The $499.95 Sennheiser HDB 630 headphones are the company's latest attempt to challenge Bose and Sony in the premium wireless headphone space. Although they can't match the class-leading noise cancellation of the Editors' Choice-winning Sony WH-1000XM6 ($459.99), the HDB 630s offer superior, customizable audio and a staggering 60-hour battery life. If sound quality is your top priority, the HDB 630s are an excellent alternative.

Design: Subtle and Luxurious

The Sennheiser HDB 630 headphones are understated but still feel premium. The headphones are sturdy, and although they're largely made of plastic, they still feel higher-end and more durable than either the Sony WH-1000XM6 or the $449 Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) headphones. The ear pads are made of soft synthetic leatherette, while the headband is wrapped in what Sennheiser calls "refined Japanese leatherette." The combination creates a cohesive and luxurious feel.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The headphones are comfortable, too. They distribute their relatively lightweight build (11 ounces) evenly across the top of your head, and while the ear pads do tend to get warm after a few hours, the warmth never becomes unbearable. They're agreeable enough for wearing through a workday, but not quite as comfortable as the second-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultras.

While the earcups can swivel flat, they don't fold inward like many competitors. This creates a slightly larger footprint.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The right earcup houses most of the physical controls and ports, including a USB-C port that handles both charging and audio data, as well as a 2.5mm audio input jack. A single button manages power, pairing, and voice assistant activation. The bulk of the controls, however, happen through the touch panel on the right earcup. Swipe up and down for volume control, left and right to switch tracks, slide and hold to fast-forward or rewind, tap to play and pause, and double-tap to enable transparency mode.

You can even pinch to decrease transparency or spread your fingers to increase it, mimicking smartphone zoom gestures. While learning all these controls may feel overwhelming initially, the most important ones are relatively intuitive, even if you never use them to adjust transparency levels. Unfortunately, you can’t really customize them, though.

Inside the earcups, 42mm dynamic transducers deliver a frequency response of 6Hz to 40kHz when connected via USB, or 6Hz to 22kHz over Bluetooth and analog connections.

The headphones utilize Bluetooth 5.2 with support for aptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC codecs, but don't support LDAC. Sennheiser includes a BTD 700 USB-C dongle that's particularly clever. Although it still uses Bluetooth rather than a 2.4GHz connection, it supports aptX Adaptive, effectively adding hi-res audio capability to devices that wouldn't otherwise support it. Bluetooth multipoint allows simultaneous connections to two devices, including the dongle, making it easy to switch between your laptop and phone.

Sennheiser includes a selection of accessories, including the BTD 700 dongle, a USB-C to USB-C cable, a 3.5mm audio cable, an in-flight adapter, and a sturdy hard-shell carry case.

Battery Life: Class-Leading

Battery life is exceptional, with up to 60 hours of use with both active noise cancellation and Bluetooth enabled. That's double what you'll get from the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones. At the same time, 10 minutes of charging provides approximately 7 hours of playback from the Sennheisers. 

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

App Experience: Deep Customization Options

Sennheiser's Smart Control Plus app (available for Android and iOS) offers an intuitive layout and comprehensive feature set. From the main screen, you can access noise modes, EQ profiles, and other controls, and you can customize the screen to show only the controls you care about.

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The app also features a few unique elements. Sound Zones let you create location-based profiles that automatically adjust EQ and noise settings when you enter or exit specific areas via geofencing. Sony offers a similar option, but Sennheiser's implementation is more refined. There's also a Crossfeed feature that blends the left and right channels slightly, which can improve older stereo recordings that place instruments hard to one side or the other.

At the same time, the EQ capabilities are especially advanced. The app features two EQ modes. There’s a standard five-band equalizer with frequencies from 50Hz to 8kHz, along with the most advanced parametric EQ I've encountered in consumer headphones. You can create custom frequency bands, adjust the Q factor to control each band's width, see a detailed list of all adjustments, and even A/B test your changes against the original sound. There's also master output gain control for fine-tuning overall levels post-EQ. While this might overwhelm casual users, audiophiles will appreciate the surgical precision. 

Noise-Cancellation: Not Bad, But Lags Behind the Best

Noise cancellation is the Sennheiser HDB 630's most significant weakness, especially given the strength of current competition. The headphones were quite effective at blocking out consistent low-frequency noise, such as that from a plane engine, but they were less effective than the top headphones from Sony or Bose. The gap between the headphones and the competition becomes more apparent in noisy environments, such as the sounds of doors opening and closing on a bus or nearby conversations in a busy cafe. The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are head and shoulders above Sennheiser on this front.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The transparency mode is similarly usable, but not class-leading. While it allows enough ambient sound through for basic awareness, it adds noticeable hiss and struggles to accurately reproduce higher frequencies. It’s nowhere near as good as the AirPods Max, which offer the best transparency mode on the market. For quick conversations, it works fine, but you won't want to leave it on for extended periods.

Sound: Exceptional Clarity and Detail

With the default Neutral EQ mode, the Sennheiser HDB 630s deliver an excellent audio response. They’re reasonably neutral, offer plenty of clarity and detail in the high end, and deliver a smooth, rich bass that avoids overpowering other frequencies in the mix.

The Knife's track "Silent Shout" immediately demonstrates their sub-bass prowess. The lowest frequencies sound full and deep, without muddiness or excessive boom. And, they're coupled with good detail in percussion and other instruments. 

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

"Loyalty" by Kendrick Lamar further showcases the good low-end extension. Every note in the sub-bass line that runs through the track is reproduced well, with plenty of rumble in the lowest notes. That’s something most wireless headphones struggle with. The bass never overwhelms Lamar's or Rihanna's vocals, which remain rich and present in the mix. The entire track sounds full and cohesive.

On "Drover" by Bill Callahan, the neutrality of the headphones helps deliver the more natural tone characteristic of this track. Callahan's baritone voice sounds rich and deep, while the acoustic guitar maintains its resonant, detailed character. Additionally, the wide soundstage offered by the headphones helps make it feel more like you’re watching a performance rather than listening to a recording.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The wide soundstage is also beneficial for busier classical music, such as the opening scene of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary. Instruments are given enough space in the mix not to step on each other’s toes, and they all sound natural and well-tuned. The soloist's vocals are wonderfully present, while the bass instruments are smooth and deep, and the brass is bright without being piercing.

Although the headphones don’t support Spatial Audio, I don't think that's a major issue, unless you primarily use them for gaming or watching videos. These headphones are designed for music enthusiasts who prefer to listen to music as the artist intended.

More relevant is the microphone quality, which is capable enough for voice calls. In the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, my voice sounds crisp and reasonably full. While not studio-quality, it's more than adequate for video conferences or phone calls.