[nhatminhdo1992]

This is my first IEM.
I've read pages like How to spot a fake CX500? When buying it, I checked the rim of the packaging, the image of the male model and found no flaws as described in the web page above.
The other day I plugged the phone into my laptop to watch a movie. Every time the actors in the movie said a line, there's a 'zzzzzz' sound in the background but when I plugged in my Sansa Clip bundled earphone, there was no 'zzzz' sound at all. I called the seller and he said that the phone is brand new and is a 'high-sound-quality' phone so the 'zzzz' sound was normal. He advised me to break-in the phone. He also let me listen to his CX 300 and his Bose phone, they all produced the 'zzzz' sound. I've never listened to a 'genuine' and 'high-sound-quality' phone before so I couldn't argue with that and had to let him go.
Today, I carefully checked the phone again and found something suspicious: there are two tiny bumps on each earpiece near the cable and the font of 'CX 500' on the separator differs a little bit from that of the product image from the Sennheiser product page.

So would you be kind enough to answer my questions below:
1. Is the 'zzzz' sound really normal?
2. Does your CX 500 have the bumps like mine?
3. Is my CX 500 a fake?

Sorry for my bad English. It's not my mother tongue.
And also sorry for my inexperience. I've never listened to a real good phone before.

Here are the pictures of my IEM (sorry for the quality, these are taken with my Sharp phone):

 

[K_19]

If by "bzzz", you mean hiss, that depends if the CX500's are of low impedence (I'm not sure). If it indeed is, then it would definitely hiss with certain sources.

 

[nhatminhdo1992]

Yeah, it's more like a hissing sound.
After about 50 hours of breaking-in, the phone makes hissing sounds with almost everything I play on my Sansa Clip at high volume.

 

[ka-boom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhatminhdo1992 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. Does your CX 500 have the bumps like mine?

Bumps where?

 

[nhatminhdo1992]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ka-boom /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bumps where?

On each earpiece near the start of the cable.

 

[nhatminhdo1992]

Anyone?

 

[captian73]

my initial impressions is that they're the real. I base that on the Silver driver casing examples from the CX400 and CX300 the silver driver casing is the same... and that also goes for the Creative EP630.

fakeheadphones.com » Blast! I Think My Sennheiser CX400 Earphones Are Genuine

fakeheadphones.com » Sennheiser CX300: Fake vs Genuine

1) the edge is smooth and rounded

2) the grove in the silver driver casing is off centre

according to this head-fi post, the clip that you have is real

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/how...3/#post4045017

that the best i can do for you!

 

[nhatminhdo1992]

But does the font matter much? Do Sennheiser change their phone's appearance? And the bumps also, they are on the earpieces near the start of the cable, which are pretty hard to spot.

Thanks for your help.

 

[captian73]

Unfortunately, I can only go on the CX400's. The font seems to be the right size. However, the "bump" you're referring to, appears to be where the casing join is. on my CX400's, there's a ridge where the join on the casing mold is. I wouldn't call it a 'bump' but there is a ridge.

However, the ear buds on your CX500, they're also the real thing. I'm still concentrating on the silver Driver casing. I've yet to see a fake (IMPO) that has a smooth edge and an off centre grove!

If they are fake, then they're the best fakes I've ever seen!

 

[walkingman]

Can you post a picture of the headphone without the silicone tip? I do not have a CX 500, but the font looks similar to the one on my CX 95 and MX 65, both of which has the same Y-split design.

 

[nhatminhdo1992]

But the style of the font on the separator is a bit different from the high resolution image on Sennheiser's web page. The 'C' doesn't curve that much and there seems to be a space between 'CX' and '500' in Sennheiser's.

Thanks for your help.

 

[captian73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkingman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you post a picture of the headphone without the silicone tip? .

Just to let you know, the ear bud holder tips are set at a slight angle. If they're square, then they're fake. anyway it's nearly 1:44 am, and i've got to be up at 8:00, so I'll leave you to it for now. Best of luck!

 

[Usama]

I have the CX500 sitting infront of me right now. Take a pic showing the "S" logo on the back of the earbud and another pic showing the speaker, without the tip. Initial impressions: they seem to be legit. There is no space between the "cx" and the "500" on mine.

By bump, do you mean there is a very small and short plastic line forming a trapezoid shape, running under the earbud, where the wire attaches to the earbud?

 

[nhatminhdo1992]

Thanks for your prompt reply.
I'll take photos of that right away. Sorry for any trouble I caused.

 

[Pepito]

The zzzzz is normal. The reason why you only get in on your laptop is because of the noise from your motherboard. The onboard soundcard picks up alot of electronic noise produced from your motherboard and other components, such as a video card.