Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

2009-11-16 02:04:15

I'm looking into buying a pair of Sennheiser HD 600's, but I'm not sure if I can trust the Amazon.com associated retailers.

On Sennheiser's U.S. site, the MSRP is listed as $519.95.  Musician's Friend and Sweetwater has them priced at about $400.

Amazon.com has "Remanufactured HD 600's" for $337.86 through an associated retailer.  They are specified as "like-new."
Amazon.com also has HD 600's for $288.06 through another associated retailer, though they are specified as "new."  "New" phones cheaper than "like-new" phones?  Seems fishy.

It's kind of hard for me to trust refurbished headphones, as well as a manufacturer that's selling the HD 600's as "new" for such a big reduction in price.  I've had bad experiences buying "new" audio equipment on eBay, and finding later that the equipment was "B stock," meaning they didn't meet specifications, so they were being sold much cheaper than regular retail.  I wonder if I might run into the same problem with Amazon.com.

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #1 – 2009-11-16 02:15:51

Personally, I can't see you finding them new for much below $400 and $228 is definitely just too good to be true.

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #2 – 2009-11-16 02:45:04

In Germany you can get an original, new pair for 205 EUR, that's ~306 USD at current exchange rates. So $288 must not be too unbelievable. Even gear that has been manufactured here is often sold cheaper abroad than domestically.

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #3 – 2009-11-17 13:04:46

I've decided to buy the HD 600's from either Musician's Friend or Sweetwater.

Musician's Friend calls them "Sennheiser HD 600 Avantgarde Headphones," and Sweetwater calls them "Sennheiser HD 600."

Does anyone know if the "Avantgarde" word means that they are different from the original HD 600's?

I've read that the other phones I've been looking at, the HD 650's, have been redesigned to have a bump in the lower frequencies.  Have the HD 600's been redesigned too?

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #4 – 2009-11-17 15:35:04

The HD600 is the HD600.  There is only one version of it.  People make claims that both the HD600 and HD650 have sonically changed over their lifetimes, but Sennheiser has never said this.  They have changed some of the manufacturing materials, but Sennheiser has said the reasons for this had nothing to do with sonics.

Also, the price of the HD600 and HD650 vary quite a bit from month to month.  About a year ago I purchased the HD600 for $300 from Amazon.com.  Of course, the value of the dollar has changed over the last year and Sennheiser seems to have gotten a little more stubborn about allowing discounting on their products.

Another place you might think about is Headphone.com.  Call and ask them about their lowest price as they don't always list it on their website.  Also, I've had good experiences with Musicians friendly.  Musicians friend might even price match so you can match to another seller who may not be as reputable.

Finally, the HD600 is the "neutral" headphone and the HD650 has a bump in the bass region.  The HD650 has always been like this.

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #5 – 2009-11-17 16:08:00

I bought some Sennheiser ear buds from an Amazon marketplace trader. They were wired out of phase! I complained, he said "no problem, bin them, I'll send you a replacement". The replacements were the same!

I contacted Sennheiser UK. They said "we don't sell through Amazon", but they sent me a correct pair at no cost anyway.

Other than listening to them, there was nothing to differentiate the faulty product from the good one. Packaging was nearly identical (if anything, the faulty ones were a very slightly better print run!), earbuds looked identical etc.


HD600s are currently £200 in the UK. My HD580s only cost me £100 when they were being superseded - you can't get them for that now (if you can find them at all). The UK is generally far more expensive than the USA - $300 doesn't seem unexpectedly cheap.

Cheers,
David.

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #6 – 2009-11-17 18:30:16

My understanding is that Sennheiser headphone resellers cannot advertise a price below the MSRP, which is significantly higher than what you'll likely pay at retail.  As such, you may see a very high price which will be reduced once it's added to your cart or in combination with some sort of promo code.

$288 is curiously inexpensive for HD 600s. Research the reseller as thoroughly as you can before doing anything.

Sennheiser HD 600 pricing in U.S.

Reply #7 – 2009-11-17 18:52:21

Amazon.com is an authorized Sennheiser dealer .  As for all the merchants listed, I would look at reviews before purchasing from them.  I've had good luck from different merchants them but I usually only purchase used/out of print books from them.