[Dobrescu George]

  Just got some new IE800's of Ebay from someone in the UK (I'm in the UK). They came in a sealed box and I can't find any obvious build quality issues, ie issues I've seen from photos on the web etc.
However, I'm not used to using ultra high end IEM's and I'm not fully sure about the sound. I've been using UE Triple fi 10's for over 5 years so have got very accustomed to their sound (paired with Sony NWZ X1060B X). I've also just changed to FiiO X7 with the IE800's.
 
On the same volume setting, the IE800's are notably quieter - is this right ?
 
The IE800''s have a 'cleaner' but less 'weighty' sound with better instrument separation. There seems to be more general colouration on the Triple fi's, which is I guess why I liked them in the first place, as when I first got them they sounded far better than my previous earphones (Sony, that cost around £50).
 
My problem may be that I'm so used to the Triple fi's sound, it may be a case of me needing to 'get used' to the IE800's, or is it more that the IE800's are simply not real IE800's !
 
 
Thanks.

Ie800 should have a world of more treble compared to tfi. 
 
But even that might be relative to how much treble you hear, and how you interpret them. 
 
Some fakes sound extremely close to originals, but as always you will be advised to always buy from trustable sellers. 
 
Does the verification on Sennheiser work?

 

[mogg]

Yes, the verification on the Sennheiser website worked but apparently that is not fool proof either !?
 
I've spoken with a dealer now and they advise I should contact Sennheiser UK for advice, so I'll ring them on 4th Jan when they are back in the office. Maybe I can send my IE800's to them and they can check for authenticity.
 
I'm also trying to get some more information from the seller.
 
You're correct, ideally I should have bought from a dealer, but I couldn't bring myself to spend £600, so I gambled. Time will tell if I won or lost as hopefully I will eventually find out if they are fake or not !

 

[p4s2p0]

  For the image. When it comes to Beats, Skullcandy, Soul, B&W etc I'd rather buy fakes for a fraction of the price and get the same external appearance. They might sound even better than the real ones, too!

Uncreative people are always trying to cash in off of others hard work with how many brands have knock-offs. There is always going to be someone willing to take the risk to save a few bucks. But knock-offs are inferior so you will get what you pay for, the look of the brand without the substance
 
People in the music industry are always complimenting Dre and lovine on their ear for sound which the majority of the premium market enjoy with beats. I understand no sound signature is going to be enjoyed by everyone though

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Uncreative people are always trying to cash in off of others hard work with how many brands have knock-offs. There is always going to be someone willing to take the risk to save a few bucks. But knock-offs are inferior so you will get what you pay for, the look of the brand without the substance
 
People in the music industry are always complimenting Dre and lovine on their ear for sound which the majority of the premium market enjoy with beats. I understand no sound signature is going to be enjoyed by everyone though

,...
 
What can I say...
 
I really love Ie800, HD800, and other really good IEMs and headphones, and beats really sounds... veiled, too much bass, not enough detail to put it simply. But there are people who enjoy HD650 more than Hd800, when HD650 is smooth and dark, and HD800 is bright and detailed, and has in your face details. 
 
Of course, some people could really like beats sound and everything, but even if I happen to listen Dre, I would still listen to him on my Ie800, or ultrasone dj one pro. 
 
Maybe I am not getting the sound he intended, but I like this sound better than what he originally intended then (confusing no?)
 
Everyone has their own tastes, expectations, and preferences. I can accept that some people would like how it sounds for sure, but so many people liking the same thing, when there are so many different flavours in the same price area is rather unlikely. There is Urbanite XL from Senn which is intended (I think) to beats liking people. I did not really like urbanite, way too much bass for me, and it was not fast and tight. 
 
 
 
 
I will any day recommend people to buy originals when doing anything, buying cheap copies means getting less but paying a lot for what you get (most copies being made as low as 0.1$ per piece). 

 

[p4s2p0]

  ,...
 
What can I say...
 
I really love Ie800, HD800, and other really good IEMs and headphones, and beats really sounds... veiled, too much bass, not enough detail to put it simply. But there are people who enjoy HD650 more than Hd800, when HD650 is smooth and dark, and HD800 is bright and detailed, and has in your face details. 
 
