I just heard back from Sennheiser support—no color alternatives to black yet.
sorry Headphones.com, but because tariffs have added extra duty I need to order direct from the Canadian store…
I just heard back from Sennheiser support—no color alternatives to black yet.
sorry Headphones.com, but because tariffs have added extra duty I need to order direct from the Canadian store…
The HDB 630 is not manufactured in the US and is not subject to reciprocal tariffs. So it would just be the usual amount paid for any cross-border shipments.
I had asked Headphones.com sales support tariffs&duty, but because only free shipping had been mentioned in their reply I assumed it was not known. Amazon.com implied almost $70USD to ship them to Canada. My apologies (again) for any misunderstanding…
… still, Canadian Sennheiser support has been excellent!
Cheers from the Avalon…
I think we have to think of it in the reverse - they’re what a good pair of $500 closed-back headphones should sound like, and the fact that it’s wireless along with all the extra features it comes with is the cherry on top.
It’s less that it blows everything else out of the water, and more that it meets a minimum requirement bar that has been ignored for years and years and years IMO.
somewhere in between Bathys and Maxwells.
Great description!
I am hoping these can replace both my Airpods Max (travel/movies/ANC around the house headphone) and my Maxwells (sitting at my desk/gaming/Hi-Fi PC closed back audio). At the very least I expect to replace one of them…
Thankfully it’s much lighter than both headphones.
The point about the Audeze Maxwell is a compelling one. If one doesn’t prioritize ANC, is the HDB 630 an upgrade to the Maxwell or more of a lateral move? Hopefully I’ll be able to compare for myself, but I’ll be interested in what Listener and Resolve have to say.
Just based on frequency response, HDB630 measures a lot smoother, and also a lot more neutral (darker) in the upper treble.
This having better sub-bass than the Maxwell is insane. Anybody confirm that subjectively the bass quality at that frequency range isn’t too bloated or distorted? Might make this the GOAT movie headphone if that’s the case with the Crossfeed feature enabled.
I’m not familiar with that measurement site, but thanks for sharing. Both the HDB 630 and Maxwell measurements look quite a bit different than the other 5128 squigs I’ve seen. Just goes to show you that listening is still key.
For sure. For sure. I consider measurements a rough guide to tone. As for not having seen those squigs, here’s a comparison of the averages of a lot of the available measurements for these two headphones.
Kewl! Which squig site is that?
This is @Listener’s EQ playground, and all the measurements I just collected and scanned myself. BTW love the positive vibes!
I have both Maxwells and AirPods Max. Since I got HDB600 I’m not used them once ![]()
Just got mine today. Definitely very happy about the purchase- ANC, Comfort, Crossfeed, the OOTB sound profile, and the App’s EQ are excellent. These will definitely be replacing my Airpods Max for travel/lightweight wear.
I found the highest frequencies to be a little hot so all I’ve applied is a high shelf rolloff at 20khz for -1.5db. Brings the 10k peak and everything above it back into the expected range so cymbals and synths still sparkle without fatiguing. The bass is cranked about as high as it should be in the OOTB sound profile - very present, fast, and deep extending, without making the mids feel dark, but it is a crumb muddy and sounds like it distorts if pushed too much. Not like the Maxwell at all. Comparing the HDB 630 to my Maxwells (which I use with Dekoni Elite Sheepskin Pads + Immersive sound profile) they sound VERY similar but the Maxwell just have the slightest edge in terms of spaciousness, lack of distortion in the sub-bass region. Clarity/resolution when compared like for like in the mids and highs is a toss-up- the Maxwells still punch high above their weight.
Btw - aptx adaptive is not enabled by default if using the dongle. You need to go into settings, enable “Advanced Sound Quality” and then restart the headphones. I also for the life of me cannot get the BTD 700 to support any of the higher quality codecs on my iPhone with Plexamp. I have many high resolution files in FLAC downloaded and it simply won’t output anything higher than AAC. It does work properly on my PC with Foobar2000, though. The sound quality increase is evident over AAC when you can use it but unless you have Tidal or Apple Music on iPhone I would just leave the dongle at home. They still sound very good with the iPhone’s native bluetooth encoder.
In summary, these are as good as everyone is saying. They are not as good as $1000+ Open backs from the high end companies but they are easily, and definitively, “The best ANC Headphones for $500.” I won’t go into much detail but compared to Bose QC Ultra, Sony XM4/5/6, Airpods Max, and Focal Bathys, these annihilate them. Worth double the price of $250 headphones hands down, and easily better than the $600+ Focals. But they will just be my mobile headphones and do not do the job that the Maxwells are best suited for: desktop wireless Hi-Fi closed back awesomeness.
I have had HDB 630 now ten days.
It is better than any closed back that I have or I am tested.
Better than Maxwell - 630 doesn’t have modal problems => easy to eq for own ear gain and have ANC, better Transparency mode, better app etc.
It have way better sound quality than all other ANC’s that I am tested (dali, Batis, Mark Levinson, Sony, Bose, Apple).
It is better than DCS noire and noire X, Focal Radiance.
It not replace the best open backs.
I have Hifiman HE6SE V2 with very low clamp headband with capra strap and Dekoni Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin pads. Some EQ and it is better than I can get from 630 with EQ. Some airyness/openess and better psycoacustic feeling because it is open design.
I’m a bit worried about that (phase cancellation?) dip around 2,8 kHz. It doesn’t seem to be as pronounced (and narrow?) as it can be (like with BeyerDynamic closed-backs and Meze 109), but ~7 dB is still far from insignificant.
For anyone that has been waiting @Resolve ‘s review of the HDB 630 is now live on The HEADPHONE Show.
Really? Can you give more details in which way 630 is better? I recently purchesed Noire X and I think they are awesome. Very interested in more info. Thanks!