[Epsilonblah]

i wish i would have done more research on these before buying these on ebay.  Mine have a gold plug and i thought i was ok, turns out i wasn't. They broke before i could even put them on. And the sound is absolute crap.

 

[psyllium]

It looks like comparing the fakes and the real ones is getting much more difficult... pretty bad for someone trying to snap up a bargain. I'd be sticking with authorised channels and legitimate second hand ones from head-fiers with good feedback.

 

[JSW]

Sorry to bump a few week old thread, but I've got a question.
 
I bought a pair of ESW9As from Beach Camera after making sure they were an authorized dealer, but when I saw that "Padauk" was misspelled as "Paddock" on the packaging I got nervous and stumbled on this thread. They sound pretty good, but my box does have "Deutch" on it as well -- this was mentioned as being a sign of a fake once or twice, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. The manufacture date is 2010-06 and it did come with the two pieces of paper.
 
The plastic does have some barely noticeable gold flecks, and looking through the mesh towards the driver they have a bit of a bluish-green sheen to them. I don't really want to remove the earpad to take a direct look because I'm afraid of damaging them.
 
What do you all think? Should I try and take this up with Beach Camera and Audio Technica? It'd be nice to have some reassurance that they're real.

 

[Ruffle]

Quote:

It looks like comparing the fakes and the real ones is getting much more difficult... pretty bad for someone trying to snap up a bargain. I'd be sticking with authorised channels and legitimate second hand ones from head-fiers with good feedback.

I don't think it's very difficult.  Buy from an authorized legitimate dealer and you are fine.  And I found most legitimate dealers have very competitive pricing now, they don't rip you off in general.

 

[phantastica]

Hey guys, keeping this thread alive with another question. When everyone is referring to bluish coils, how blue are they really? I'd consider my coils to be silver. Certainly not sky blue, really more of a neutral silver. They're definitely not the yellowish/orange colour I'd associate with copper. Is the copper in the fake versions actually orangish colored copper?
 

 

[BudMan021]

Are these legit? He didnt really say too much he just said. He bought em online and at a closeout price. He said he only used em for a couple hours and they sound great. Idk i thought maybe you guys would be able to tell real quick.

 

[dmort]

I'm happy to report that I bought these headphones from ebay and I'm pretty sure mine are real! I bought them from audiophilia-tronics.
 
Everything about this seller seemed like the should be fakes. I got them for $89. Only three positive feedbacks. I decided to take a chance and go for it. 
 
The headphones came today and and I've been combing this thread. All the characteristics described of the fakes DON'T match what I bought. The headphones sound great.
 
Lets say they are fakes... then they are good fakes and I'm not annoyed. 
 
Now, the seller did say they were new in box. The were not new. The headphone was scuffed a little. So these aren't totally legit. But they are legit enough for me.

 

[buffalowings]

Quote:

I'm happy to report that I bought these headphones from ebay and I'm pretty sure mine are real! I bought them from audiophilia-tronics.
 
Everything about this seller seemed like the should be fakes. I got them for $89. Only three positive feedbacks. I decided to take a chance and go for it. 
 
The headphones came today and and I've been combing this thread. All the characteristics described of the fakes DON'T match what I bought. The headphones sound great.
 
Lets say they are fakes... then they are good fakes and I'm not annoyed. 
 
Now, the seller did say they were new in box. The were not new. The headphone was scuffed a little. So these aren't totally legit. But they are legit enough for me.

$85? that's way too good to be true IMO
 

 

[dmort]

agreed. Too good to be true. I've been in a lot of contact with the seller (many messages back and forth today) and I'm assured of the authenticity. Of course, you must take this with a grain of salt. However, the headphones sound fantastic. Many of the posts in this thread say the best judge is how they sound. I'm pleased. Just as is pointed out in many other posts, I want my money to be well spent, so I'm going to take the attitude that I got an amazing deal. Perhaps they are fake, perhaps they are real, but I'm happy with how my money was spent.

 

[hydora]

He sells IE8 too
http://shop.ebay.com/audiophilia-tronics/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

 

[Mescalito]

Quote:

agreed. Too good to be true. I've been in a lot of contact with the seller (many messages back and forth today) and I'm assured of the authenticity. Of course, you must take this with a grain of salt. However, the headphones sound fantastic. Many of the posts in this thread say the best judge is how they sound. I'm pleased. Just as is pointed out in many other posts, I want my money to be well spent, so I'm going to take the attitude that I got an amazing deal. Perhaps they are fake, perhaps they are real, but I'm happy with how my money was spent.

can you make some photos of yours ESW9, like this http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2540/fakeesw93bo3.jpg? I want to buy one of them
And yours ESW9 is real woody? I heard that fakes have plastic instead of wood. Thanks

 

[dmort]

As requested:
You can clearly see the grain in this photo, as well as the raised numb where the headphone cable meetings the headphone itself. The really telling thing for me was when I separated the wood earcup from the driver assembly, the wood on the inside of the earcup is not finished and you can clearly tell it is wood. 
 
I'm still not totally convinced that these are real, but as I said, I'm satisfied with my purchase. Hypothesize that I did get real ones, no guarantee that other people who order from the same ebay seller will also get real ones. And say I got really good fakes. No guarantee anyone else will get great fakes!
 
I'm going to recable these, and when I do that (next week around the 25th) I will post pictures and such. 
 
Also, I'd highly reccomend reading through at least the first 10 pages (or so) of this thread. Many things to look for if you think you have fakes. The plastic vs. wood earcup is not the only identifier.

 

[Alien18]

Hi. i just brought a pair, how do you check for gold flakes and blue coil?

 

[Gberg]

I don't know if they have started making better fakes. But a big difference is the writing that says 'Left' and 'Right'.

 

[jumblebee]

Can somebody with real ESW9a's please look at the back of your box and tell me if it says "Deutch" or "Paddock?"
 
Please? Thank you!
 
Everything about mine seem real apart from the misspellings.