[jawang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captian73 /img/forum/go_quote.gif . I think then we're into the realm of exchange rates, and that argument could last all year round. Possible, but not probable! pair of esw9's on amazon.com $229. If i could then get a friend to ship them over.... lets be generous and say $40. Amazon.com: Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9A Portable Wooden Headphones: Electronics 269.99 USD = 164.667 GBP Where the guys profit for selling them at £109? £55... big deal. even if we get rid of the shipping... 229.99 USD = 140.271 GBP so he's made a £30 profit! Sorry if it was me, and the only price i saw the esw9 for was £349.99, I'd want a bit more than £109! I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't sit right. even used, or with a few minor scratches, that's a hell of a big discount. Just my ten pence worth.

audio technicas are made in japan, not the US, so it makes no sense to add shipping costs to an item that first ships to the US. It's possible (I don't know) that shipping from japan to the UK might be cheaper than shipping from japan to the US. If that's true (again I don't know), then the price would be less than $229 in an equivalent amazon retailer. Also keep in mind the ebay sellers are usually cheaper than amazon sellers

however, that said, there are known esw9 fakes, so I would be more cautious of those than with k702s

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jawang /img/forum/go_quote.gif however, that said, there are known esw9 fakes, so I would be more cautious of those than with k702s

I'd rather scream "Fake" now and be wrong, than to keep my mouth shut and be right! Admittedly until i get my hands on a pair of 702's, esw9's or 900 myself (which would be a costly affair) myself, I can only go on the experiences of others... so in effect it's second hand info. But I'd rather warn people and be wrong, than warn people, and they ignore me and it turns out they are fake and that they've blown $50, $200, $400 on a piece of c%@p.

if I'm wrong, I can take you guys laughing at me. what I find hard to take is that people are as passionate as me about their headphones/music, they've worked hard and saved money, only to be ripped off. Again I'd rather scream fake now and be wrong, rather than knowing full well those 702, 900 were fake, and I sat on my hands and told nobody! That's why I started fakeheadphones.com. I don't know what good it is doing. I hope everyone will see fakeheadphones before buying certain headphones. I don't know how many people fakeheadphones has benefited, but at least I can hold my head up and say; I'm trying to do something about it.

 

[captian73]

The other thing is that I've got a bit of spare cash at the moment (rare thing), and if i thought that these were the real thing, I would have bought them... no hesitations. The fact is, I'm a hesitating, hence this thread.

I'm still waiting to hear from Ray Samuels regarding a perspective order, but I haven't heard from anyone, which doesn't inspire confidence to buy!

I could blow my money, buy a real K702 and try these as well, but I'm gunning for an amp and headphones at the moment. Sorry!

 

[geetarman49]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jawang /img/forum/go_quote.gif audio technicas are made in japan, not the US, so it makes no sense to add shipping costs to an item that first ships to the US. It's possible (I don't know) that shipping from japan to the UK might be cheaper than shipping from japan to the US. If that's true (again I don't know), then the price would be less than $229 in an equivalent amazon retailer. Also keep in mind the ebay sellers are usually cheaper than amazon sellers however, that said, there are known esw9 fakes, so I would be more cautious of those than with k702s

FYI: my new ATH-M50S are made in Taiwan, not Japan. It would not surprise me if significant # of parts/assemblies are OEM'ed from either Taiwan or China these days. Many (most/all?) of the K702 also seem to be made in Taiwan (if i'm mistaken, pls let me know).

Let's also consider the price of SRH840; now carrying SRP $249, i've read about prices as low as ~$117 and dealer pricing in Canada as low as $93 Cdn (if accurate, there is plenty of margin). Such aggressive discounting of new FOTM phones is curious, but perhaps cash flow is the motivating factor.

d.

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetarman49 /img/forum/go_quote.gif FYI: my new ATH-M50S are made in Taiwan, not Japan. It would not surprise me if significant # of parts/assemblies are OEM'ed from either Taiwan or China these days. Many (most/all?) of the K702 also seem to be made in Taiwan (if i'm mistaken, pls let me know). Let's also consider the price of SRH840; now carrying SRP $249, i've read about prices as low as ~$117 and dealer pricing in Canada as low as $93 Cdn (if accurate, there is plenty of margin). Such aggressive discounting of new FOTM phones is curious, but perhaps cash flow is the motivating factor. d.

