Sennheiser HDB 630: https://geni.us/GC-SennHDB630
Sennheiser Momentum 4: https://geni.us/GC-SennMomentum4HP
Sony WH-1000XM6: https://geni.us/GC-SonyWH1000XM6
Bose QC Ultra 2 Headphones: https://geni.us/GC-BoseQCUltra2HP
So these are the Sennheiser HDB 630, and I say that these are an upgraded version of the Sennheiser Momentum 4 which are going to give you slightly better sound quality and slightly better Active Noise cancellation… but I wouldn’t say that these are the replacement or new generation Sennheiser Momentum 5. Nonetheless, today we’re going to checkout the Sennheiser HDB 630 and lets see if these are right for you.
Regarding pricing, the sennheiser HDB 630 have a retail price of $500, which is up there and just knowing Sennhesier I do expect these to eventually go on sale by a lot. But for comparison sake, the Sennheiser Momentum 4, which are 3 and a half years old now have a retail price of $450, but they like to go on sale on a regular basis. Nonetheless if you want to pick either of these two headphones up theyll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch some of the related videos in the description down below.
So first there’s the case, and this has always been on of my biggest issues with the Sennheiser Momentum 4, even though these headphones have good active noise cancellation and amazing battery life, they have a very large case, making them not so great for traveling. And its the same thing with the HDB 630, this case is just as big. However this case does feel a little more premium inside and out, and this case has more pockets for storage and it has indentations to better hold your headphones… but regardless this case is just too big for me and its very hard for me to travel with these headphones even though they block out a good amount of noise and they have a long battery life.
But with the cases out of the way, lets talk about the headphones themselves. Now at first glance these headphones look very similar to one another, but they do have their key differences. For starters, both of these headphones have a lay flat design to them which is why they have such a large case. Now these ear cups pivot and swivel a lot, which is good and both of these headbands glide in and out. However I do have to point out that both of these headbands arms are plastic… which was a little surprising to me cause in the pictures, it looks like the HDB 630 have metal arms… but they don’t. And if we move up the headband, there’s another difference. The top of the headband on the HDB 630 is wrapped in leatherette, where as the Momentum 4’s are wrapped in fabric… but more importantly, the silicon padding on the HDB 630 is a little softer than the silicon padding on the Momentum 4. And overall, the leatherette on the HDB 630 does feel a little nicer than the leatherette found on the Momentem 4.
And when it comes to fit and looks… these headphones are also a little different. Now when it comes to clamping force, therye about the same. They have a firmer fit to them, but they are both big head approved. And like I mentioned earlier, since the silicon padding on the HDB 630 is a little softer than the silicon padding on the meomtum 4, hot spots are a little less of an issue with these headphones. But then there’s the ear pads on these headphones… now both of these earpads are very spacious and they should have you covered if you have very large ears or ears that stick out a lot, however the ear pads on the Momentum 4 are a little more spacious than the earpads on the HDB 630. But more importantly… since the ear pads on the Momentum 4 are softer… they do have more surface area coming in contact with your skin, so these can heat up a little faster. Where as the earpads on the HDB 630, these stay a little cooler for a little longer cause they’re a little stiffer and a little more narrow. And then there’s their weight… both of these headphones weigh in at 310 grams… which is okay… cause most premium ANC headphones weigh in between 280 and 300 grams… but for comparison sake, the Bose QC Ultra Headphones 2 weigh in at 262 grams, the Sony XM6’s weigh in at 254 grams, the Sony XM5 weigh in at 250 grams and then there are the Bose QC headphones which weigh in at 235 grams. So with both of Sennhesiner’s headphones, you do notice them shifting around when you’re walking around with them on, and you never really forget that you’re wearing them when you’re sitting at your desk, in bed or if you’re on an airplane.
And also, I do want to address the looks of these headphones. Now the Momentum 4 and the HDB 630 share the same design langue, however the ear cups on the Moetmum 4’s are more low profile than the ear cups on the HDB 630, so the metomum 4’s look a little sleeker where as the HDB 630 have a more patruting look to them… I think they have more of a mega man effect to them.
But now lets talk about tech specs, regarding battery life, both of these headphones have an advertised battery life of 60 hours with their ANC turned on, which is a lot and it is above average. And you can always extend the battery life on both of these headphones by using them with their ANC turned off.
And to charge these headphones they, charge via a USB C port as they should. But also with both of these headphones you can also use these USB C ports as a wired connection and you can also use them while they are charging… making them good options for gaming. But also, both of these headphones can be used with an audio jack connection cause they both still have a 2.5 millimeter audio jack and they both come included with an audio cable. And both of these headphones can be use passively, as in they don’t have to be powered on if you want to use them with an audio jack connection, which I feel is important either for flyers or content creators.
But something that makes the HDB 630 special here is that they come included with a USB C Dongle that you can plug into any USB C device. And the idea is is that you’re always going to have access to high quality audio codecs like APTX HD or APTX Adaptive no matter what device you’re using like lets say an iPhone, cause iPhones only top out at AAC… which I feel is fine.
However, you don’t need to use this USB C dongle… the HDB 630 have bluetooth like your normal pair of headphones, they can be connected to two devices at the same time making them a good option for power users, and latency is not an issue for these headphones so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone. Honestly, I think this separate USB C dongle is just a gimmick to give people a placebo affect that their audio is going to sound so much better thanks to this included accessory which I honestly wouldn’t be surprised that the majority of people aren’t going to use on a regular basis.
