Are the Lewitt Mics on AliExpress real or counterfeits?

[FetMe?FetU!]

Unlike other obvious counterfeit microphones on AliExpress like Shure, Sennheiser, Neumann etc that you can tell are counterfeit by price and the manufacturer logo being photoshopped out on the product page, but mainly the cheap pricing. I was very sad to see Lewitt mics listed for sale on AliExpress. I reached out to Lewitt and they told me that AliExpress is not an authorized reseller (no surprise) so I thought GREAT another fine brand being targeted by counterfeiting operations. But, and of course there is a but, the selling price is WAY higher than retail at authorized dealers in the US. What!! The LCT-440 Pure sells for $289 at Musicians Friend but the 440 Pure on AliExpress is $369. Are these AE stores buying genuine Lewitt inventory and marking it up to make a profit just to look legitimate? Are these massively overpriced counterfeits? I’m not willing to buy one to find out but I do want to know which answer is correct so I can anticipate a flood of counterfeits in the used market. Buying a used SM7B or DB, SM57, SM58, e835, e935, e945, Beta 57, Beta 87A, MV7 (Various Styles) and sadly even the Shure KMS8 is a DO NOT BUY used for me because of all the extra work required to confirm its real. Hell I bought a used SM58 from Guitar Center and it’s legitimacy is highly suspect. Despite many back and forths with Shure they could not tell if it was fake BUT would not say it was real just that they are “unable to determine.” I sent them SO many photos! Why would I ever buy any model of microphone sold on AliExpress from the used market if I have to jump through all these additional hoops and still not know if it’s real or counterfeit? Do I need to add the Lewitt LCT240, 440, 540 and 940 to that list? There are still plenty of high quality microphone brands not being targeted by counterfeiters but putting these Lewitt mics on my DO NOT BUY used list, would make me very sad. Also manufacturers have no incentive to even validate the legitimacy of used mics because they don’t make any money when we buy a used microphone and I don’t blame them. Still it sucks for buyers who can only afford to buy used. I did find one obviously counterfeit super cheap LCT 440 Pure on Ali for $119 so that likely answers my question but why the way overpriced ones?

 

[soliloqueen]

lewitt is a takstar-produced brand, takstar being a prc nationalized production factory of superlux taiwan, so it's probably not hard to get real lewitt parts in china as factory seconds. that's why there'd be no way to tell.

 

[micolas]

@FetMe?FetU!
...That's why we prefer to buy only the cheapest products on AliE, without a famous brand name, or from Chinese brands. I generally buy mostly bodies, but also components that can be useful. It's really good to have someone confirm the quality of some products.

But as @RuudNL says:
" There's only one way to find out! "

 

[k brown]

I generally stick to buying used on ebay; 90% of the time the stuff is just fine, and more often than not what doesn't work is fixable.

 

[RuudNL]

@micolas: I know exactly the same as you know!
The ali "Neumann" microphones were Chinese reproductions, so I don't expect the Lewitt microphones to be genuine...

 

[nyystero]

If you think of Aliexpress as an Amazon competitor it makes more sense in a lot of ways

 

[micolas]

I generally stick to buying used on ebay; 90% of the time the stuff is just fine, and more often than not what doesn't work is fixable.

Yes, you're right, I prefer to buy second-hand, functional or defective products, as cheaply as possible, from different sales sites that I trust.
Often you even have pleasant surprises, they have a small defect that is easy to fix. I remember that @Wordsushi bought a used M-audio Nova very cheaply, and inside he found a genuine Neumann K87 capsule!

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

lewitt is a takstar-produced brand, takstar being a prc nationalized production factory of superlux taiwan, so it's probably not hard to get real lewitt parts in china as factory seconds. that's why there'd be no way to tell.

But... but... I thought Lewitt was a US microphone company based in California, started by a bunch of former AKG employees who were kicked out by Harmon/Samsung! They build in China! They are made by Takstar (gulp!) out of China, by a PRC nationalized factory, no less! Next, you will be telling me the factory uses Uyghur and child labor, or worse, Uyghur children to build the microphones. My innocence is gone forever.

Joking aside, what you are telling me should not surprise me since everybody seems to build in China these days. I worked for Sony for ages, a company that could not escape the financial insanity of building products in Japan to the point that it almost bankrupted them. They eventually moved most of their production to countries like China, Taiwan, and Brazil. Even if it's irrational, it still takes a little bit of the spark out of my image of Lewitt.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

@FetMe?FetU!
...That's why we prefer to buy only the cheapest products on AliE, without a famous brand name, or from Chinese brands. I generally buy mostly bodies, but also components that can be useful. It's really good to have someone confirm the quality of some products.

But as @RuudNL says:
" There's only one way to find out! "

Chinese microphone companies are getting very good. For example, I love SE microphones. I've been exploring BaiFei Li microphones. I just received a V5 and have high expectations for it. SE does all the original work. BaiFei Li does some original designs, but most of them are 100% blatant design ripoffs of name-brand microphones. At least they don't sell them as the original. They use a more Behringer approach. sE production quality is excellent. BaiFei Li, from what I've heard and seen, production quality is more like the typical mass produced Chinese microphones. However, somehow, it still has a high percentage of decent results, even with lax production standards and lower quality parts.

