I waited patiently for the 2nd drop of these. I was so excited when I saw the email announcing the return. I was immediately crushed by the $50 price bump and a 6 month wait period. But, I was inspired to get my hands on these phones so I took to ebay. I picked up a used immaculate pair of HD600's that have swapped HD650 drivers and ear cups. I got them within 3 days and paid substantially less that the HD6xx drop.
My suggestion to everyone disturbed by the price hike and wait time. Go check out the used market, there are tons of HD650s for less than the HD6xx . You also get the added bonus of having real PA6 plastic not the cheaper plastic used in the 6xx.
HD600 and HD650 are made of PA6 glass fiber re-enforced Nylon. It is stamped on the inside of the earcup. From what I have seen the HD6xx do not have this marking meaning it is probably made of some cheaper ABS or similar plastic. If someone could disassemble their HD6xx and show a mold marking showing the plastic composition we could put this to rest. Until then I'm going under the assumption the 6xx isn't PA6-GF
The 600 and 650 also have a smooth glossy hydro dipped finish while the 6xx is a raw plastic finish.
Neither of these factors change how the headphone sounds or performs, it's just a small detail sennheiser used to cut costs a bit on the 6xx.
I see, that makes more sense. Not that looking at pictures may do this justice, but I've seen a few pics of 600 and 650s back in the day and the plastic looks "hardier" and glossier (not that the finish matters per se). Also I recall that there is quite a bit of clamping force on the 650s, and compared to the H6XX there is relatively none in my case, which may or may not be due to the plastic composition?
All this is speculation though.
Cheaper plastics don't necessarily feel cheaper. My suspicion is that the 6xx is still PA6 nylon but with either less or perhaps no glass fiber re-enforcement. That would make the plastic cheaper to mold and the only trade-off would be slightly less stiffness and slightly less strength.
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My suggestion to everyone disturbed by the price hike and wait time. Go check out the used market, there are tons of HD650s for less than the HD6xx . You also get the added bonus of having real PA6 plastic not the cheaper plastic used in the 6xx.
The 600 and 650 also have a smooth glossy hydro dipped finish while the 6xx is a raw plastic finish.
Neither of these factors change how the headphone sounds or performs, it's just a small detail sennheiser used to cut costs a bit on the 6xx.
All this is speculation though.