Sennheiser HD600 problem - need help.

[bonnei100]

Hi all,

New member here. I have run into a problem with one of my HD600 sets and need some good advice.

I loaned this set to a friend a while back and when it came back the foam discs were torn to shreads and grey dust. I bought new discs and after a careful clean everything seemed to be back to normal again. But, soon after I noticed a distotion on the right side when listening to music with strong bass content. My two other HD600 sets do not have this problem when listening to the same music at the same level.
I have checked them thoroughly. Cable contact is good, driver cone and diaphram do not show any sign of damage. Only thing that caught my eye is this: the seam between the velour part of the earpads and the thin leather-like fabric underneath is ripped for about 2 inches. My question is: do you reckon this could be the cause of the distortion or is it more likely a hidden problem with the driver? Let me know what you think.

Thanks
Jorn Bonne

 

[DenverW]

So I had a very similar problem with mine; distortion under 100 hz or so in one channel.

A suggested solution is to try cleaning the drivers with a very light and gentle brush to make sure there isn’t an invisible hair or something on them. Didn’t work for me, but had for others. My next solution was to reach out to the new us distributor for a replacement driver, which are pretty affordable at about $70 bucks. Unfortunately they are often out of stock so also didn’t work.

I ended up getting a broken pair on the cheap and replacing a like for like driver. Works perfect now.

One thing you could do, which I did when troubleshooting is to switch drivers from right to left. If the distortion moved with the driver you know where the problem is. If it remains then you’ve identified if it’s a surrounding component.

Good luck! Pm if you need anything.

 

[bonnei100]

One thing you could do, which I did when troubleshooting is to switch drivers from right to left. If the distortion moved with the driver you know where the problem is. If it remains then you’ve identified if it’s a surrounding component.

Good luck! Pm if you need anything.

 

[DenverW]

Hey, I see a quote but no message above, just checking if you meant to ask a question.

 

[bonnei100]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, swopping the drivers should tell if it's the driver or the earpad/foamdisc making the noise. I did give the right side a good clean using a camera lens brush while carefully blowing away any hair or dust. I'll do that again when I open them up.

I got in touch with Sennheiser's customer service on the internet and it turned out they no longer have service centers in Scandinavia like they used to - I'm in Norway. This has now been taken over by a Swiss company called Sonova. I was also told that customers can no longer buy spare parts through Sennheiser. They told me though that certain Hi-Fi shops can still order spare parts from Sennheiser.

I have bought parts from Audio Sanctuary in the UK before, but see on their website that the ' Made in Ireland' HD600 drivers are no longer available.

They don't make life easy for their customers these days!

 

[bonnei100]

Hey, I see a quote but no message above, just checking if you meant to ask a question.

Hi DenverW

Yeah, my attempt at quoting and replying didn't come off well.

I did some more troubleshooting yesterday inspired by your tips.

Was able to eliminate the earpads and foam protection pads as part of the problem, by swopping them around - and finally by listening to the phones without them. The buzzing/distortion on the right side on low notes stayed, while the left still sounds clean. For this I just used the output on my internet Win 10 laptop, with Realtek High Defenition Audio soundcard.

While open I gave the driver assembly another thorough clean and also carefully adjusted the tiny wires from the plug spring terminals to the driver, so they weren't touching anything. A small drop of DeoxIT D5 on the springs was applied with a toothpick.

On close scrutiny I found a couple of very small bits of hair along the periphery of the driver diaphram and removed them. The distotion stayed, so I conclude a new set of drivers seems to be the only solution here?

On the laptop sound system in Windows I'm now able to turn the volume up to 40-45 before the distortion sets in, depending on the music. Going through my LL Monotor headphone amp, that Jonathan Little built for his HD600/Cardas setup, it breaks up sooner due to it's fuller sound.

So I'll be trying to find replacement 'Made in Ireland' driver assemblies now it seems?

Best
Jørn

 

[DenverW]

Hi DenverW

Yeah, my attempt at quoting and replying didn't come off well.

I did some more troubleshooting yersterday inspired by your tips.

Was able to eliminate the earpads and foam protection pads as part of the problem, by swopping them around - and finally by listening to the phones without them. The buzzing/distortion on the right side on low notes stayed, while the left still sounds clean. For this I just used the output on my internet Win 10 laptop, with Realtek High Defenition Audio soundcard.

While open I gave the driver assembly another thorough clean and also carefully adjusted the tiny wires from the plug spring terminals to the driver, so they weren't touching anything. A small drop of DeoxIT D5 on the springs was applied with a toothpick.

On close scrutiny I found a couple of very small bits of hair along the periphery of the driver diaphram and removed them. The distotion stayed, so I conclude a new set of drivers seems to be the only solution here?

On the laptop sound system in Windows I'm now able to turn the volume up to 40-45 before the distortion sets in, depending on the music. Going through my LL Monotor headphone amp, that Jonathan Little built for his HD600/Cardas setup, it breaks up sooner due to it's fuller sound.

So I'll be on a fishing expedition for replacement 'Made in Ireland' driver assemblies now it seems?

Best
Jørn

Ya, it looks like a new driver is the fix. You can try sonova and see if they have any drivers in stock, and look for a broken hd600 on the cheap.

 

[bonnei100]

Ya, it looks like a new driver is the fix. You can try sonova and see if they have any drivers in stock, and look for a broken hd600 on the cheap.

Yes, I'll try Sonova next. Thanks for your help

 

[BS5711]

Let you know what we think ?

I think you should ask your friend to cover the repair cost !

 

[bonnei100]

Let you know what we think ?

I think you should ask your friend to cover the repair cost !

Yes, but can't really do that since he's helped me on a few occations when I've had problems with computers I wasn't able to fix myself. Would be a bit awkward.