u/AffectionateBat8291

I recently purchased a FiiO JA11 dongle DAC from Headphone Zone
(first time buying from them), and the overall experience has been
disappointing.

1.Shipping Issue

• The product took more than 7 days to ship.
• Later I realized they didn’t have stock, but this was not mentioned on the website at the time of ordering.

2. Defective Unit (Channel Imbalance)

• On the very first day, I noticed something was off while using my IEMs.
• I ran a stereo channel test (left/right isolation), and observed that:
  • The left channel audio was bleeding into the right channel
  • Instead of proper separation, audio felt centered

To rule out setup issues, I tested extensively:

• Multiple devices: my phone, laptop, friend’s laptop
• Multiple IEMs/headphones/earphones

The issue was consistent across all setups, so it’s clearly not a source or earphone problem.

3. Return & Response:

• I returned the product under their defect policy.
• Now they’ve responded saying the unit is “working fine” and are offering store credit instead of a refund.

I strongly feel the unit was not tested thoroughly, especially for subtle channel imbalance issues.

I’ve already mailed them requesting a proper re-evaluation and a refund.

Questions:

• Has anyone else faced similar issues with Headphone Zone returns?
• How do they usually handle such cases?
• Any suggestions on how to escalate this further if they deny the refund?