But now lets talk about sound quality cause these headphones do sound a little different from one another. Now for starters, I have always really liked how the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s sound but I always felt that the Momentum 3’s sounded better… and even though the HDB 630 do seem to have better emphasis and clarity on the highs than the Momentum 4’s I still prefer how the Momentum 3’s sound over the HDB 630. Now when it comes to comparing the HDB 630 to the Momentum 4’s, both of these headphones have similar instrument seperation and openess… however the HDB 630’s do like to put more of an emphasis on the higher end of the spectrum and they do have better clarity in the highs as well. It also seems that when both of these headphones are playing off of bluetooth… the HDB 630 do have slightly better sound pressure than the Momentum 4’s, so with the Momentum 4’s you’ll might have to use them at a slightly higher volume to get the same type of emphasis on the highs to match the HDB 630. But the biggest difference between these two headphones is the bass… the Bass on the Momentum 4 kicks harder and resonates more than the Bass found on the HDB 630. So personally I do feel that the Momentum 4’s sound more fun cause you get more phsycitly in your bass if you want it.
And then theres the USB C dongle on the HDB 630… honestly when playing the same audio samples from the same device, the difference between using the USB C dongle and just your standard onboard bluetooth connection on the HDB 630 was just sound pressure again. The HDB 630 seem to get a little louder when your using them with their USB C dongle… where as with the Bluetooth connection you would have to use it one volume step higher. So like I said, I think this USB C dongle is just a gimmick to make people think that their music is going to magically sound much better than it actually does. Honestly, your music just gets a little louder with the dongle, but overall I don’t think its worth using all that much. Now don’t get me wrong, this USB C dongle can be useful for power users that might like more connectivity options… but I don’t want to you to think that this USB C dongle is going to magically improve your audio quality. And when comparing the Meomtum 4 to the HDB 630, the HDB 630 give you better detail in the mids and highs and they get a little louder… but I think the Meomtum 4’s are more fun cause these give you better kick in your bass if you want it.
Now when it comes to your media controls, the HDB 630 have the same touchpad as the Momentum 4. You can tap to play or pause your music, you can swip front or back to skip through your music, you can swip up and down to adjust your volume… and you can even pinch and zoom to adjust the active noise cancellation on your headphones. Overall these touch controls are very robust and you can do a lot… but just be warned that they can be a little overly sensitive.
But also, just the like the momentum 4’s, the HDB 630 have wear sensors, so when you take these headphones off theyll automatically pause your music and when you put them back on theyll start playing your music again. Now personally I don’t really care for wear sensors on my headphones so I usually just turn them off, but they’re there if you want them.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now the ANC on the Sennheiser Momentum 4 was always very good, and the ANC On the HDB 630 is also very good and I would say that it is a little better, but so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
ANC Test
So like you may have just seen, the HDB 630 are blocking out a little more noise than the Momentum 4. Now I don’t think that your average person is going to notice and its certainly not a reason to upgrade… but technically the HDB 630 are blocking out a little more noise… but personally I would say that the ANC on these headphones is the same. And when compared to lets say the Sony WH-1000XM6 which are currently the kings of ANC… both the Momentum 4 and HDB 630 are still behind. But overall, the ANC on both of these headphones is good and they’re both going to be super useful on your bus ride commute or in a chatty office… but if ANC is super important to you and or if you plan on flying with your headphones a lot, then I would recommend that you look at the Sony 1000XM6.
And then there’s the ambient mode on these headphones, its sounds and performs very similar to the Ambietn mode found on the Momentum 4. You can also go in an adjust how much noise these headphones let in, and overall this ambient mode sounds fairly natural and their microphone array does a good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. But what I really like about both of Sennheiser’s headphones is that if you have them properly set up, then you can have a conversation mode where if you double tap on their touch pad they’re going to automatically lower the volume of your music and let in all of the ambient sound so that you can quickly talk to someone without having to remove your headphones. And when you tap on the touch pad, theyll go back to normal again… and I really like this feature cause its super useful for when you’re traveling with your headphone.
Mic Moemtum 4 Quiet
But finally here’s the microphone test, and overall, the mics on both of these headphones sound and perform the same.
Mic HDB Quiet
While in a quit room, both of these mics are doing a good job of focusing on my voice… however this mic isn’t as focused like with some other mics out there.
Mic HDB Road
And when it comes to dealing with noise pollution, both of these mics do an okay job of dealing with noise pollution, cause right now, this mic is doing an okay job of reducing this road noise, cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone, you’re going to clealery hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over to HDB 630, it is reduced.
Mic Moemtum 4 Road
And here we have the Momentum 4, and these are performing very similarly to the HDB 630, they are reducing this road noise, and you can still understand me.
Mic Momentum 4 Chatter
And its the same thing when it comes to blocking out chatter, this mic is doing an okay job when it comes to reducing this chatter, and you can still understand me.
Mic HDB 630 Chatter
And here we have the HDB 630 which are performing very similarly to the Momentum 4, and again for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clealery hear all of this chatter, but if we were to switch back over to the HDB 630, it is severely reduced. So overall, both of these mics sound and perform very similarly to one another… and both mics sound good while in a quite room and they do an oaky job of dealing with noise pollution.
But with all of that being said, the Sennehsier HDB 630 have some differences over the Momentum 4’s, they have better detail in the mids and highs and they seem to have better sound pressure. They also block out a little more noise than the Momentum 4, but I feel that the difference is negligible. Now the big difference with the HDB 630 over the Momentum 4 is that they come included with a USB Dongle for “SUPIROR SOUND QUALITY” and with the the Dongle, yeah they get a little louder. But this dongle isn’t going to magically improve your audio quality, and if you use this dongle and you think that its a night and day difference, you’re lying to yourself. Overall I still prefer the Momentum 4’s over the HDB 630 cause these give you more kick and resonance in your bass. And for the Momentum 5’s Sennheiser needs to give these headphones a collapsible and a thinner case to that they are more comfortable for traveling. They also need to add more padding underneath their headband, and metal arms would be nice too, not just silver painted plastic to imitate metal like on the HDB 630.