Sennheiser Hdb 630 Review: A Sonic Marvel With Room For Improvement

High-resolution audio connected nan spell isn’t very convenient. It typically involves wired headphones and a DAC (digital-to-analog converter) of immoderate kind, positive your telephone aliases different instrumentality to entree files aliases a streaming service. All of this is basal since Bluetooth compresses an audio awesome by design, to let for low-latency transmission and minimize artillery draw. Simply put, wireless headphones haven’t been capable to meet nan demands of lossless audio, but Sennheiser has travel nan closest to fulfilling nan dream pinch its HDB 630 ($500).

Thanks to redesigned drivers, a caller acoustic level and a dongle, nan institution offers up to 24-bit/96kHz audio on nan HDB 630 — depending connected your configuration. You besides get supra mean progressive sound cancellation (ANC), a highly customizable EQ, shockingly agelong artillery life and precocious features to fine-tune nan headphones to your liking. For some, nan champion imaginable sound is still only recovered connected pricey setups and open-back headphones. For everyone else, Sennheiser has provided a sensation of nan audiophile life successful a overmuch much portable package.

Design

Sennheiser says nan HDB 630 “inherited” nan aforesaid chassis from its Momentum 4 headphones. That’s unfortunate because my biggest title pinch that older model's redesign is really inexpensive it looked compared to previous entries successful nan Momentum line. The HDB 630 suffers nan aforesaid fate, though nan scatter of metallic connected nan headband and yokes helps things a bit. Simply put, these don’t look for illustration a group of $500 headphones, and since they’re $150 much than their predecessor was astatine launch, they really should person a much premium appearance.

The extracurricular of nan correct receptor cup is still a touch sheet wherever you tin swipe, pat and moreover pinch to power nan HDB 630. I don’t callback different group of headphones pinch a pinch gesture, and I’m still not convinced it’s warranted. The action is utilized to alteration an Adaptive ANC accommodation that allows you to dial successful nan magnitude of sound blocking you need. After nan pinch, sliding a azygous digit forwards and backwards good tunes nan operation of ANC and transparency mode. It’s a bully action to person connected nan headphones themselves, I conscionable deliberation a triple pat to activate it would beryllium easier to maestro — and remember.

The only different fastener connected nan HDB 630 is for powerfulness and Bluetooth pairing. Unless you’re often connecting these headphones to a caller device, you mightiness not beryllium reaching for this power very often. That’s because nan HDB 630 goes into standby mode erstwhile you return them disconnected earlier powering down wholly aft 15 minutes of inactivity. You tin widen that model to 30 aliases 60 minutes if you prefer. And if nan headphones still person artillery left, you tin return to progressive mode by simply putting them backmost connected your head.

Sennheiser is betting you’ll usage nan HDB 630 for agelong listening sessions, truthful it outfitted these headphones pinch soft receptor pads and a well-cushioned headband. The clamping unit is capable for a due ANC seal, but ne'er becomes a burden. And contempt being astir 20 grams heavier than nan Momentum 4, this exemplary still feels balanced and doesn’t measurement you down.

Sound quality

While nan wide creation whitethorn beryllium familiar, nan sound level for nan HDB 630 is wholly new. 42mm drivers connection what Sennheiser says is “neutral sound pinch lifelike mids, stunning item and a wide soundstage.” In bid to present sound value that’s arsenic adjacent to open-back headphones arsenic possible, nan institution overhauled nan full acoustic system, from nan drivers to nan baffle’s transparent mesh, successful nan sanction of equilibrium and clarity. And since audiophile headphones typically require a dedicated outer amplifier to execute their afloat potential, Sennheiser included a BTD 700 USB-C dongle for high-resolution wireless audio transmission.

When I first put nan HDB 630 on, I thought nan audio value was bully but not great. Listening complete nan modular meaning SBC codec produced decent results, but it wasn’t thing to constitute location about. Once I connected to nan BTD 700 dongle and unlocked 16-bit/48kHz tunes from Apple Music, though, these headphones really started to impress.

