I placed my order for the above from the above on Wednesay evening, and I was pleasantly surprised to take delivery of them yesterday morning.
Unfortunately, the left channel didn't work.
I then swapped the 6.3 mm adaptor for the identical one that was supplied with my pair of HD590s, and both channels then worked...
for about five seconds before I got a ping-pong effect, and the left channel gave up once more.
I then tried the headphones on a boombox which does not require a 6.3mm adaptor, and they worked perfectly, or as well as can be expected from such a modest source.
I concluded that there may be a fault with sennheiser's own adaptor, so I went to a local TV- cum-TEAC dealer who let me try out another 6.3mm adaptor into one of his, er, systems. That didn't work either into the left channel.
Next I tried an extension cable I had made up at another electrical store a couple of years ago - 6.3 mm male connection at one end, and 3.5mm female at the other end; that was also a no-go on the left channel.
I have contacted askdirect via their Customer Services telephone number (I experienced some considerable difficulty getting hold of this number) and I was advised to return the headphones to them to be checked over by their "technical team."
The nature of the problem completely baffles me.
Does anyone have any ideas?
I paid £129.99 against the TSP of £250.
Am I merely paying the ultimate price of using a mail order company advertised in WHF, or what? 
Cheers,
Steve.
Posted on: 16 February 2002 by Top Cat
...do (did?) them for £99.99, plus a fiver if you want them sent out to you. The price you paid seems reasonable enough, though.
Sounds like a duff adaptor - if the small jack is working with a boombox, then the lead must be OK. As far as the adaptors go, perhaps you're just being unlucky with the two you've tried. I have a couple - bring them with you to try.
TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."
Posted on: 16 February 2002 by Steve Toy
I have the same problem with four different adaptors that I have tried.
Moreover, my HD590s work perfectly with all of them.
I'll send them back, I think.
It is a mystery.
I'll bring my CDX, though.
Cheers,
Steve.
Posted on: 17 February 2002 by Happy Listener
Steven, I came across something like this when listening to this model.
One/both of the channels kept going and it must have been the lead attachment in the 'phones. By gripping the lead and pushing it in to the casing the problem went away.
Phil
Posted on: 17 February 2002 by mark dunsford
Just about to buy a pair a month or so ago (a bargain at £99, I thought), when they stopped selling them. That always seems to happen to me!
Posted on: 17 February 2002 by Steve Toy
I tried Richer Sounds to begin with.
Not in stock/no longer available - same difference.
If the matter with Askdirect is resolved to a reaonable level of satisfaction, then I shall be in a position to recommend them as a viable alternative to RS.
Cheers,
Steve.
Posted on: 06 March 2002 by Steve Toy
I took receipt by post of a pair of HD 600s yesterday morning, only to find that they still don't bloody work in the left channel!
I then phoned askdirect, and got to speak to a pleasant enough chap by the name of Robin, who explained to me that the fault had been identified, but someone sent back the faulty pair to me by mistake - as opposed to the working pair alongside on the test bench that was intended to come my way...
He has apologised for this, and urged me to send them back again, and the Special Delivery postage (X2) would then be refunded in full.
He has also sent an email with a form to fill in regarding the matter, and I shall include a link to this thread with my reply.
If I receive a working pair of HD 600s within two days of returning the faulty pair, I believe that I shall be in a position to recommend their services on the basis that we can all learn from our mistakes, and receiving a working pair of HD 600s within two days for a little more than half the TSP of 250 pounds is clearly worth it, when Richer Sounds seem to have given up on restocking of this item in particular.
Regards,
Steve.
The proof of the pudding...
Posted on: 08 March 2002 by Gavin B
I'm cusrrently using a pair of 'open' headphones and my Missus complains about the noise leaking into the room when she's watching TV. It normally breaks down into a volume battle (which I win) but that's not good for marital harmony.
Can anyone recommend a good closed pair (up to £100-120) if the HD600s don't meet the spec?
Posted on: 08 March 2002 by Steve Toy
They are open phones.
In my opinion, closed phones sound, er, shut in.
Regards,
Steve.
The proof of the pudding...
Posted on: 08 March 2002 by David Antonelli
I love HD 600s. They sound great on the end of a CDS2/52/hicap/headline. One thing about them: I don't care for the way the plugs lose their connection and have to be replugged in. This is apparently a common complaint. As for the headline: if you don't use it often, which is my case since upgrading to ACT 2s, the volume knob creates a lot of hissing when you move it. This goes away after about a minute of moving it back and forth. Can't naim use a better volume knob????
Can't sennheiser use more solid connections? I am not sure what the advantage of having removable cables is and it only screws up the connection, or at least makes it more touchy.
dave
Posted on: 12 March 2002 by Steve Toy
The guy called Robin from Askdirect rang me yesterday to say that the faulty pair had arrived back with them, (I posted them on Friday) and a new fully-operational pair would be with me by today along with a refund for the postage (2x £6.50.)
Sure enough, a UPS van pulled up outside my place at precisely 12 noon, and I now have a working pair of HD600s, and a refund. 
I did tell Robin about my Naim-audio Forum membership, and about this thread...
So, I can recommend the services of askdirect.co.uk but it would be an idea, I reckon, to mention your Maim-audio Forum membership when placing an order with them. 
Regards,
Steve.
The proof of the pudding...
Posted on: 12 March 2002 by Stephen Rodrigues
The nearest thing to a closed-back version of the HD600 would be the HD265. Look in the right places and you should find them for around £80, reduced from £125. The reason RS aren't doing the HD600 is they did a deal with Sennheiser UK which has now finished. Sennheiser are unlikely to repeat this deal since it buggered up a lot of the independent dealers' ability to sell any Sennheiser 'phones for three months over the Christmas period. And finally, the reason why most Sennheiser 'phones are modular (ie replaceable lead, capsules, headband etc.) is for reasons of longevity. I still regularly sell replacement bits for headphones that cost £12 twenty years ago. With Beyers, for example, if you step on the lead and snap it while hearing your cans, you're facing a repair job. With Sennheiser, either the lead pops straight out or you can buy a replacement lead for £20.
Maybe that's why it's often best to support your local independent retailer who'll be around in twenty years to help fix your headphones!
Posted on: 12 March 2002 by Steve Toy
My dealer is perfectly happy with my purchasing these 'phones at a price he couldn't even buy them in at, because he knows that he'll be selling me the requisite interconnects to go with them.
You see, as good as these Senns sound, I just don't feel that my spare pair of Nordost solar Winds are completely synergetic with them, and I shall soon be off-loading them for some Chord Silver sirens.
The last pair of NSW, I sold to TC.
Regards,
Steve.
The proof of the pudding...
