beware as there are many many fakes out there.. i doubt this guide's authenticity but here.Guide for fake cx300s Sennheiser CX300s retail in the apple UK store for around £40 at the moment, although many outlets sell them for much cheaper than this. Some sold on eBay are real but a large proportion of these are fakes. also,1.try to buy from trusted offline sources like shops. 2.there are many different kinds of fakes out there,some are good fakes,some are not.(duh)try to look out for poor build quality like un-smooth or chipped surfaces. I have managed to get this official response from Sennheiser: Hello - Thank you for your inquiry and interest in Sennheiser. The "CX300" on eBay from China are not authentic Sennheiser's, though they may have been labeled as such. Further, our official statement on OEM goods regarding the CX300 and other similar looking items is stated below: "The CX 300 ear canal headphones are manufactured by a Sennheiser production partner in Asia. Since Sennheiser does not own the exclusive design rights for this product, it is up to this or other OEM manufacturer(s) to sell the same or similar products to other companies (like Creative, for example). However, only the CX 300 is compliant with the Sennheiser quality standards, as only this product is continously checked by Sennheiser employees on site. Since we neither know where and under what conditions other companies like Creative manufacture or source their products, nor do we know what inner construction and materials they use, please understand that it is not up to Sennheiser to judge or compare competitor´s products. Nevertheless, regardless of the visual similarities, "Audio", one of Germany´s major audio magazines, rated the CX 300 (60 points) significantly better than the Creative EP630 (40 points) in their January 2006 issue." Thus, the CX300 is not available as an OEM version (beware of polybagged, "no logo" products or bootleg packaging) Our CX300 uses entirely different components, although it shares the same shell as some of other brands. If you need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Eric Palonen Sennheiser Headphone Specialist hope this helps.