[HeretixAevum]

I got a pair of Grado SR225i's in the mail today. I've been excited about this arriving for a while now. I opened them up, the headphones felt like they were quite good quality (and at almost 10 hour burn in they certainly sound it, too) however I noticed that the piece of paper that comes with grado headphones (at least in every unboxing I ever saw) was completely missing from the box. Not there at all. The box never had any signs of being tampered with or being opened, the seal was untouched. To put it shortly, they look, feel and sound exactly like what I read, saw in pictures and videos. If they had have come with the piece of paper I wouldn't question their legitimacy for a second. 
 
I asked Grado about the missing piece of paper, and they told me that the people I bought from, PC Case Gear (A well respected PC Hardware store who I've dealt with before) are not authorised Grado sellers, and that I should ask for my money back. Now, I'm not going to jump to conclusions that fast, my brain is telling me that it's most likely that the Grado factory simply neglected to put the paper in the box since everything about these headphones (including the business I bought it from) seems legit. I've asked PC Case Gear about it, I'll probably get a response from them tomorrow. 
 
What's your opinion? Is the piece of paper even worth worrying about? If I have any issues with it I'll be dealing with PCCG for returns anyway...

 

[Beagle]

So you think the actual headphones are fake because there is a piece of paper missing? Check the sides of the box. It can be opened and the headphones removed by sliding out the side. This way the seal is still intact. See if the sides look tampered with. But you probably have legit SR225i's.

 

[GREQ]

I doubt they're fake. There wouldn't be a big market for fake Grados. The Grado looks and open design make them not mainstream enough to counterfeit and expect good profits.
 
I would take it to a shop that auditions Grados (or a friend who also owns a set) and do a direct comparison with any of the SR series, as the cans are all identical (apart from the metal grill on the 225) and any differences in material texture, feel and flexibility should be immediately noticeable. 
 
Going by Grados more than haphazard approach to packaging and sometimes hilarious product quality control, I'd put this down to human error.

 

[ProjectDenz]

Never heard of a fake Grado.

 

[HeretixAevum]

Well, after closely examining the box, I have even more reason to believe these are fakes.
 
Heres a real box:

 
Here's my box:

 
Look at the difference between the fonts that spell out "Truly the World's Finest...". The quotation marks are completely different. There's also a difference in colour, though that could just be differences in camera. Now look up the top right above the O in GRADO. The wood cup on the real box is shown in it's entirety while on my box it's cropped. 
 
I still can't speak for the headphones themselves, I've never used real Grados before. They feel good to me, but I'm ignorant. However the box is dodgy as hell and there's missing contents so I'm now seriously thinking these are fakes. I look forward to PCCG's reply now...

 

[HeretixAevum]

Quote:

Check the sides of the box. It can be opened and the headphones removed by sliding out the side. This way the seal is still intact. See if the sides look tampered with. But you probably have legit SR225i's.

 
This is actually the reason I checked the box just now, and on my box there's no way to slide out the sides, it's like a sealed joint that you'd have to break. So I think the actual box's structure is different to the real box, too.

 

[Zuqi]

There is no paper comes with my HF2 either, which I bought new from TTVJ 1.5 years ago.

 

[HeretixAevum]

Quote:

There is no paper comes with my HF2 either, which I bought new from TTVJ 1.5 years ago.
 
What you've got is a HF1, not a 225i. If you got a brand new HF1 for the price of sr225i, you should feel very lucky.

 
Err, I'm not sure why you think I have a HF1. I definitely received 225i's:

 
I'm just questioning if they're fake or not.

 

[Fringe]

They probably just forgot the paper when they packaged it. Those boxes dont looks very different it could just be different lighting or a slight box variation. My box looks the same as yours and i have the SR225i as well.

 

[willmax]

The box does look different, that is for sure, but not sure if the headphones are fake... best bet would be to ask PCCG to open another box and see if the warranty paper is inside.

 

[HeretixAevum]

Well, after a bit more digging I found that it seems that I was wrong about the box... Other pictures (and a video) of the 225i specifically seem to be the same as mine, so maybe the box got revamped for the i versions? I don't know. And Zuqi, if yours didn't come with any paper either then maybe not all the models do. Maybe Grado have lead me on a bit of a goose chase telling me to "ask for my money back".

 

[islewind]

There is nothing to indicate they are not legitimate. Denz and Greq are correct, it wouldn't make much sense for counterfeiters to make faux Grados when Sennheiser, Sony, and Beats have orders of magnitude more demand.

On the positive side, perhaps the quality might be improved if some of the more savvy product counterfeiters decided to make some.

 

[Zuqi]

Quote:

Well, after closely examining the box, I have even more reason to believe these are fakes.
 
Heres a real box:

 
Here's my box:

 
Look at the difference between the fonts that spell out "Truly the World's Finest...". The quotation marks are completely different. There's also a difference in colour, though that could just be differences in camera. Now look up the top right above the O in GRADO. The wood cup on the real box is shown in it's entirety while on my box it's cropped. 
 
I still can't speak for the headphones themselves, I've never used real Grados before. They feel good to me, but I'm ignorant. However the box is dodgy as hell and there's missing contents so I'm now seriously thinking these are fakes. I look forward to PCCG's reply now...

Oh, my mistake, I saw the picture and thought you've got the HF1.
Well, Grado has a sloppy QC, my mspro didn't comes with extension cable either so I have to asked them to send me one.
Based on your picture, your 225s should be genuine, it could be more certain if they sound good. Take it easy.

 

[HeretixAevum]

Yep, you guys are right, the headphones seem to be genuine, and with the realisation that the box is actually legit and that it's parts have been left out of. However, I'm still left with a problem. From what I understand, Grado only honour warranty if you buy from an Authorised dealer. But maybe it won't matter since I'll be dealing with PCCG for any possible issues anyway, so it's probably not an issue. 
 
Well anyway, they're legit grados so I can rest easy I think. Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[wje]

If  you purchased them from an unauthorized vendor, I would hope that you were able to get them for quite a nice discount.  Authorized vendors do have sales, but usually Grado, Sennheiser, etc. are excluded from the use of a coupon.