[SolidVictory]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DontMakeMEEatU /img/forum/go_quote.gif Reading this topic depresses me :/ I honestly cannot tell from the pictures whether my pair of IE8 are real or fake. The only thing I know for certain is the fact that the L and R letters are not slightly slanted. Other than that, everything looks fine I think. Is the bass knob supposed to just turn smoothly or is it also supposed to click with each tick mark? Pictures taken with my cell phone, which I'm surprised took such decent pictures http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9798/0103000147.jpg http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7581/0103000152.jpg I switched the left and right headphones in case you were wondering. http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7182/0103000149.jpg If it makes a difference, the back of my box has Außengeräuschen with the ß in it. I also got my IE8 for $290 off Sarjo Wholesale Group from Amazon, which I've been reading has been selling quit a lot of fake IE8s lately So are mine real or fake?

The bass knob turns smoothly, but at the first turn it might be a little tight, but it gets smooth after you make the first turn each time. Can you take a picture of the actual body of the IEM, one that's less blurry? It's quite easy to tell if it's a fake by the logo and the bass knob, but your picture is a bit too far (and a little shaky) for me to be able to tell.

And as average_joe said, don't worry too much on the L/R slanting. Some of the authentic IE8s have it and some don't. It's hard to tell.

What about the sound? You said they sound better than your SA6, which is a good note. Because the fakes that I had sounded like trash, and the left IEM had significantly lower volume than the right side. Is there any soundstage? How is the bass response?

 

[average_joe]

Also, a not on SQ. My first IE8 sounded absolutely horrible out of the box. They sounded better within a few hours of burn in, but weren't special until after 150 hours.

My 2nd one didn't sound nearly as bad out of the box, but still took around 150 hours to sound fantastic again.

 

[DontMakeMEEatU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolidVictory /img/forum/go_quote.gif The bass knob turns smoothly, but at the first turn it might be a little tight, but it gets smooth after you make the first turn each time. Can you take a picture of the actual body of the IEM, one that's less blurry? It's quite easy to tell if it's a fake by the logo and the bass knob, but your picture is a bit too far (and a little shaky) for me to be able to tell. And as average_joe said, don't worry too much on the L/R slanting. Some of the authentic IE8s have it and some don't. It's hard to tell. What about the sound? You said they sound better than your SA6, which is a good note. Because the fakes that I had sounded like trash, and the left IEM had significantly lower volume than the right side. Is there any soundstage? How is the bass response?

Pretty sure it's not going to come out any clearer with my cell phone camera.

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/5142/0103001442a.jpg

Volume sounds the same on both sides as far as I can tell. Bass sounds so much better than the SA6 it's not even funny. Probably a little too much bass but that's how I like it

Soundstage is great at well.

 

[SolidVictory]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DontMakeMEEatU /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pretty sure it's not going to come out any clearer with my cell phone camera. http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/5142/0103001442a.jpg Volume sounds the same on both sides as far as I can tell. Bass sounds so much better than the SA6 it's not even funny. Probably a little too much bass but that's how I like it Soundstage is great at well.

That shot was very clear

. It looks genuine to me--the logo looks real and the bass knob adjuster also looks real.

@average_joe: Yeah, I agree. But although SQ may not be the greatest out of the box, it should still sound better than tin cans in my opinion. And my fakes sounded like tin cans!

I think you have real IE8s.

 

[DontMakeMEEatU]

Lucky me! Seems like everyone else is getting fake copies from that one Amazon retailer.

Thanks for your help

 

[ackers07]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolidVictory /img/forum/go_quote.gif That shot was very clear . It looks genuine to me--the logo looks real and the bass knob adjuster also looks real. @average_joe: Yeah, I agree. But although SQ may not be the greatest out of the box, it should still sound better than tin cans in my opinion. And my fakes sounded like tin cans! I think you have real IE8s.

Are you sure?? In that picture the 'S' logo appears to have straight lines at the top and bottom and not the curves it's supposed to? Also, I see no red inside the jack and looks like two pieces of wire covered in solder. Mine were like that and I determined they were fake.

edit: ok, I just looked at the real/fake pics again on page1... maybe the logo on the actual IEM doesn't have curves in the 'S'? Is it just the tin which has the curves? I could swear that mine are fake... I would take pictures of it but it's in a parcel ready to be sent back and I don't have a decent camera anyway.

My deciding factors were: the orange line under 'open here' was too thin, the guy had yellow-like skin tone against a heavily contrasted background, the IEM jack l/r had no red inside it and looked empty apart from two pieces of wire covered in solder, the tin (the biggest give-away I think) had straight lines on the 'S' instead of curved. Most importantly, the sound was awful, although I was quite surprised though that with the Mach3Bass preset on my Cowon S9 they didn't actually sound that bad! No amazing soundstage though and certainly no 'thunderous' bass when I turned the bass knob all the way up. This was given I listened to them for about 3hrs. I don't think burn-in would add soundstage would it?

edit2: Also, I don't know if it's been noted before but on my IE8 the l/r jacks didn't have that sort of line in the middle of the hole (I've circle what I mean in the picture attachment). I don't think I've seen that before in any of the pictures, maybe I have a different kind of fakes? I can tell you all accessories were included with mine and the packaging was sealed (even with the plastic strip at the back which I had to cut with scissors) although, suspiciously, my IE8 had a little grime on the l/r shell as if it had been used, I just scratched this off with my finger... the lengths these forgers went through is quite extraordinary.

