[Vincent604]

I bought a pair of W3 from marcopolo.ca and the first thing I noticed about it was the overall build quality of these IEM. The inside box wasn't in an orange paper box like some of the pictures posted on this forum, it is made of some DEFORMED plastic... and the first pair of tips attached to the IEM are medium sized complys(I thoguht it was supposed to be silicone but i might be wrong here). The quality of the actual IEM was totally not of class leading impressions. The wires between the Y-split section to the monitors LOOKS liek there's a scratch on them, the wires have grey strips along it(supposed to be all black). Also, the plug, looks like it was molded from some cheap chinese factory which produces $1 earphones because the shape was not perfectly smoothed out as if the top part and the bottom part was a few mm off, and theres plastic sticking out from the middle of the plug where the top and bottom molds meet.

Does anyone know if this is normal or if it's a defect/fake? ANd what can I do about all this? =( I feel so sad about this, I spend $449 for some defect-looking product. I've endured with this for about a week and a half now thinking that it's fine but everytime i look at the flaws... sadly disappointed.

BTW, sibilance issue does seem to go away with time(burn-in? wierd).

 

[Calexico]

Where the hell did you order these from?

 

[epithetless]

Vincent604, some pics would serve you well in this case, so other W3 owners can compare yours to theirs. I will say that I highly doubt you got fakes, but defects are bound to occur in any product run, so there's a possibility of that.

A few comments:
- Others have reported that the type of tip pre-installed on the W3s varies, and
- All W3 wires have grey strips along them. A Westone rep posted earlier that this seems to be related to the measurement system the manufacturer of their cables uses.

...so I wouldn't worry about those two points. The misaligned plug sounds strange, though. If you really think you've got a defective product (even cosmetically), can you exchange it at marcopolo.ca for a new one?

 

[rsatmans]

I have had 2 pairs of W3 and nothing in your post is accurate. Sound like you may have been ripped off. Please post some pictures.

 

[epithetless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsatmans /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have had 2 pairs of W3 and nothing in your post is accurate.

Er, except the grey strips on the wires and various tips being pre-installed...

But yes, please post pictures.

 

[gadgetman]

I can't tell the authenticity of the earphones themselves based your description, it could be a real pair of Westone 3s and you have such a high standard of visual presentation and polish. But the packaging is completely off. They should come with the orange\red carton insert, not the deformed(?) plastic that you spoke of.

Photos please.

And the exact URL where you ordered this from (where in marcopolo.ca?)

 

[rsatmans]

Cord is 100% black. Yeah true i had one set pre installed with clear tip and the other with the dark olives.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsatmans /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cord is 100% black. Yeah true i had one set pre installed with clear tip and the other with the dark olives.

No it's not; there are gray stripes along the way to mark the length.

 

[mark2410]

hmm i just googled the seller and google is slapping it with a "this site may harm your computer" that cant be a good sign. oh and its not doing its every site is bad thing again

 

[rsatmans]

Your right it does have grey markings... I feel so dumb I have never noticed them.

 

[yuerakuten]

eBay My World - marcopoloca

Positive Feedback: 100%
Feedback score: 1720

 

[shigzeo]

pictures? i bought my um2 from him and it was great: wonderful everything from start to finish and price was good and negotiable

is there an imposter about?

 

[davidhunternyc]

We just have to see pics?!

 

[soozieq]

I bought 2 pairs of W3 from marcopolo.ca and everything was fine.

 

[Vincent604]

I don't have my W3 with me atm but I'll try to post pictures later.

But thanks everyone who've replied so far to reassure me that the grey strips and different stock tips are normal.

Since my 2 main concerns have been answered to, I'm sure my products are not fakes. I knew marcopolo had a 100% feedback but I was just worried because of what I've described in my post. With nothing to compare it to, I have no choice but to think of it as defect or fake since normal earphones/IEMs aren't like that, especially at sub-$400 mark(I thoguht).

And my "high standard of visual presentation and polish" of the W3 are based on their price, reputation/history, and the fact that the actual ear pieces are extremely well built which makes me expect the same for the plug...and box.
One of the meduim sized comply tips' middle tube is not located in the center of the tip, it's tilted.

I read on some internet site that explains how to identify FAKE BOSE IEM. It states that the box should be made of sturdy plastic molds, if the plastic was filmsy and deforms it would be 1 of the aspects of being fake. When I read that and looked at the W3 box, I become worried.

However, I'm pretty sure they are not fakes now, and the sound is great too. I don't think Sam(guy who runs marcopolo) would go through all the trouble of exchanging just to fix my unsatisfactory of the coesmtic on the plug and tip.