synergyfreak Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 the logo has always faded on me and i always buy from a klipsch authorized dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xirrad Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I have a genuine pair to compare with, and the sound quality is noticeably worse. Extremely bassy with muted mids and highs; although, to be fair, better than a lot of headphones I've tried. I feel so sorry for all those 'satisfied' customers of this seller, they mustn't know what they're missing! Anyhow, I did notice some easily-identifiable differences between the real and the counterfeit, to help those who might have the same problem. I have a genuine pair to compare with, and the sound quality is noticeably worse. Extremely bassy with muted mids and highs; although, to be fair, better than a lot of headphones I've tried. I feel so sorry for all those 'satisfied' customers of this seller, they mustn't know what they're missing! Anyhow, I did notice some easily-identifiable differences between the real and the counterfeit, to help those who might have the same problem. 1 - The stem onto which you attach the earpiece has a ridge that the rubber 'clips' onto. On my real pair, this ridge is hard and sharp; on the fakes, it is smooth and rounded 2 - If you pull off the earpiece and look closely INTO the stem (closely) with a torch/flashlight so that you can see the inside of the bud, the real buds have a visible metallic grille; whereas, on the fakes, nothing much is visible, just some white plastic. Hope this helps :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
print dude Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I too was duped into buying these headphones off eBay. As soon as I got the package in the mail I was suspicious. I work in the printing industry and noticed the printing on the packaging didn't seem as professional and crisp as it should be. I doubted myself and thought it was just my eyes at the time. I opened the package and listened to them. They sounded better then your standard cheap headphones but did not sound at all like what had been described by reviews online. It's amazing just how close these knock offs look. They have managed to create an extremely detailed copy that will no doubt fool most consumers. I immediately did what I should have done it the first place. I went to Best Buy and paid the extra $20 for a real pair for side by side comparison. Most of the following has already been mentioned in this forum but I have added a few things I noticed and confirmed to be true when compared. 1) White type does not appear crisp on fake packaging. 2) The word "image" on box front is very light on counterfeit packaging and much more visible on the legit product. 3) L shaped plug on fake instead of the straight plug on legit. 4) Ear wax tool included in fake. 5) 4 total sets of ear tips with the fake buds. Included in a little zip lock bag. A total of 3 sets with the real ones. 1 on the buds and 2 loose in tin. 6) The stem onto which you attach the earpiece has a ridge that the rubber 'clips' onto. On my real pair, this ridge is hard and sharp; on the fakes, it is smooth and rounded 7) If you pull off the earpiece and look closely INTO the stem (closely) with a torch/flashlight so that you can see the inside of the bud, the real buds have a visible metallic grille; whereas, on the fakes, nothing much is visible, just some white plastic. 8) Fake tin finish is brushed vertically instead of horizontally. 9) Very muffled heavy bass response. 10) Fake manual is folded into a square and has line drawing of headphones on cover. Real manual is folded to fit length of the box and has B&W picture of headphones on cover. I did NOT notice the printing on the headphones to rub off easily. It makes me wonder if they may have got wise to that issue and have begun to improve the way they print the Klipsch name on the earbuds themselves. It appears that several sellers may carry these on eBay. My seller has a cash back return policy that I hope they honor. I have already emailed them and will be sending the fake ones back ASAP. Do yourself a favor. Pay the extra $20 up front and be sure to get the real deal from an authorized Klipsch dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neewbiesoundhound Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Ok..just to make things even more confusing for those like me he has bought these cheap , some points raised ealier mine seemed ok on , some not... Mine were £36 (Obvious Warning sign..or is it ? ...aghhhhhh) 1) My logo does not fade or Rub off ..spent weekend giving it a rub every so often like aladdin (no geenie too report yet) 2) Arrived in blue box 3) Logo Tick (v thingy ) on metal tin is in exact correct position (But tin is Steel not Aluminium as stated by earlier poster as poss fake indication) 4) 3 spare tips in bag , 1 set on headphones + Cleaning tool in separate small bag in case holder position so could be fake but another post has Klipsch stating they may of changed qty in package so not good indicator 5) PRINTDUDE helpfully mentions closely looking into the port of headphones with torch , mine looks like metal grill sort of thingy (hard to describe but defintalty not white plastic...) think more like metal oval disc with 3 half circles cut out around the edge of oval forming sort of single "Y" shaped pattern grill... 6) My instructions are also folded up into small square printed on Shiny paper 2009 (PRINTDUE mentions this as possible indicator) 7) PRINTDUE mentions Print / quality of package .. Seemed ok when i first looked ..but will need to check later on this point. 