[Acer15]

I recently purchased the now discontinued Klipsch x10 IEM. I bought it on ebay. I read a thread started years ago that detailed the physical differences btw the real vs fake x10s. It was hard for me to tell the differences from pictures alone so I decided to contact Klipsch and ask them if they can verify whether my product is real or fake. Here is the conversation via email (sorry for the change in text color):
 
Me: Klipsch Support,
 
I just purchased Klipsch IEM x10 (a discontinued product) from ebay. I understand that unauthorized sellers on third party sites may produce counterfeit Klipsch products. To be certain that I actually have received a real Klipsch product, are there any identifiers on the product box I can give you for you to check that the product was at some point produced by Klipsch? For example, the numbers on the bar code on the bottom of the box?
 
Thanks 
 
 
Klipsch: 
Is there a hologram sticker on the side of the packaging?
 
Thanks,
 
Me: 
No there is not. 
 
Klipsch:
 
I will not be able to verify authenticity if there is not a hologram sticker on the side of the packaging. It sounds like you might have a counterfeit product. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
 
Thanks,

 
 
 
So after reading the email I searched on google and found an article about Klipsch's effort to fight against fake items via hologram stickers. Head-fi forum will not let me post any links but put in "klipsch hologram sticker consumer" into google and it should be the first link. The article was written in 2012. I am no longer sure whether mine is fake or real. Based on that old thread I had read, the main thing I got out of it is that if your earphones do not magnetize then they are real. Mines do not magnetize but I don't exactly buy this logic. My very cheap $15 earphone I bought from Staples don't magnetize and they certainly are real. What's not to say people used cheap $15 earphones and placed them into klipsch? I don't think there really is any way for me to prove that these are real. But I wanted to let you guys know about this.
 
The only thing that gives me a slight hope that these are still real is the fact that x10 are discontinued. It is possible that retailers hold and only sell their x10s on strategic holidays (like when I got mine). Maybe some x10s were made well before Klipsch decided to put stickers on them. 
 
I also assume from 2012 and on any Klipsch products now have hologram stickers on them? Not sure about this. I thought I'd let people know about this and if any current Klipsch x10 owners have any comments or suggestions for determining fake vs real please do respond.
 
Best

 

[Acer15]

Just an update. I am sure mine are fake now. They sound no different than my normal cheap $15 earphones and I am certainly not amazed by the sound quality. I looked at other ebay sellers and one of them I noticed have pictures of the box and it has the hologram sticker on it. In hindsight I should have emailed Klipsch about this first before making the purchase. So really, ebay is probably the better place to buy this IEM b/c unlike Amazon some sellers have pictures of the boxes. Make note of a hologram sticker that should be located on the bottom of the box. If a picture of the bottom of the box is not available ask the seller to take a pic of it.