A few years ago, when I got my first generation iPod Touch, I also bought a pair of decent earphones. I already had some Shure mics for the band, so I got Shure SE110 in-ear sound isolating earphones. They have some foamy-type tips that conform to the shape of your ear canals, which are pretty good at keeping the outside world from leaking in, and your music from leaking out. Anyway, a few months before the two-year warranty expired, the left side started to drop sound intermittently. It was obvious to me that the wiring had just worn out inside the left side, because I could just press on one spot along the cord to restore the sound.

I had read good things about Shure's warranty repair service online, at least in the US, so I sent the earphones to the Shure Asia warranty center in Hong Kong, confident that they would soon repair and return them to me. However, they sent me an email a few days later, claiming that the problem was due to ear wax, so they wouldn't repair it. They refused to look into the real cause of the problem and instead sent me pictures of the ear wax. They refused to respond to my entreaties that they look at the wire, and instead tried to sell me a replacement set at what amounted to full retail price in Hong Kong dollars. The customer service lady, Elaine Ho, was never rude or even unfriendly; just unresponsive and useless. Despite my pleas, and swearing that I and everyone in my band would never use any Shure products again, they just sent the earphones back to me unrepaired.

So what about the earphones? One of my students replaced the jack where the wire was faulty, in about 10 minutes, and now they work fine again. All for a cost of 100 yen, and Shure's reputation as a reputable company.