Hoping my suspicions aren't right - Beats by Dr.Dre

[marvinong]

Hi fellow philmuggers,

So basically, here's how my story goes:

I was headphone shopping online last week and found some headphones and earphones I liked. I particularly liked the MONSTER BEATS by DR. DRE TOUR earphones. I remember seeing these earphones in Power Mac Center and even abroad retailing for about Php10-11k. I didn't really have this kind of money so I started looking for cheaper, used Beats online, but then I stumbled upon posts online that were selling the same Beats headphones for only Php 3k. These headphones weren't the retail headphones though but were OEMs.

An OEM according to the dictionary is:
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) was a company that supplied equipment to other companies to resell or incorporate into another product using the reseller's brand name. For example, a maker of refrigerators like Frigidaire might sell its refrigerators to a retailer like Sears to resell under a brand name owned by Sears. A number of companies, both equipment suppliers and equipment resellers, still use this meaning.

So basically, they're not the retail versions, not the "real" thing, but made using the parts of the retail version.

According the reviews of the seller it is exactly like the original Dr. Dre's at more than half the price of the retail one. As I said, I didnt have too much cash so I decided to get these OEMs and to my surprise they actually sound very very good. It is exactly, if not, very close to the sound quality and build of the original ones. (I also tested the original Beats versus my OEM Beats..) so I consider my purchase very very worth it and I do not have qualms that I purchased an OEM.

Problem is, some people might not like that there are thousands of these Dr. Dre OEMs floating online and shipped from suppliers abroad and that it is almost impossible to spot if what you're getting is an OEM product or the real deal. There are actually reports on how to spot a genuine BEATS headphone from an OEM.

for example:
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/793...marisonpic.jpg

Now, the most striking thing for me, aside from the look of the headphone, is the packaging. The ORIGINAL red packaging has a crease on top and the bottom part, while the box, when opened has 3 sections when opened (left, box spine and headphone container) while the OEM only has a 2 sections (left, and headphone container). As seen here:

[M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoE4sbJMMFU[/M]

Now here comes the part where I hope my suspicions aren't right.


Yesterday, I went to Power Mac Center in SM Annex and I checked out the Beats by Dr. Dre Tours that they were selling. I know how to spot an OEM box so I checked to see if this was the retail, which was at Php11k. To my surprise, the box is actually the same as the OEM ones. I checked the other Beats by Dr. Dre Solos, Studios, and Heartbeats and found that these were genuine (from the packaging, and crease of the box), but that the Tour headphones had the same box as the OEM!

Now, I'm not saying that these are OEMs they're selling in PowerMac and I'm not saying that PowerMac sells us fake products. I love PowerMac from the bottom of my heart and I don't want to give everyone a bad impression of them. I am just trying to help everyone that maybe some stores in the Philippines got duped by the OEMs and are selling it at retail prices. This also is bad for the customer since you might be paying for something that you could definitely get for a lower price. My advice is just to check, check, check whatever you buy using the picture and video i posted above plus the other videos and pictures online.

I hope I made you more aware of purchasing this wonderful product. I love PowerMac and I love Dr.Dre Beats. Let's just be more careful in spotting what the retail is from the OEMs.

[Charlie]

I think each territory has its own different packaging thus the difference, I'm quite sure the ones in Powermac are original retail SKUs and not OEMs because they get their stocks from Eleksis the exclusive distributor for Monster Cables which is the parent company which produces the Beats Headphones

http://www.monstercable.com/internat...al_dealers.asp

[LeoCastillo]

We seem to have two threads of this in two separate subforums.
Expect this to be merged by a moderator shortly.

Leo

[marvinong]

I think each territory has its own different packaging thus the difference, I'm quite sure the ones in Powermac are original retail SKUs and not OEMs because they get their stocks from Eleksis the exclusive distributor for Monster Cables which is the parent company which produces the Beats Headphones

http://www.monstercable.com/internat...al_dealers.asp

whew. Thank god! okay, that calms my suspicions.

We seem to have two threads of this in two separate subforums.
Expect this to be merged by a moderator shortly.

Leo

Thanks sir leo

[xob]

I have beats solo purchased at anson greenhills.. I can say orig naman eh.. I know how to spot a fake and original.. and they give 1yr warranty

[pop_freak19]

I have a Beats tour from powermac before and a friend of mine bought an OEM of Beats tour from ebay. He showed me his Beats tour and we compared it. I'm not an audiophile so I cannot tell you much about that part. But there are lots of cosmetic differences. To name a few:

First, the OEM has serial number imprinted on the tip of the cable. The Original doesn't have one (I emailed the Monster Customer care for this info).

Second, The L label on the earphone is printed on the RIGHT and the R is printed on the LEFT.

Third, though I think this is quite personal, the build quality feel between those two are noticeable once you get hold of them.



I suggest that you buy it from Powermac, because of the warranty.

When my Beats tour broke after using it for only one month, It took a month for them to replace my Beats tour, but to my surprise, they replaced it with NEW BEATS STUDIO by Dr. Dre, without any additional cost in my part. :-)

[Tr00per]

When my Beats tour broke after using it for only one month, It took a month for them to replace my Beats tour, but to my surprise, they replaced it with NEW BEATS STUDIO by Dr. Dre, without any additional cost in my part. :-)

Are those the Beats Studio Headphones? If so, woah! Now that's what i call, lucky! And sir, what PowerMac branch did you bought yours?

[pop_freak19]

Are those the Beats Studio Headphones? If so, woah! Now that's what i call, lucky! And sir, what PowerMac branch did you bought yours?

Yup! the 22K headphones. Haha! I don't believe it at first when they called me.

Anyway, I purchased mine at PowerMac Trinoma...

[marvinong]

First, the OEM has serial number imprinted on the tip of the cable. The Original doesn't have one (I emailed the Monster Customer care for this info).

Second, The L label on the earphone is printed on the RIGHT and the R is printed on the LEFT.

I got the OEM sir and so far those descriptions you gave are present on my tours!

The L label is printed on the RIGHT and the R is printed on the LEFT! here:

LEFT


RIGHT


and I don't have a serial number on mine! here:



The headphones




I think I got the good OEMs, versus the rumored bad imitations. The person I got this from is selling on TipidPC and gets his supply from a Monster supplier in the states.

I quote:

"Custom built OEM Monster beat tour Dr. Dre brand new, Money Back Guarantee!

Also available on order basis from the same U.S. based Supplier: Original Genuine Authentic Monster® JAMZ In Ear Speakers, Monster® Turbine High Performance In-Ear Speakers, Beats Pro DJ STUDIO Headphones and Monster® Beats Tour."


If that's the case, and your descriptions are correct, then I'm happy with my OEMs! hehe.

[ultraracingph]

This thread is very useful! I searched Google for the difference between the original and the oem and weird enough it led me back here at Philmug! At least now I know what to look for when purchasing this product! Thanks