Repairing a Schiit Hel 2E (and getting back a Hel+)

Weighing the Hel 2E for shipping

I have a Schiit Hel 2E (introduced in 2021 with “a 3-year warranty” (but see below)) I got second-hand this past summer. It’s served light duty, maybe 2-3 days/week for a couple of hours each of those days, as a headset interface and for music listening, on my office computer. After working perfectly for months, including on that Monday, I came in on Tuesday morning to find it dead. Well, it turns on (the internal red light is on), and it’s seen by the computer, but there’s no output, on two different headsets. Hrm. There’s no support email address on Schiit’s Contact page, just a form to fill out for “Help & Suport.” So I did that, on or about January 17th. The form states in prominent text: 

“NO WORRIES. FILL OUT THIS FORM AND WE'LL [sic; “GET”?] BACK TO YOU ASAP.
“NO, REALLY—WE WILL!” (Caps original.)

A week later (January 24th), having heard nothing, I resubmitted the form with some new information - I’d brought in my Fulla E from home and connected it in place of the Hel 2E and it worked perfectly, with the same Mac mini source, same USB cables, same headsets. So it was pretty clearly the Hel that was bad.

A few minutes after resubmitting the form I got an email from “Tom E.” at help@schiit.com, asking me to do some basic and in my opinion redundant troubleshooting, which I did about 2 hours later, and replied back with the results. About 28 hours later I got a reply, indicating they could take a look at it as “out-of-warranty service,” Basic Repair $20 or Board Swap $80. He included a link to start the repair / RMA process: schiit.com/contact/service (that form notes: “Schiit warranties cover the original owner of the product”).

So I filled out the form and got an email almost immediately with a return authorization number and the address to mail it to. The two pound package (Hel 2E + box and bubble wrap) was under $6 to ship with USPS Ground Advantage, via Endicia. Dropped it off at the local post office at 4:15 p.m. on Friday afternoon (Los Angeles) and they tried to deliver it the next day, but of course Schiit’s offices are closed on the weekend.

$80 is cheaper than $199 to replace it (I can’t imagine it’s anything other than a PCB failure, but maybe it’s just a cold solder joint or something?), repair is better than recycle, and I’m not using the Fulla E right now so it can stand in for the Hel 2E for as long as necessary. Fingers crossed whatever fix I get is permanent.

Update 1: It was delivered yesterday, according to the post office, and 22 hours later (Tue, Jan 30, 2024) I got the “Your Schiit Audio Repair: REPAIR-5551212 has been received”:

We’ve received your product for repair: REPAIR-5551212

Now, give us a few days to have a look, do the repair, and run it through the full battery of tests.

When we're done, we'll send you the invoice with the service and possible replacement pieces.

Update 2: I emailed them (Feb 9, 2024 at 12:09 PM) to ask: “Just so I can manage my expectations, how many days is “a few days”? Thanks!” As of this writing (February 15th), no response yet.

Ironically, I was reading (have now read) Schiit Happened, and came across this blurb the other day (Tue, Feb 13):

Fast response to customer questions is key. Many businesses promise a one to two day response to email. This is woefully inadequate. There’s no way someone can make a decision, much less troubleshoot a product with a one to two day response time. It’s like getting customer support from Pluto.

Update 3: February 16th, a week after I inquired, I got a reply:

So we have your unit in the repair shop, we are just waiting on parts to be delivered so our tech department can get your unit back to you in tip top condition.

Meanwhile, I bought a used Hel on eBay (and picked up some cheap USB C to microUSB B converters, so I don’t have to run new cables) to have that functionality at my desk, and I guess to have a backup in case this is the sort of reliability / turn-around time I can expect? (I hope it’s not, but then there’s this discussion ... and this post ... and ...)

Update 4: February 21st, I got a notice that it had shipped; it arrived the next day. The “repair” was to upgrade it to a Hel+, which is a slightly better unit than the Hel 2E:

Max power, 16 Ω: 1400mW RMS vs 1350mW RMS
Max power, 32 Ω: 1250mW RMS vs 1200mW RMS
Max power, 50 Ω: 800mW RMS vs 800mW RMS
Max power, 300 Ω: 200mW RMS vs 200mW RMS

THD: <0.0004%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 2V RMS vs. <0.0008%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS
IMD: <0.0006%, CCIR vs. <0.0008%, CCIR
SNR: >114dB, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS vs. >110db, A-weighted, referenced to 1V RMS
Crosstalk: >-75dB, 20Hz-20KHz vs. >-80dB, 20Hz-20KHz

(Same outpout impedance (headphones) 0.25 Ω (line out) 75 Ω.)

Gain: Negative, Low, and High, selectable via front panel switch. Negative has maximum output of 0.67V RMS, Low has maximum output of 2V RMS, high has maximum output of 8.5VRMS vs. Low and High, selectable via front panel. Low has maximum output of 1.3V RMS, high has maximum output of 8VRMS.

The USB Receiver on the Hel+ is listed as a “C-Media CM6635 with custom firmware” vs. a “C-Media CM6635” on the Hel 2E.

DAC: ESS ES9018 with TI LM4562-based filter stage vs. ESS ES9018 with TI OPA1656-based filter stage

Both have the same output stag: TI OPA1656 (4 amp stages per channel)

Both have the same Sample Rates and Bit Depths: 

USB Playback: 16/44.1 to 32/384 supported without drivers on Windows 10/11, Mac, Linux, Android (any UAC 2 device) with autoswitching to UAC1 for PS4, PS5, and Switch consoles.

Mic Input: 48kHz

Optical Input: 16/44.1 to 24/192

Overall, I’m satisfied with the experience, though communication could have been a bit more responsive. The whole process took about a month, with not a lot of transparency during the process.