new Sennheiser CX300 $32.00 eBay the real deal?

[Thade]

I just got a pair of creative buds today & really like them so far. I wouldn't mind another pair in white. This seller has great feedback and it looks like the buds he is selling as Sennheiser and Creative are the same product. Are these legit??

OK... can't post a link but search "Sennheiser CX300s" on eBay and you'll have no trouble fining them

TIA

J

[Mayur]

I believe them to be fakes. If you read lower a user asked a question and he asked if they were OEM and in new packaging. Usually if there is no packaging at all then they are fakes.

[trevor1189]

This is the link (http://cgi.ebay.com/Sennheiser-CX300s-earplug-noise-isolating-earphones_W0QQitemZ9710667338QQcategoryZ111693QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

I don't think I would buy them.........

[truckson]

Yeah! They should be fakes! I will recommend you get the headphones with orginal packing.

[TheJosher]

I dont see why they'd be fakes. Ebay would shut him down, and he wouldn't have such a high feedback rating, no?

Josh

[SilleeString]

I don't know...I don't see the white S Logo on the back of them in the picture. Not to mention the plug is gold in the picture there, and the pair I have doesn't have a gold plug...

[bobb-mini]

Originally posted by TheJosher
I dont see why they'd be fakes. Ebay would shut him down, and he wouldn't have such a high feedback rating, no?

Josh
oh my friend, I am guessing you don't do much bussiness with eBay.

eBay bussiness model is: they are the middle man, they just connect buyer with sellers, and provide the absolute minimum interference. If sellers sell fake items (and there are tons - fakes are not all bad, as long as the seller identify them to be so), it's the responsibility of the seller to represent him/herself truthfully. Sure u can give a bad review to a seller but basically that's all one can do.

Some items are obviously not genuine but that's OK, wearing a fake $35 Rolex for fun, as long as one doesn't take it seriously.

They could be genuine "hot" merchandise. eBay makes no demand of sellers where they got their merchandise from.

Sometimes I purchase items like these 'cuz I don't intend, can't afford to pay retail for the item, and it's cheap enough that if it doesn't work out, oh well, I took a calculated risk.

[TheJosher]

I know there are replicate items sold on eBay.. I'm just saying that since this item is marketed as an original, he has good feedback, and eBay hasn't pulled the listing or suspended his account, wouldn't it be safe to say they are original?

Plus.. they were on sale at Amazon briefly for a really low price (can't remember exactly..). He may have stocked up on a bunch.

Josh

[evoGage]

I dont think these are fakes but instead it is some generic OEM earphones which the CX300 are but without the logo's.

[Mayur]

I have bought many headphones off ebay and I know what to look for.

1. Just because it says OEM doesnt mean they're genuine.
2. If you read below the user asked about original packaging and the seller didn't even touch the subject in his reply.
3. My eBay Headpones Buying Guide: "Dont buy headphones unless they come with the packaging. Ones that dont come with the packaging are generally fake. If the item is around a few cents with a butt load of shipping, dont buy them. Sellers will do this just incase that if you find out that they are fake or broken, they will refund you your money (only a few cents) and they will keep the shipping charges.

You can take the risk if you like but I would not even consider these.

EDIT: Look at these two links and look at the titles and look at product name seller put in under the first picture. Tell me what difference you see in the products. *Note it is the same seller.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=111693&item=9704377853
http://cgi.ebay.com/EX71-style-earplug-noise-isolating-earphones_W0QQitemZ9713543124QQcategoryZ111693QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[SilleeString]

Is it possible that they would sound as good as the real thing? Because honestly, if I was in a real money jam but just could not wait for a decent pair of headphones, I'd probably get the fake ones anyway if they sounded as good

[Thade]

The ad doesn't really claim they are Sennheiser CX300 but it does suggest that Sennheiser merely slaps their logo on these oems. same desc for the creative models offered by the same seller but don't the Creative plugs have slightly different specs? I emailed the seller re: the cord style and he said they are "J" style ala Sennheiser

[simplemind]

OK, who's going to belly up to the bar?

Just for the record, currently my "preferred" earbud for athletics is my old Koss "the Plug". I have the Ety ER4-p also, and I still like the Plug. I got them off eBay for $10 so I am not reluctant to buy off eBay and tempted by these Sennheisers.
Someone go get 'em and give us a review!:D

[Thade]

Originally posted by simplemind
OK, who's going to belly up to the bar?

