Well, hopefully the guy has a receipt … I can always ask him to contact Stereo Exchange and get a copy, perhaps? I have the number for the contact at Focal so will also ring him up.
Good luck, @Steve_Dollar, I hope you get this sorted without any expense or further hassle. I should think this whole thing has been a miserable experience. Fingers crossed for you.
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I did the same thing - picked up my Utopia second hand on ebay for $2300, but got caught up in the moment and neglected to ask the seller about the original receipt & warranty before I bought, then he was real cagey about it after the auction had already ended (which I take to mean he either didn’t buy it from an AD or it’s really old and he didn’t want to admit it). So far it has worked flawlessly, but I’m living in fear now of a very expensive driver failure. Live and learn.
The moral of the story is always ask the seller for the original receipt and warranty transfer information before you buy preowned.
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If you have their name they may be able to give you a receipt or facilitate the RMA process with Focal. Because the receipt most likely has the customer name / address on it, they may not be able to give you the actual sales receipt though.
As long as someone comes to us with the serial number and an order that was placed through our store, we handle the RMA process with Focal.
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Thanks for the input Taron. I’m in touch with the original buyer and I’m hoping he can further assist. I may go ahead and call Stereo Exchange where it was purchased and see if they might help in the meantime.
And certainly yes a good lesson for future purchases … 90% of all my hifi gear is from a single dealer I’ve known for 30 years and done a lot of business with, so I’ve never been in this kind of spot before.
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Same. I generally like to buy new so I have the peace of mind of knowing the entire life history of the hardware and having full warranty coverage. But Utopias are expensive, so it made sense to go second hand to save a few bucks. I just wish I had thought to ask about the warranty before I bought.
I hope you get your situation resolved easily!
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I’d add that my preference is to buy gear whose brand is its designer. Companies whose founder you can call on the phone. Especially when there’s a lot of money involved. Although obviously a solid dealer is important as well
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Well, after some detective work, several emails, and crossing all my fingers I finally shipped off the Utopias to Focal USA for repair, under warranty, and hope all goes well. Was lucky the guy I bought them from was both the original owner and also willing to contact his dealer to get a copy of the receipt, and that the dealer was able to provide it after four years. Thanks for the suggestions and support everyone!
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Great news, I’m glad to hear it.
Happy holidays.
Thanks!
Any future headphone purchases will be from a solid dealer or the designer (like ZMF). Seems like I never buy any gear that doesn’t have to go back under warranty sooner or later, but actually never found myself in this situation before … (not counting used gear that at some point needs to be updated or modified).
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A month later … Finally heard from Focal that they are in the queue for repair. Another 10-20 days to go, plus return shipping time … But at least they’re getting fixed
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Utopia is one of the best headphone out there and I’ve contemplated countless times to get it but always decided against it specifically due to the issues with potential driver failure. It is very upsetting to see anyone having to go through this but it’s good to know that it is going to get fixed. Having to pay ~ 4k for a headphone and leaving to chance whether or not it will ever breakdown is nerve wrecking especially if it breaks after the warranty period.
I do hope their driver durability improves in future production and never happens to any new owners but seeing as this is in market for going 6 years and this is still happening I highly doubt I will have the confidence to take that chance. That said, sonically it is sublime and one of the best and I hope you get it soon and never have to go through this again.
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I think current models do not have the issue, but don’t hold me to that. The model I picked up second-hand was made in 2017. As far as repairs and warranties go, it’s hard for me to think of a single piece of higher-end gear that I’ve owned that hasn’t had to go back in for something or other (not speakers but electronics). Even the 15k DAC/streamer/integrated I got three years ago needs to go back at some point for a minor problem. My turntable, which is about 25 years old, had two major repairs done that required me to drive 6 hours each way to visit the analog wizard. My feeling is that high-end is an investment that only begins with the purchase, it’s my Ferrari if you will. However, all that said, I’d rather not have any worries when I’m shelling out 4k (or 2k) for something. Utopia issues are exacerbated by the company being foreign (the repair center is in Canada, though, not France). I’d rather deal with Dan Clark or ZMF, but these are really incredible headphones.
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The Utopia(s) just arrived! Sound great. Good as new (literally). Total time from shipping out to receiving back, abiout 6 weeks,but factor in the holidays and it’s probably more of a 30-day process.
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Perhaps there is some internal wiring damage! If they were mishandled by their previous owner, they could have some internal damage to the wire that delivers audio to the left side! You should have the headphones inspected, as you can’t repair internal damage yourself (without risking further damage to the headphones)!
The headphones have been repaired and I just got them back. All is well!
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I ask, maybe even slightly beg Louis Rossmann of The Rossman Group. www.rossmanngroup.com
Focal driver have a very thin gauge wire connecting the voice coil. This is probably the issue
Focal repaired and returned the headphones months ago, but thanks for your post