Of course, some people could really like beats sound and everything, but even if I happen to listen Dre, I would still listen to him on my Ie800, or ultrasone dj one pro. 
 
Maybe I am not getting the sound he intended, but I like this sound better than what he originally intended then (confusing no?)
 
Everyone has their own tastes, expectations, and preferences. I can accept that some people would like how it sounds for sure, but so many people liking the same thing, when there are so many different flavours in the same price area is rather unlikely. There is Urbanite XL from Senn which is intended (I think) to beats liking people. I did not really like urbanite, way too much bass for me, and it was not fast and tight. 
 
 
 
 
I will any day recommend people to buy originals when doing anything, buying cheap copies means getting less but paying a lot for what you get (most copies being made as low as 0.1$ per piece). 

I can understand the bass being too much for some people, just as we find less too weak but that is the definition of a preference which I can respect.

 

[Ivabign]

 
Yes, the verification on the Sennheiser website worked but apparently that is not fool proof either !?
 
I've spoken with a dealer now and they advise I should contact Sennheiser UK for advice, so I'll ring them on 4th Jan when they are back in the office. Maybe I can send my IE800's to them and they can check for authenticity.
 
I'm also trying to get some more information from the seller.
 
You're correct, ideally I should have bought from a dealer, but I couldn't bring myself to spend £600, so I gambled. Time will tell if I won or lost as hopefully I will eventually find out if they are fake or not !

If you send to Sennhieser and they are fakes, you won't be getting them back. They will be destroyed. It is illegal (in the USA) to use the postal service to mail counterfeit goods.
 
I would imagine the same rules apply in the UK re: counterfeits 

 

[mogg]

Thanks for the heads-up. I would hope Sennheiser UK will confirm whether I should send them in the post when I speak with them. If I can't send them in the post, hopefully Sennheiser will inform me of my nearest dealer that has the necessary knowledge to tell If the units are authentic or not !

 

[mogg]

The same rules don't apply in the UK.
 
Sennheiser UK advised me to send them the IEM's, which I did. They carried out the necessary tests and confirmed the IE800's to be genuine

 
Happy that I did get rather a good deal on the IE800's after all. However, it now means that the sound of the IE800's is not as much of a step change compared to my Triple-fi 10's as I was expecting !
 
I'm using the IE800's with a FiiO X7. Does anyone have any comments about this pairing ?
 
One thing that has really become noticeable with this setup compared to my Sony NWZ-X1060B + Triple-fi 10 is that on mp3 tracks below 320, I can hear distortion sometimes on heavy bass and big transients, is this to be expected, or could it be a fault with the X7 ?
 
Cheers.

 

[H20Fidelity]

 
The same rules don't apply in the UK.
 
Sennheiser UK advised me to send them the IEM's, which I did. They carried out the necessary tests and confirmed the IE800's to be genuine

 
Happy that I did get rather a good deal on the IE800's after all. However, it now means that the sound of the IE800's is not as much of a step change compared to my Triple-fi 10's as I was expecting !
 
I'm using the IE800's with a FiiO X7. Does anyone have any comments about this pairing ?
 
One thing that has really become noticeable with this setup compared to my Sony NWZ-X1060B + Triple-fi 10 is that on mp3 tracks below 320, I can hear distortion sometimes on heavy bass and big transients, is this to be expected, or could it be a fault with the X7 ?
 
Cheers.

 
Well done. The main thing you've done here is rule out any doubt, having a mind at ease is a healthy mind.
 
Enjoy your IE800.

