Identifying A Fake Product

While it may seems flattering that there are imitators who tries to counterfeit our products, as a manufacturer, we are definitely not pleased when our valued customers unknowingly purchased these counterfeit products that are made to believe as TOA products and get negative experiences from it.

These counterfeit products bear TOA logos, cost significantly lower than an original TOA product and can appear extremely similar to the genuine item at first glance, the quality, internal components and performance fail to meet our standards. These products may also fail to meet safety regulations for materials or workmanship. Please be warned that the use of counterfeit product(s) risk malfunction of the system and may damage the other equipment within the same setup.

< COUNTERFEIT DRIVER UNIT resembles TOA TU-652M >

It is discovered recently that there is an imitation product in the market that is passing off as our TOA Driver Unit, TU-652M. Though the counterfeit product bears close resemblance of our TOA TU-652M in many ways including even the packaging but an up-close comparsion of the product and packaging tells the real and fake apart.

TOA TU-652M Driver Unit

Counterfeit Driver Unit

The TOA packaging will always be finished with original TOA tape as a final seal on the packaging. Any damaged seal reveal that packaging had been tempered with. Packaging without seal is the first tell-tale sign that it is not an authentic TOA product. Different font type used is also a sign that product is not authentic.

Genuine TOA TU-652M adopts a white finish while the counterfeit horn speaker's finish is a yellowish white. The horn coupling of TOA TU-652M is matt while counterfeit driver unit is glossy.

As much as the counterfeit driver unit can be manufactured to look very much like that of our TOA TU-652M Driver Unit, a series of internal factory lab tests shows its performance is way behind that of our TOA TU-652M. You may contact us to view the test report on the performance comparison. At TOA, we take our customers' safety seriously, all our products undergone strict quality checks to make sure it is safe for use.

Distinguishing authentic from counterfeit can be difficult, many customers may not be awared that they are buying or have bought counterfeit products. To ensure you are buying an authentic TOA product, buy it only from our authorized distributors/dealers and resellers.

< COUNTERFEIT DIAPHRAGM resembles TOA DG-30DB >

We recently discovered there are retailers in the market selling counterfeit diaphragm which is made to believe it is TOA DG-30DB, Diaphragm. This counterfeit diaphragm is packed in a brown-paper box with a roughly pasted white sticker indicating "Parts for TOA" and a ink stamp indicating "Voice Coil for TOA DG-30DB".

TOA Diaphragm, DG-30DB

Counterfeit Diaphragm

Taking a look at the images, you will noticed that the authentic TOA diaphragm, DG-30DB comes in a white packaging box and it is sealed in factory with TOA label on the carton box opening and carton is labelled clearly with TOA logo, model number and production lot number. What's more on the box, it shows the frequency response diagram, specification of the product and the applicable models that this product can be used with.

As we unboxed the packaging, you will see that the authentic TOA DG-30DB diaphragm is packed with the top side facing upwards and packaging has an additional flap layer ensuring that the product remains in place in the box to avoid unnecessary movement which may potentially cause damage to the diaphragm. The TOA DG-30DB is easily recognisable by its' bright red color and it is imprinted with TOA company name and product series on both sides of the diaphragm.

The counterfeit product on the other hand is packed with the top side facing down, risking possible damage if it is placed roughly. The product itself at one glance can easily be identified as inferior manufacturing quality with no model number, no brand identification.

We would like to remind our valued customers once again to buy TOA products only from TOA authorized dealers.

< COUNTERFEIT UNIVERSAL SPEAKER resembles TOA BS-1030W >

In the market right now, there is a counterfeit box speaker made to believe as TOA BS-1030W. It bears full resemblance of a box speaker design that of our TOA BS-1030W and is marketed to be a TOA product. Please be wary of your purchases and make sure you only purchase from an authorized TOA distributor/dealer.

TOA BS-1030W Universal Speaker

Counterfeit Speaker

A closer look at the physical appearance of the counterfeit speaker, you will notice some differences as marked in the images above. The TOA BS-1030W comes with quality finished cable with neatly cut wiring end protected by wire shield that will only be removed before installation. The end connected to the speaker has a transparent cable shield acting as a protective to the speaker's back cover to prevent possible chemical reaction of the cable jacket from damaging the back cover. The TOA logo on our TOA speaker is made of high impact polystyrene to prevent deterioration over time.

The counterfeit speaker on the other hand uses low grade wiring with open raw wires on the end without any protection. There isn’t additional cable shield on the end connecting to the speaker to protect the speaker's back cover. Logo on the speaker is a plastic piece of sticker that easily dropped off after a few attempts to peel it out. Sticker label behind the speaker is also not properly aligned, covering part of the wattage tapping area.

The counterfeit speaker is not just aesthetically inferior to that of the TOA BS-1030W but also the performance of the speaker it non-comparable to the TOA BS-1030W as tested in our factory. You may contact us to view the test report on the performance comparison. All TOA products undergone stringent quality tests and inspections by both internal QC department and externally laboratories ensuring product produced maintains premium quality.

