[JimBob1971]

Hi,

I was fortunate enough to be given a pair of the meduim black 'olives' to try. As I didn't have my E4Cs available and had yet to buy my E500s so I modded them to fit my SFPs.

I've just received 5 pairs that I purchased over the Internet and whilst they look quite similar I'm not sure they are up to the same standard as the ones I already own. I'm not suggesting they are fakes but that Shure may have possibly changed the way they are made or the place of manufacture.

To give an example - When I roll the Shure provided pair between my fingers they spring back with no discernible marking to them. If I try this with the new pair there is often a little marking and scarring. I wore my E500s with them a couple of times today and I can't believe they are pitting and scarring already, whereas the original tips have been going strong for about 5 weeks with no signs of this, even though I put them through hell fitting them onto the 5s.

The question: My originals have two sets of embossed lines on the bottom of them, as do the new ones. However, the new set also have two dimples cut into the base. Also, from memory the originals had clear plastic showing at the base whereas the new ones have black. Anyone able to check how their sets compare with these descriptions? The original ones seem indestructable compared to the new ones!

Cheers!

 

[mrdeadfolx]

The new ones are fake, the ones you were provided with originally are the real mccoy, trust me. Ive got a bunch of sets I ordered from earphonesolutions.com, and none have the dimple at the base you were talking about. They are durable as hell, and last FOREVER. Im still on my first set for each set of my phones.

 

[chris_ah1]

Where did you get the fakes from? I'm looking at an ebayer called idealsound for some tips because shipping is free.

 

[lithe1]

I have just ordered a set straight from Shure and I have the two dimples that you are referring to. I highly doubt the ones I got from Shure are fake. It also has clear plastic, not black.

Since I've just started using them, they still appear fine to me.

 

[birryboy]

I'm confused - I bought five sets of medium black foamies from an ebay seller and these have the two embossed lines, no dimples and black plastic inner tubes. They've been washed several times but show no sign of wear and tear and spring back to shape fine. Could one of the Shure reps who post here confirm if the genuine Shure olives have black plastic too?

The ones I have sound fine and are providing good isolation and fit for my e4gs, but I'd rather not buy fakes if I can avoid it!

 

[JimBob1971]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm kind of confused now too. MrDeadFoxL and Lithe1 give different answers re: the dimple. Also the colour of the plastic seems to differ. Perhaps I was right in thinking they are manufactured in different countries.

Birryboy, where did you buy yours from?

Just to reiterate, I'm not saying the ones I have are fake, just that they don't perhaps have the amount of special 'coating' that the original ones had.

 

[Zodduska]

I have 2 "sets" of black foamies from earphonesolutions. When I roll them they do seem to crease and get a bit of a texture before expanding, but no pitting or degradation of the surface. Clear tubes. 2 lines which seem to be where they were separated from a mold.. and they do have a slight dimple near the tubes on the back, which im guessing was an air bubble flaw during the injection process.

 

[Thade]

I bought some from idealsound on eBay but haven't received them yet. I'm inclined to believe they are genuine as they have excellent feedback and the correct part number. we'll see....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0365&rd=1&rd=1

 

[birryboy]

Got mine from marcopolo via ebay - would like to also clarify that I was very impressed with the service and rapid inexpensive delivery to the UK. I have no reason to believe they are not genuine, based on the quality and robust nature of them, but it would be interesting if anyone can confirm either way.

 

[JimBob1971]

I've just checked and the plastic is not black at the bottom as I thought but a semi transparent Blue. Definitely not completely clear though.

 

[JimBob1971]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zodduska /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have 2 "sets" of black foamies from earphonesolutions. When I roll them they do seem to crease and get a bit of a texture before expanding, but no pitting or degradation of the surface. Clear tubes. 2 lines which seem to be where they were separated from a mold.. and they do have a slight dimple near the tubes on the back, which im guessing was an air bubble flaw during the injection process.

Thats an excellent description Zod. With the new pairs I see the creasing but as the tip expands it goes but sometimes leaves little pits, whereas the original pair don't. I said to another member its as if the last chemical hasn't been applied properly, the "teflon" coat if you will

 

[chris_ah1]

I just got some off idealsound too - will let you all know how it works out.

Could be that they are real shure tips, just something went wrong with the manufacture.

I hope they last longer than my damn complys!

 

[JimBob1971]

Chris,

I've had a chance to play with the new tips for the last few hours. I'm glad to say that I think there was something wrong with one of the particular tips I chose to use on my E500s. I've now tried all the tips none of them exhibit the problem I had with the first few. Dunno what happened with them TBH.

I didn't think the tips were fake, just wondered whether something went wrong with manufacture as you say. I'm not bothered by one being a bit dodgy. Perhaps my girlfriend has put pouring drain cleaner in my ears in my sleep or something!

I'll buy from them again.

 

[Thade]

I received mine from idealsound. 2 dimples and dark colored tubes. Generic package (small ziplock bag) and instructions. My 1st black foamies so I can't compare to anything else. I only tried them for a few minutes and went right back to soft flex. Nothing against the black foamies, I never liked the yellow ones either.

 

[chris_ah1]

Oh dudes, you guys are such numpties. The differences are there to discern the size differences? four little notches at either side are small, the small recessed dimples are for medium.