Reader John’s $150 ER6i headphones broke over one month out of warranty. He sent Etymotic an email.

I have a pair of ER6i’s with a loose connection in the miniplug. They are out of warranty by a few weeks (I bought them from BH Photo Video February 2nd 2006). The sound to the left earplug goes completely out until I tweak the wire going into the miniplug a bit. What will be the cost of getting these repaired?

Etymotic’s surprising response, inside.

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Etymotic responded the next day.

Hi John,

Let’s create an RMA for you to return your earphones for evaluation. Please respond with your address and a daytime phone number.

If you have your receipt from BH, you can send a copy along with your earphones. As long as the problem you are experiencing is a warranted problem, I wouldn’t worry too much about being a few weeks out of warranty.

Best Regards,
Maureen (Moe) Defoort
Customer Service
Etymotic Research, Inc.
61 Martin Lane
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
847-228-0006 fax 847-228-6836

How unexpected. We imagine most companies greet warranty expirations the way a Times Square crowd greets New Years. 10! 9! 8!…

John responded with his contact information and was issued an RMA number. Nine days later, John received notification that his fixed headphones were on their way home. The repair was completed free of charge. Service like this is music to our ears. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

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