[cactus_farmer]

I believe my 2nd hand bought HD650 have HD600 drivers in them because they sound far too bright to be a true HD650 and the price I got for them may be slightly too good to be true... ($310).
 
Is there any way of confirming whether or not the drivers are HD600 drivers by looking at them? For example, the membrane might be more reflective on HD600, there might be different writing on the driver, they drivers may be slightly different in color - something like that... Is there any way of telling them apart visually?

 

[pp312]

The price is not too good to be true and the chances of drivers having been swapped is--frankly--nil. The 650s are brighter these days, due to a change of materials a few years ago and there's some evidence that they've been brightened up even since then, as there seems to be more and more posts about how bright they are.
 
Do you know how old yours are? That would help.     

 

[Ikarios]

I've heard both new screen and old screen HD650s, once you remove foams and try worn-down pads, the difference is basically nothing. The HD580/600 is *significantly* brighter and cleaner than the HD650, which has a little bit of thickness/congestion in the bass and mids. Unfortunately I can't find any identifying marks on the HD650 driver inside my HD580 frame (although I'm 100% sure it is indeed an HD650, having compared to new and old-screen HD650 and old-screen HD580). The HD600 is not much cheaper than the HD650 either so there's really no reason to do the swap, unless your seller was *really* unscrupulous.
 
I've found that all the HD580/600/650 models have a particular peak in the treble, around 8-10k, that can emphasize cymbal hits and make the Sennheiser series sound "bright". Not very many people mention this treble peak for some reason so i was a little shocked too when I first heard the HD650.
 
Unfortunately physically, HD580/600/650 drivers look basically identical (unless they have writing, but I can't find any on mine) so it's hard to tell without a reference.

 

[EraserXIV]

My recently acquired HD650 was definitely brighter than I had anticipated. Not to say they are like Grados or anything, but from everything I was reading, I was getting the impression that they were incredibly dark. The HD650 is actually quite balanced. I actually even had to make some adjustments in my source to make up for the brightness. I have the silver screen HD650, but I have not heard an old screen HD650 before.

 

[cactus_farmer]

bump - would much appreciate it if someone knows how to do this

 

[majkel]

Visit the link below and look up part numbers for both types of transducers. I hope they are printed somewhere on the transducers.
 
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_part-finder

 

[cactus_farmer]

The drivers aren't in that spare parts list??
 
Also. I've had a look at the drivers themselves - the only writing on them was barely readable black ink which seemed to read out a random series of numbers.
 
Is there something about the membrane itself - ie. it might be a slightly lighter color/a shade more translucent on the HD600 vs the HD650 driver's?