Sennheiser IE800 IEM's
Feb 17, 2017 at 1:49 PM Post #6,481 of 7,990
Feb 17, 2017 at 1:52 PM Post #6,483 of 7,990
Hi,
I bought a pair on ebay very cheap.
I ended up sending the IE800's directly to Sennheiser in CT.
They were able to Authenticate the pair that I bought.
This is really the only way to be sure.


How cheap is very cheap?
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 2:00 PM Post #6,485 of 7,990
Did you go to Sennheiser's authentication site to confirm yours are the real thing?

The logos are right on your pictures.


I did authenticate it and it said they're real. However I didn't bother to mention this here nor include any pictures of the case, box or even the detachable part of the cable. The reason for this is that they could have replaced parts of these as this was an open-box from Amazon Warehouse.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 2:07 PM Post #6,486 of 7,990

Do yourself a favor and send them to Sennheiser, YES you will be without them for a few day, BUT you will not have to worry if they are fake or not.
There are too many fakes out there.
 
I also purchased a pair of I80's sent them to Sennheiser at the same time as my IE800's and lo and behold the I80"s WERE fake.
Received a full refund as the add description stated "authentic" and they were not.
As proof, I had Sennheiser send me an email on there letterhead stating there findings..
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 2:43 PM Post #6,487 of 7,990
  I got my pair of IE800's today.
A couple of pictures:
 
https://abload.de/img/ie800close1jnpmy.jpg
https://abload.de/img/ie800close2n9osr.jpg
Do these help tell their authenticity?
 
I'm not sure what to get close-ups of to help determine their authenticity. Let me know what are tell-tale signs.

Take a picture of the jack with the indentation/circle 
 
I would also take a photo of the grill. They should be like wavey W kind of designs.
 
They look okay to me so far, but I don't claim complete expertise on them. They look like what I have and mine are authentic and arrived unopened from an authorized reseller.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 2:54 PM Post #6,488 of 7,990
  I got my pair of IE800's today.
A couple of pictures:
 
https://abload.de/img/ie800close1jnpmy.jpg
https://abload.de/img/ie800close2n9osr.jpg
Do these help tell their authenticity?
 
I'm not sure what to get close-ups of to help determine their authenticity. Let me know what are tell-tale signs.

 
 
I would pay attention to your second pic.  It looks Fail to me.
 
The angles on the plastic shoulders where the tip mounts looks rounded, I think all those angles are much cleaner and sharper on the real ones.  On the Fakes everything looks rounded and soft.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:03 PM Post #6,489 of 7,990
I think its just the camera. I looked at mine. It looks sharp but its also very small cut and hard to zoom in. 
 
Tried to take a photo of mine using my iPhone 6s and had a hard time getting them to focus in close up.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:05 PM Post #6,490 of 7,990
   
 
I would pay attention to your second pic.  It looks Fail to me.
 
The angles on the plastic shoulders where the tip mounts looks rounded, I think all those angles are much cleaner and sharper on the real ones.  On the Fakes everything looks rounded and soft.


Looking at mine closely now, the edges on mine are sharp edged, and I know mine are authentic.
 
It seems really strange that Sennheiser didn't put serial numbers on the IEMs themselves. Clearly, they are aware that there are a lot of fakes on the market, and it seems serialized versions would help with authentication.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:18 PM Post #6,491 of 7,990
Yeah that rounded portion seems to be a countouring effect that slants at the angle of the tip. I saw a thread on IE800 fakes here on Head-Fi and they seem real when comparing them. The general cuts of the plastic look very very finely detailed and sharp. Anyway here's another few pictures.
 
https://abload.de/img/ie800close30sqhv.jpg
https://abload.de/img/ie800close4ckp7b.jpg
https://abload.de/img/ie800close5olpcp.jpg
https://abload.de/img/ie800close6n2pnv.jpg
 
This might show the little oval indent on the connectors a bit.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:19 PM Post #6,492 of 7,990
 
Looking at mine closely now, the edges on mine are sharp edged, and I know mine are authentic.
 
It seems really strange that Sennheiser didn't put serial numbers on the IEMs themselves. Clearly, they are aware that there are a lot of fakes on the market, and it seems serialized versions would help with authentication.

 
 
To me, that area of plastic and those angles and edges have been the best way to determine fakes
 
If I were the guy who posted those pix, I would be doing some research in the fakes thread paying close attention to that plastic area.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:29 PM Post #6,493 of 7,990
  If I were the guy who posted those pix, I would be doing some research in the fakes thread paying close attention to that plastic area.

Yeah I've been in this thread looking at their comparisons and mines honestly look like the real deal from comparing. The logo on the actual earpieces have a slight texture on the 'S'. The cuts are very clean, sharp and straight too, whereas on the fake it looks rounded.
The plastic area that looks rounded which you guys mention does also match the legitimate pair too it seems. It's just depending on the angle you look at them, the edges are rounded and angled whereas the other side isn't as much. This seems to just be following the angle of the entire earpiece when you look at it from above (it angles away from the ear/head, ie. the R earpiece angles to the right when looked at from above).
As for the packaging, everything else looks authentic, but I've really left that aside since that could be real and the actual earphones fake.
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:31 PM Post #6,494 of 7,990
They look legit to me.
 
Looks like my pair I got from sonicelectronix.
 
The plastic isn't perfect on the 2.5mm jack plastic housing. There is that cut away or imperfection on the 2.5mm jack right below the glossy oval which looks right to me. (Looks like the one I have)
 
I would say 95% with certainty that it looks real. Always a possibility I could be wrong or mine would be fake :S 
 
But is that possible buying from an authorized dealer and being sealed?
 
Feb 17, 2017 at 3:41 PM Post #6,495 of 7,990
I haven't heard another pair of IE800s (or confirmed authentic pair), but listening to these, they are very detailed compared to my Fidelio X2. For example, an acoustic guitar in an Unplugged album, I can hear the plectrum tapping the strings before pretty much every strum is made. I can also focus on each individual instrument and a high hat sounds pretty satisfying. It's like I can hear small changes in how the drumsticks are hitting it.
 
I might do what was recommended though and send them to Sennheiser and get them authenticated. Maybe I can take them to an authorised dealer. I know there's two in the city near me so maybe I can do that before the 30 day return period is up. If they're fake, I imagine they're very good. But then I've read how good some of the fakes can be.
 
Oh by the way, does anyone know of any good cables to extend the stock one? I don't need in-line controls, just a standard cable to extend it. This is way too short for use at home.
 

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