Are Headphone Manufacturers Required to Provide Spare Parts?

MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 14:04
Last edited 17/01/2022 - 23:55 by 1 other user

My wife bought me a set of JBL headphones at the end of 2018 for $399. They broke some time not long after their short warranty ended, I can't remember the exact date.

JBL initially told me the only option was to repair them myself. I left them sit for a year or so and then decided to repair them. I have now been told by JBL/Harmon repeatedly that they simply don't supply spare parts for the headphones. Basically they are a disposable item.

On the flip side if you search for Sony XM3 spare parts there are endless pages of parts and every last part seems to be available.

So my question, is this legal? Do they need to supply parts for a set period of time?

Thanks,

Electrical & Electronics Headphones JBL

Comments

  • Drakesy on 17/01/2022 - 14:13

    If Airpods are anything to go off?
    Unfortunately they're disposable.

    It'll likely be up to how popular the headphones are, the larger the customer base the more spare parts that will be on the market.

    I think 1000XM3's/4's bose QC's have a couple of replaceable parts in batteries and drivers but overall headphones aren't really built to be repaired unfortunately.

    • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 17:23

      This site I found had 50 different parts for the XM3s
      https://sony.encompass.com/model/SONWH1000XM3

    • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 18:43

      That one of the many reasons I never buy apple, although with products of that size I can kind of understand why they aren't serviceable. Although I think not being able to replace the batteries is just wrong, surely it would be doable if they really wanted to.

  • abb on 17/01/2022 - 14:22
    +4

    Good manufacturers do supply parts. You mentioned Sony, I believe Sennheiser do as well. Not sure about other brands.

    All I can suggest is checking before buying next time, and rewarding the company with spares with your dollars. As far as I know there is no legal requirement for spares to be provided.

    If you post the model and fault to a specialist headphone forum you might be able to get some help though!

    • life is suffering on 17/01/2022 - 14:30

      What parts?

    • Presence on 17/01/2022 - 14:57
      +1

      My Sony MDR 7506 actually came with a parts diagram! How things changed between something designed in the 90s and now.

    • mini2 on 17/01/2022 - 15:15
      +1

      Sennheiser definitely supply parts but do you want to pay $40 for a piece of foam for a $75 headphone?

      Fortunately, the aftermarket fills the void for a fraction of that price.

  • slacker on 17/01/2022 - 14:32
    +2

    It is an interesting question. I did quick search and found

    https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/rights-and-law/consumer-rights/…
    https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumer-protection/consumer-…

    In summary, manufacturers must provide spare parts for a reasonable amount of time unless you are notified otherwise. The key point is what is a "reasonable amount of time". They give a couple of examples:

    it would be reasonable to expect that tyres for a new car will be available for many years after its purchase; and
    it may not be reasonable to expect that spare parts for an inexpensive children’s toy are available at all.

    and

    If the manufacturer does not have an office in Australia, the importer takes on these responsibilities.

    I don't know what would be considered reasonable for a pair of headphones. The manufacturer may argue the warranty period is the "reasonable period".

    You didn't say what the parts were. I have found, at least for Bose headphones, items like cables and ear pads are readily available on eBay.

    • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 17:22

      To me the absolute minimum would be the life of the internal battery. I would think though for a $400 set of headphones it should be 10 years.

      • Drakesy on 17/01/2022 - 17:25
        +2

        To me you'd be pushing it.
        maybe half that.

        • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 18:40
          +1

          These days people are programmed to think 10 years is a long time for goods. I still have my wired Sennheiser headphones from 40 years ago and I still have my parent's valve amp which is now 57 years old and still going. I've even got a 70 year old gray fergie still running fine.

          • Drakesy on 17/01/2022 - 19:08
            +1

            @MikeKulls: Lets not forget though, the cost as a factor of our yearly wage is far lower.

            The average cost of say an oven, TV, plane trips, fridges, cars etc has actually decreased over the years. Hence the viability of fixing something vs. buying a new one is more of the throw away mentality as hourly repair rates are now outweighed by the cheap production costs.

            In the 70's/80's etc an oven would cost close to a monthly salary, now it's maybe half a week to a week.

            As a result the quality hasn't necessarily kept up with the technological innovations.
            Yes everything is lasting less, but you have to also know that everything is far more complex than it was initially.
            With added complexities comes added failures, hence over engineered, complex euro cars that fall apart.

            Whereas toyota's that are running the same engines from some 20-30 years ago are known for their reliability. Unfortunately there's a trade off for innovation.

