[Dimitri]

I sat down last night excited to notice post burn-in improvements on my hd650s. I started with Blue Train, a disc I know very well. The first thing I noticed was a vibration in the left earpiece--a fast buzzing vibration produced only at certain pitches. Not on low bass, but accompanying coltrane's sax in the first notes of "I'm Old-fashioned". Very upsetting...Has anyone else heard anything like this? How can I fix it?

Thanks,

Dimitri

 

[Mindless]

I have the same thing in my HD600's when I listen to some Nickelback songs or some newer rock music, a slight bzzzzz starts in the left ear-piece for me, on some high tones (guitarrs sometimes, bass too in some cases)

Dont know how to fix it though, may go away with time, and if its only on one song/album I wouldnt care that much if it wasnt my favourite, of course, have you bought $400 headphones they SHOULD work perfectly with whatever you play.

Regards, Mindless.

 

[fewtch]

Try removing the earpad and checking to see if a hair got in and is pressing up against the driver.

 

[Dimitri]

is the earpad easy to remove? a hair touch the driver is a possibility--i have long hair that falls out everywhere. thanks for the advice,

Dimitri

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dimitri is the earpad easy to remove? a hair touch the driver is a possibility--i have long hair that falls out everywhere. thanks for the advice, Dimitri

Very simple: just pull the velvet earpads until they snap out and the piece of cloth covering the driver will come with it. The pads will snap back into place very easily when you are ready to put them back on.

If you still experience buzzing after removing any hairs, I would contact Sennheiser and arrange warranty repair immediately.

 

[Steve999]

I'd consider whether it's audible distortion from the original master tape rather than your headphones, too. Might be, might not be. I've run across that in old jazz recordings where horn players were apparently playing too loud for the mike. I've heard previously unreleased jazz recordings from that period where that horn-induced distortion is all over the place, the obvious reason why the recording was never released before. If it happens in the exact same place on the recording no matter what the volume is, it might well be from the original recording. If, as you indicate, an acoustic bass sound doesn't also cause the buzzing, I suspect the recording itself.

Quote:

Originally posted by Dimitri I sat down last night excited to notice post burn-in improvements on my hd650s. I started with Blue Train, a disc I know very well. The first thing I noticed was a vibration in the left earpiece--a fast buzzing vibration produced only at certain pitches. Not on low bass, but accompanying coltrane's sax in the first notes of "I'm Old-fashioned". Very upsetting...Has anyone else heard anything like this? How can I fix it?

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dimitri I sat down last night excited to notice post burn-in improvements on my hd650s. I started with Blue Train, a disc I know very well. The first thing I noticed was a vibration in the left earpiece--a fast buzzing vibration produced only at certain pitches. Not on low bass, but accompanying coltrane's sax in the first notes of "I'm Old-fashioned". Very upsetting...Has anyone else heard anything like this? How can I fix it? Thanks, Dimitri

I hope you didn't overdo the break-in and loosen the diaphragm. Have you tried the same disc with other headphones, just to make sure the noise is not on the disc itself? Sometimes (because of todays horrible remastering techniques) the disc exibits digital clipping distortion. Also try reversive the leads to see if it stays put on the same driver.

Quote:

Originally posted by Mindless I have the same thing in my HD600's when I listen to some Nickelback songs or some newer rock music, a slight bzzzzz starts in the left ear-piece for me, on some high tones (guitarrs sometimes, bass too in some cases)

Since it's Nickelback, that buzzing distortion was probably Chad Kroeger attempting to sing. Either that or he was finally relieved of his chronic constipation

Sorry, just had to do that...

Again, if you listening to modern rock recordings, chances are they are showing clipping distortion. I hear it all the time, even at low volume. That's the indicator.

 

[Dimitri]

"I hope you didn't overdo the break-in and loosen the diaphragm." --Beagle

Thats what I am worried about. They had gone through about 65 hours of break-in at volumes slightly higher than normal. I thought this was standard break-in procedure. Did I make a cotly mistake?

 

[pedxing]

Have you checked for hair yet? You haven't told us if you found hair or not. Hair stuck on the diagphram made a buzzing noise at high volumes with my headphones. Also, you might be able to find a lose part if you open up the headphone.

I doubt you have incorectly burned in the headphones unless you really cranked up the volume way beyond normal listening levels. Also, if you used normal music, you should be ok. Some people broke their headphones during the burn in process by using wave generators or custom wav files; they burn in the headphones with frequencies that are way beyond the headphone's spec.

 

[dd3mon]

Here's the solution, if this doesn't work, keep trying until it does. This happens often here with 580/600/650's:

1. Take off the earpads: grab the velvet part of the earpad and yank. You will have the pull relatively hard, but they just snap in and out.

2. Remove the foam cover over the drivers: this is just laying in there behind the earpad, the only thing holding it there is the tight-fitting velvet earpads (so after step one, this step will be simple).

3. Blow (with increasing strength until fixed) onto the driver in question. Make sure it's a dry blow (ie: don't spit, this won't help anything).

You will not damage your cans this way, but I can almost guarantee you'll fix the problem. You can check your cans to see if they're 'fixed' without putting them back together (to save time), they will play just fine without earcups or the foam pad. In fact, some people prefer the sound of the Sennheisers without the foam backing permanently.

-dd3mon

 

[Swampwalker]

RE: costly mistake- I guess that depends on how high normal volume is!

 

[Geek]

Before you fool with fancy attempts at fixing driver buzzing, you need to figure out if it's actually the headphones themsleves that are the problem!

1. Swap the left and right channels.
2. Listen thoroughly at a variety of volumes and pay close attention to what it sounds like.

If the buzzing is occuring on the right side and the left driver is still completely clean, it's not the headphones that are a problem.

I get lots of buzzing with bad recordings, including BOTH cds by Nickelback: I hear lots of distortion which kicks in whenever the band gets loud. It takes the form of a hashy buzzing crunchy sound, although its much different than guitar distortion and it shouldn't be there. My bet is you are just hearing distortion on some recordings. The HD650 is indeed that good.

However, if you hear the buzzing still out of the left channel, just send those 650s back for a replacement.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[Dimitri]

Thanks for the help! ill try everything when i get out of here (work)! My normal listening volume is moderate to low. I set the burn-in vol. at an undistorted, listenable level--only too loud for normal listening.

You guys really are a great help. I actually lost sleep over this last night! Crazy, I know, but these are expensive phones!

 

[Dimitri]

I happen to have my phones with me today--I just popped the pads off and to my surprise there was indeed a foreign thing hanging a fraction of an inch above the driver of the earpiece in question! I am very pleased. I removed it carefully, and will test as soon as get to my cdp. The tiny object appeared to be a flake of glue or some other hard material--it was brown and a few millimeters across. It was stuck on the protective plastic that crosses above the diaphragm, hanging just low enough to make contact with the right vibration.

 

[Duncan]

I personally go for there being a hair stuck in the foam of the earpad that is in turn tickling the driver...

if there were hairs stuck on the driver, then you'd be more likely to lose some resolution, rather than having buzzing...

Either way, good luck!