 

[Whataudiophile]

  Very unfortunate story which I wanted to share here with what I faced while buying the IE800's and a very well lesson learnt. I happened to be very interested in buying the IE800's and where I live "DUBAI" there is only one exclusive dealer who has these head phones. Although there are many but some how Sennheiser decided to give the IE800's exclusivity to only one. Any ways they were out of stock. I went to Amazon.co.uk which to some extent is reputed to have authentic items and of course I bought my IE80's from there as well which were 100% original. But what i found was they don't ship the IE800's to Dubai.  Moving on, I went to ebay knowing that its a big risk to spend such big amount on this site. But I did my questioning with the seller who was from USA and had a very nice rating. And he assured me that what he is selling is legit and 100% authentic. Its new and sealed pack never opened. And he told me if i open the seal and then return the product he will deduct 20% of the total invoice amount. I agreed to it which seemed fair enough. Considering all the respond to my inquiries I took the plunge and ordered the IE800's at 800$ (750$ item amount +50$ shipping to Dubai) which now is the official price of the product. it took 8 days to arrive I paid 25$ as to the customs as well. Now I have a 825$ IE800 in front of me which has a plastic (Shrink wrap) coating on it which seemed to be ok since some sellers might do such packing to prevent the box from marks and all. Any ways i get rid of the plastic cover and find out that there are no plastic seals on the sides of the box which i saw in almost all IE800 unboxing's. I assumed it to be a used item which was still ok to me thinking that some one might bought it earlier and returned it to the seller. The box had the sennheiser authenticity sticker and i checked it online on sennheiser website which said its authentic but has been checked several times. Which means at least the box is original. Now i open the box and what do i see??? Please experience the fraud for your selves. Also please find below the link for this listing which is still on. I wonder for which other unlucky buyer.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251623750985?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
They were damaged, sounded crap and was a total bull crap promise from the seller as it was a total FAKE. I contacted the seller immediately and told him he has to pay me a full refund minus the 50$ for shipping since it was my mistake to buy from him. The seller responded in total sorrow that he was sorry and that i can return the item back to him and he will not charge me the 20% unboxing penalty. So i just shipped them back 3 - 4 days back paying another 25$ and the headphones are still in transit. Will definitely update what happened.
 
The point here is that why would you waste some ones time, Block his money and make him pay extra custom plus courier charges??? Why disturb some one financially and morally like this by lying??? I have made a rule in life after all this that never to go above 50$ while buying any thing from ebay. And i have learnt my lesson that never buy from an unauthorized seller unless or until you have checked the item in front of your eyes or you have a valid proof of its authenticity.
 
After all this i checked again with the sennheiser authorized dealer and still they don't have stock. I am a big FAN of sennheisers and to see all this fake items available in the market more than the real ones in my region really makes me want to leave the boat. I would have never bought it from ebay if stock was available with their "so called" exclusive partners. I am really over at the edge and have almost lost interest in the IE800's after all the wait and the money that i spent. And i know its all my own mistake that is making me feel this way but i checked here in the market and the SE846's are available any time i want it. So as for now im heading towards the Shure's. Which has more options, More accessories, replaceable cable option, More positive reviews and more value for the money. So lets hope for the best. I might get it once my money is back from this seller. Any how just wanted to share and make others be aware of what goes on in the online markets.

Reading your story gives me multiple nightmares with my eyes open. Spending so much on ebay is suicidal.

 

[mikey1964]

I love my Sennies, bought my HD800 from locally from a guy who's also a forum member here. Bought my IE800 from the same shop I'd gotten my Campfire Audio Jupiter, it's a retail shop that specializes in cans and IEM's. Registered my IE800 with the local distributor for the 2 year warranty, they'd even come to my place to pick up my IE800 for RMA if need be. Anyway,
 
I'd come across a fake IE800 before buying from an authorized dealer. Mine was from a local seller who had listed it as a modded IE800 with detachable cables.....I was like, 'Really?" But I took a risk and went for it, I told the seller I'd take the IE800 to the local Sennheiser service center to verify its authenticity. Surprisingly, the short time I'd spent with it, I was pretty impressed with the sound, nice treble, mildly recessed mids and decent enough bass. The Senn technician verified that it was fake (didn't charge me anything) and I called the seller right there and then. He'd responded almost immediately after a miss call (had me worried). I got back a full refund and that was that for me, went straight to an authorized retailer here and bought the real deal.
 
I'd snapped a couple of pics of the fake, and IIRC, the Sennheiser relief/logo on the shell was different, the authentic IE800 has the relief/logo matted when compared to the rest of the shell, the fake was glossy like the rest of the shell. Perhaps it was an earlier fake, the one that LancerFIN had posted of the fake IE800 looks like the logo was matted.

