Just a few days ago, Sennheiser announced its foray into the wireless audiophile headphone market with the HDB 630 headphones.  We’ve been lucky to test them out for the past three weeks and can say that, overall, they are amazing, with features that extend beyond audiophile sound.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 arrive in a solid, premium travel case with all of its accessories included.  Accessories include a USB Type-C charging cable, a 2.5 mm analog audio cable, an airline adapter, and a USB Type-C Bluetooth transmitter.  

The Sennheiser HDB 630 are available now for RRP $999.  Not cheap, but for audiophile-quality headphones, they are considered affordable.  That is assuming they are, in fact, audiophile-quality.  While they won’t match the true wired premium audiophile headphones that cost several thousand dollars, they are still far better than any consumer-level headphones.

Read on to hear my thoughts on the new HDB 630 headphones from Sennheiser.  Sit back, relax, this may take a while because there is a lot more to these headphones than just great sound!

Design & comfort

The design of the HDB 630 headphones is virtually identical to that of the MOMENTUM 4, also from Sennheiser.  According to Sennheiser, the HDB 630 are an improvement over these with the “acclaimed ergonomics” featuring a “customised acoustic system.”

The overall design is relatively plain but looks premium, with no glaring highlights, just premium-looking finishes and materials.

The headband is padded with memory foam over a plastic band.  The padding is soft and easy on the noggin for long listening sessions.  There is enough flex in the headband to allow it to fit comfortably over the head.  The most comfortable way to wear these headphones, I have found, is to loosen the headband a bit and rely more on the clamping force of the earcups to hold them in place.

The earcups are not overly big when compared with many audiophile headphones, but inside, they house 42mm dynamic transducers so they are big enough.  The earcups apply a subtle but effective clamping force on the sides of the head, holding the headphones in place easily.   This is comfortable thanks to the Japanese Protein Leatherette ear cushions from IDEATEX.

The right earcup houses all the buttons for the headphones as well as the USB-C and 3.5mm ports.  The additional feature on the HDB 630 is the touch panel on the outside of the right earcup.  I’ve used these on consumer-focused headphones but never on an audiophile headphone so this is another excellent feature of the new headphones from Sennheiser.

The touch panel is easy to use with single taps and swipes, allowing users to perform various media-control functions.  Pinching in and out on it can also be used to alter the amount of ANC the headphones are using.

The support arms connecting the earcups to the headband swivel, and when combined with the tilting of the earcups, offer the ability to fit the headphones to your head no matter its shape or size.

The carry case for the Sennheiser HDB 630 is thicker than that of the MOMENTUM 4, and is firmer and is a more solid material, making it more protective to its contents.  The case offers a couple of mesh pockets for the various plugs included and separate sections for the headphone jack cable and the USB-C cable.  It is a big case and not as portable but the headphones are not cheap, they should be protected as much as possible.

I don’t have the official weight for the headphones yet but considering they are effectively the same design as the MOMENTUM 4, you would expect them to weigh under 300 grams.  Now this is more than your basic consumer-focused headphones but less than virtually all audiophile headphones I have used.  A similar headphone is the Focal Bathys, which weighs 350 grams. For the HDB 630 to be lighter is a nice feature, adding to their improved comfort.

Features

I have mentioned a few of the features on the new HDB 630 headphones above.  These include:

  • Earcup touch panel – novel for an audiophile headphone but something that I love.
  • On-head detection – no need to turn the headphones on or off yourself anymore, the headphones will detect when you put them on your head and turn on and then off when you remove them (after a delay that you set in the app).  This worked really well, once I remembered that I didn’t have to manually turn them on (I kept turning them on, thinking I was turning them off).  Placing the headphones in the travel case will automatically turn them off.
  • Smart Pause – lower the headphones from your ears and put them around your neck, and the music will automatically pause.  It will start playing again when you put the headphones back on your ears.
  • High fidelity music for all source devices thanks to the included USB-C dongle – BTD 700.  This can also be purchased separately if you wish to have it on multiple devices at once – eg. on your PC while also having one available to plug into your smartphone quickly.  The dongle does make a difference when it enables your smartphone, etc, to use the aptX Adaptive codec – it is subtle, but audiophiles will notice the difference.

App 

Sometimes apps for headphones are basic.  Sennheiser’s big ticket item here is the included parametric equaliser, allowing for precise control over the sound profile of your music.  Sennheiser has some presets included in the app but you can also create your own as required.

