[Dobrescu George]

Better, buy only from supported dealers from that list, to make sure. 
 
Or buy second hand from someone who had bought from a supported dealer from that list. 
 
There are companies who call themselves official sennheiser dealers, and they are not, so I think that going with only what is on that list is the safest way to know that you have a genuine product. 

 

[LancerFIN]

Contacted Sennheiser. I think mine might be fakes. Even though they passed Sennheiser's online authentication.
 
Packaging was wrapped in plastic but the plastic was cut in two places and stickers underneath are removed. I don't see stickers like that in any unboxing videos. Leather carrying case has atrocious build quality. SN is graved on the plate. There is no manual of any kind in the box. Earphones itself look and sound very convincing. Aside from grilles and this white residue under the tips:
 
 


Are the grilles supposed to look like that?

 

[denis1976]

No way, theres something wrong with that grill my friend

 

[LancerFIN]

Yeah I finally found a picture of the grilles on the authentic one. It's supposed to have metal mesh on top. So clearly fakes.
 
edit: Mine pretty much matches Vaqar's pair but I don't even have the metal mesh grilles. I have contacted the seller.
 
edit: So the box is original and real. Inspecting really closely I can see some residue of the sealing stickers that hold the package together when it was new. Real box with fake goods.

 

[willismith22]

I just had a look on eBay and every single pair of Ie 800s were fake.. I am shocked Sennheiser isn't doing more to actively protect their trademarks.

 

[Vanquiz]

  I just had a look on eBay and every single pair of Ie 800s were fake.. I am shocked Sennheiser isn't doing more to actively protect their trademarks.

Indeed, first I was very excited looking all those listing for IE800 bids were all around $100-200, I thought I should be to score one for less than $300, which I thought is a very good deal. Then I saw almost all the sellers are from China, that's when I start feeling cautious.
 
After further googling, I found out apparently there's so many fakes IE800, even on Aliexpress, there are tons at even cheaper prices between $15-$100, holy crap.

 

[willismith22]

  Indeed, first I was very excited looking all those listing for IE800 bids were all around $100-200, I thought I should be to score one for less than $300, which I thought is a very good deal. Then I saw almost all the sellers are from China, that's when I start feeling cautious.
 
After further googling, I found out apparently there's so many fakes IE800, even on Aliexpress, there are tons at even cheaper prices between $15-$100, holy crap.

Unfortunately its not just the ones from China, I have seen several pairs from reputable sellers in the US and Europe where I think the sellers are truly convinced they are real. Obviously they don't know what real ones sound like. I had a pair of fake ones last year and i took photographs side by side with my real ones. Unfortunately I still don't have access to attach photos on head-hifi .

 

[zeddun]

Thought I would share my experience here.  I recently purchased a used pair of ie800s.  The seller said they were genuine and in very good condition. The seller provided both the QR information and the 5 digital serial number.  Before purchasing I contacted Sennheiser USA and provided a customer support rep with both the QR information and serial number.  The rep said the QR information checked out but that alone does not guarantee authenticity.  The rep also said the serial number checked out and was for a pair of ie800s purchased in February 2015.  The rep told me that based on both the QR and serial number checking out that it was highly unlikely that the product was counterfeit.  Based on that and the fact that my credit card issuer said I could dispute the charge and receive a full credit if it turned out to be a fake later I decided to make the purchase as I saved about 25% off of the brand new price.  The product was shipped promptly and it arrived with the same QR information and serial number that I had been provided.   The condition was also as described and my ie800s sound great and as described by other head-fi members and professional reviewers such as Steve Guttenberg.  Anyways, I wanted thank fellow head-fi members for posting on the ie800 counterfeit issue as your posts were a great reference in helping me with my purchase.  

 

[willismith22]

Here are some photos I took comparing real with fake IE 800's. Hopefully they can help some of you avoid getting a counterfeit pair. 
 
Please remember the Sennheiser authentication system is completely useless, these fakes checked out on the Sennheiser website.
 
From my experience the quickest way to instantly spot fakes is the extremely inferior leather case. The real case has the feel of how you would imaging leather and stitching in a Rolls Royce or Ferrari. 
 
Good Luck! 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[VinegarBoy]

P T Barnum's words ring true even today; "There's a sucker born every minute".

 

[Dobrescu George]

  Here are some photos I took comparing real with fake IE 800's. Hopefully they can help some of you avoid getting a counterfeit pair. 
 
Please remember the Sennheiser authentication system is completely useless, these fakes checked out on the Sennheiser website.
 
From my experience the quickest way to instantly spot fakes is the extremely inferior leather case. The real case has the feel of how you would imaging leather and stitching in a Rolls Royce or Ferrari. 
 
Good Luck! 
 

 

 

 

 

Interesting photos!
 
Thanks!
 
Also, the first edition of Ie800 had a different case, made of a very different leather, it did not seem low quality, but it was glossy. 

 

[zeddun]

  Here are some photos I took comparing real with fake IE 800's. Hopefully they can help some of you avoid getting a counterfeit pair. 
 
Please remember the Sennheiser authentication system is completely useless, these fakes checked out on the Sennheiser website.
 
From my experience the quickest way to instantly spot fakes is the extremely inferior leather case. The real case has the feel of how you would imaging leather and stitching in a Rolls Royce or Ferrari. 
 
Good Luck! 
 

 

 

 

 

Great photos and information.  Thanks Willismith22! 

 

[willismith22]

  Interesting photos!
 
Thanks!
 
Also, the first edition of Ie800 had a different case, made of a very different leather, it did not seem low quality, but it was glossy. 

Do you happen to have photos? Would be very interesting to see. 

 

[VinegarBoy]

S/N 23619 on inside of case seems to be popular.
Scroll through some eBay listings and on a given day you will see 2+ available for $75-$500.

On occasion I've asked the sellers whether they are using a stock photo or an actual pic of the set being offered for sale. LOL.

 

[Ivabign]

Are the IE800 supposed to be manufactured in Germany? I am aware that Sennheiser has facilities in China and "Made in China" does not disqualify a Sennheiser product from being authentic - but I wondered if the IE800 (as is the HD800) made in Germany. 
 
Hell, K3003i's are made in China now as opposed to Austria.