A Geek Goes Flying

Back in January I sent off a Schiit Hel 2E to be repaired. It had just stopped supplying a signal to the headphones (was still being recognized by the computer when connected via USB). In February, I got it back, with a swapped board and a new serial number sticker - it’s now a Hel+ . According to the support person I swapped emails with, all their repairs have a one (1) year warranty – good thing, since it just started doing exactly the same thing as before . I can hear the relay inside clicking, so it’s getting power. I can see it on the computer when USB connected. But no audio. Meh. Just sent it back today, this time to Corpus Christi, Texas. I guess the move is complete, or nearly so. (They used to be just over the hill from me, in Valencia, California.) Sigh. So now I’m limping along with my Fulla E, which has never given me any issues (but is very lightly used; after I got the Hel for the office I moved the Fulla E to my “kitchen table workstation,” which has since been disman...

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...