Aside from that, you can also:

  • Adjust the crossfeed of your headphones to allow for a more natural sound.  
  • Connection management – ensure that your music is being transmitted through the USB-C transmitter for the best quality music.
  • Adjust the ANC levels, including the ability to fine-tune it to a custom level that matches your preferences.
  • Adjust the function that each gesture on the right earcup activates.

Connectivity

The Sennheiser HDB 630 are the king of connectivity thanks to the included USB-C transmitter.  It offers connection using the transmitter, normal Bluetooth 5.2 (with a slightly diminished sound quality), USB-C to USB-C cable and the 2.5mm to 3.5mm analogue cable.

To use the USB-C dongle, there is a small trick that you need to perform – well, it’s not really a trick.  You need to perform the connectivity in a specific sequence, which I found hidden in the middle of the instruction manual.  Connect the headphones to your phone/device, then open the Sennheiser app, plug in the USB-C transmitter and wait for that to connect.

The same applies to connecting the USB-C transmitter to your PC.  This time though, you need first to connect the transmitter to your headphones and then you need to connect your phone to the headphones.  This way, the music from the PC will play through the transmitter to the headphones, and you can control the music via the Sennheiser app.

Make sure that both it and the headphones are connected by checking the “Connection Management” section within the app.  I also had the headphone paired to my PC so occasionally it they would connect to my PC and my phone, leaving no connectivity slots for the BTD 700 transmitter.  Simply tap on the dongle listed in the Connection Management section and it will then work.  

How do they sound?

I have recently expanded my headphone testing playlist to include a wider variety of music.  The Sennheiser HDB 630 performed well across all types of music.  It performs exceptionally well out of the box with songs with lots of bass.  The sound isn’t as “bright” as that from my other audiophile headphones but when I listened to it closely, I preferred the more natural sound of the Sennheisers.

The mids and highs are not blown out but could do with a small amount of “brightening.”  The lower end of the spectrum, on the other hand, is well covered with crisp sounds that sound punchy

The bass on the HDB 630 is exceptional without being overwhelming, far surpassing that from my usual audiophile headphones.  It is clear and not muddied, which you would hear from more consumer-focused headphones.

My preference for quality music is using the Poweramp app and FLAC files.  Within the Poweramp app, there is an app that supports parametric equaliser settings.  It also has a community where other users can share their custom equalisers.  

My other headphones are old enough that there are quite a few options available, and of course, there is nothing like this for the HDB 630 yet, as they are only available to the public from today.  There is no doubt that high-quality parametric equaliser presets from the community will soon be available, further improving music quality.

Battery life

It is so difficult to test out the battery life of headphones these days because their playback times are so long; I rarely have time to listen to them that much to run them out.  This time I set them aside, sitting upright in my headphone holder (so they didn’t turn themselves off automatically) and played music for several days. 

The Sennheiser HDB 630 are stated to have a battery life of “up to” 60 hours.  I ran them, using the USB-C dongle for 8 hours a day for four days – which, according to my maths, is just over half the battery life of a single charge.  At the end of these 32 hours of playback, there was 5% of battery life left on the headphones. This setup uses the highest audio codec possible, with volume at 75%, ANC on, and the USB-C transmitter, so having more than 30 hours is impressive.

Should you buy the Sennheiser HDB 630 headphones?

The Sennheiser HDB 630 Bluetooth headphones are impressive. The sound is fantastic, and with the included Bluetooth transmitter, you are guaranteed the best possible audio quality for Bluetooth connectivity. There are also wired connectivity options for the purists, though.

The sound is far and away better than the more consumer-friendly headphones, and you will pay more for that, but if you want a high-quality sound that can be used on the go via Bluetooth, while at the same time being comfortable on the head, then you should be looking very closely at the HDB 630 headphones.

The sound quality comes very close to my audiophile-quality Bluetooth headphones from Focal, and actually surpasses them for some songs and types of music. At a RRP of just under $1,000, you should expect great quality sound with a range of connectivity options, and with the Sennheiser HDB 630, you get that in spades.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 is to purchase in Australia from today at an MSRP of $999 AUD. Customers can order via Sennheiser’s official online store, sennheiser-hearing.com/en-AU/, and through leading national retailers including JB Hi-Fi, Amazon, Harvey Norman, and select independent audio specialists.