Sennheiser CX300: Fake vs Genuine
Easy to spot differences between the Fake and Genuine Sennheiser CX300
Click to enlarge these images
1) “L” shape 3.5mm jack: On the fake, it’s quite large and it has grips on the side. The Sennheiser “L” shape jack is quite a dainty little thing.
FIG.1
FIG.2 (below, fake on the left)
2) Fit and finish: As you can see the fakes (right) have a dull matt finish. The Genuine Sennheiser CX300 eco have a shinny finish, a kind of reflective finish to them.
FIG.3 (below, fake on the right)
3) Cable: The cable on the fake CX300’s are thick and they feel like plastic. The Genuine Sennheiser cable has a rubber texture to them, and it has to be said, the cable is quite thin.
FIG.4
4) Get into the Groove! The drive casing has a groove to it. On the fake example, it’s a flat, almost double looking groove (FIG.6). With the genuine CX300’s (FIG.7), there’s a single “V” shape groove. There’s a difference to the placement of the groove (FIG.12). The Fake’s groove is in th middle. The genuine CX’s groove is offset to the cable end of the driver case.
FIG.5 (below, fake on the right)
FIG.6
FIG.7
5) Driver surround and Grill: The fake example theres a 45% angled edge (FIG.8), as compared to the smooth rounded edge of the genuine CX300’s (FIG.9). The grill is also another give away sign. On the fakes, the is curved, where the genuine CX300’s have a flat grill.
FIG.8
FIG.9
FIG.10
FIG.11
6) Ear buds: Look at the length of the join in the ear buds. In the fakes (FIG.12 bottom), starting from the metal driver end, the length is shorter than the genuine CX300’s. There is a slight difference to the finish and feel of the ear buds. The Fake ear buds have a slight sheen on the finish, but the genuine ear buds feel firmer.
FIG.12
By the way, don’t think in this case that the sound quality of the fakes were any good, they’re not! Good luck on finding out whether you’ve paid for a sub-standard product. Please leave any comments about your experiences in buying your CX300 earphones, any experiences dealing with sellers, any experiences of emailing or contacting sellers, any positive or negative experience, please share. Please leave a comment.
[…] Sennheiser CX300: Fake vs Genuine […]
Matthew,
Good work! I pretty much agree with all your comparisons here, having two sets of CX300’s myself, one set bought in transit from an airport branch of Dixons for £29.95, and the other set from eBay for half that price.
Your photographs are spot on and a good guide to the differences between fake and genuine - although I’m sure some factory on the other side of the planet is working hard to make the differences disappear.
Kinds regards and thanks for your efforts and info.
Roger.
Thanks for your input Roger. I have to say that for Sennheiser in particular, thangs look pretty grim. Having had further conversations with Sennheiser representatives (which ince again i can’t publsih) the main advice still stands.
1) Buy from and authorised delaer
2) Pony up the doe (pay the full price)
I’m greatful for your comments. If we can get together and crack down on this, then poeple will get what they pay for….i.e. the genuine product.
Another thing about the arguement of sound quality. I don’t know what you think, but my fakes sounded like the price i paid for them ….about £3.99! how did your sound?
[…] Sennheiser CX300: Fake vs Genuine […]
I have two pairs of these. They both have their differences. I still haven’t figured out whether one, or both of them, is fake, or if they are both real but just have slight design changes since they were made a few years apart.
I’m not an audio expert, but I do enjoy good quality sound and both of my pairs sound pretty good. So, I am very stuck in solving this riddle. Anyway, thanks this, along with other blogs will hopefully help me answer my question.
I guess one of the easiest ways to find out, is to ask; Where did you buy them? And, how much did you pay?
thanks mate… me got fake ones.. yipee..but then got them real cheap..at least i have the satisfaction of having fake ones
Whatever floats your boat Ajith
Well, I got some very cheap ebay cx300s, and am pleasantly surprised. They sound good (not audiophile quality, but about what I’d expect from lower end Sennheisers) and look like the real with the one exception that the thin line in the metal band is centered like in the fake example, but very thin like the real example. Does anyone know if Sennheiser produced buds with a band in the middle?
