BLUF: JBL [Audio] has some awesome customer service!!

Background:

About a 13 maybe 15 months ago, I bought a pair of JBL noise cancelling headphones (Model: 770NC) due to some extended, long-range business travel on airlines.

My first trip with these was from Socal to Baltimore - about a 5.5 hour flight. The weekend prior I did some heavy duty yard work resulting in wet grass and weeds inundating by open skin (read: face and ears).

Putting on the headphones at the beginning of the flight (as in, just before we take-off) and I was in love with noise cancelling and ability listen to my music at a "low" level.

About an hour away from landing in Baltimore, my ears starting itching, bad, to the point where I took off the headphones. Throughout the night, my ear lobes and ears were itching so bad I began scratching them in my sleep. Over the next three days, and while in business meetings, my ears became inflamed, bloody from unconscious scratching, and encrusted. I figured the grass and weeds gave me some sort of fungal infection. It was rather unsightly and no one would sit close to me. LOL

Off to the doctor I go. A combo of fungal creams clears up the the situation about 98% over the next month or so. I use 100 isopropal alcohol to clean the JBL ear pads and Logitech set used for remote call on my computer. (Note: been using the Logitech set since COVID and daily without issue.) At this point I wear the JBLs again but for a shorter period (30-60 minutes at a time).

Ears become itchy and I figure the fungal material is still on something. Rinse, repeat, forget and 11 months after purchasing the JBLs, my wife sews together some silk covers for the pads. Unsightly as the covers might be, I can wear the JBLs without irritation.

Turns out, I am allergic to the JBL ear pads. (Short note here, at 64 years old, I have never experienced any sort of allergic reaction to anything but uber spicy food exiting the body).

Extensive search of internet for replacement pads made from natural material - no joy.

Two weeks ago (about 15 months after purchasing them) I contact JBL to find out if they have ear pads made of a different type material and to see if they can tell me the material the 770NC ear pads are made from. (I am also now looking at some wireless Steinheiser (sp?) headsets for the TV.)

End result, JBL Chat notes they do not sell or know of any other source for ear pads made from silk or other natural material. I provide the serial number of the headphones and note I do not have the receipt. JBL offers to replace the the headphones with earbuds at no cost, even after being out of "warranty" and no proof of purchase, JBL says to pick a pair [of earbuds] up to $199 and they will be sent upon receipt of the headphones. :O

It gets better... I find the pair of earbuds (Tour Pro 2) which are $249 and I offer to send a check for the $50 delta. "No problem, just confirmed with my management, we will send the Tour Pro 2 at no cost to you." :O :O :O

OUTSTANDING way to to keep a customer - my hat's off to JBL for this.

Stories like yours make me smile. There are still good people and businesses out there.

Several years ago, the better half added an item to her "birthday list" and she requested a "small" Bluetooth portable speaker. She didn't "qualify" the word small.
Something so she could listen to music while doing another task such as vehicle detailing.
I'm guessing here, but I think she was "visualizing" something about the size of two decks of playing cards. Maybe three decks of cards as a upper physical size limit.

I had visited my neighbor some weeks earlier and while there, had a first hand demonstration of a JBL Party Box. What an awesome piece of electronics!
I did some research on JBL Party Boxes, as there are many different models/sizes. I ended up purchasing a JBL Party Box 310 directly from their webstore.

With a quick review of their current selections, the JBL Party Box 320 is the replacement for the older 310. https://www.jbl.com/party-spea...TYBOX-STAGE-320.html
240 watts of output power, internal rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries, Bluetooth connectivity for up to five music sources, plus multiple other audio input choices. Dozens of other features.
It's really a very nicely designed and manufactured piece of consumer electronics. Everything in the detailed instructions worked exactly as described.

We have had zero complaints about the quality/performance of the "small" unit.
It's 13.3" x 26.3" x 15.2" and weighs 36.38 pounds!

Go "BIG" or go home! Also, "Buy once, Cry once"
It's equipped with wheels and a "pop-up" handle, just like a piece of wheeled/pop-up handled luggage.
We have used it frequently during warmer weather.

I don't listen to AC/DC or Metallica very often, but when I do, so do the neighbors!

You could have a latex allergy. I'm allergic to latex and had some earphones do the same to me years ago.