 

[micolas]

Chinese microphone companies are getting very good. For example, I love SE microphones. I've been exploring BaiFei Li microphones. I just received a V5 and have high expectations for it. SE does all the original work. BaiFei Li does some original designs, but most of them are 100% blatant design ripoffs of name-brand microphones. At least they don't sell them as the original. They use a more Behringer approach. sE production quality is excellent. BaiFei Li, from what I've heard and seen, production quality is more typically Chinese. However, somehow, it still has a high percentage of decent results, even with lax production standards and lower quality parts.

I completely agree with what you said about SE Electronics.
I have a few models and they are excellent. Of course I couldn't resist and improved them

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

I completely agree with what you said about SE Electronics.
I have a few models and they are excellent. Of course I couldn't resist and improved them

What type of improvements? Capsules, capacitors? More please!

 

[micolas]

What type of improvements? Capsules, capacitors? More please!

First of all, which model are you particularly interested in?
I have collected and modified microphones with through-hole components, older models.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

I've recently been playing around with reducing handling noise on some very noisy ENG and handheld stage microphones. I'm sure it's nothing that has not been attempted but undocumented, at least that I can find, so I'm forced to make my own attempts. I'm mapping out plans to do everything from rubber foam wrapping the bodies to smaller gauge coated wiring to transmit less vibration to the capsule. Most excitingly, I'm even experimenting with making my own capsule shock mounts like the Shure SM7B but with a twist.

 

[micolas]

I've recently been playing around with reducing handling noise on some very noisy ENG and handheld stage microphones. I'm sure it's nothing that has not been attempted but undocumented, at least that I can find, so I'm forced to make my own attempts. I'm mapping out plans to do everything from rubber foam wrapping the bodies to smaller gauge coated wiring to transmit less vibration to the capsule. Most excitingly, I'm even experimenting with making my own capsule shock mounts like the Shure SM7B but with a twist.

You are on the right track. You need to design and experiment with your own shockmounts for Live application conditions.
The Rycote solution seems promising to me. You can 3D print your own design.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

First of all, which model are you particularly interested in?
I have collected and modified microphones with through-hole components, older models.

I don't have any particular models in mind. I just love hearing the stories of why people do it, what they hope to achieve, and how it actually turns out. I get the benefits of modifying mics with hole-through boards. I've done some modding of surface-mount boards, including KK's AKG perception mod. It's very tricky but rewarding when it turns out like that one did. I gave that one away to someone who uses it far more than I did, so I'm happy it found a good home. Microphones, like any instrument, need to be used, or they are wasted. I miss it, though, and have recently acquired a couple of used Perceptions (a 4XX and a 2XX series) to mod. I have this crazy idea to install a clip that allows me to swap out different value capacitors to change the sound easily. It will be interesting to see how it works and what issues come up (like will the clip that holds the capacitors introduce noise, or can it be externally mounted for easy access? Will this introduce noise because it's outside the microphone body? My guess is that it will, but seeing what happens will be fun. If it can be made to work, this type of quick swap solution would also allow quick testing of different kinds (film, ceramic etc) of capacitors along with capacitor values.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

You are on the right track. You need to design and experiment with your own shockmounts for Live application conditions.
The Rycote solution seems promising to me. You can 3D print your own design.

Yes, 3D printing is on my list. It will give me an excuse to unpack that printer I bought two years ago. But I've been wanting to stick with metal, so I've been using a variety of off-the-shelf parts made for other CE products that are Brass, aluminum, and even stainless steel to house the capsules along with many different shock absorbing materials from rubber to a range of foams.

 

[micolas]

I don't have any particular models in mind. I just love hearing the stories of why people do it, what they hope to achieve, and how it actually turns out. I get the benefits of modifying mics with hole-through boards. I've done some modding of surface-mount boards, including KK's AKG perception mod. It's very tricky but rewarding when it turns out like one did. I gave that one away to someone who uses it far more than I did, so I'm happy it found a good home. Microphones, like any instrument, need to be used, or they are wasted. I miss it, though, and have recently acquired a couple of used Perceptions (a 4XX and a 2XX series) to mod. I have this crazy idea to install a clip that allows me to swap out different value capacitors to change the sound easily. It will be interesting to see how it works and what issues come up (like will the clip that holds the capacitors introduce noise, or can it be externally mounted for easy access? Will this introduce noise because it's outside the microphone body? My guess is that it will, but seeing what happens will be fun. If it can be made to work, this type of quick swap solution would also allow quick testing of different kinds (film, ceramic etc) of capacitors along with capacitor values.

I do this routinely for fine tuning
But the components outside the microphone shield produce hum
After establishing the optimal values, the components must be connected inside.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

I do this routinely for fine tuning
But the components outside the microphone shield produce hum
After establishing the optimal values, the components must be connected inside.

Yes, I figured as much. There's plenty of room inside the AKG mic body for the clip assembly. It does make me wonder if I can rig up some type of shielded external container for the clip. I bet I can. Either way, it will be fun to try.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

You are on the right track. You need to design and experiment with your own shockmounts for Live application conditions.
The Rycote solution seems promising to me. You can 3D print your own design.

Are you talking about Rycote external shock mounts? They are very nice, but I hope to engineer an internal solution for handheld microphones.

 

[ZHOUJUN]

Lewitt Mics are produced by Takstar in China. There are many counterfeit Lewitt products in China. Takstar said that Lewitt established the brand in cooperation with AKG. Takstar is not actually a branch in Taiwan. It has only been OEM for many Taiwanese brands, including some Japanese brands. The founder of Takstar is from Shanghai Feilo, China, and it is a brand from mainland China.