[fink]

Hi,
 
I need your opinion on this one. I asked a friend to buy a pair of m50 from amazon japan. The headphones arrived repackaged, as indicated by the seller's page in amazon (This product is bulk. Box, pouch, instruction manual, warranty card is not attached.)
 
My friend is not satisfied with the cosmetics of the headphones, but they 'sound ok'. I cant verify them myself as I don't have the headphones yet.
 
Please judge the authenticity of the headphones based from the pictures:
 
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8692624502_df2b21e32f_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8546/8691507305_fb67337b77_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8394/8691507211_4006a37b9d_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8692624442_50b072a98b_b.jpg
 
[size=x-small]Thanks![/size]

 

[Yazen]

Hi,

I need your opinion on this one. I asked a friend to buy a pair of m50 from amazon japan. The headphones arrived repackaged, as indicated by the seller's page in amazon (This product is bulk. Box, pouch, instruction manual, warranty card is not attached.)


My friend is not satisfied with the cosmetics of the headphones, but they 'sound ok'. I cant verify them myself as I don't have the headphones yet.


Please judge the authenticity of the headphones based from the pictures:


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8692624502_df2b21e32f_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8546/8691507305_fb67337b77_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8394/8691507211_4006a37b9d_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/8692624442_50b072a98b_b.jpg

Thanks!

From the picture the stitching looked alright, the printing also looks of decent quality.
However, if you look very carefully at the ath-m50 print you will see a gap between the t and h. Also the 0 seems turned a bjt too much.

the circular metal piece around the cup housing has a lot of marks for something that was purchased recently, likely inferior quality material.

I think they are fake, you should be able to return them without too much of a hassle. I could be wrong but better safe than sorry.

 

[fink]

Hey Yazen,
 
Thanks for the response!
 
Here are additional photos:
 
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8540/8694847358_00627cf2f4_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8263/8693727325_bfbb0f46d2_b.jpg
 
My friend thinks the quality of the silver accents/circular metal piece are a giveaway.
 
These pair are bought from a third party vendor in amazon japan. Is the label "Ships from and sold by Amazon.co.jp.", an assurance that the headphones sold are authentic?
 
Thanks!

 

[AudioScream]

Mine look the exact same. They sound excellent, Mine shipped and sold from Amazon. They are real. 

 

[fink]

Hey audioscream,
 
can you recall if you bought them directly sold amazon, or from third party vendors?
 

 

[Yazen]

Quote:

Hey Yazen,
 
Thanks for the response!
 
Here are additional photos:
 
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8540/8694847358_00627cf2f4_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8263/8693727325_bfbb0f46d2_b.jpg
 
My friend thinks the quality of the silver accents/circular metal piece are a giveaway.
 
These pair are bought from a third party vendor in amazon japan. Is the label "Ships from and sold by Amazon.co.jp.", an assurance that the headphones sold are authentic?
 
Thanks!

 
The headphone band looks legitimate.  I don't remember the silver accents being so brittle as to catching scratches in such a relatively short amount of time.  The printing could be a fluke, I've noticed that some review sites have a perfectly printed text, and others similar to yours.

If they came from Japan direct I don't think you should need to worry further, as long as they sound good

 

[AudioScream]

Yes, they sold directly from Amazon.

 

[av2606]

Hi, these do actually look fake. The gap between the A and the T is actually normal, you can even see this from Audio Technica's official website: http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/download.asp?FileName=ATH-M50.jpg
 
However, what points to fake is the build quality. Genuine ATH-M50 have immaculate build quality. The plastic should be 100% clear, without any marks or jagged lines.
 
I've added some notes from your pics to show what I think makes them fake:
 
http://i.imgur.com/rCuwfII.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8hUzJwz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/azX6nsi.jpg
 
There's also a good comparisons from Henley Designs, who are the official Audio Technica distributors for the UK:
 
http://www.henleydesigns.co.uk/assets/_managed/cms/files/M50-Fakes.jpg
http://www.henleydesigns.co.uk/ui/content/content.aspx?id=610
 
Even heavily used M50s will not have some of these defects. There are clearly stones / bubbles on the plastic, which are manufacturing defects that would not even appear on dropped or damaged genuine M50s.
 
Also, the leather material on the head band has some extreme shrinkage going on. The head band on GENUINE M50s should look something like this:
 
GENUINE
 
...NOT this:
 
FAKE
 
On the right side, there's an extreme dent on the top of the head band. You would not get these on genuine M50s that have been used for years. You might get a slight dent underneath the head band if you have used them for some time, but never on the top.

 

[JBZ30]

I'm glad I found this thread. I took delivery of some new Audio Technica M50's in white today from Amazon UK. They were shipped by Amazon and in an Amazon box.