If not, these fakes are very good, right down to packaging and sound.
I think I’ve answered my own question with more investigating. They are fakes, I’m 90% sure of it, and kicking myself for leaving the ebay review that I did.
However, I’m still very impressed with the sound quality of these fakes… never would’ve expected anything close. They aren’t too far off my legit px-100s, and are miles beyond any sub-$50 or so buds I’ve tried. The finish of them is also far better than anything in these photos. I can only conclude that the counterfeiters are becoming able to manufacture products of better quality than most legit brands!
I don’t want to jump the gun, but with both the CX300 and the Creative EP630’s the grove is off center. I fear you have a pair of counterfeit CX300 John… sorry!
I’m thinking of publishing a good article about the3 packaging, however the ebayer that published the article was a seller, that has been taken off (not registered anymore) ???? So i’m rethinking that at the moment.
I really appreciate this site. Speaking as a buyer of 2 sets of Sony fake earbuds on Ebay, I’ve had it with buying just about anything thru Ebay anymore. Definitely Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) for any of their products touting “Genuine”, “Straight from the Manufacturer”, and other such lies!
I finally went thru Amazon to purchase my Sennheiser CX300’s and I was able to check them out thanks to this site. According to your site, I got the real ones and then I tried them for sound, and it was awesome. Super bass, midrange, and highs crisp and distinquisable! At the same time, I ordered a set of Panasonic RP-HJE200 earbuds that are definitely worth what I paid for them. Absolutely excellent sound quality. So I was 0 for2 at Ebay and 2 for2 from Amazon. Thanks Amazon.
I’m glad things came good for you albeit through two bad purchases. The thing is when I see “Genuine” on any of the listings, alarm bells start to ring. If it’s “Genuine”, why would you need to advertise it. I don’t see “Genuine” Michael Jackson CD, or “Genuine” 50 cent poster, or “Genuine” Grado headphones.
It’s like going into those restaurants where they have health and safety certificates plastered over the wall. If you go into a class establishment, the quality and hygiene should be obvious.
[…] If those are fakes they are very well done. Here are some pictures of a genuine CX 300 vs fake: fakeheadphones.com
Help please! I bought some white CX500s for £18, which I know is cheap, from Amazon marketplace. They look genuine and I assumed they were. The grill fell off the inside of my right bud and the seller has sent me another pair, which again look genuine, but here’s the thing…. My new pair sound ok but seem to have very little bass, but they look alot more like a genuine product. On closer inspection my older ones now appear to be fake, but have a great warm, bassy sound. Please does anyone know if the CX500’s will sound bassy when first used?
Can you start a new thread on the forum and stick some pictures up please?
http://fakeheadphones.com/forum/index.php?board=2.0
Hi, useful guide but I believe the first point is not always correct. I have a pair that I bought from a reputable shop and according to all the other points it is real, but the L shaped jack is the big, chunky kind, which you list as being fake. I don’t think it is fake, as all of the official Sennheiser promotional photos of the CX300 show the big chunky kind. (see http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500830 )
Thanks Will S. I bought these from amazon, but you’re right. according to the link you gave, the jack is no the same. However, I bought the new ‘ECO’ CX300’s, which come in a cardboard package instead of a the standard plastic fronted packing.
http://fakeheadphones.com/?p=372&preview=true
Without having spoken to my contacts a Sennheiser, I wonder if this is a difference between the standard CX300 and the Sennheiser eco? I’ll have to case that up.