Just for the record, currently my "preferred" earbud for athletics is my old Koss "the Plug". I have the Ety ER4-p also, and I still like the Plug. I got them off eBay for $10 so I am not reluctant to buy off eBay and tempted by these Sennheisers.
Someone go get 'em and give us a review!:D

hmmm, since you put it that way, I may just go for it. Don't ever challenge me to do something that may turn out terribly bad :)

OK, I ordered a pair for the team...White :) I have Sony MDR-EX51LP and Creative EP630 to compare them to. I would expect them to sound as good or better than the Creative buds

also, you should seek medical attention for liking Koss Plugs :) j/k

[javabird]

What does OEM mean?

[warpdrive]

Original Equipment Manufacturer.

It means the product was packaged to be sold with some other component. So an OEM mouse would be a genuine brand mouse that was packaged to be sold with a computer. It usually has no packaging except for a white box or a plastic bag. Some stores sell these OEM items to consumers directly even though they are not intended to be sold that way.

Ebay'ers who are running scams MAY use the term OEM to imply it's a genuine item whether or not it is.

[Thade]

Update:

I received the eBay OEM "CX300". The buds themselves seem to match the profile but I don't have anything original to compare them to. It would be helpful if someone posts a pic of cx300 without the inserts and I'll do the same.

The Creative earphones have a Y cord and a straight gold plated plug
The CX300 have a J cord and an L shaped plug (not gold)

Mine seem to be a combination of the 2 with J cord and gold straight plug, and they're white per my request. So, right off the bat it's obvious that IF these are the same OEM used by Creative and Sennheiser, these manufacturers are not merely stamping their logo on them...they are taking them apart, rewiring and changing plugs :) The sound quality is about what I recall from the Creative earphones. Unfortunately, I don't have the Creatives to do a direct A/B comparison and I am listening with "fake headphone" ears.

I guess the bottom line was already pretty obvious. There is no real reason to buy these unless you absolutely must have white. The Creative buds can be had for the same price.

[redsox786]

Thade:

I decided to take a risk and order the CX300 from the same guy on eBay for $32.00. I just wanted to know what your thoughts were on the headphones. How are they still holding up? Is the cord the Y-Shaped or the assymetrical cord where you have the unequal cord lengths? If you could please also post pics, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Thade]

Thade:

I decided to take a risk and order the CX300 from the same guy on eBay for $32.00. I just wanted to know what your thoughts were on the headphones. How are they still holding up? Is the cord the Y-Shaped or the assymetrical cord where you have the unequal cord lengths? If you could please also post pics, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I received the white ones with asymetrical cord. The plastic was somewhat separated from the metal ring on the left side so I sent them back & asked for black instead. The black ones have a Y cord (equal length). They are holding up just fine and sound great

[redsox786]

can you please, please, please, PLEASE, post some pics of these headphones. Maybe someone who also owns the cx300, can verify that they are the same ones that they bought (most likely at a higher price...) Also, some pics of how they look in ear would also be nice. Thanks!

[redsox786]

i just received my cx300 from ebay and i have to say, they are FREAKIN' awesome!!!!!! I must say the audio quality is very nice and they fit soooo nicely in my ears. I especially like these because they have the Y-Style cord rather than the asymetrical cord. I highly recommend buying these if you really want the cx300 for cheap ($32.99 incl. shipping). If anyone wants me post pics, I can if they want to compare these to "real" cx300's.

[BimmerDoc]

Any more reviews? I had a brand new pair and they busted after 1 week. Don't want to pay another $70 for a set, so do you think these are a good alternative?

[Amelie]

Any more reviews? I had a brand new pair and they busted after 1 week. Don't want to pay another $70 for a set, so do you think these are a good alternative?
Which headphones did you buy that broke within a week? I'm sure if you bought it from a decent place, you could get a refund.

[atseng]

Having owned a pair of Sony MDR-EX71s, I was pretty happy with them because they are definitely better than the OEM Apple earphone. After having good experience w/the Sony, I bought the Sony MDR-EX81LP thinking that it would stay on the ear better because of the loop. I was wrong, not only did it not stay on, it actually weighed down the headphones and made it fall off easier. Sound quality was about the same as the MDR-EX71s.