I have never used Audio Technica's before but thought they'd blow my mind as soon as I listened to the first song but they didn't. Maybe I have been spoilt with Jaybird Blubuds X's with Comply tips?

Anyway the box looks good but they didn't come with the certificate I've seen others (online) come with.

Also one of the silver rings on a can is raised one side and not the other.

I've checked if my Audio Technica's show any of the Copy 'ways' in the link above and they don't.

Do all genuine Audio Technica's come with the certificate?

 

[Yazen]

I'm glad I found this thread. I took delivery of some new Audio Technica M50's in white today from Amazon UK. They were shipped by Amazon and in an Amazon box.

I have never used Audio Technica's before but thought they'd blow my mind as soon as I listened to the first song but they didn't. Maybe I have been spoilt with Jaybird Blubuds X's with Comply tips?

Anyway the box looks good but they didn't come with the certificate I've seen others (online) come with.

Also one of the silver rings on a can is raised one side and not the other.

I've checked if my Audio Technica's show any of the Copy 'ways' in the link above and they don't.

Do all genuine Audio Technica's come with the certificate?

*Might have been an Open Box.  I am not even sure if the M50 is a real upgrade lol... 
*What are you using as the source?
*You might just need to get used to the sound they produce.  Or not..  Either way I think you will end up selling/returning the M50 haha

 

[JBZ30]

*Might have been an Open Box.  I am not even sure if the M50 is a real upgrade lol... 
*What are you using as the source?
*You might just need to get used to the sound they produce.  Or not..  Either way I think you will end up selling/returning the M50 haha

Yes maybe, one of the earpads was slightly creased. The box wasn't sealed and there wasn't any plastic film on any of it.

I'm using a BlackBerry Z30 as the source from a 64Gb SanDisk if the card matters

I do like the sound of most songs but it seems they're impressive on just some songs. My Jaybirds are comfortable especially with the Comply tips but not for hours.

These Audio Technica's are really comfortable but they don't seem as loud. I will buy a Fiio E6 amp and maybe that'll raise the volume.

I've read some pieces online today and it seems I just need to get used to the new sound of the headphones which I'm not used to.

 

[Yazen]

Yes maybe, one of the earpads was slightly creased. The box wasn't sealed and there wasn't any plastic film on any of it.

I'm using a BlackBerry Z30 as the source from a 64Gb SanDisk if the card matters

I do like the sound of most songs but it seems they're impressive on just some songs. My Jaybirds are comfortable especially with the Comply tips but not for hours.

These Audio Technica's are really comfortable but they don't seem as loud. I will buy a Fiio E6 amp and maybe that'll raise the volume.

I've read some pieces online today and it seems I just need to get used to the new sound of the headphones which I'm not used to.

Do not get the E6...Waste of money
Keep them for a few days, and if you do not like them, return them...Pretty sure they were opened, even retailers do this :S
For instance my M80 I bought at Radioshack has a bent jack, and the serial does not match the serial listed on the box.
 
If you intend to keep them, convey your concerns to Amazon.  At the very least they should give you a gift card towards your next purchase
 

 

[JBZ30]

Do not get the E6...Waste of money
Keep them for a few days, and if you do not like them, return them...Pretty sure they were opened, even retailers do this :S
For instance my M80 I bought at Radioshack has a bent jack, and the serial does not match the serial listed on the box.

If you intend to keep them, convey your concerns to Amazon.  At the very least they should give you a gift card towards your next purchase

 

Thanks for the tip about mentioning it to Amazon. I would have just left it.

Which amp would you recommend.

 

[Yazen]

Thanks for the tip about mentioning it to Amazon. I would have just left it.

Which amp would you recommend.

The X3/DX50/WM-Z are pretty good if you need a portable source.  ($150-$200)
 
You could also get a sansa with a line-out and connect it to a DAC/Amp ($20-)
 
You could connect something like the FiiO E12 through your headphone out, but its only going to make you feel like you wasted your money
 
 
Its probably easier to get an all-in-one solution, will conserve your mobile battery too! The three I mentioned are pretty good foe the money.

 

[JBZ30]

The X3/DX50/WM-Z are pretty good if you need a portable source.  ($150-$200)

You could also get a sansa with a line-out and connect it to a DAC/Amp ($20-)

You could connect something like the FiiO E12 through your headphone out, but its only going to make you feel like you wasted your money


Its probably easier to get an all-in-one solution, will conserve your mobile battery too! The three I mentioned are pretty good foe the money.

Thanks for your recommendations Yazen. As I am new to quality earphones / headphones and just want a bit more volume on my Audio Technica's is the E6 amp so bad?

They are only £21 delivered here in the UK