As bully arsenic they are, nan HDB 630 whitethorn not beryllium for everyone. That “neutral” banal tuning places precocious accent connected nan midrange, truthful you’ll apt request to make immoderate adjustments to get nan bass capacity you crave from rock, electronic, hip-hop and different genres driven by low-end tone. While I concede nan neutral guidelines is simply a awesome starting point, and nan HDB 630 does so showcase “stunning detail,” I’d reason Sennheiser’s committedness of “a wide soundstage” doesn’t ever clasp true.

These headphones are astatine their champion pinch much immersive content, for illustration nan TRON: Ares soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails. After a flimsy adjustment, nan physics people had nan booming bass it needed, offering driving thumps that astir rattled my brain. All that was layered pinch rich | synths and Trent Reznor’s iconic vocals. The texture and distortion successful nan instruments came done successful greater item too, thing that’s not arsenic evident connected different headphones and earbuds.

Switch complete to Thrice’s Horizons/West and nan HDB 630 is simply a different story. Transitioning from synth-heavy physics euphony to a genre for illustration stone causes these headphones to suffer immoderate of nan immersive characteristic they are tin of delivering. You still get absurd clarity and detail, peculiarly successful Teppei Teranishi’s guitar riffs, but nan euphony sounds somewhat flatter and a small little energetic. It’s not bad by immoderate means, but immoderate genres won’t letter cover you arsenic overmuch arsenic others do.

You tin besides usage nan HDB 630 wired complete USB-C for lossless-quality audio. Since a number of competitors besides do this, I dedicated nan bulk of my testing to spot if Sennheiser’s wireless dongle is meaningfully different. Of course, I did my owed diligence and tested nan wired configuration a fewer times, and it should travel arsenic nary astonishment that nan HDB 630 sounds conscionable arsenic bully successful that setup.

Software, features and accessories

As I mentioned, nan HDB 630 comes pinch Sennheiser’s BTD 700 Bluetooth USB dongle. This enables higher value streaming than you’ll natively get from astir devices. With nan BTD 700, you tin expect aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless listening up astatine rates to 24-bit/96kHz. The dongle besides has a 30ms low-latency gaming mode, (supposedly) enhanced telephone capacity and Auracast support for streaming to aggregate headphones aliases speakers. The BTD 700 has a USB-C connector, but it comes pinch a USB-A adapter if you request it. This typically costs $60 if you bargain it connected its own, and since you request it to unlock nan HDB 630’s afloat potential, it’s awesome to spot it included successful nan box.

The HDB 630’s settings and features are accessible successful nan Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app. And for this model, nan institution is offering a batch much customization than it does connected nan Accentum aliases Momentum headphones. First, nan EQ editing options are much robust acknowledgment to a parametric equalizer, which allows you to get a batch much elaborate pinch your civilization presets. For example, I was capable to adhd nan low-end reside I consciousness is missing from nan banal tuning for those metal, stone and hip-hop tracks I mentioned before. And dissimilar a batch of headphone apps, adjusting nan EQ really improves nan sound alternatively of conscionable muddying things further.

Another sound-related summation for nan HDB 630 is Crossfeed. This allows you to blend nan near and correct channels truthful that it seems for illustration you’re listening to speakers alternatively of headphones. Unfortunately, you only get 2 options present — Low and High — but nan effect surely enhances nan sonic floor plan of nan HDB 630 astatine some settings.

Despite nan BTD 700 dongle’s Mac and Windows compatibility, there’s nary desktop type of nan Smart Control Plus app. This intends you’ll person to alteration each of your settings pinch nan HDB 630 done your telephone earlier you brace it pinch some nan dongle and your computer. It would beryllium bully if you could make EQ adjustments, create caller presets and moreover alteration Crossfeed levels without having to reconnect to different device. This besides intends you can’t beryllium connected to nan BTD 700 and some your telephone and your computer, since nan dongle takes 1 of nan 2 disposable multipoint Bluetooth slots.

Active sound cancellation and telephone quality

When it comes to ANC performance, I’m not wholly judge that nan HDB 630 is amended than nan Momentum 4. But that’s okay. That erstwhile exemplary brought a important betterment compared to Sennheiser’s older wireless headphones and nan ANC is still rather bully here. In fact, it was robust capable to artifact my family’s voices during their calls while I worked from home, and since astir headphones struggle pinch this, that’s nary mean feat.