Unhappy with the Sonys, I decided to look for new headphones. I wanted one that is reasonable priced (i.e. below $100, I don't want to spend 170-200 for a Shure E4C).

After reading tons of reviews and threads on the CX300 and EP630 and "e-bay OEM CX300/EP630s", I decided to give it a try and ordered from "globaldirectoutlet" on ebay which advertised the headphone as a "OEM EP630s".

The shipment was from Philly and arrived fairly quickly. The shipment arrived in a padded envelop with three sets of ear rubber. There was a writing of "white Sennheiser" written on top of the envelope. The sound quality was about on par with the MDR-EX71s. The fit is much better because of the lightness of the headphone (doesn't fall off as easy as the Sonys because it doesn't have extra cord).

I still wanted to try out the CX300s so I ordered it from Amazon. It just came in today. I am not an audiophile by any means, but I can say that the CX300's sound is definitely more "expansive" than either the MDR-EX71s/81s or the "ebay OEM EP630s. By expansive I mean that I can hear better bass and higher treble.

When I compare the oem vs. the actual CX300s, here are the differences:

Plug Shape and design
CX300 is L Shaped silver plug
OEM is gold colored (not sure if it's gold plated) straight plug. OEM version's plug also doesn't have the "bending things" that you normally see on the plug. Looks more cheaply made.

Length of cable
CX300 is 34.5 inches to the split, 7.5 inches from split for left ear, 21.5 inches to right ear
OEM is 30 inches to the split, 9 inches from split for left ear, 19 inches to right ear

Design of Cable
CX300's rubber seems more velvety/grippy (maybe because it's brand new). It's cable is a dual-line combined (sticking together) from plug to the split, and the split is 1/4 of an inch with a tiny hole in the middle (not through the split)
OEM's rubber seems more slippery. It's cable is a larger rounded cable (single line). The split is 1/2 of an inch with a tiny hole and looks more roughly made and is also thicker and also a tiny hole.

Earphone Look
CX300's earphone has a "S" on it (duh... it's original.. :) with the L and R for each ear, has glossy coat on the ear. The metal ring that covers the headphone end has a nice rounded smoothed edge (the edge that faces the ear) and is more matte silver. The metal mesh in front of the driver is flat and is of a finer mesh.
OEM's earphone is blank with no brand markings. Has L and R for each ear, the plastic is non-glossy. The metal ring that covers the headphone has a more edged edge (vs. CX300's smoothed edge) and is shiny silver. THe metal mesh bows out slightly and is less finer.

Conclusion
Although the earphone looks very similar, the sound quality is vastly different. The sound quality of the "generic" is similar to MDR-EX71/81s and for $18 shipped isn't too bad. The song I listened to was Savage Garden's Tears of Pearls. In addition, the sound differential was more noticeable from my Rio Carbon. The sound quality between the headphones was less noticeable when plugged into an ipod, but the CX300 is still better.

Sorry for the long message, but I want to give a thorough explanation to people looking to make the purchase. Hope this is helpful to people that are looking to buy the CX300 or the "OEM" version. I would assume that the OEMs are all coming from similar sources (purely a guess) so I would recommend getting the CX300s and spend the extra $30-40 if you want noticeably better sound quality.

[nsiebenmor]

What about these. Ebay Sennheisers with packaging. (http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Authentic-Sennheiser-Ear-Canal-Earphone-CX300_W0QQitemZ9736766244QQcategoryZ3274QQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem)

I wonder if they're the real deal? Any opinions?

[FeelTheFire]

"original equipment manufacturer" I believe.

[truckson]

find a ebay seller lately! they have some orginal headphones at very low price and they ship quick! recommand them. Got a ck7 from them for $68 only. It is a lot cheaper than other online retail.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Geniues-Audio-Technica-ATH-CK7-In-Ear-Headphone_W0QQitemZ9721102235QQihZ008QQcategoryZ11 1693QQcmdZViewItem

[BimmerDoc]

still a confusing review. Are the OEM ones from ebay good or not? Is the saving worth it? I assume ipod and mp3 are not the best quality so are these headphones recommended for a great savings on the 300's?