Fake Sennheiser IE8 blues

[Artmuzz]

I recently bought a pair of Sennheiser IE8 IEMs from my local secondhand store for £50. I really thought I had a deal until I tried them on when I got home and was rather disappointed with the SQ. The SQ is terrible and sounds like the sort of SQ one would get from cheap earphones bought from a £1 store. Because of this I started to get paranoid wondering if the IE8s that I purchased for £50 from my secondhand store (cash converters) are actually fakes. I read online that to check if they are fake one of the ways is to see if there is a red wire on the right earphone part and if there isn't the phones are fake. However, there is a red wire on the right side of the earphone which concludes that my IE8s are real yet the SQ is rubbish no matter what tips I use.

[dfkt]

Fakers constantly get smarter - they do read the Internets like everyone else, after all. So if the year-old info about the visible red wire gets to them, they sure implement it into their next design.

Did you get the whole aluminum box and all accessories with those IE8? Maybe the previous owner shot the drivers with too high volume or something similar.

One thing you can do would be twisting the nozzles off (they have a bayonet lock that you can simply twist off like a bottle cap), and clean the wire mesh on the nozzle. I know mine sounded better after some hydrogen peroxide treatment.

[Artmuzz]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Did you get the whole aluminum box and all accessories with those IE8?.

No, I never got an aluminium box. It was a plastic box with a plastic border and pulled off when opening. There seemed to be lots of silicon ear tips but no foam ear tips as mentioned on the box. I did get the screwdriver for adjusting the frequency on the earphones.

[dfkt]

Pics of all accessories are in my review: http://anythingbutipod.com/2010/02/s...r-ie-8-review/

Blatant differences to yours?

[Artmuzz]

Most of the photos look the same as mines except I didn't get the aluminium box as seen on photo 4, 5, 6 and 7. Also I didn't get the 2 pairs of Foam tips (S/L) as seen on photo 8.

[dfkt]

I'd suggest twisting the nozzle off and cleaning it of whatever gunk might be on it.

[Artmuzz]

The nozzles don't twist off So I cannot clean them.

The problem is that the SQ on the IE8 is terrible. When I say terrible I mean the sound is tinny and the highs and mids are harsh and there is no bass. Turning the bass on the earphones makes no difference. I feel like crying

[Satellite_6]

Bummer, it sounds like a fake.

[Artmuzz]

Should I take them back to my local secondhand shop and ask for a refund or should I just live with it. There is a law in the UK about returning earphones that have been worn. Please advise?

[nodirectionhome]

Take them back - your cash converters should be made aware that they are fake ie8s and worth nowhere near the £50 you paid.

You shouldn't have any problem getting your money back.

[Artmuzz]

I took the fake IE8s back to cash converter and explained to them that the phones are fake. The guy then understood and gave me a refund on my credit card which I'll have to wait a few days to clear. Anyway before giving me the refund he told me he finds it difficult to believe that the IEMs are fake as he showed me the original receipt that the previous owner had and according to the receipt the Sennheiser IE8s were bought from Amazon.co.uk for £175 which made me wonder if they actually were real but still the SQ was terrible.

[lestatar]

Artmuzz, glad/hope the refund works out.

That receipt means nothing IMO. Person could have bought real IE8s and also a pair of fakes, using the receipt from the real ones to represent the fake ones.

From all the stuff you were missing and experiencing, I would tend to think your IE8s were not the real deal.

[nodirectionhome]

I agree with what lestatar says - that is probably exactly what the person did in order to try and maximise what the shop would give him/her for the iems.

With real ie8s you wouldn't have any issues with SQ.

[angurs]

Can you guys hear any difference when using the sound / bas tuning with the screwdriver? Just received a pair of IE8 bought at ebay and the sound / bas tuning does not seem to work / make a difference at all ??? Have even tried it with a phone inside my ear. NO CHANGE ???

[dfkt]

The bass change is not so obvious with certain kinds of music on the real IE8 - but eBay is a rather bad place to get (real) Sennheiser IEMs.

[meanwhile]

Originally Posted by Artmuzz

Should I take them back to my local secondhand shop and ask for a refund or should I just live with it. There is a law in the UK about returning earphones that have been worn. Please advise?

1. There's no such law afaik, and I'm pretty good at this sort of thing

2. You were sold FAKES. You get to return them under any circumstances. If they won't take them, ask for a written statement (take a friend as a witness and have him write down what happens if they won't give you one) and contact your local Trading Standards.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by dfkt

... eBay is a rather bad place to get (real) Sennheiser IEMs.

I'd take this a step further, I'm not sure how it is over there but here ebay is loaded with tons of fake IEMs from any of the most desired brands. I just don't shop there for this item because of this.