I do understand your argument, however IMHO if you look at trusted main sellers .... J&R, buy.com, such large discounts are unusual. again IHMO it's the minor sellers, the ones no one knows that do that kind of thing. which makes me think that there is some form of skulduggery involved.... back of a lorry and all that!

for me I'd rather err on the side of caution. for me it was the Ultrasone UK distributor's reaction when i told him they were going for £208. Now iheadphones.co.uk .. (form which i bought my proline 750's and then i started headphonedeals.org) have got them at .... £279

Ultrasone PRO 900 Closed-Back Professional Headphones | SALE Now On!

amazon have got them for £382.85 (today)

Ultrasone - PRO 900 Headphones: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

now admittedly, we're talking about a saving of £70 for the 900 for which i'm int he market for. however I'd rather pay the £70 and know I've got the real thing. For me this seller it's about guilt by association. The Pioneer HJD's are most probably fake, the ESW's definitely are ... IMHO. If someone is willing to be dishonest enough to sell fake goods, then that seller doesn't get my cash, period!

Now Bose and Sennheiser have advised me in the past. Bose said "do not buy from ebay or amazon, our dealers are not allowed to sell in 3rd party sites."

Sennheiser have said much the same thing, however Sennheiser Canada did say that my site was a blueprint for counterfeiter's. I still defend fakeheadphones, and say; if the counterfieters want a blueprint, all they need to is buy the real thing.

Do you see BMW dropping the price of their cars buy 60% because we're in a recession? Do you see Mac Dee's drooping there Big Mac price buy 50% becasue we're in a cash crisis? Do you see transport companies.. bus and rail companies dropping their fares buy 50% to attract customers?

Times is hard and people want to sell things i understand. I have sold a lot of my headphones on ebay recently, for next to nothing ... however i feel i have a reputation to uphold, and I've tried to be as open and honest as possible. now at the moment i've got 10 headphones being sold for next to nothing.

Bundle; Westone, Shure, Klispsch, Denon, Mylars, jays on eBay (end time 10-Sep-09 00:40:19 BST)

I know I could do a lot better, but to be honest

1) i've hardly touched any of that lot

2) they're hanging around the house collecting dust

3) when i first had put them up, i was a bit straped for cash, cause my starter motor went, my battery failed and i had to MOT and Tax my car, plus I had to go to my sisters wedding.

You guys know how much gear i've got, cause i've put a link in my sig... so my reasons are legit. I don't sell on a regular basis, i haven't said; "your headphones will take up to 15 days to arrive and they're coming for the far east.

As an honest headphone enthusiast, I'm trying to get rid of the last of my gear, to pay for a Ray Samuels amp and maybe the 900's. I'm getting rid of my HD650's and i can guarantee you, that unlike that lot above (which i've had to relist 3 times 'cause no one is buying) I will not be selling my HD650's for anything less than £150.

I'm not running a business, nor do i wish to. I'm not selling headphones commercially, nor do i wish to. I'm just an enthusiast that's trying to upgrade my gear.... as we enthusiasts do. some gear is dead .... money to me. The westones ... if i've used them 5 times, ... that'll be lucky. the shures like wise. The Mylars got a bit of action but i haven't used them for about 18 months. I would have thought that at that low price someone would have snapped them up.. maybe it looks suspicious..maybe i should put the price up. actually ... that might be an idea.

 

[haloxt]

The 208 euro price is not farfetched, I got mine from northernsound.net (used to be an authorized Ultrasone dealer) for $340 USD total after a monthly $25 off on Ultrasones. The Pro 900 must be pretty difficult to counterfeit because of all the accessories, counterfeits should be easily identifiable. In my opinion, the combination of difficulty and mediocre popularity of Ultrasone makes the Pro 900 a very unlikely candidate for counterfeiting. Just look at all these accessories:

colored packaging box
hardbox, which should be quite hard to counterfeit
hard paper thing with demonstration cd on the right hand and manual on the left (my manual came without pro 900 description in it, got it in March 2009 from Northernsound.net)
coiled detachable cable threaded in one end and neutrik on the other
straight detachable cable threaded in one end and neutrik on the other
stereo to mini-stereo adapter, gold-plated with black plastic exterior.
extra set of earpads (silver)

Here are pictures of everything in a Pro 900 box except the straight cable and stereo to mini-stereo adapter. Gave the adapter to someone I sold an old cable to and no point doing the straight cable since it has the same connectors as the coiled one. If you need me to do close-up pictures of the headphones for analysis let me know and I'll do it. Really a counterfeiter who fakes something like the pro 900 deserves money for being a great comedian.

