Sennheiser HDB 630 Review: aptX adaptive headphones that work with Apple

At a glance

Expert rating

Benefits

• Excellent value for money
• Excellent sound quality
• Impressive battery life
• aptX adapter provided

Disadvantages

• Dear
• The manual could be clearer
• Not everyone needs aptX

Our Verdict

It is aimed at audiophiles who are very concerned about sound quality, but the HDB 630 offers excellent value for money. It provides a quick and easy Bluetooth connection when convenience is most important, and a separate aptX Adaptive dongle for those times when you want the best sound quality. It also offers impressive battery life and useful accessories, ideal for life on the road.

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Best prices today: Sennheiser HDB 630

$499.95

Many high-quality Bluetooth headphones use the popular aptX codec for Bluetooth audio. Well, it’s popular with Android users, Apple has avoided aptX for years (possibly because of a long-running patent dispute between Apple and Qualcomm, owner of aptX technology).

Fortunately, most of the best Bluetooth headphones and earphones support Apple’s favorite AAC codec, so you can still use Apple devices with a wide range of Bluetooth headphones, but many people say that aptX offers superior sound quality, especially for listening to lossless or high-resolution music now available on Apple Music and other streaming services. Apple’s refusal to support the aptX codec means it’s not something AirPod users can enjoy, but non-Apple earbuds are starting to add their own means of support, and here we take a look at one such pair of earbuds. (The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 also supports aptX).

Priced at $499.95/£399.90, Sennheiser’s HDB 630 gets around the problem by providing a versatile set of noise-canceling over-ear headphones that give even Apple devices the choice between using AAC or the latest high-quality aptX adaptive codec.

Aimed at “high-performance audio enthusiasts who want it all,” the HDB 630 headphones support both aptX Adaptive and AAC for Bluetooth audio, while also providing a USB-C interface for wired connection. And, if you’re using Apple devices that don’t support aptX, the HDB 630 also includes a small Bluetooth dongle (adapter) called the BTD 700, which uses a USB-C interface to connect to your computers or mobile devices, then acts as a Bluetooth transmitter that supports aptX Adaptive.

Sennheiser says the dongle’s aptX Adaptive can handle high-resolution audio formats up to 24-bit/96kHz, so it’s a good option if you want to listen to lossless or high-resolution music.

Sonova/Sennheiser

This means that people using Apple devices have a choice of audio options. You can use a direct Bluetooth connection with AAC to provide a quick and easy connection to the headphones, which will come in handy when you’re on the go or working out at the gym. But if you’re relaxing indoors or on a long plane flight, you can plug the dongle into your Mac, iPhone, or iPad—provided they have a USB-C port, of course—and use its aptX Adaptive support to wallow in your favorite tunes with the best sound quality possible.

And the sound quality is really excellent. The design of the HDB 630 is very similar to Sennheiser’s cheaper Momentum 4 headphones, but Sennheiser claims to have refined the internal design of the headphones to improve both midrange and lower treble performance.

Some people will say that aptX doesn’t sound much better than AAC, but I could hear a distinct difference when listening to the hi-res version of The Beatles. Eleanor Rigby on Apple Music. With the BTD 700 dongle plugged into my iPad Air, sharp, throbbing strings sounded more powerful and dramatic, and low cellos in particular sounded richer and more resonant than when listening through the iPad’s standard AAC connection.

The dongle also does a great job with the dense rock sound of Sing with you by Sturgill Simpson, creating a deep, grinding sound for the fuzzy rock guitars, but also picking out the fine details of the ticking percussion that holds the track together.

Sennheiser’s Smart Control app also offers a Bass Boost option that drops the bass towards the end of the track with satisfyingly powerful sound.

The headphones also offer up to 60 hours of battery life, making them a good option for a long plane or train trip.

Using the BTD 700 dongle reduces battery life to around 45 hours, but it will still allow you to travel the world without any issues.

Sonova/Sennheiser

Our only complaint is that it wasn’t entirely clear how to switch between using the built-in Bluetooth with AAC on my iPad Air and the aptX Adaptive option with the separate BTD 700 dongle plugged into the iPad.

It took me a few minutes of random button tapping before I successfully connected the headphones to the small dongle. Once done, the Sennheiser app lists the BTD 700 and the iPad’s standard Bluetooth as separate connection options, making it easy to switch between them, but it would help if the instructions in Sennheiser’s PDF manual were a little clearer.

The Sennheiser app has also been updated for the HDB 630, with a new parametric EQ that offers more precise control over individual frequency bands and improved controls for noise-canceling features. Noise cancellation also works well, offering quick preset options at the touch of a button, as well as an in-app control slider that lets you manually adjust the level of noise cancellation to suit your surroundings.

With noise cancellation set to maximum, the HDB 630 was able to crush the low-frequency rumble of an airplane engine in our simulated tests (courtesy of mynoise.net). It let through higher frequency sounds in our second test, which simulates the noise of a busy airport, so Apple’s AirPods Max and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra still have a slight edge in the overall effectiveness of their noise-canceling features.

However, the AirPods Max and Bose QC Ultra are more expensive – and, of course, the HDB 630 has the added benefit of its BTD 700 dongle, which provides improved sound quality for Apple devices when listening to lossless, high-resolution music.

Sennheiser also offers other useful accessories, including a sturdy carrying case, an airplane adapter, a USB-C cable, and a 3.5mm cable for devices that still have an old-fashioned 3.5mm headphone jack, providing excellent overall value for money.

Sonova/Sennheiser

Should you buy the Sennheiser HDB 630?

If you’re just looking for an affordable Bluetooth headset, there are certainly less expensive options. However, the HDB 630 will earn its place among audiophiles who want the best audio quality, thanks to its versatile connectivity features that include standard Bluetooth as well as the BTD 700 adapter for aptX Adaptive, as well as wired connectivity. And, with impressive battery life and useful accessories, the HDB 630 really does offer excellent value for money.