batten down the grille with some glue or epoxy. Option two, and the one that I would probably pursue if you just got your headphones, is to contact Hifiman customer service, and also the retailer who sold you the headphones, to see if you can swap them for another pair.

Buying used headphones

Q: Should I  be worried about buying used headphones?

A: Veni's 3 rules of used headphone purchasing:

Rule 1: If the seller does not answer questions appropriately, send you decent pictures of said headphones, and overall sounds like he/she has no clue, then pass.

Rule 2: Don't buy modded headphones unless you are absolutely sure that the person who modded them knows what they are doing. It is easier to kill a pair of headphones than Mel Gibson's movie career.

And Rule 3: If you don't smoke, don't buy used headphones from a smoker. It will take more effort than it is worth to get rid of the smell.

Aune T1 tube rolling tips

Q: What tubes should I get for my Aune T1?

A: A common-sense rule of thumb is: don't spend more on your tubes than you did on the amp :-)
in general NOS (new old stock) tubes are better choices than reissues, but some NOS especially Amperex and old Genalex tubes can get plenty expensive very quickly.

Many resissue tubes are manufactured by New Sensor Corporation, and their price may be dramatically marked up by tube stores. When it comes to buying tubes, patience is always a virtue, especially when it comes to deals!

Would you ever buy a first batch of headphones?

Q: Would you ever buy a first batch of headphones? Is it worth it to wait?

A: Buying a first production run of any engineered item, whether it is a car or a pair of headphones, is always associated with a slightly higher likelihood that you'll get a product that has some issues.

Typically large companies manage QC well, so the issues are more likely to be because of design flaws than QC, although anyone assembling anything in a factory can have a bad day and screw up their job (and your product).

And yes, verification & validation testing does not catch every flaw, and since everyone who makes anything iteratively improves design over time as production ramps up, it always makes sense to wait for a product that has had the flaws "shaken out of it", so to speak.

I like to wait before I buy new audio gear, but more for the hype cycle to die down and some credible information to bubble up more than anything else, including reliability.

But I have this inner Klingon in my head who has zero patience and does not listen to reason, and he often jumps out when he sees me looking at desirable stuff and forces me to buy it the moment it is released

Sometimes I regret it later. So I curse the Klingon in my head, and he usually replies with "Hab SoSlI' Quch!"