ya, the genuine ie7 have soft wire and both the jack and the splitter are clear. Were you able to open the cover of the genuine sennheiser ie7 you got? The wiring in the genuine one also seems much thicker and stable. As the sound quality goes, the sound stage is just amazing and the mid is as good as an iem can get. I only wish it has a little less bass and more of a high end sparkle like my triple fi 10.