Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX Headphones Discussions | Drop

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Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX Headphones

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musictracer

Sep 17, 2019

To all possible EU buyers: I ordered from EU and yesterday I informed Drop that I need to make use of my warranty and Judi H. informed me that I should send my pair to the US rather than the EU country they were sent to me from. That is a lot more costly and may include additional import/export taxes and of course the whole process will take a lot longer than expected! Also bear in mind that Sennheiser has opened a new factory in Romania about a month ago ( August 2019 ) : https://en-de.sennheiser.com/mediaroom/sennheiser-celebrates-official-opening-of-new-factory-in-brasov-romania# . I suspect I must have been one of the "lucky" ones to get one of the first unballanced "strange" sounding pairs made there. They sound dull and undefined in the mid/upper mid area. This has happened in some past lots as well and was proved by Sonarworks experts that it must have been due to moving their production line from Ireland to Romania, so beware... You can find details on that here : https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/solving-the-hd650-mystery.8026/ EDIT: Judi H (Drop representative) informed me through email that they consent to pay the "return" shipping costs to US. I still don't know about potential import/export charges... Will ask and come back with another edit. EDIT: I'd just like to mention that eventually I sent my pair to Drop (US) using a prepaid shipping label that Drop provided me, and I got fully refunded. The whole process was completed really fast. That being said, I believe Drop provides great communication and services.

(Edited)

Sep 17, 2019

snowsurfer

Sep 17, 2019

musictracerWhat you describe is not only costly, it is completely illegal in the EU. If this is true, you need to fight it, do not send them to the USA, they are legally obliged to fulfil your warranty in the EU. I understand this is one of the reasons for having higher prices in the EU, even though they are made here. I will chalk it up to a clueless customer service rep, let's hope this gets escalated for you and they fulfil as legally mandatory. On the other hand, what kind of amplification are you using them with? Sorry but I do not buy the Romania worse than Ireland "argument". Porsche Cayennes have been made in Slovakia since the first generation, as an example. It is not impossible but I find it highly improbable to be the reason. I don't know if you've read the whole thread that you linked, but further down (newer posts), the same Sonarworks guy that posted the graph says: "I was around during the black/white screen HD650 debacle. I’d really like to avoid creating rumours that there are some better or inferior version HD650ies floating around. As far as I and my engineers are concerned, Sennheiser has nailed the manufacturing in Romania and the current stock HD650ies are identical to the regular ones before the factory swap."

(Edited)

Sep 17, 2019

musictracer

Sep 17, 2019

snowsurferThank you so much for contributing and willing to help me, I very much appreciate it! Currently I am in contact with Drop as they provided me a "prepaid shipping label" and I am asking them whether it means I won't be charged shipping costs for sending to the US. But I will take in account very seriously what you said about their obligation to fulfill the warranty in the EU. But what if they took the charge of the shipping to the US? Do you think I should accept this, or should I insist to fulfill the warranty in the EU? I never said that all the Romanian made cans are worse. I wrote about the FIRST pairs made in their brand new Romanian factory. I don't know if you are aware about Sonarworks, it is a very serious company with expert engineers and top notch labs. As you can see in the thread I linked in my first post they checked a few pairs that were bought by costumers who complained about sound quality and dull sound, and found out that they were indeed a degradation compared to the classic HD650 sound. These were bought right after the opening of their first Romanian factory so they plausibly assumed that they were made there. In my case, right after my disappointment when hearing my pair, I found out that there is another brand new Romanian factory that opened just a month ago! Coincidence? I don't think so... Also it is not by chance that Sennheiser doesn't put a "made in Romania" sign on its cans anymore, like it did with the Irish ones (made in Ireland). That makes me at least skeptical... As for dac/amp I am using the Audient ID14 interface. It features Burr Brown converters and the amp can handle cans of up to 600 ohms with ease. ( It also features the same preamp circuit found in their 30.000 euro consoles, but that's another story...) But I also tested my pair on several other units including my cell phone anyway and got the same disappointing results so it can't be a dac/amp issue ... Currently I am trying to spot another HD650 or HD6xx pair in my town, preferably the Irish version to make a direct comparison, just to hear how different a normal pair sounds like, but I think the difference will be huge, because reviewers say that separation is amazing and the vocals shine through them, while in mine, I can only enjoy the low end and the rest lacks a lot of definition and is held back.