I’ll put up a post on the forum, with your findings. Thanks for your input!
http://fakeheadphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=17.0
[…] Marke Sennheiser aufgetaucht, die zwar erstaunlich preisgünstig sind, aber grausam klingen sollen. Diese Website gibt darüber erschöpfend und hervorragend illustriert […]
To Translate the above:
Mark Sennheiser emerged, which is amazingly low-priced, but cruelly to sound are. These website gives over it exhaustively and outstanding illustrated
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://rossau.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/headset-sennheiser-mm-50/&ei=CJ3rSZa4N9rRjAfP4PWeCg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://rossau.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/headset-sennheiser-mm-50/%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DlaK
If you want the real thing but dont want to pay that much for headphones + you live in the uk you can get at half price from play.com. I just ordered brand new cx400 for £16.88
http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?searchtype=allproducts&searchstring=cx400&page=search&pa=search&go.x=12&go.y=11
Well it seem that I just got a pair of original ones, but I knew about this so what I did before on bought themk on ebay was to communicate with the seller and make myself sure he will return my money including shipping if I find out they are fake, because must of the fake seller will have a picture of the original ones on their auctions or sales and what you get is the fake ones.
Be aware do research and, communicate in order to protect yourself.
[…] To all buyers who bought the earphone,can verify whether it is genuine or not? Thanks. I oso interested. fakeheadphones.com Sennheiser CX300: Fake vs Genuine […]
Thank you so much!! Very helpful! Suspected already, but confirmed my suspicions
I’m sorry if someone ripped you off Gemma. That’s what I hope to stop.
Cannot agree with jack comparison. Check this foto, from authorised dealer…
http://www.mp3.sk/sennheiser-cx-300-black-p-2275.html
Pls comment, thx
maybe you can’t agree with the jack but the rest of it is pretty indisputable, including the general poor sound and poor build quality.
ok, so i’m sold on the cx300. Amazon is currently selling them for under $20?!? Can those be legit at that low price, cuz I’m seeing $50+ retail elsewhere? Have any advice to find out for sure b4 I buy? Cuz i’d feel pretty dumb asking some clueless Amazonian over the phone if their products are “genuine”…
I guess the best i can say is buy direct from Amazon themselves. even though they sold me a pair of fakes i have bought plenty of genuine headphones from them.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell before you buy. Sennheiser’s generally have good price deals where ever you buy them from. The issue is, even with all the evidence i provided them with, Amazon never held their hands up, they just sent me a automated response of; we’re looking into it, please send them back with your findings in order to get a refund. Hardly confidence boosting. After all the evidence i did give them, I’d rather them return to me with an explanation of how they came to sell a pair of fake CX300 II earphones in the first place.
I have a sennheisser CX 300, i dont know for sure whether it is fake or real. The only diffrence that i’ve found from your original one is the L shape 3,5 audio jack. It has a larger jack and groove like the fake one hou’ve describe in fig 1. But the rest of it had the same characteristic with the original one that you’ve describe.
The sound is good, i am not sure how good it is because this is my 1st earbud. But its better than original ipod and sandisk earbud .
The jack seems to be a bit of a grey area. Where did yo buy them and for how much?
[…] And by looking at these and a comparison between the real ones and fake ones (Check here - fakeheadphones.com
from pictures these look fake:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CX-300-Sennheiser-Earbud-Headphones_W0QQitemZ120497809157QQcmdZViewItemQQptZOther_MP3_Player_Accessories?hash=item1c0e3aa705
The jack on my real Sennheiser CX300s is one of the larger ones. Everything else fits the “Real” description though, down to the cable length measurements.
From http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/private_headphones_classic-line_cxseries-in-ear-earphones-cx-300-ii?Open&path=private_headphones_classic-line_cxseries
CX 300-II Precision Black 2.5 mm 502736
As CX 300-II Precision, but with a right-angled 2.5 mm jack plug.
The large plug is indeed legitimate.