< COUNTERFEIT DRIVER UNIT resembles TOA TU-651M >

An off-white colored driver unit in the market is passing off itself as TOA driver unit, TU-651M. Please be informed that TOA TU-651M Driver Unit comes only in one color and it’s grey. Though the counterfeit product bears resemblance of our TOA TU-651M in many ways but a physical comparison of the product gives away the inferior manufacturing quality of the counterfeit product.

TOA TU-651M Driver Unit

Counterfeit Driver Unit

The TOA TU-651M comes with quality finished cable with neatly cut wiring end protected by wire shield that will only be removed before installation. The end connected to the driver unit has a transparent cable shield acting as a protective to the driver unit's cover to prevent possible chemical reaction of the cable jacket from damaging the cover.

The counterfeit driver unit on the other hand uses low grade wiring with open raw wires on the end without any protection. There isn’t additional cable shield on the end connecting to the driver unit to protect the unit's cover. Sticker label on the driver unit is also of inferior quality of which the image above shows it’s not properly pasted and it’s peeling off.

As much as the counterfeit driver unit can be manufactured to look very much like that of our TOA TU-651M Driver Unit, a series of internal factory lab tests shows its performance is way behind that of our TOA TU-651M. You may contact us to view the test report on the performance comparison. At TOA, we take our customers' safety seriously, all our products undergone strict quality checks to make sure it is safe for use.

< COUNTERFEIT HEADSET MICROPHONE resembles TOA EM-370HS-AS / ZM-370HS-AS >

There is a Tie Clip microphone selling in the market that is identified by packaging as a TOA ZM-370Q Tie Clip microphone. This counterfeit product bears TOA symbol and logotype resembling that of TOA's logo. TOA do not have any Clip Tie microphone bearing model number ZM-370Q. And this counterfeit model is marketed to resemble TOA EM-370HS-AS/ZM-370HS-AS Headset microphone.

** ZM-370HS-AS is TOA Indonesia domestic model.

TOA EM-370 Headset Microphone

Counterfeit Headset Microphone

As shown in the above comparsion photos, TOA EM-370HS-AS/ZM-370HS-AS is visibly of a higher quality. All TOA products are sealed in factory with TOA label on the carton box opening and carton is labelled clearly with TOA model number, serial number, production lot number and bar code.

The TOA EM-370HS-AS/ZM-370HS-AS head band is made durable with cushions on both ends of the head band as an added securing feature preventing the headset from slipping off during the speech with the head movement of the user or when adjusting the position of the microphone, at the same time giving user the ultimate comfort even during prolonged usage. The flexible microphone holder enables user to easily adjust the microphone position to precisely fit their face contour ensuring maximum speech clarity.

The counterfeit product on the other hand is a filmsy piece of microphone that likely does not serve any sort of wearing comfort, drops off easily with certain head movements due to lack of securing ability on both sides of the head. Microphone piece is not able to bend flexibly hence will affect usability and speech clarity as microphone is not able to be correctly positioned. And you can visibly see color degradation of the unit.

< COUNTERFEIT DESKTOP MICROPHONE resembles TOA EM-380 >

Recently we discovered a counterfeit desktop microphone selling in the market made to believe it's from TOA with packaging resembling our TOA EM-380 desktop microphone and counterfeit product bears TOA symbol and logotype resembling that of TOA's logo.

TOA EM-380 Desktop Microphone

Counterfeit Desktop Microphone

TOA EM-380 Desktop Microphone is thoughtfully designed to ensure it's both aesthetically soothing, allowing it to blend into any application environment and also functionally user friendly. Microphone length works out an ideal and comfortable user height and length. Our EM-380 undergone strict product quality assurance tests to ensure top quality performance, safety and durability:

- Our microphone's flexible bend is able to withstand more than 2,500 bends¹.
- With the use of compatible batteries, the usage of the EM-380 can be up to 92,000 times² of paging or, 20 months³ of speech before the microphone needs a battery replacement.

^Note:
^{1. Test conducted on bend speed of 60 times per minute.
2. Calculated on the assumption of 10 seconds for each paging}
^{3. Calculated on the assumption of 3 hours/week usage for speech}^{* all tests are conducted with the use of alkaline batteries.}

This counterfeit desktop microphone on the other hand is highly possible not to have undergone any quality assurance tests. Sound performance and durability of the microphone is questionable. And the use of counterfeit products that had not undergone stringent quality tests for safety and performance assurance risk malfunction of the system and may damage other equipments within the same setup.

Please take extra care when buying TOA products. Buy it only from TOA authorized distributors/dealers.

If the price is remarkably cheaper compared to the geniune TOA product, it's high likelihood to be a counterfeit.

If you have any questions on the authenicity of your product you have purchase or intend to purchase, please contact us to verify.

Thank you for reading this and your support for our effort in protecting our customers from negative experiences.