Sep 17, 2019

snowsurfer

Sep 17, 2019

musictracerI wouldn't be able to say if they would still be liable if they pay for everything and you just have to send it to USA, but I can tell you that if you air that enough on Reddit / other places, they will lose a huge percentage of potential clients, no one wants to deal with that crap. On the other hand, if this finally occurs, I'd love to know who was the Pikachu who thought out this system: make an item in the EU, sell it in the EU, and then make the customer return it to USA for an RMA. Really? I'd be laughing if it wasn't such a serious matter. How about you take this to Sennheiser social network accounts? Let them (and followers) know what kind of name this is giving them. Sennheiser has worked very, very hard for the respect they have achieved in the community, I don't think they would take this as lightly as Drop seems to be taking it. This is really bad for their rep. The longer Drop takes to reply, the worse it reflects on Sennheiser. And it is arguable that Drop would not be what they are nowadays without early partnerships with the likes of Senn. Come to think of it, why is noone from Drop replying here?

(Edited)

Sep 17, 2019

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snowsurfer

Sep 17, 2019

musictracerAfter (over)thinking the purchase for a while, I'm leaning more and more to wait for Black Friday and see what kind of HD660s deals I can find on Amazon... The silence from Drop is deafening.

Sep 17, 2019

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musictracer

Sep 18, 2019

snowsurferYes indeed, I am also skeptical as to why they (Drop) don't join this conversation... But then again, I think that it is Sennheiser who have the greater responsibility on this matter. Let's not forget that it was 650's that were proven faulty by Sonarworks and not 6xx's. Probably Drop had no idea of the issue as they have no experts to do sound quality tests on their cans. From my conversations with Drop representatives I have concluded that they leave that to Sennheiser who eventually guarantee the sonic efficiency in the 6xx's as well. Another issue that Ι found out regarding Drop's provided warranty period, is that it only covers 1 year from purchase. Please correct me if I am wrong but according to the EU law no warranty period can be less than 2 years, right? I hope someone from Drop contributes to our conversation with some enlightenment. It is a pity because they are quickly responsive and willing to help in emails...

Sep 18, 2019

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snowsurfer

Sep 18, 2019

musictracerIndeed, EU minimum warranty period for consumer items is 2 years. They won't be able to work around that if they plan to keep shipping to EU from EU.

Sep 18, 2019

musictracer

Sep 20, 2019

snowsurferOk, I just got a reply by Samantha K (Drop representative) and she clarified that despite the orders ship from the EU warehouse, the headquarters as well as all payment processing is done in the United States, meaning the purchases don't occur within the EU. Consequently I assume we are not covered by the EU law...

Sep 20, 2019

LuckyLuke575

561

Sep 27, 2019

musictracerThe Romanian factory move was a catastrophe for quality and product decency. Beside the low quality workforce (cheap labor), the other issue is that it takes time for any new production facility to ramp up in terms of volume and quality, so the amount of dud units is expected to increase. I wonder if the official Sennheiser HD 650 will continue to be made in Ireland, or if it is also being moved to Romania? I hope not, because that would mean the effective end of the HD 650 model as we know it (proud owner of made in Ireland HD 6XX).

Sep 27, 2019

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musictracer

Sep 28, 2019

LuckyLuke575I absolutely agree that it takes time for any new production facility to ramp up in terms of volume and quality . This is what I am mostly concerned about regarding my pair. But maybe the Romanian factory will eventually bring off in terms of quality. As for the HD650, as you can see in the thread I linked in my initial comment, the tests where done on HD650 and not HD6XX. It is definite that the Romanian factory will produce the Sennheiser's HDs as it is mentioned on their site. If I were you , I would keep the Irish 650 like a rare stone. It seems they will soon become a legend!

Sep 28, 2019

LuckyLuke575

561

Sep 29, 2019

musictracerFor sure about the point on the rare stone, because it's a sure fire way to know you have a quality item at hand. In the long run I suppose they need to move the plants around to keep costs under control, because Ireland used to be a cheap labor destination, but salaries have really taken off in the last 10 - 20 years due to EU membership, low corporate taxes, foreign investment etc. It would have been worse if they moved the factory to China, then the product was going to be completely ruined, but I don't think its viable in the current political climate with trade wars and also the fact that the cost of labor in China has also gone up a lot.

Sep 29, 2019

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musictracer

Sep 29, 2019

LuckyLuke575I really can't be sure but you do have a point there. Time will tell...

Sep 29, 2019

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