Hello everyone! It's my first post and I'm sorry to give you another "is this fake?" thread. But since my results are inconclusive, I need help from you guys.
I'm a musician (bass player) and I love high quality audio, but don't have many equipment. I own a UE Triple.fi for two years and I like it very much. I needed a circumaural headphone and decided for the Sony 7506 since a long time ago I tested one and pleased me very much. The other options I had were only the AKG K240 MKII but I don't like it very much.
Well, lurking around Head-Fi I encountered a lot of threads about Sony 7506 fakes so I opened my eyes before buying and looked for a reputable dealer and ran away from eBay and other people selling 7506's a lot cheaper and swearing they were originals.
I gathered a few information about the other fakes and compared them to mine. A lot of details about original ones match my headphone, but a few others don't. That's why my results are inconclusive.
Let's get to it:
The band has enough pressure so that the cups touch each other and stay like that; the fakes don't have enough pressure to hold the cups together. The inside of the band doesn't have bumps like the fake ones; maybe slightly a few small ones on the edges, but I've seen that on legitimate V6 pictures on this forum. The stitching is well done and tight, with no flaws.
Looks legit.
The outer cup central part is made of aluminum, the lettering is perfect and the Professional sticker is well made with "Professional" centered. The transition between the gold and blue parts are right below the A letter in "DYNAMIC". The transition on the fakes is around the M and I letters; the fakes also have Professional written slightly off center.
Looks legit.
This is where it starts to get weird. The sticker on the left side is very tilted.
That's the first sign I noticed on the fakes. Maybe it's original but the assembler was in a bad day? Would Sony let this go through QC unnoticed?
Inconclusive.
Although the Studio Monitor lettering is very well made, two details pop out. First, the lettering is thinner than others I have seen in pictures. Second, the writing is slightly tilted, very slightly so that most people wouldn't notice, but I did.
The fakes I've seen have very thick letters and usually are very tilted.
Inconclusive.
The band detents are well made, with aligned numbers. One thing I noticed and others didn't mention on the forum, is that the number 1 detent is different than others, being larger. I've seen original 7506's pictures and I noticed that too. The fake pictures I've seen, they are all equal.
Looks legit.
The driver cover grill looks like polished stainless steel, like the originals. The fakes look dull.
Looks legit.
In another thread the OP said he tried to stick a piece of metal to the center and it would only stick on the borders of the grill, and his was a fake. Mine sticks to the center with no effort.
Looks legit.
Let's take a look inside. The soldering and wiring is very well done, nothing suspicious here. I've never seen others inside, but it looks like a good job here. Not usually what one would find inside a fake, which is usually very ugly inside.
Looks legit.
Another picture of the inside, with more exposure to see the plastic and cabling details inside the cups. Very well made. Looks legit.
The pouch has a white Sony logo, very well printed and sharp. The fakes seem to have black logo embossed.
The quality of the pouch is very good, with no flaws at all. Stitching is very straight, looking like it was made on an automated sewing machine. The nylon cord ends are burned so that they don't get fussy, nice detail.
Looks legit.
The box looks very good, with thick blue borders and sharp letters on the outside. I can feel the lettering on the tips of my fingers. The Professional lettering is good and centered, and can be felt from the inside. The fakes don't have this thick blue border and the lettering is usually thicker.
Looks legit.
Overall the box looks just like the original ones posted on Head-Fi. All details match, including the "C 1994 Sony Corporation and 4-951-613-22 ", the placement of the writings on the sides and a small detail I didn't see anyone mention. On the bottom of the box there's ">PP< 4-942-609-" and it's printed on the inside of the plastic cover. I've seen that only on originals, never on a fake.
The ">PP< 4-942-609-" detail. Looks legit.
The bar code however, is a sticker. Very well aligned with the edge of the box. They're the kind of sticker that has cuts on the borders to prevent sticking out and again on something else.
The other members who posted about the bar code, says it's printed on the box.
Inconclusive.
Curious fact: below the bar code there's a sticker I've never seen on others. It says New Material, has two codes and says Polyurethane Foam. If it's legit, looks like Sony changed the foam pad material, and the sticker is to advise that. The sticker is very well made and has very sharp letters. I don't think counterfeiters would make a sticker like that, out of the blue?
Inconclusive.
The inside of the box is very good. There's a plastic film that covers the headphone. The fakes don't have this plastic. Looks legit.
The back of the headphone 'cradle' is well made, and the fabric is glued to the borders. The fakes are not glued and is all sloppy there. Looks legit.
The back of the box is very well printed and sharp. Definitely doesn't look like the photocopied fakes.
The "C 1994 Sony Corporation" and 4-951-613-22 both match the original.
Looks legit.
The manual is well printed but is difficult to judge since it's a very old style of technical drawing.
The back part (manual) is folded and inside there's a stamp. I don't think counterfeiters would care about doing such a small detail.
The warranty card looks great, with heavy paper, well folded and very sharp letters with excellent printing. The writing on it matches the original. It came inside the box between the technical drawing and the front housing, just where the original ones are supposed to. It says "Printed in Japan"
The fakes have thinner paper, different writing on the back and come inside with the cord.
One last detail that got me in doubt. The cord came wrapped in just one bag and with transparent tape on the tip. The originals come double bagged and with yellow tape.
Inconclusive.
The sound: it sounds really good, with prominent mids and highs. The bass is really clear, when the songs are really good in this aspect. Overall, the bass is shy to the bassheads. Music sounds crisp and very detailed. Spacing is good, stereo separation is great. It really sounds like a real Sony 7506 and is actually way better than my Triple.fi which after trying the 7506, became V-shaped and lacking definition on the lows.
If this is a fake and you guys help me sort it out, I have only two more days to return and get my money back. So, please leave your comments here, I'll be very appreciated.
Thanks to you all!