 

[MonnieRock]

Hello Everyone,

Got my Sennheiser IE8's today

Thought I would contribute to this wonderful thread that helped me make the correct purchase. Attached are detailed photos of my purchase unpackaging. Hope the photos help others identify the differences between fraudulent fakes / genuine IE8's.

Thank you,
Monnie

 

[Sayajin]

^
Looks genuine to me

 

[DontMakeMEEatU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ackers07 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you sure?? In that picture the 'S' logo appears to have straight lines at the top and bottom and not the curves it's supposed to? Also, I see no red inside the jack and looks like two pieces of wire covered in solder. Mine were like that and I determined they were fake. edit: ok, I just looked at the real/fake pics again on page1... maybe the logo on the actual IEM doesn't have curves in the 'S'? Is it just the tin which has the curves? I could swear that mine are fake... I would take pictures of it but it's in a parcel ready to be sent back and I don't have a decent camera anyway. My deciding factors were: the orange line under 'open here' was too thin, the guy had yellow-like skin tone against a heavily contrasted background, the IEM jack l/r had no red inside it and looked empty apart from two pieces of wire covered in solder, the tin (the biggest give-away I think) had straight lines on the 'S' instead of curved. Most importantly, the sound was awful, although I was quite surprised though that with the Mach3Bass preset on my Cowon S9 they didn't actually sound that bad! No amazing soundstage though and certainly no 'thunderous' bass when I turned the bass knob all the way up. This was given I listened to them for about 3hrs. I don't think burn-in would add soundstage would it? edit2: Also, I don't know if it's been noted before but on my IE8 the l/r jacks didn't have that sort of line in the middle of the hole (I've circle what I mean in the picture attachment). I don't think I've seen that before in any of the pictures, maybe I have a different kind of fakes? I can tell you all accessories were included with mine and the packaging was sealed (even with the plastic strip at the back which I had to cut with scissors) although, suspiciously, my IE8 had a little grime on the l/r shell as if it had been used, I just scratched this off with my finger... the lengths these forgers went through is quite extraordinary.

In my first post, I said I switched the connectors around. That's why you don't see the red wire in the right piece. It's in the left one.

 

[MonnieRock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sayajin /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Looks genuine to me

Yes Sir

Gave them a test drive and, they sound great out of the box. Spent the first few minutes doing trial / error fitting of the different ear-fit rings. Found the ones, tested with some various music styles. Very happy.

Many people have commented that the treble / highs are not crisp. I really like how they sound. Until burn-in, will leave the bass tuning potentiometer at minimal.

Thank you,
Monnie

 

[hardy74]

Wow, how I hate these kind of threads.
I bought my IE8 over a year ago here in Germany and since I discovered this thread I am trying to find out if mine are genuine.
Just from the sound I can tell they must be. I also have the red wires in the connectors, albeit they are VERY hard to see. Also my L and R markings are not slanted that much as shown in the pictures though it's difficult to tell as I might look at a different angle.
Anyways, I sent an email to Sennheiser today pointing to this thread. Hope they will answer.

 

[ceekay84]

Truth is, there is very little to do about it.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardy74 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, how I hate these kind of threads. I bought my IE8 over a year ago here in Germany and since I discovered this thread I am trying to find out if mine are genuine. Just from the sound I can tell they must be. I also have the red wires in the connectors, albeit they are VERY hard to see. Also my L and R markings are not slanted that much as shown in the pictures though it's difficult to tell as I might look at a different angle. Anyways, I sent an email to Sennheiser today pointing to this thread. Hope they will answer.

I highly doubt there were fakes a year ago, this seems to be a fairly recent thing. It does take some time for the counterfeiters to make their counterfeits.

 

[algorythm]

Well, I got today what I'm now 99% sure are fake IE8s from what I'd previously read was a reputable online retailer (I won't name and shame just yet before I've had a chance to call them - in fairness they have pulled all Sennheiser products from their website when I checked tonight).

I became suspicious from the start by the poor text on the box - it looked like it had been done on a colour photocopier. I plugged them in and was unimpressed by the sound and I couldn't get the right earphone to sound good however much I fiddled around with them in my ear - by comparison I've never had any trouble with my (genuine) CX500s - I even took the tips off the CX500s to try but they still weren't right.

It was the headphone jack that really got the alarm bells ringing - it would crackle when moved around in the jack which is something I've NEVER had with my CX500s (and before that MX400s). Sennheiser just don't do that poor quality in my experience.

I'm really disappointed - I was so looking forward to these, looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer to get hold of a genuine pair.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by algorythm /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I got today what I'm now 99% sure are fake IE8s from what I'd previously read was a reputable online retailer (I won't name and shame just yet before I've had a chance to call them - in fairness they have pulled all Sennheiser products from their website when I checked tonight). I became suspicious from the start by the poor text on the box - it looked like it had been done on a colour photocopier. I plugged them in and was unimpressed by the sound and I couldn't get the right earphone to sound good however much I fiddled around with them in my ear - by comparison I've never had any trouble with my (genuine) CX500s - I even took the tips off the CX500s to try but they still weren't right. It was the headphone jack that really got the alarm bells ringing - it would crackle when moved around in the jack which is something I've NEVER had with my CX500s (and before that MX400s). Sennheiser just don't do that poor quality in my experience. I'm really disappointed - I was so looking forward to these, looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer to get hold of a genuine pair.

Just so you know, check out the first post in the Sennheiser IE8 Appreciation Thread.

Quote:

All isn't quite perfect though... The nickel jack plug (rather than the customary gold tip) is a bit of a let down, as contact definitely is not as good as you would expect (spinning the plug in the jack can lead to crackling - something I haven't heard for a few years!!)

I am sure his are not fake!