It is inherently difficult to make headphones that are both high fidelity and wireless. Has Sennheiser pulled off the balance with the HDB 630?
This is what Sennheiser are hoping to achieve with their new headphones, the HDB 630. All wireless audio devices face a common issue; to transmit the audio data efficiently with minimal latency, it must compress the audio down to a manageable level. The goal in this scenario is to maintain as much information as possible, while transmitting the audio wirelessly.
Hear every nuance of detail, in comfort, with the Sennheiser HDB 630.
The HDB 630 has a smart way of bypassing this; the headphones are still Bluetooth, still have all the familiar Sennheiser features like active noise cancelation, touch controls and a sturdy comfortable over ear build, but it also ships with a small USB-C device that plugs in to your phone, or other smart device, which allows your phone to output lossless audio up to 24 bit/96 kHz. Though this device can be a little fiddley to set up, once it is, it’s completely plug and play. All of this is amazing on paper but how does it hold up in every day listening environments?
The sound signature of the HDB 630 is very Sennheiser, flat with a little extra push in the mids, the sound stage is wide for a close back headphone with good separation between instruments.
For example, the track “Orange moon” by Erykah Badu contains various instrumental layers accompanied by a very deep double bass.
The bass in the track can often lead to the other more subtle instruments sounding thin and non-direct, the HDB 630 leaves all the instruments standing apart with defined edges and clarity. This clarity is only caveated a little by the slightly less effective noise cancellation, which isn’t bad by any measure, but is not as good as competing pairs such as the Sony WH1000XM5. However, it can be difficult to have both good noise cancellation and sound quality.
Overall, if a high fidelity, more natural sounding, portable headphone is what you’re looking for, I can’t think of any at this price point that come close. The next best would be the Focal Bathys at around £300 more, so the Sennheiser’s offer incredible value for money. Visit your local Richer Sounds store, to try the Sennheiser HDB 630‘s yourself.
Author: Tom, Cambridge Store
