Your headphones broke. A classic. Now you're facing that eternal dilemma: repair them or chuck them in the bin and buy new ones? The answer depends on whose headphones you've got.
Throwaway culture is rubbish
Most headphone manufacturers design their products so they can't be repaired. The padding deteriorates, the battery dies, some plastic hinge nub snaps off – and the manufacturer's answer is "buy new ones". Because of course. That's more money for them.
We don't like this. Not because we're some saintly bunch, but because it's simply stupid. Why would you bin an otherwise perfectly working device over one part?
When is repairing worth it?
The rule of thumb is pretty simple:
- Pads falling apart? Swap in new ones. Pads are wear parts, like tyres on a car. On Valco headphones they twist off and new ones click right into place. Takes a minute.
- Battery given up? The battery is replaceable too – at least with us. On Sony headphones the battery is glued in, because Sony wants you to buy new ones every three years.
- Headband snapped? We've got spare parts. And Jasse fixes them in Kajaani.
- Ran over your headphones with a tractor? Well, that's a slightly different situation. But ask us first anyway.
If the repair costs less than half the price of a new pair, repair. Always. Unless we want you to buy new ones – and sure, we do, but we can't quite bring ourselves to say it out loud. Oh wait, we just did.
Valco headphones vs. the rest
We designed our headphones to be repairable. VMK25, VMK25.2, VMK20 – on all of them you can replace the pads, headbands, and other wear parts. We have our own service centre in Kajaani, where real people fix real devices with real tools.
With the big brands, it's a different story. Their "service" usually means you send your headphones off somewhere in Central Europe, wait six weeks, and get back a package that says "not repairable, buy new ones". Surprise.
This isn't just Valco propaganda. Well, okay, it is a little bit. But it's also true.
Warranty or repair kit?
If your Valco headphones are less than 24 months old and the fault is a material or manufacturing defect, the warranty covers the repair. Send us a photo of the issue and your order number, and we'll sort it out.
If, on the other hand, the dog ate the left ear cup or you dropped them off a balcony, that's not a warranty matter. But that doesn't mean the device is done for either. We offer repair kits that bring your gear back to life at a fraction of the price of a new pair.
Repairing is smart. It saves money, reduces waste, and annoys big corporations. Three good reasons.
What if you actually want new ones?
No worries. We've got those too. The VMK25.2 is our latest flagship, the NL25 buds are the pocket-sized alternative, and with Nordell speakers you can blast music for the entire neighbourhood. Every purchase funds our Death Star by roughly 0.000001 percent, so you're also contributing to galactic security.
But try repairing first. Get in touch at info@valco.fi or visit valco.support. We promise no one will try to sell you new headphones for no reason. Well – we might try a little bit.
