Sennheiser CX-300 Authentic or Not

[iyzmi]

I just purchased a pair of Sennheiser CX-300 on eBay and have read a few storys online of some being fake. In another thread I read someone got some from ebay and he knew they were fake based on that there was no packaging, and the plug was gold and straight instead of sliver and 90 degree. Here is what I purchased:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Sennheiser-C...QQcmdZViewItem

In the auction it says:
"Sennheiser CX 300 Ear-Canal Headphones come in a sealed pack with 3 different sized ear adapters in soft, silicone rubber . Because of the nature of the product there are NO RETURNS!!! Please ask questions before bidding and know your product."

The part that scares me a bit is that there are no returns and it comes in a "sealed pack" and I don't know if this meens a sealed package like you would find in a store or a sealed bag, like the ripoff headphones come in. Has anybody purchased from this seller before and any thoughts on if they're real or not? Also, if they are fake, how can I tell besides the different types of plug, in the picture the plug looks authentic. Thanks for all your help guys!

 

[derek8555]

Here is a stock picture from Sennheiser:
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite...00-S_hires.jpg

The difference I find between this and the photos in that EBAY auction is the surface finish. The EBAY one has a very smooth and shiney surface, almost glowing under the light, but the stock ones are not...

EDIT: Oh and the logo looks different too, if you look carefully at the authentic logo you can see that both ends of the "S" on stock pic look much thicker than the border of the logo, and the ebay pic looks like as if they have the same thickness. I might be wrong though because the EBAY pictures are fuzzy.

 

[iyzmi]

Yeah, I do notice the S logo thing. If they come in the hard plastic on cardboard style package does that automatically meen that they're authentic or could they still be fake? I'm pretty sure if they just come in a sealed platic bag or somthing that they're fake, is this correct?

 

[derek8555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iyzmi Yeah, I do notice the S logo thing. If they come in the hard plastic on cardboard style package does that automatically meen that they're authentic or could they still be fake? I'm pretty sure if they just come in a sealed platic bag or somthing that they're fake, is this correct?

From what I heard, those OEMs (ones that come in plastic bags) are fake.

Well, so here is the story that I've been telling for awhile. My friend bought a pair of them off ebay sometime ago, not sure who's the seller. They came in retail package, and looks authentic, although back then I didn't look into any of these details like today, but to my ears, they sound NOTHING like the real ones that I've demoed at some local audio store. So it's really hard to say that coming in a retail package automatically make them authentic...Hope this helps.

 

[iyzmi]

Could it have been that they just weren't broken in yet? Since I've never heard CX-300s yet (or any high quality headphones) I won't know if they're real or fake based on the sound quality, unless its like super bad. I'm hoping for the best....

 

[GlorytheWiz825]

Those look fake to me. :/ Those look like the exact headphones a friend of mine bought from Ebay from a Chinese seller called ape-king. He brought his CX300 over to my place and it only took us 1 minute to realize the one he has bought is fake. Try contacting Paypal to get this resolved. My friend did and ended up getting his money back.

 

[iyzmi]

Crap....I'll wait till I get them then email him that they are fake. I'm not the only one who ordered them so hopfully more people then just me will realize that they aren't authentic. How can you tell that they look like the kind your friend had?

 

[codine]

just looked at the auction and the guys feedback, 1cent ebooks for positive feedback

I personally would not have given him my money.
I'm sure if they are not genuine that you will get your money back, most people I know who have received counterfeit goods through ebay have been offered a refund or additional counterfeit goods to calm the angry buyer down.

my friend bought a CD from ebay and it was fake, he emailed the seller and they sent him 5 more Cd's free of charge so he would not report them to ebay.

 

[iyzmi]

OMG, I'm so stupid...When I looked at his feedback i only saw the positive ones for other headphones and speackers people left him...I didn't see the ebooks. I hope the refund won't be a problem, there's no use emailing him now saying I changed my mind and I don't want them because I commited to buy. I'll have to deal with this after I get them.

 

[dranoel4190]

those look fake. i bought one of these for $10 just to check its sound quality (the seller informed me beforehand they are fake). from my genuine cx300, i can definitely tell there is a difference especially with the bass. but for $10, imo theyre ok

notice the metal grill on the ebay picture. its like it was inserted or pushed down from outside. for the genuine cx300, its the opposite. it looks like it was inserted from inside or something like that.

and one more thing is that the grills of the genuine are more symmetric than the generic ones.

 

[retic3nt]

chances are that if you file a complaint with ebay or paypal the seller will refund all your money giving you free (fake) headphones. That's what I did and the seller just gave me back my money without any hesistation.

 

[Kaaspeer]

Tbh, i can't see if it's fake.

Usually with the fake ones the earwax cover is just glued on while on the real ones it's covered with plastic.

Although i wouldn't trust CX-300 or EP-630 sales on ebay altogether

 

[iyzmi]

Yeah, if these are fake, where can I get some real ones at a low price.

 

[facelvega]

People: these headphones, now sold by Sennheiser, AKG, Creative, and Sharp seem to be all produced by Foster's of Japan, a big headphone supplier and also corporate father of Fostex, who have the only remaining orthodynamic headphones in production. No matter which of these you have, it was very likely made by Foster's at their factories in China.

SO, there are plenty of perfectly good, real, OEM versions out there, even among those available through ebay. Some have received what they believe to be fake versions as well. Of course, this is a tricky subject, so you should use usual ebay caution and only buy from sellers with a good track record.

Once you have ordered, though, burn them in for at least a few hours. These earphones are notoriously burn-in sensitive, and if yours are like mine they'll be slightly muddy and way too bassy out of the box. Then give them a try. If they're fake, you'll know it, because the real ones sound pretty good, a bit below a KSC-75 with a bassy sound and slight sibilance in the treble. If the sound is nothing like this, send them back.

 

[iyzmi]

While I'm waiting for these to come in, what is the best price available currently for authentic ones. I see that on amazon.com the black ones are about $5 cheaper than silver...why is that? The black ones are $47 with free shipping, does any site have better than that?