            • try2bhelpful on 18/01/2022 - 09:18

              @Drakesy: Absolutely true. The “end don’t mend” of Brave New World is here. A rise in wages, an off shoring of jobs, the integration of technology, has lead to where it is, often, cheaper to replace the product than repair it. I had a 10 year old Leibherr Fridge I couldn’t get repaired; nobody wanted to touch it. I had to replace it, which was a pain because it was an integrated Fridge and finding a new one for the cupboard was very difficult. The Bosh I replaced it with had a design flaw so they replaced it with a later model that didn’t fit the slot. Now I have a smaller Miele. I gave the Bosch to a friend and it is still going strong as well.

              The answer is get onto any issues ASAP to get your best chance of resolution. Buy things with a Platinum card that gives you extra warranty period.

            • MikeKulls on 18/01/2022 - 10:54

              @Drakesy: I think it some cases it is reasonable, for example I have a raspberry PI on my desk here which is largely not repairable. Making it repairable would increase it's size and cost considerably. I think though a lot of products jump to non repairable just to sell a replacement sooner. If we can have spare parts on a $600 washing machine then we can have spare parts on a $400 set of headphones. A lot of the issue is manufacturers making too many new models too often for no apparent reason.

            • MikeKulls on 18/01/2022 - 14:28

              @Drakesy: I would also add that there is nothing actually wrong with throwing things away if it can be done in a renewable way. Nature certainly does that very successfully with some things lasting a matter of days. But we aren't there yet and I think there is a balance between disposable goods and long lasting goods. On a whole we are definitely leaning too far towards the disposable side. In this case I think JBL/Harmon are leaning MUCH too far towards the disposable side, even worse than Apple. In this particular case it's a known fault and most of these won't last 2 years. If you look on the product reviews website they have 2 types of reviews for this set of headphones. The 5 star "I just got these and these are awesome" and the 1 star "These are broken". Some people have had 4 sets of headphones in a matter of months replaced under warranty. JBL refuse to acknowledge there is an issue.

  • scrimshaw on 17/01/2022 - 14:35
    +4

    What is the model name of the headphones? If you can tell us what it is, someone might know where to find parts for them.

    • try2bhelpful on 17/01/2022 - 15:25
      +1

      EBay might have bits, even if they are after market ones.

  • andresampras on 17/01/2022 - 14:37
    +2

    Isn't this what aliexpress is for?

  • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 17:18

    Thanks everyone for the replies. The model is JBL Everest Elite 750nc. The issue I believe is the cable that goes between the left and right side. It's a 14 core cable which I think at a couple of points turns into a ribbon cable (where the headphones fold). The issue is a crackle in the headphones when you move them in any way, eg push lightly on either side or just walk around. If you turn ANC off the problem goes away. This leads me to believe it's the microphone that has a broken wire.

    • Switchblade88 on 17/01/2022 - 18:20

      If that's the case then it's not a matter of spare parts - either the cable has a break or a faulty solder joint at a joint, both of which are easily repairable if you have soldering experience. Not a parts fault, and likely wear and tear.

      If you actually wanted a solution you should have pushed for repairs when the fault happened; now you can either DIY or give it to someone else who can. None of this is JBL's problem anymore; you can't blame a lack of spare parts on a manufacturer, especially when you can't be bothered to push for repairs on a $400 set of headphones for a year…

      • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 18:32

        I fail to see how that's not a matter of spare parts if I need the cable.

      • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 18:46
        +1

        Oh, you're thinking you can just ran down to Jaycar and buy some cable off the reel? Yeah nah. They are a 14 core cable that switches to flat ribbon at the bends.

      • MikeKulls on 17/01/2022 - 18:50
        +1

        And why can't I blame a lack of spare parts on the manufacturer? They are the manufacturer and they are the ones who don't supply spare parts beyond things like a charging cable, so it would seem to me that it's their fault for not doing that. As for me not pushing for a replacement, well I did at the time and they told me they were out of warranty and I should repair them myself. I thought that was a reasonable option but didn't have the time at that time so left it. If I had known there were no parts available and that repair is basically not an option then I would have pushed harder.

  • Switchblade88 on 17/01/2022 - 19:28
    -1

    And why can't I blame a lack of spare parts on the manufacturer?

    Because they warrant the product will work for a given period, and during that period they are liable for sourcing spare parts, not you. When that period ends they are under no obligation to provide any ongoing support or access to parts.

    Right To Repair laws might eventually change this for the better, but at this point in time they have successfully discharged all their responsibilities to you.

    Tell you what. I can supply exactly the spare part you need, but it'll cost you $400 plus my labour to acquire and install it for you. Plus shipping. That's the best price I can get direct from JBL, sorry… But at least it's the spare part you wanted

    • MikeKulls on 18/01/2022 - 09:28

      Wow, your a real roll over and take it kind of person. Maybe there are no laws requiring them to provide spare parts but that doesn't make it reasonable. Surely you get that. I'm not really sure why your replying, you are not adding anything here.

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