8) My metal bit on headphone that the tips are next up to is very small and can hardly feel it if move finger over. 9) SQ ...ok this will be hard to tell for me as A) Never in my life have owned decent IE headphones , i listen to dance music mainly so these seem too have very good bass and i can hear the mid range and high end ok , but cant tell if there should be more of these two (see reason A).... so all in all i have no idea if these are real or not, as the only way to really tell is pay 90 or get one of you Audiophiles to listen and say .."oh my ..thats not right ". if they are fake then they are seem to me Very good fakes ....because i would be happy to spend 20-40 on these...being a poor person i dont have the luxury to buy another set too compare . I would be happy to send (+ pay for return ) to Klipsch and ask them to say yes or no if this was possible ? thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xirrad Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 "5) PRINTDUDE helpfully mentions closely looking into the port of headphones with torch , mine looks like metal grill sort of thingy (hard to describe" That was actually me who brought it up, but nevermind The absence of the grille in the fakes was the most glaring difference. If yours have it, I think they are likely to be genuine. If you do ever get a chance to listen to real ones, you will know immediately if the ones you have are fake. See if you can listen in a store. The difference is enormous, even to the untrained ear. Like night and day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt2199 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I think I've been duped by an ebayer too. Think I'll go pick up some from Best Buy today just to see. I paid $55 from user "betteroptions4u" on ebay with 100% feedback rating and lots of s4i buds sold in August. Mine don't sound as good as my ME M9P-SL buds but they're shorting out. They have a very smooth ridge and no grill inside the phone. Although I've gotta admit, an amazing replica all around, just the treble and highs are lacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODUCA Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) . Edited February 6, 2019 by ODUCA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODUCA Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODUCA Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xirrad Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I can tell by your photos that those are legitimate. I have a pair of genuine and a pair of fakes. The logo does eventually come off the real ones, too. In your photos, the ridge on the stem to which you attach the earplug has a hard edge. The fake ones have a soft edge. Also, if you look into the stem with a light, if you see a metal grill, that also indicates a genuine product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athn Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 It would be great if someone who have purchased the Klipsch Image S4 pretty recently, and is 100% sure they are not fake, could check if the box is magnetic or not (aluminium or something else) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polite Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Both the fake and the legit tins i have are both magnetic. 100% sure of the status of both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niko5519 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 So..after three months use left channel is dead. I opened them and make photo to see how look fake Klipsch S4 inside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niko5519 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 The easiest way to check if your Klipsch S4 are fake is to measure their impedance.The fake Klipsch S4 have impedance 33 ohm..genuine S4 have impedance 18 ohm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysam Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Hi folks. New poster but have been a long time lover of my old custom 2's... Sadly they bit the bullet last week when I caught the cable and broke it... After much digging around, I figured the rave reviews of the S4 were enough to rekindle my affair with Klipsch rather than try something elsewhere. I ordered last week from Play.com, though the seller was Technoplay. Their delivery was awesomely speedy, arriving within 2 days. The packaging looked fine to me... 1 set of medium buds on the phones, and 3 in a bag in the tin, with a wax remover. As soon as i put them in though, I was dissapointed. I'm not an audiophile, but I know how I want my music to sound, and that is clear, not too bassy, and sharp across all frequencies. I hate having to use the EQ function on any device, preferring to listen to the sound "virgin". This set of phones exhibit all the SQ issues mentioned here. It's like listening to music with cotton wool in your ears, or through a wall. The bass seems overpowering but muffled. High and medium freqs are indistinct and lacking. Infact, they're the opposite of everything I've come to expect from my other Klipsch purchases, which is that basically, they show up the quality of the recording like nothing else ( even more than the Sure E2C's and 210's I've had in the past ). With these, THEY are what is making the music sound bad. I've just tried to rub the logo, and it's coming off pretty easily. So... Looks like a hooky pair . I'm now so paranoid I've just ordered a new pair direct from the Klipsch website. I'm going to compare the two when I get them. I'll update this when I do. Technoplay seem to have a good returns policy though, so I'm hoping that I'll get a refund without getting any hassle... Markysam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessamarin Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi, here is my new S4 from Amazon.it... photo and test ) PS you REALLY need to fit them correctly. Then they sound good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Arash Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 hey guys.... something odd come up the other day... some friends came up with an address of a local dealer claiming to sell Klipsch earphones... here.. in Iran... so I hit the floor and now I'm fishy to find out whether it is fake or original... the instant all facts proved I'm gonna hit the road to the shop! lol [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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