[music_4321]

Thankfully, I do believe I've found some tips that work out for me in regards to the K3K...

 
 
Nice!
 
Hope those tips didn't get rid of the K3003's awful incoherency issues (and made them perfectly, er, coherent!), otherwise you won't be hearing the AKGs in all their musical turd glory.
 

Thankfully, I do believe I've found some tips that work out for me in regards to the K3K, but I do not believe any such luck can be had for me with the PF unless they change the shape/size of the housing substantially (my left ear is quite different from my right), which would most definitely alter its unique acoustics

 
Shame, you were quite unlucky there with the PFs. I do think, though, more people would find the 1601s (much) more awkward fitting (I certainly do).

 

[Carlsan]

  Carlsan, beware of fakes. As far as I know, there are only PF VIII fakes, and EveTan's link above shows the seller is from China. Seems that seller has already sold some fake CDs (check his feedback).

 
He's in Hong Kong, I paid for it already. He is selling two other pairs. His photos have his name next to the images of the retail boxes, which doesn't really mean much because the fake retail packaging can just as well look like the real thing.
Is there a way to determine if one is a fake?
 
I contacted FAD directly with these questions.

 

[music_4321]

   
He's in Hong Kong, I paid for it already. He is selling two other pairs. His photos have his name next to the images of the retail boxes, which doesn't really mean much because the fake retail packaging can just as well look like the real thing.
Is there a way to determine if one is a fake?
 
I contacted FAD directly with these questions.

 
Sorry if I got you worried now as I'm sure you're pretty curious about, and likely very much looking forward to, hearing these very peculiar phones.
 
Perhaps james444 can chime in re: the differences between the real thing and fake VIIIs, though not so sure he'd actually know the exact differences. I think one or two people have mentioned them in this thread (perhaps do a search in the thread itself?).
 
The thing is—and I'm not entirely joking here—the PFs (the genuine article, that is) can be a sonic shock to the system, and not for the best, so even if you end up getting the real thing, you might think "Wow, these sound wrong / awful / weird!" It seems, though, that the fakes sound even 'worse', much 'worse'.
 
Mind you, I believe new fake PF VIIIs were selling for a lot less than $450, so either yours are not fakes or the seller is clever enough to not make it so obvious they are indeed not genuine.
 
I believe FAD will only tell you they are aware of fakes being sold (but won't tell you exactly how to tell one of those from the real thing) and insist you get their products from reputable shops / e-tailers.

 

[Carlsan]

Found the posting about fakes:
 

 

For one, there was such bad resonance that both earpieces would rattle very badly with even the slightest bass impact! Everything sounded like a complete mess! I can't imagine the drivers they (the counterfeit) use, but they're downright terrible! When I confronted the seller, he stopped responding, took down his remaining FAD auctions, and now even the listing has been removed from eBay! It was all too obvious from the get go, because they honestly sounded worse than the stock Apple earbuds (the older generation; I haven't heard the latest rendition).
 
...
 
Counterfeit FAD's do exist, at least in Hong Kong. To make matters worse, the packaging that FAD uses has such washed out colors, that even the original packaging appears counterfeit. Very poorly done on their part, especially when one considers their cost.

 
Now I am worried, I emailed the seller to get a guarantee that these are the real deal. Not that he would deny it, still one never knows.
When I used to buy tubes, I confronted a tube seller about his so called authentic tubes, that I had just won, he quickly canceled the transaction.

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

Found the posting about fakes:


Now I am worried, I emailed the seller to get a guarantee that these are the real deal. Not that he would deny it, still one never knows.
When I used to buy tubes, I confronted a tube seller about his so called authentic tubes, that I had just won, he quickly canceled the transaction.

Is there any way you can put a freeze on the payment? If you have your PayPal linked to a card, you can try calling your card company to help with that. The listing just feels too good to be true

 

[vwinter]

Is there any way you can put a freeze on the payment? If you have your PayPal linked to a card, you can try calling your card company to help with that. The listing just feels too good to be true

If it turns out to be fake and he used PayPal, at the worst he'll get into the whole process with them and hope that leads to a happy road.