 

[denis1976]

Hello i have a sennheiser ie800 and o bought them on ebay from an oficial dealer of Italy, the sound is fantastic but is crucial to have a DAP that do full justice to them, in the review of what hifi is clear that high quality source is needed , not in order to play loud or not because they are easy to drive even with a mobile phone,but if people says that sounds "thin" with no bass with poor soundstage probably is fake or the source is poor,has in home hifi the components need to be matched it makes no point to have a pair of Wilson or Magico connected to a 500 Euros amplifier ,there are few DAPS that make justice to them

 

[Plethora]

  Here are some photos I took comparing real with fake IE 800's. Hopefully they can help some of you avoid getting a counterfeit pair. 
 
Please remember the Sennheiser authentication system is completely useless, these fakes checked out on the Sennheiser website.
 
From my experience the quickest way to instantly spot fakes is the extremely inferior leather case. The real case has the feel of how you would imaging leather and stitching in a Rolls Royce or Ferrari. 
 
Good Luck! 
 

 

 

 

 

This information was great for my Sennheiser IE800 purchase, thanks for this

My box had the exact same verification code and the leather case had sloppy stitching too, not to mention the sloppy indentations 

I reported this to the seller who refunded me rather immediately without much fight which made it seem like he know they were fake 

I also didn't have to send them back because of Ebay's policy on counterfeit goods even though he tried to make me to probably resale them

I emailed Senheiser about them to check there authenticity before the seller refunded me and they asked for me to send them in to check, I didn't get back to them as I essentially have a free pair of really nice sounding IEM's. Obviously can't compare them to real thing but IMO my recently acquired JH Angie's only sounded incrementally better. 

If I send them to Senh and they are confimed to be fake what would they do? I still think they are great headphones but the left earpiece is starting to have small popping sounds (the right one doesn't do this) when adjusted in my ear which concerns me
 
Edit - I'm actually thinking about returning my JH Audio Angie's as they cost me £600 Used and these ones actually sound better to me anyway in some situations.

 

[Joel Choo]

Hi everyone. Managed to find a YouTube video of the close replica of IE800. This is a fake as I got cheated before.
http://youtu.be/K_HoEnfShGc

 

[Rob80b]

Thought I'd add my 2 cents with regards to some IE800s purchased off Aliexpress ..price $39.99US with retail packaging.

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no idea how a pair of authorized IE800 sound nor the origins of where these are sourced/manufactured…what I can say is that after a few days of intense listening the audio is IMHO of audiophile quality, extremely balanced, dynamic with excellent extension at both extremes and very good soundstaging.
Compared to my Sennheiser Momentum in ear (bought from Best Buy) even off my iPad Nano… the bass on these IE800s is much tighter/deeper, image separation is better and overall distortion is lower.
Like most audiophile gear first listen may not impress, therefore no exaggerated base or treble…nothing that really stands out ands to the casual listener high end gear may at first be considered boring.
But these inexpensive IE’s powered off my Bryston gear do hold their own along side my Audeze LCD2.2s in being very smooth, wonderful highs with no sibilance and very good base and somewhat match my Senn HD700s with their clarity and sound staging…are they actual IE800s…who knows but what was acquired as a curiosity are now part my headphone repertoire.

 
Just to mention the box was of fairly good quality as are the accessories and show none of the tell tail signs of the pictured fakes or counterfeits, the serial number on the box matches the one etched on the metal plate in the case and the number (sans 3D label) on the box passes Sennheiser’s on site authentication.


 
So overall not a bad copy (if they are in fact a copy) but my curiosity to purchase them stems not from wanting to “pretend” to own a high priced headphone as sound quality is paramount to me but from being fascinated to see/hear for myself what companies do by going to great extremes to copy something down to the finest details and sometimes even (but rarely) surpassing the quality of the original.
 
Unfortunately when not knowing the exact origins of the ie800s we are left with a lot of unanswered questions and not all unauthorized/copies/counterfeits are of equal quality to the chagrin of Sennheiser and consumers alike.