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Uh-Oh: Beats Teardown Apparently Used Beats Knockoffs
Fakes are becoming impossible to externally tell apart
Many of you took an interest in the Beats teardown post from earlier this week, and we learned a lot about metal being added to a variety of product designs (thanks commenters!). However, a few sharp-eyed readers contacted us with disturbing allegations: Those weren't actual Beats headphones at all, they claimed.
Enter a caption (optional)I couldn't get anyone to go on the record, which is a shame, as I would've loved for this information to be directly attributable to a Core77 reader. But here's what we were able to find out externally:
The prototype engineer who did the breakdown, Avery Louie, never mentions what model of Beats he tore down. But he refers to the price as $199, which is consistent with Beats' Solo 2 headphones. However, the color scheme in Louie's photos doesn't match the Solo 2 offerings, indicating he used Beats' discontinued Solo HD, which also retailed for $199. And here's where it starts to unravel.
Enter a caption (optional)Louie found just two drivers, one per ear, in his teardown. But the Solo HD contains four drivers, two per ear. So it appears Louie's been given a bogus pair. Audiophile Redditor Vantt1 has gone to the trouble of highlighting some internal differences between real and fake Beats in this Imgur page, which shows a crossover circuit absent in the teardown and other discrepancies.
Image via Imgur The question you likely have is, how could a prototype engineer be fooled into using knockoffs rather than the real deal? We'll remind you that he's tearing down products precisely because he doesn't know what's inside. One could also argue, however, that he should have been looking for dual drivers if he was familiar with the product description.
Where we can't fault Louie is in supposing these were real Beats products based on the packaging and external appearance. Pirate manufacturers have become so adept at aesthetic duplication that it is shocking. Don't believe us? Take a look at this video, where the TechBreak channel looks at real-vs.-fake Beats Solo 2 headphones side by side:
Imagine that this arrived via delivery and you're examining the packaging. It is nearly dead-on identical. The only giveaway is the extra languages printed on the box (which the reviewer refers to collectively as "Chinese," but which is in fact Chinese, followed by Japanese, followed by Korean characters, followed by simplified Chinese). The real Beats packaging features only Western languages. However, unless you had both the real and fake boxes right next to each other, this would be unlikely to raise a red flag; it's common these days for lots of products to feature Asian languages on the box.
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)Opening the box, there are a couple of additional giveaways—the plastic wrapping on the fakes and the color of the serial numbers—but again, unless you already had a real pair to compare it to and knew precisely what to look for, you wouldn't realize these were indications of fakery. And even with the real and fake side by side and no idea of what to look for, a layperson would be hard-pressed indeed to spot even minor differences.
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)The Solo 2 is Beats' lower-priced offering. Their Pro model is billed as their top-of-the-line and comes with a hefty $399.95 price tag. These, too, are being knocked off—and again, you'll be astonished at how far the pirates have taken it:
This is very troubling, and a much larger issue than whether manufacturers are trying to "fool" consumers with metal or not. It makes me wonder how pervasive the fakes are, and also makes me wonder if consumers will now question the numerous reviews stating Beats' sound quality is inferior; did the reviewer purchase a real pair in the store, or through the mail? Obviously if you buy a new pair of Beats for $10 on eBay, something's up; but if the fakes have infiltrated an Amazon seller and priced them closer to the real thing, it's possible your average reviewer could have unknowingly attained knock-offs. This doubt can muddy the decision-making process of a potential end user, and I think that's bad news.
However, I also sadly realize that none of this may matter. Whether you're wearing a good-sounding authentic pair of beats, a truly bad-sounding authentic pair of Beats or a worse-sounding pair of convincing knock-offs may actually make no difference; it depends on what your goal is in purchasing a particular product. In the video below, tech reviewer Marques Brownlee articulates what some commenters in the original post hinted at, about why some folks will purchase Beats regardless of reviews.
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Piracy will always be a problem with high margin goods, or things that are very easy to replicate. They could combat this with lower prices, or more complex design.