ImageShack -

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 208 euro price is not farfetched, I got mine from northernsound.net (used to be an authorized Ultrasone dealer) for $340 USD total after a monthly $25 off on Ultrasones. The Pro 900 must be pretty difficult to counterfeit because of all the accessories, counterfeits should be easily identifiable. In my opinion, the combination of difficulty and mediocre popularity of Ultrasone makes the Pro 900 a very unlikely candidate for counterfeiting. Just look at all these accessories: colored packaging box hardbox, which should be quite hard to counterfeit hard paper thing with demonstration cd on the right hand and manual on the left (my manual came without pro 900 description in it, got it in March 2009 from Northernsound.net) coiled detachable cable threaded in one end and neutrik on the other straight detachable cable threaded in one end and neutrik on the other stereo to mini-stereo adapter, gold-plated with black plastic exterior. extra set of earpads (silver) Here are pictures of everything in a Pro 900 box except the straight cable and stereo to mini-stereo adapter. Gave the adapter to someone I sold an old cable to and no point doing the straight cable since it has the same connectors as the coiled one. If you need me to do close-up pictures of the headphones for analysis let me know and I'll do it. Really a counterfeiter who fakes something like the pro 900 deserves money for being a great comedian. ImageShack -

but do you think the ESW9's are particularly easy to counterfeit? I can't think that the ESW9's are a 'Popular' choice of the masses. Thanks for the pictures, however it doesn't inspire confidence for me to buy the £208 pair.

As regards to transcontinental pricing, I can only go buy the UK prices.

 

[haloxt]

The ESW9 probably sell many times more than the Pro 900. ESW9 is much more popular worldwide and is composed of easy-to-counterfeit luxury parts, the Pro 900 caters to an especially small headphone market and has many random accessories to counterfeit. It's possible there are fake pro 900, but it will be much easier to identify than fake ESW9.

 

[captian73]

so ESW9's in comparison to a pair of Bose which would you think would be more popular? I don't see the ESW9 as popular at all. Grado's maybe... High end Sennheiser yes, but counterfeiting the ESW9's... it just blows my mind why someone would want to copy such a low volume headphone when there are more popular choices... and yet they do. starting fakeheadphones may have tainted my view, but I don't take anything for granted now.

 

[Bubo]

AKG has a FAKE ALERT on their web site where they ask you to report fakes which they say are recognizable by their low quality.

If I worked at the factory, this would be helpful infomation.

Unfortunately, they don't track serial numbers which is the best way to catch fakes like the currency counterfeiters.

My best advice is to purchase from a traceable source and or via a commerce site like Amazon, buy.com and there are probably others. Check the BBB rating of the business.

Definitely use a credit card so you can go back on the seller and claw the money back.

Hope this helps, I am awaiting my purchase of 702s which should arrive in a few days. Hopefully the speakers won't fall off or quit, the paint won't run and the leather headband won't be made out of cardboard and shoe polish.


Oh dear, my daughter is editing me...Off to bed!

 

[i_love_hina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john53 /img/forum/go_quote.gif May i ask something,why nobody buys from their local shops anymore? Is it so hard to find what you're looking for in the place you live? I think it's much safer to go to a local dealer and buy,even if you have to pay a bit more. Personally,i never buy from internet.I don't trust this way of buying things...

AD700's locally cost 250$ + tax. They were 86$ on Amazon.

If the stores near me could match online prices by even 50$ I'd consider buying from them. Until then, lolno.

 

[FraGGleR]

Any updates on the K702's? I found some Chinese "Wholesalers" that have some ridiculously good prices on some pretty popular phones. One of them even admits that some of the phones are made by the Sennheiser OEM factory. Could these be "third shift" products where they simply make the same stuff but sell it cheap?

I'd love to know what the SQ differences are, because if the fakes sound ok, does it matter if they are fake?

 

[deadly55]

AKGs made by Sennheiser ha!

 

[boomana]

There have been a couple threads in the portable headphone forum where people have purchased fakes from third party sellers on amazon, so you have to know who you're buying from, and do your research.

It is possible to get good deals on headphones, especially on the internet, but I personally would never buy from an unauthorized dealer. Yes, you might pay a little more, but it's better to save your money up to pay for the real deal than waste your money trying to get a too-good-to-be-true deal from ebay or the like. I keep wondering why people never learn, but they don't seem to, and keep looking at ebay for the lowest cost rather than using common sense.

I'm personally becoming very concerned that folks will start passing off fakes here in the FS forums, whether knowingly or not (I know of two cases already, and both were done knowingly, but not presented as such). I strongly recommend hanging on to your receipts when you purchase new headphones so if you ever want to sell them, you can prove that you bought them from a reliable source. I also strongly recommend that people start asking to see receipts from forum sellers before buying, especially items where they're are known fakes (esw9s, etc.).

 

[Steely Dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is a half decent hifl shop in York.. can't remember the name, they sell Sehnns all the way to HD800! And some pretty nifty turntables.

That could be either J&R or B&H.