I'll just hope it's real.

 

[music_4321]

If it turns out to be fake and he used PayPal, at the worst he'll get into the whole process with them and hope that leads to a happy road.

I'll just hope it's real.

 
Yes, and if that turns out to be the case, that'll be the perfect excuse for Carlsan to get the PF IX instead — after all, Carlsan, like music_4321, is loaded and, as such, won't be allowed into the very exclusive inner FAD circle unless he owns at least the PF IX.

 

[vwinter]

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with both of you, gentlemen—at least as far as the 1601SS & 1602SS goes (I believe both of you are referring specifically to the 1601SB & 1602SB, but I'd imagine the same would be true for those, too). Turns out I A/B'd both phones a couple of days ago using my V200, which has two HPOs and allows me to switch phones pretty quickly. If you heard both phones that differently, it may well be due to the different fit you got with both phones.

The fit thing is entirely possible, different shapes and angles. The same is literally impossible though because the nozzle diameters are different. For what it's worth due to the nature of the design, I have played around with holding them at different angles and depths.

But to qualify my statement that you quoted, they have a very similar presentation and give off the same feeling. The difference I heard is that the 1601 sounded more even handed with less coloration to the mids. In that way, the 1602 is the more interesting phone to my ears but the less "usable" one.

 

[music_4321]

^   I think both 1601 & 1602 (aka PFs) are pretty much equally idiosyncratic, TBH, with the 1601 being only ever so slightly less so. The thing with the 1601s, though, is that they come with diff tips so you can effectively somehow tailor the sound, though the intended 1601 sound is achieved using the thick metal tips. With the 1602s FAD were 110% unapologetic about what their intention was as far as sonics was concerned. After that short A/B session I had the other day, I think I'm slightly more drawn to the Piano Fortes, TBH, if only because I can wear them for hours on end with no discomfort at all or any fiddling now and again (in fact, I forget I have them on after just a few minutes), and I love the PF's cable.

 

[woodcans]

   
 
Nice!
 
Hope those tips didn't get rid of the K3003's awful incoherency issues (and made them perfectly, er, coherent!), otherwise you won't be hearing the AKGs in all their musical turd glory.
 
 
Shame, you were quite unlucky there with the PFs. I do think, though, more people would find the 1601s (much) more awkward fitting (I certainly do).

 
 
I have no idea why, but I just love those three words together.

 

[woodcans]

  ^   I think both 1601 & 1602 (aka PFs) are pretty much equally idiosyncratic, TBH, with the 1601 being only ever so slightly less so. The thing with the 1601s, though, is that they come with diff tips so you can effectively somehow tailor the sound, though the intended 1601 sound is achieved using the thick metal tips. With the 1602s FAD were 110% unapologetic about what their intention was as far as sonics was concerned. After that short A/B session I had the other day, I think I'm slightly more drawn to the Piano Fortes, TBH, if only because I can wear them for hours on end with no discomfort at all or any fiddling now and again (in fact, I forget I have them on after just a few minutes), and I love the PF's cable.

 
 
These are the only phones I can wear for hours without any physical repurcussion whatsoever.

 

[Carlsan]

   
Yes, and if that turns out to be the case, that'll be the perfect excuse for Carlsan to get the PF IX instead — after all, Carlsan, like music_4321, is loaded and, as such, won't be allowed into the very exclusive inner FAD circle unless he owns at least the PF IX.

 
LOL, loaded... no not at all.

But I do hope to check out the IX some day, but at a more reasonable cost.

 

[Carlsan]

Just heard back from the seller, his response:
 

 there is warranty in the box and made/printed in Japan I promise

 

[autumnholy]

PF IX + O2 amp = It's so bright that I can see the sun at night.

 

[Overkill Red]

PF IX + David Sylvian's "When Poets Dreamed Of Angels" =