Did I just spend $300 on a pair of fake Sennheiser IE80s?

[ChrisChavarro]

Good evening, everyone. I've spent these past two weeks trying to get my hands on a pair of authentic Sennheiser IE80s. I thought I finally succeeded when I found a pair on Amazon being sold for $300 USD by a seller known as Radio-Mart. As a note, the seller is located within the United States, which further contributed to their credibility somewhat. When I asked them whether they could determine the authenticity of the product, I received this reply:

"Good Morning Christian
Thank you for your email and order, We are a Bluedio, Beats and Sennheiser distributor and do not sell fakes.

We have sold over 500 of this model this year and I consider them very popular for an upper market set of ear buds.

In January we were made aware of fakes so I purchased some, they were not that cheap only to find that they were not fakes at all but came out of the factory as unbranded, a second set were obvious, they were awful in every way, the holograms were not holographic, box thin cheap cardboard, print not sharp etc

To really mess things up, some of the reporting sights for fakes are actually the pirates showing the real ones but in reverse claiming the real ones are fakes, confused yet

The only way to tell in my opinion is the sound, fakes are really nasty, real ones are really good as expected.

I don’t know what else to tell you? But you can buy from us with confidence and were very happy to supply this excellent model."

However, when I finally received the package today, I could not help but be a little suspicious. After listening to several songs and trying every setting on the bass knob, I'm not exactly blown away, especially when compared to my pair of Fischer Audio Eterna Pros. I have read several threads on the distinguishing signs of a fake pair, but I can't help but feel a bit biased after spending this much money on a pair. Therefore, I am inquiring/ohgodpleasehelp/begging for an impartial judgment on whether or not these things are the real deal.

 

[23t23dS]

Those look like the real deal to me

 

[Orkboy]

I've always bought my IEMs either directly from the manufacturer's website or in person from a reputable famous chain store. It may be more expensive, but you're also paying for pure peace of mind.

 

[munchzilla]

not quite sure what the FA Eterna Pro's sound like, but the IE80 definitely have a warm lower-end tilt to them and may be a bit underwhelming if you're used to a sharper more in your face detailed sound. I believe the Fischer's I've tried were more towards that type.

 

[ChrisChavarro]

The FA Eternas are a pair of $70 earphones known almost solely for their bass, which is the reason I bought them in the first place. I bought the IE80s for the same reason; as an avid listener of bass-heavy music, any IEM with an adjustable bass knob means serious business.

The thing about these IE80s, however, isn't that they have an unexpected sound signature; it's that they remind me of the $20 Skullcandy earphones I had the misfortune of listening to a few days ago. With the Eternas, the bass is substantial enough to make my head pound. This pair of IE80s, however, pales in comparison, and adjusting the bass knob makes absolutely no difference to the sound. I tried having the left side on the first notch and the right side on the last notch and there just isn't any difference Overall, they just don't sound like a $70 pair of IEMs, much less $300.

 

[djvkool]

Hard to tell...but it does look real to me too...

 

[munchzilla]

that sounds rather worrying then. I noticed a huge difference with the bass adjustment.
one thing worth checking out is fit, I got awful sound with bad fit on these.
the bass is fairly loose, heard better on way cheaper IEM's as well. but we'll see!

 

[Ivabign]

The foam on the fakes is one way to determine authenticity. Yours do not have the sharp cutouts that are a sign of the real deal - they look fake to me. I have (and others have as well) posted some pics in the IE8 and the IE80 threads - and I think in the Fake IE8 threads too. Every fake pair has that radius cut - the real thing has razor cut sharp angles.

 

[Ivabign]

I just took a couple of photos of my authentic IE8 case - the IE80 is the same ... note the foam 
 
 

 

 

[lemmyk]

I actually just bought a pair off of Amazon from the same seller (Radio-Mart). I checked his feedback and most of the negatives were just shipping disputes, so I figured I'd give it a shot and hope I wouldn't get fake ones. They look exactly like the ones in the picture and they look remarkably legitimate. The foam is my only qualm here. The quality of the foam case definitely seems cheap. 
 
It seemed to pass all the tests suggested in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLeUcxEvrxw, but he never mentioned the foam.
 
I tried to find the same listing on Amazon again, but it appears to be gone. Tell me if you decide to return these because I will too.

 

[lemmyk]

Quote:

Why do you think they are fake? Looks like real to me...

1.) The cables didn't come with twist ties.
2.) The foam is of worse quality than the one posted by Ivabign
3.) They weren't from an authorized reseller
4.) Radio-Mart is very untrustworthy according to this site: http://www.scamadviser.com/is-radiomart.net-a-fake-site.html
 
I'm also just a bit paranoid.

 

[Eddie C]

Well how do they sound? We can tell you they are real/fake because you're the one with the iems in your hand so I think giving them a good burn in and listening them for yourself!

 

[Deni5]

Look at the bottom on the package below the EAN code there is a package number - have seen PK_1.3 and PK_1.4 (the other numbers seem to represent a date, mm dd yyyy?). Noticed some slight differences in the picture when you open the case (picture to the left of the ear wearing the IEM) dependant on which package number.
 
Don't know if the accessories also are slightly different depending on which package number (foam?)
 

 

[lemmyk]

Quote:

Look at the bottom on the package below the EAN code there is a package number - have seen PK_1.3 and PK_1.4 (the other numbers seem to represent a date, mm dd yyyy?). Noticed some slight differences in the picture when you open the case (picture to the left of the ear wearing the IEM) dependant on which package number.
 
Don't know if the accessories also are slightly different depending on which package number (foam?)
 

It says PK_1.3_04042011 for me. What exactly does this mean in terms of legitimacy?

 

[Deni5]

Quote:

It says PK_1.3_04042011 for me. What exactly does this mean in terms of legitimacy?

 
Don't know, actually. Most that say they have real ones seem to have PK_1.4. That also seems to be the one used in the unpackaging video from sennheiser on youtube.
 
In the 'Sennheiser IE80 impressions' thread someone claims that PK_1.3 is fake and mostly starts with a serial number 03...
 
Then again some people said that their s/n starts with 03... and they have PK_1.4.
 
Hard to find info on PK_1.3.