See my updated comment.

UPDATE:

Alas, they arrived today and everything seems legit. In anticipation for it being fake, I've watched all of the real vs fake videos online. By all accounts, it adds up to being the real deal. Here are all the factors that I considered:

1. They sound good. They have an identical sound profile as the pair I bought for my wife for her bday directly from an authorized dealer.

2. I was able to register the serial number on the website. The serial number on the box matches the case (but the ear pieces have different serial numbers). These are all the same for my wife's pair.

3. The packaging matches exactly that of my wife's pair. The fonts are the same, same material for the security pull tab, same plastic wrapper on the case, same hard cardboard cradle, same eartips packaging, etc. Everything is the same.

4. Spatial audio works and I was able to scan my head.

5. The noise cancellation and transparency modes are identical to my wife's pair (evidently these are dead giveaways, as fakes are not good).

6. The find my AirPod function and beep function work (another giveaway of fake if these functions don't work).

At bottom, if these are fakes, then they pretty much came out of Foxcon's factory, so I'm overall happy with the purchase.

I already have a good IEM. B2Dusk.

Someone bought it oh head-fi and it appears to be legit.

Worse case I open a fraud case with my cc company.

Good choice. I typically just bring the Dusk with FiiO KA3.

This.

More expensive is not more better.

Please don’t go into debt for headphones.

No.

Get the Linsoul Tripowin Zonie on Amazon for around 16-20. It's a much better cable ergonomically and it sounds identical as the original aria cable.

Any of the paid subscriptions are pretty good.

Focal Clear og, Topping DX3 Pro+, B2Dusk, FiiO KA3.

If you use an iPhone getting the Apple dongle. best at its price point. If you need something to output at 24/192 and want single ended and balanced look into either the Fiio ka3 or hidiz s9 pro.

No, I don't think it's worth it. There is no difference between balanced and 1/4 inch through an adapter. Also, I doubt there's an audible difference even using a true balanced amp. I'm telling you man, your money is better spent on an IEM...

I also bought the og Clear earlier this year. I don't think you will hear any noticeable improvement by upgrading the fiio e10k. Just keep using that and enjoy your new purchase! Just for reference, I run my Clear through Topping DX3 Pro+, and I really can't tell a difference between that and an Apple Dongle connected directly to my iPhone (other than having the headroom to go louder). If the e10k is transparent, it will be fine with the Clear. I think a better buy is an IEM for travel/office use.

I don't understand your question, but I will try to answer. The small CP155 fits a bit smaller than the small tips that come with the dusk. So many people with smaller ear canals find them to be more comfortable.

Very different than spring tips. They are slimmer and longer than spring tips. I used stock tips on the dusk for a while but have since got the cp155. I also have the spring tips, but i prefer the cp155.

If these ever come down in price, I might buy it. Hopefully in a year or two, one can be had for around $400-500.

When you are talking about "earphones," are you talking about an actual earphones like the apple earpod or an IEM? If an actual "earphone," then there is a BIG difference. First, you just can't get the low end through an earphone, no matter how good it is. This is just physics.

If you are talking about an IEM, I think you might have a point. But I can definitely tell a difference between my B2Dusk and my Focal Clear og.

Better headphones will make anything above 128kbps sound better. Below that and compression artifacts will really show itself…