How to distinguish original headphones from fakes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Choosing the perfect headphones is not an easy task, requiring time, numerous sound checks and frequency response comparisons. It is complicated by the abundance of fakes in the mobile audio equipment market.

What to look for when buying headphones

1st place

If you are serious about headphones, buy them from manufacturers' official websites, authorized distributors, or reputable electronics stores.

Of course, the original product can also be found on message boards, but the risk of running into a fake in this case increases. Sellers from AliExpress should also be suspicious: some of them offer real headphones, but most are counterfeit.

Check the reputation of the store where you looked for the item. Deceived customers often share information about unsuccessful purchases. If the store was caught selling fakes or you cannot find reviews about it, it is better to refuse the purchase.

2. Price

If the headphones you find are 70% cheaper than the official store, they are most likely fake. As a rule, the high price of the original is due not only to the popularity of the brand, but also to the use of high-quality components. Selling these headphones at a big discount is simply impractical.

3. Packaging

Sometimes it is not difficult to distinguish an original from a fake. Counterfeiters rarely copy designs, fonts and packaging materials with 100 percent accuracy. Find a photo of the actual headphones in the box and compare with what they are selling to you.

4. Appearance and quality of materials

Visible burrs and uneven seams, traces of hardened glue, cheap plastic and flimsy cable indicate poor quality of the product. Naturally, these signs cannot be found in genuine headphones from a reputable manufacturer.

5. Sound

Even high-quality headphones are good in different ways: they differ in the accentuation of specific frequencies, nuances of detail, and other characteristics. But if the sound is flat, the bass is unreadable, and the high frequencies are too resonant, most likely you are dealing with a fake.

6. Popularity of the model

As a rule, the abundance of fakes is the lot of prestigious headphones. If you buy EarPods or any Beats outside of official stores, chances are you will get a fake one. But if you focus on less popular models, then the risk will be significantly reduced even when buying from hand.

The fact is that making copies of hot goods pays for itself much faster. What is not so popular there is no point in faking it. For example, you can be almost certain of the authenticity of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or Grado SR80E.

What headphones are most often counterfeited

1. EarPods

EarPods are headphones that come standard with iPhones and iPods. It is difficult for users to give up the usual headphones when they are lost or broken. Therefore, EarPods are in constant demand.

The name of the product on AliExpress includes the words Apple, EarPods and iPhone. But even with a cursory glance, it becomes obvious that this is a fake

Original EarPods at Apple Store

There are dozens of imitations of Apple headphones with varying degrees of accuracy. Some manufacturers forget to put the company logo on the box, while others give themselves away from the slots at the headphone mounts.

The most reliable way to identify a fake is to compare the questionable product with the original EarPods.

2. AirPods

AirPods are wireless earbuds from Apple. Appearing on sale at the end of last year, the plugs attracted the attention of users with their branded laconic design, compactness and convenience. But these headphones also have a significant drawback - the high price.

It was she who caused the demand for budget alternatives. As a rule, manufacturers do not try to sell pseudo-AirPods under the guise of the original, but openly call them replicas. There are quite a few types of such headphones. Some of them really turn out to be quite good, others are ordinary Chinese marriage.

Replica AirPods on AliExpress

Original AirPods at Apple Store

The main factor when buying AirPods is price: even a used original is unlikely to cost $ 50.

3. Sennheiser headphones

Sennheiser is a German company that has been making quality appliances for over 70 years. Over the past decades, she has released dozens of headphone models, many of which have become popular and have spawned thousands of fakes.

A common feature of many fakes of German plugs is an insufficiently elastic and too thick cable. For the rest, you should rely on your feelings and comparison of the product with the original.

With full-size headphones, things are less obvious, so try to follow the general guidelines.

Such headphones are sold on one of the VKontakte pages for a couple of hundred rubles

Sennheiser fights counterfeits. The official website of the company has a list of models that have been discontinued and cannot be sold in stores. The manufacturer also recommends that you pay attention to the presence on the packaging of a QR code and a sticker indicating that the importer is Sennheiser Audio LLC.

4. Headphones Beats Electronics

Many criticize the frequency response of Beats Electronics for biased sound, others consider the headphones to be unreasonably expensive. The high price and popularity are the main reasons that counterfeits are found on sale at least as often as original headphones.

Announcement of the sale of fake headphones on the VKontakte page

Original Beats Solo HD in M. Video (the store is an official distributor of Beats Electronics)

Many fakes copy the originals very faithfully. But the basic rules for buying Beats are still possible.

Pay attention to the serial number on the bottom of the package: it should be printed on the sticker, not on the box itself. Too many hieroglyphs are a sign of counterfeit. Inside the package of fake headphones, there may be no tab with which the tray is pulled out of the box (relevant for Beats models with a removable tray). The tray itself should be made of textured material, not glossy plastic.

5. Bluedio headphones

Bluedio appeared on the market for Bluetooth headphones recently, but already now you can stumble upon fakes of various models.

A hologram is located on the packaging of Bluedio headphones. For the original product, it is blue with a noticeable overflow, for counterfeits it is blue, the overflow is barely noticeable.

When it comes to earplugs, pay attention to the ear cushions: they must be resilient and retain their shape even after being compressed.

What to do if you bought a fake

If you find that you bought a fake hand-held, contact the seller. Perhaps he did not know that he was selling a fake and would agree to return the money. If you purchased an item from a store, contact its management. The chances that the situation will be resolved in your favor are small, but it is possible that the sale of the counterfeit was due to a misunderstanding.

And please, do not try to dispose of an accidentally purchased counterfeit under the guise of the original. Better help others: spread the word about the unscrupulous store, tell us about your bad experience in the comments.