I think you’re right, however this seller has taken pictures at such an angle as to shown none of the usual defects very well. The ear bud hold looks a bit uneven, but they have a nice gloss to them. But there’s nothing much in the picture that gives them away. If it’s too good, it usually is. Unless the seller is prepared to show other pictures, walk away.
compare the pictures here
http://fakeheadphones.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/sennheiser-cx300-fake-left-genuine-right.jpg
Thanks for the post. Just bought mm50 IPs from ebay ($25) and was not sure - sound better than the original iPhone headphones (not that hard I know). But checked all pictures and they seem real - shiny, proper logo stamp, skinny cables, one rim, rounded edge, flat grill etc. Obviously different plug etc. Happy now, did pay $100+ RRP.
Yes, sergei, think the last ebay link posted is indeed a fake.
Here’s an update - The fakes are getting better at pretending.
I just purchased a fake set on ebay and some of the differences you mention are no more. The packaging is exceptional. Looks absolutely completely genuine, down to the smallest detail. As soon as I put them in my ears, I knew they were fakes though. Sound quality is appalling.
I’ve compared them to my older real set:
1/8″ Jack - Same as your photos - they are far different connectors.
Finish - BOTH have a gloss finish, it’s identical.
Groove - The groove is located in the exact same place, but the fake one has sharper edges, and is narrower.
Driver surround: No 45 degree on either
Grill: Both the fake and the real have a flat grill with nearly indiscernible weave.
Buds: The fakes are shiny, but firmer; however my real ones are nearly a year old, so that could have made them soft over time…
Further, the Sennheiser logo on the fakes is cleaner and more precise (yup, really) with a gap between the corners and the S, whereas on the real ones, the logo sort of bleeds together.
Hope that helps!
cheers
I hd one pair that got really close to the mark, they looked almost the same.
could you go on the forum and post some pictures for us?
http://www.fakeheadphones.com/forum/index.php?board=2.0
[…] to tell the difference between real and fake Sennheiser CX300/500 - Headphones - abi>>forums fakeheadphones.com Sennheiser CX300: Fake vs Genuine […]
Matthew.
thank you very much for the detailed dexcription. it was very helpfull. i wish you all the best mate
I recently purchased some of these off play.com http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/880672/-/PTSellerProfile.html?seller=648467&listing=403413460 and even though they point towards being genuine when comparing them to these pictures, the picture showing the wire with the little black cable splitter, the picture says fake, but its the same as mine. Everything else on mine shows genuine. Please help!
Could you jump on the fourm, and show us some pictures?
I have a set of REAL CX300-B’s that I purchased from a music store in Arizona. They are shiney, have soft thin matt finished rubber feeling wires, a rounded edge on the driver housing and the single line on it also. But the “L” shaped jack is in fact larger with the 3 side grip lines on it exactly like the fake image you have on this page. These were original factory packaging and all. They sound awesome too, so I know they can’t be fakes. I wonder what the deal is with that?
Pete
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Looking at the pictures my CX300’s tick all the right boxes, but one, the silver bit on the bud is equal
Which therefore means i have a pair of fakes….. Although they are fake the sound quality is excellent and if i hadn’t of looked up to find out if my buds were fake i would never have been bothered.
So for that reason i don’t care about having fakes
Brad W, how do you know how good they are if you’ve never theard the real thing? The lastest run of CX’s sound good, but when I compared them to the genuine CX’s the bass was far too overblown and the rest of the freqency rage sounded like a pair of cheap £1.99 headphones that you can get from the local supermakret. In reality althought the fakes had a good amount of bass boom, they were still no match for the real thing!
The worst thing is that the counterfiets are becoming as exspensive as the genuine headphones.
http://fakeheadphones.com/headphonesalescouk-rips-you-off-twice-im-trying-not-to-laugh/05/2010/
I remember back in the day when I was living in Newquay, people were selling fake Rolex watches in the pub for a £30-40. why would you want to spend £1,500 on a fake when the real thing costs £1,525? It seems ludicrous to me how people waste their money!
When i first thought of starting fakeheadphones.com the CX300’s were selling for £2-3. Now you’ll pay almost as much as the genuine headphones. In other words, for a couple of quid more than the price of your counterfeits (or todays counterfeits) you could have the genuine headphones, backed by a warranty! I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to do that.
