Sennheiser HD 630VB - Review 2022

Sennheiser's HD 630VB headphones have one of our favorite features that well-nigh competing pairs lack: adjustable bass response. Add together to this a solid, comfortable build and fit, and a unique pattern with controls on the earcups rather than an inline remote. But the star of the prove is the adjustable bass dial, which can tune the sound signature exactly to your liking. Somewhere in the middle, the headphones sounds accurate, and bass lovers will enjoy being able to push the lows forward in the mix without sacrificing clarity and balance. At $499.95, however, the cost is quite high despite the strong, customizable sound experience.

Design

The enclosed, circumaural (over-the-ear) design of the HD 630VB is mesomorphic and sturdy like virtually audiophile-geared headphones. Some will find the size to be a little too obtrusive to have on the go, merely if the beefy fit doesn't bother you, the fake leather earpads are uncommonly comfortable, fifty-fifty over long listening sessions, and the earcups don't leak much audio. Inside each earcup, dynamic drivers evangelize a frequency response that Sennheiser claims is from 10Hz-42kHz—quite a range on both ends, making the headphones ideal for listening to high-resolution files.

The cable (which, unfortunately, is not detachable) features a mentum-level microphone, while the controls that are usually establish on an inline remote control pod are really located on the outer console of the right ear. Hither, a central push operates playback, call management, and rail navigation (depending on how many times yous tap it), while up and down arrows handle volume—the levels work in conjunction with your mobile device'due south primary book levels.

Of course, these controls are merely part of the story, every bit Sennheiser allows you to adjust bass levels, also. A rotating dial that frames the control pad on the right earcup boosts or cuts bass response, with a detailed visual mark so you lot can dial in the verbal amount you want, and think that setting for the hereafter. The dial boosts or cuts the bass by a range of 5 decibels effectually 50Hz. I pocket-sized complaint nearly the dial—it would exist nice if it had a detent point in the middle setting, so you can ever adjust from the aforementioned place without needing the cheque where the dial is.

Sennheiser HD 630VB The right earcup also houses a switch labeled 'i/G'—the "i" setting is for use with Apple iOS devices, and the "1000" is intended for all other mobile devices. We've encountered very few unpowered headphones that accept onboard controls, and fifty-fifty fewer headphones that offering a switch to better suit your phone's operating system. They ship with a hard shell zip-up case that the headphones collapse down into and a 0.25-inch headphone jack adapter.

The mic offers strong intelligibility—using the Vox Memos app on an iPhone 6s, nosotros were able to understand every give-and-take, with ideal clarity in the high-mids.

Performance

With the bass level dial ready at its minimum level, the headphones deliver very accurate, near flat response-style bass. This doesn't mean the lows are inexistent, but they are quite dialed back compared with modern sound signatures. Become all the fashion to max, and the bass is plentiful and huge—it'southward a very boosted, heavy audio, but things never quite become to the point of completely overwhelming the entire mix, even on a track with intense sub-bass, like The Knife'southward "Silent Shout."

With the bass levels set at the mid indicate, you become a balanced sound signature with natural sub-bass presence. On tracks with booming deep bass like "Silent Shout," the headphones deliver something pretty shut to what we might guess to be the mix engineer'due south intentions. Simply truth be told, adjusting halfway between the midpoint and the maximum bass setting sounds pretty slap-up, too—partially considering the mids and highs never seem to suffer despite the boosting.

Pecker Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a amend idea of the Hard disk drive 630VB'due south full general audio signature. This track's drums can audio overly thunderous and unnatural on heavily bass-boosted headphones, or sparse and inconsequential on pairs that lack bass depth. At the center bass level here, the headphones deliver subtle bass response on the drums and Callahan'south baritone vocals. The high-mids and highs experience a little more prominent on the rails at this setting. But if you dial up the bass to max, things audio ridiculously heavy—the drums are thunderous, and Callahan's vocals are ridiculously booming. The minimum bass setting gives y'all a apartment, most clinical-sounding frequency response—the drums reduced to subtle borer and Callahan's vocals thinning out somewhat. At roughly 75 percentage on the bass dial, we observe something like a sweet spot. The vocals get a lovely low-mid richness without ever sounding muddy, and the drums are imbued with some extra torso without sounding ridiculously heavy. The guitar strums and higher register percussive hits have excellent clarity and brightness to them.

On Jay-Z and Kanye Due west's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets platonic high-mid presence, highlighting its assail and giving it the edge to piece through the layers of the rails. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with serious power with the bass at maximum volume, and strong presence when it's gear up to the midpoint. The vocals on this track are delivered cleanly and crisply, with no added sibilance or harshness. Again, with the bass levels somewhere around 75 percent, the headphones tin can audio pretty magical—the lows are powerful but not overwhelming, and the highs have excellent definition, bringing out details similar the vinyl crackle in the groundwork without pushing them too far forward in the mix.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the lower register instrumentation can sound flat when the bass levels are dialed back all the way, or a piddling too thick and boosted at maximum settings. Purists looking for an accurate response will prefer the punch close to the halfway point, just many listeners will enjoy a little added bass response to bring out some of the presence of the lower strings and deeper bass sounds when they occur. The higher register brass, strings, and vocals ain the spotlight, however, and are e'er crisp and front-and-center regardless of the bass settings on this track.

Conclusions

The HD 630VB aren't the offset headphones we've tested with the ability to adjust bass levels—the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro and Skullcandy Crusher are both more affordable options with the same basic premise, just not quite the same degree of audio performance or ability to dial in the exact preferred bass level. If you don't need the adjustable bass and only want fantabulous-sounding headphones in this price range, the Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 are excellent, while we also love the Sennheiser HD6 Mix, which cost far less.

If we have whatever complaints about the HD 630VB, it's that the price seems a tad loftier. These are excellent headphones, just we can imagine them selling for more than like $350-400. That said, it's doubtful anyone seeking adaptable bass response will be disappointed with the Sennheiser HD 630VB'south versatile sound signature and exceedingly comfortable fit.