There is also a good chance that a lot of the components are actually the same. A lot of chinese suppliers will sell of their 'nonconformance' parts, to avoid losing money in scrap. And other stuff, like the bag, may actually be the same source.
on the flip side... even legitimate goods are susceptible to internal counterfeiting. I have seen first hand when counterfeit electrical components sneak their way in, because whoever the CM is buying from, is also buying from someone else, so accountability is low. And even with good quality control, things slip by until they show failure out in the field.
Before people get to saying: HAHAHA MDR-7506 AREN'T FAKED.... They are actually one of the most commonly faked headphones right after Beats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2t4viJfv0Q
Can't wait for the Sony teardown...
We're not annoyed that someone got fooled into investigating a knock off product, we're annoyed because it came with the sensationalist headline about poor quality and it make you guys seem like pieces of crap.
Hey, guys. CHeck out checkforfake.org It can help spot fake Beats
I live in China and have ready access to many brands of fake everything. They fake cars here, so headphones are no big deal. I've seen very convincing fake Sennheisers, Bose, V-Moda, Monster, Beats, etc. Haven't yet seen a fake B&O but expect to soon. The thing is, some of the fakes actually sound pretty good. I recently acquired a new fake Beats Studio Wireless. It's the all matte black version. Build quality is really good. No problems with the Bluetooth. Stayed connected to my MacBook even from another room. As for sound quality, I don't have measuring equipment, but subjective listening tells me they're damn close to the real thing. I've listened to all the newer models of Beats (Solo2, Studio, Mixr, Pro) and even a side x side comparison doesn't reveal a substantial difference in sound quality. The fakes have good clarity, attack, and are very responsive showing no discernible distortion even when cranked up loud. The bass frequencies are more pronounced, as per the Beats sound profile, but not at the expense of clear mid or high frequencies. If I hadn't purchased these from the fakes vendor myself, I could easily have been fooled into thinking they were the real deal. The only major difference: I bought mine for 480 RMB, which is roughly $77 USD. That includes a nice semi-hard case and all the same charging and audio cables as in the real package. At that price, the vendor still makes a profit and so does the factory. This assumes the vendor buys factory direct. There may be a wholesale distributor in the middle as well. Add in transportation fees also, and you can guesstimate the actual material and labor costs total about $35-$40 USD. For a Bluetooth headphone with decent drivers and materials (the ear pads are quite comfortable, all the plastics feel and look good, and the hinges are real metal). Assuming genuine Beats are manufactured in better factories, cost still won't exceed $50. With a $380 MSRP, that's a VERY healthy margin. I don't know how much Beats sells them for at wholesale, but it's gotta be pretty pricey (perhaps upwards of $120), as they also have tons of marketing costs to cover. I'm not getting into whether Beats are good / bad / worth the money, etc. I just wanted to share my insights to other readers.
Hey guys, this is a very interesting article. However, besides all the discussion about if the tear down denigrated the beats products or even if the product is more fashion than quality I think we are missing one more important issue here. I have heard that some of the replicas are made by the same producers of the original ones! This would be a very interesting theme to investigate, because if you think about it, where do they produce this product? (China, Taiwan, Singapore?) And where the replicas come from? Also is easier for the producer to manufacture the replicas using cheaper materials but in the same molds than the originals, with the same prints and in the same fabric! Even more, if they produce their own replicas they have the whole market for themselves. I think this is worth of a research.
I've bought multiple knockoff electronics products while in China for factory trips. I work in the shoe industry and know that (at least for shoes) the same factories make everything from top brands down to private label products. On the same production lines, 10 feet from each other. Of the knockoff electronics that I've purchased they are all almost identical to the true branded products. The only identifiable differences on the exterior of the products are usually spelling errors on easily swapped out injected pieces.
So are you going to buy a legitimate pair and do a teardown to set the record straight?
One of the many reasons to not buy Beats...
Right. So by that same logic, don't buy Nike shoes, Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton handbags, or pretty much anything else that might get knocked off.
Just don't buy brand gear from Ebay. Or even Amazon sometimes. Find a reputable store, be smart.