I just bought a pair of CX300-II off ebay from a south korean and it just arrived in the mail today. The bass is better than my current creative though sometimes i think my music sounds a little ‘emptier’ on my sennheisers. But overall i think it’s real.
Forgot to add, my earphones are slightly different physically compared to the photos above. The Sennheiser logo is on a shiny sliver background and the L shape 3.5mm jack is different and has no grips on its sides. Mine also has the model CX300II which is missing from fig.4. Could it be that mine is the newer version?
The fake CX300II’s have a shine on them, just like the CX300’s.
http://fakeheadphones.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/sennheiser-cx300-fake-left-genuine-right.jpg
I’m hope you bought from an authorised dealer? If not then chances are that you’ve bought a pair of fake.
Now the new counterfeit generation CX300II are very good and very expensive. The Bass is harder than the genuine CX300II but overall they don’t sound as good.
But of course you know and I know that there are no consistencies with counterfeits so where as my counterfeits might sound bassy, some others won’t!
Butr check out these two reviews. you must be a forum member to see them.
http://www.fakeheadphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=606.msg2168#msg2168
http://www.fakeheadphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=634.msg2319#msg2319
Thank you so much for this information, especially the detailed photos. I had bought my husband a pair of Sennheiser earphones, and am planning to buy myself Sennheisers too. But when reading the reviews on Amazon, from which I bought the first pair, I saw knockoffs mentioned. I decided to see if there was a website like yours, and fortunately there was. I checked my husbands earphones to make sure they were genuine, and they are. (Digital Media Source was the seller.) So now I can proceed as an informed consumer to buy another pair. Again, thanks so much!!!
Digital Media Source, I’m glad they checked out alright.
Nice work guys!
In light of this are able to identify which seller has genuine Sennheiser CX300’s for the best price?
Paying more does not necessarily mean it’s real.
It could mean more ripped off!
Hello,
I agree with Mike above. More expensive is not necessarily means it’s the real thing.
I think it’s reasonable to think that updates on the earphones in terms of looks and little details are made over time. Maybe the easiest way to find if you wasted your money is to see if they don’t satisfy you in terms of sound.
I really want to buy the real thing, but i really don’t want to pay 47€ for a specific dealer that i trust while other guy got them for 15$… Noone is advicing a seller, so maybe i’ll take my chances…
Cheers Matt, great post overall.
It’s a tricky one really. None of us want to pay more than we have to, but there in lies the problem. But you’re both right, in the case of the CX’s a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean a genuine product, but often enough, the ‘highest prices are reserved for small independant businesses that do offer the genuine thing.
However there does seem to be the new problem of sites and shops being inflatrated.
I’ve still chosen mymemory.co.uk for two reasons. I’ve bought 4-5 Sennheiser’s from them with no problem. Better than amazon.co.uk’s record! And mymemory.co.uk offer free intenational shipping.
However might i say that price isn’t a guarantee, usually the genuine thing will cost a little more than the counterfeit stuff. However there are idiots that will pay £2-3 less for a conterfeit with no real warranty. Oh well …. it’s hard for some people!
Hi Matt,
I’ve been checking out the store you mentioned, since I am from portugal, it would be nice to have a store that ships free worldwide…
So I’ve been looking for the CX-300 II, but i came across the “Ear Canal headphones”, the “ECO noise isolating” and the “precision headphones”.
The difference of price is big, but do you think that it would be worth it the difference in terms of sound? Which ones did you bought?
Thanks for the help.
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/search?searchTerm=cx300II
I see what you mean. Just remember that ‘Noise Isolating’ doesn’t mean ‘Noise Cancelling’.
As for the rest of it, its markerting hype. Buy which ever you feel comfortable with. If you want the pink headphones, buy the pink headphones.
It’s known that cash makes us independent. But how to act when somebody does not have cash? The one way only is to receive the loans and just student loan.