Sennheiser says nan BTD 700 dongle will springiness you improved sound capacity complete nan headphones alone. Specifically, nan accessory should supply extended range, clearer sound pickup and, according to nan company, “uninterrupted” calls. In my recorded samples, I deliberation nan headphones themselves sounded slightly amended than erstwhile I captured my sound while connected to nan BTD 700. However, I noticed a chopped deficiency of inheritance sound successful some clips, which is adjuvant successful busier environments. I’ll besides statement nan wide sound value isn’t pristine, but it’s clear capable to usage for activity calls — moreover if you’re nan main presenter.

Battery life

Sennheiser promises that you’ll get up to 60 hours of artillery life connected a complaint pinch nan HDB 630. That’s nan aforesaid staggering fig nan institution claims connected nan Momentum 4. And yes, that’s pinch ANC enabled, but you’ll only execute that if you’re listening to modular solution tunes. Based connected my testing pinch a operation of sound cancellation and transparency mode while I was listening to euphony and taking activity calls, I person nary logic to judge nan company’s numbers don’t clasp true. If you take to perceive wholly via nan BTD 700’s higher value output, you tin expect up to 45 hours of usage connected a charge. That’s still rather a agelong clip considering a batch of nan title runs retired astatine astir 30 hours — and that’s without high-res music.

Due to each of nan awesome processing that helps pinch nan acoustic capacity connected nan HDB 630, they tin only beryllium utilized erstwhile they’re turned on. Unlike immoderate wireless models, you can’t usage these arsenic wired headphones erstwhile nan artillery is spent. However, if you find yourself pinch a wholly depleted battery, a 10-minute complaint will springiness you up to 7 hours of use. The institution doesn’t specify streaming solution for that number, but I presume it’s astatine modular definition. Still, you’ll get a fewer hours of higher-res euphony successful that time, which should beryllium capable to get you done a activity session, evening commute aliases that caller medium you’re dying to play for nan first time.

The competition

In nan realm of flagship headphones, immoderate company’s top-of-the-line exemplary will group you backmost $500 these days. I look backmost fondly connected nan clip erstwhile $300-$350 sewage you nan champion Sony had to offer. While nan HDB 630 is expensive, it’s besides successful nan aforesaid ballpark of what you’ll salary for nan Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones ($450), nan Sony WH-1000XM6 ($458 currently) and nan AirPods Max ($549). Each of those person their advantages complete nan remainder of nan competition, pinch nan 1000XM6 offering the astir complete package overall. However, erstwhile it comes to axenic sound quality, neither of those 3 are astatine nan apical of nan heap.

Up until now, that title belonged to the Noble Audio FoKus Apollo. At $650, those headphones are moreover much costly than nan HDB 630, but their banal tuning will entreaty to much listeners and nan soundstage is wider and much immersive. There’s besides Bowers & Wilkins’ Px7 S3 for a somewhat cheaper $479. It delivers nan company’s warm, inviting sound and attraction to finer details. After spending clip pinch nan HDB 630 though, these alternatives are conscionable that — alternatives — arsenic nan caller Sennheiser headphones are now my prime for champion wide sound quality.

Wrap-up

I get it:  successful nan existent financial climate, $500 is simply a batch to salary for headphones (or thing else, for that matter). You tin find a number of perfectly tin sets of ANC headphones for overmuch little fixed really often things spell connected waste these days. However, what you won’t find is an action that gives you thing adjacent to nan capacity of audiophile-grade, open-back headphones. That’s really what Sennheiser is doing here, and the HDB 630 slots nicely into nan company’s HD 600 bid of high-end cans.

As bully arsenic nan HDB 630 is sound-wise, I tin besides admit that these aren’t nan champion headphones for everyone. The company’s Momentum 4 is still a very tin group of headphones and it’s now disposable for astir $250. If you crave nan champion sound value that still offers nan convenience of wireless headphones — and you’re okay pinch a fewer other steps — nan HDB 630 is simply a worthy investment. Just don’t time off location without that dongle.