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Uh-Oh: Beats Teardown Apparently Used Beats Knockoffs
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.