Sennheiser HD 630VB

Thank you to Sennheiser for the opportunity to re-introduce these to the

Audiophiles with a low end affinity....crowd








Some specs

1. Photobombing in 3...2...1
   

Wearing Style: Headband

1. 
   While the weight is weighty...the headband is comfy enough to make this a non issue. Not sure if these are as portable as advertised but that is up to the user.

Ear coupling: Circumaural

1. 
   Fancy way of saying this set is an over the ear design. It could be considered such unless you have very large ears. The pads are removeable/changeable

Transducer principle: Dynamic, closed

1. 
   Driver sizes are generally not released by Senn but taking off the pads reveals a 40-45mm driver

Frequency Response: 10-42,000 Hz

1. 
   There are no noticeable dips or roll offs between 20hz and 16Khz. I am sure of my own ears in that range and nothing jumps out as being off or spiked or recessed.

Impedance: 23Ω

1. 
   As these were designed for use with Apple or Android devices they are relatively easy to drive and most DAP's will be fine. You can also use this off a smartphone though dynamics may suffer a bit due to lack of driving power

Sound Pressure Level: 114dB (1 kHz / 1Vrm)

1. 
   These get loud. As noted above, playing these from a smartphone is fine. Quality of the sound is another thing.

Total harmonic distortion: <0.08% (1kHz, 100dB)

1. 
   Mmmm, not much to say besides they sound very detail rich and with the bass adjustment turned off

1. 
   Bass Boost: +/- 5dB at 50 Hz

This is the point where fans of the brand turned their back. Not at the ridiculous giant headphone character commercial pouring salt into an urbanite cup to show bass response...perhaps one of the worst ad vids ever. THAT did not raise the ire of Senn fans....it was the bass dial on a HD series set. Essentially it was a rebuke by folks who had an image they helped create and foster and then were apparently duty bound in defending it. Head-Fi psuedo audophilia at it's worst.






Contact pressure: 5.5 ~ 6.8N

1. 
   This is...pressure on head? I had not thought about it? Ultrasone often makes me think about that and head vices and torture devices from the 12th and 13th century but this set seemed to fit nice.

Weight (headphones excluding cable): 400g

1. 
   As mentioned earlier, I find the weight to be an issue less than the size which makes outdoor use a tough sell for image purposes. The profile is large and lots of folks may balk at that. Weigh?....meh, not that big O' deal!

Accessories include carry bag and 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter.

1. 
   The carry case is stout and nice and that with an adapter is all you get. The non removable cable was the 2nd biggest complaint and THAT is valid and listening or holding it does not need to occur before jumping on that. @PETEREK has told me that making a removable cable is no big deal.

The inline control and flexibility with 2 operating platforms may be related? No idea but this is a legit complaint. The bass dial bashers were just homers homering on and on but the cable is an easy and legit target.


It can be changed though!





Head-Fi User @PETEREK formerly known as CasperTFG is a well known customizer that has said he can do removable cable mods for this set












The reality it seems is that that the bass dial is quite polite and is no more impact full than the MEZE 99 Neo.

That well regarded set (by some, most) is in stock form about the same as this Senn set with the bass dial 1/2 turned or ¾.








With the dial fully turned off it is so polite it sounds small. The driver size would be suspected by anyone who likes bass dominant sets.

Actually the acoustic tuning done by Senn is impressive because it can go from polite to robust with a vent adjustment and still keep everything beyond 2Khz stable and clear. There is no compensation EQ needed to get back the sparkle. It never leaves.




While the 99 neo sounds intimate with a comfortable if not slightly smallish stage the Senn manages to display a bigger presentation with all forms of music from 70's rock to hip hop.
























STAGE







Stage

Foreplay/It's Been such a long Time

The studio created but seemingly live played
Foreplay/It's Been such a long Time sounds big and spacey. The notes in the high treble come in clear and the sense of electronic drops of water falling off of a cliff into space all around sounds fantastic. The sense of space around your head is a good real music take on Dr Chesky's panning test tracks.
This track sometimes/often sounds compacted in IEM and over ears but the 630 has just enough high end and good design to make this feel right.

Noted that these cans benefit from adjusting on head more than most due to driver position and baffle board design.




Outta 10?......Mmmm 7?









Bass




Bass


Wanna be Startin' Somethin'




The first track on the classic album is held down by a prominently placed and talented 4 string bass guitar. It is of a quality hard to match when judging bass on a real music album. It took me years to get past mike's issues and re-appreciate his and on this LP's producers skillz.


synesthesia is a term used to describe people who see sounds as colors.
I happen to be one. It gets freaky responses so I keep it to myself. Was pleased to read the following when learning about Thriller.


"I have synaesthesia, and Quincy does too,” confirms Swedien. "The low frequencies are represented by dark colours like black and purple, while high frequencies are bright colours such as silver and gold. When I listen to a mix I want to see all those colours.

"I'm not a big fan of compression or limiting at all — I can't emphasise that enough. On many of the recordings that you hear today, all the excitement and all the colour is gone because they're so over compressed. I never did that. I would never have a compressor or limiter on the [master] bus, for instance. I want all that transient information there.

-Bruce Swedien




The Purple and Gold is a masterwork on this track and turning the 630 dial to about ¾ puts the darker colors near the front but never taking over the silvers and golds of the track.




Outta 10?......Mmmm 9?






Mids


Mids



While I usually use “On the Run” to check for staging in this instance I chose to focus on the woman announcing the departure of a flight to Rome. My recent experience with planar IEM showed how clear this can be and checking that on these returned a nice replay. No sense of veil or distance in the fundamental or harmonic region of the woman's voice

Outta 10?......Mmmm 7?








Treble




Yep, trebs with 2pac




Heaven Ain't Hard 2 find

This track is just stuffed with sample deck goodies. Stuffed. The better the driver and treble tuning the more of the stuff you will hear. There are spinners, dew drops, and sounds like from a carnival just far enough in the background that if your driver cannot reach their you'll never notice. No biggie usually but a definite bonus when it is there because the tuning took you there

Biggest surprise of the 3 fundamental ranges.




Outta 10?......Mmmm 8?





I would rec this set to anyone who likes an audiophileish sound with an ability to adjust the sub-bass and bass.

That's a lot of folks.

Disclaimer
 
I got the chance to have a listen on the HD630vb thanks to Brooko and Sennheiser, so thanks again for the chance, I really appreciate them
 
Introduction
 
I am just another music fans in this world, I love listening to music, and that made me stumble into head-fi around 8 years ago when looking for the best way to listen to my music. I am not in anyway an audiophile, heck not even close, so please forgive any lack of details in my review. Most importantly this is my personal impression on the unit, most likely i heard things differently than you, my ears, my preferences, my brain
 
I listened to the HD630vb daily in my office for about 2 weeks.
 
In the past i have listen to Sennheiser HD600 and it was pretty good, but somehow my real love is with the Sennheiser HD580, which I owned for quite some time in the past. I still remember how I felt when I use it for the first time, everything just sounded right and natural, it was such a wonderful sound. Unfortunately I got 1 big problem with them.....they are open and leak a lot of sound. My office is my primary place to listen to music, so eventually I sold my HD580 since I can't really use them there.
 
When I read about the Senn HD630vb, somehow I got the idea that this is an answer to my problem: a closed version of Senn HD580/HD600! Boy am I wrong.
 
Ok so this is my memory of Senn HD580 sound (please note this is based on my memory so it might be wrong): warm, relaxing, laid back, easy going sound. 
 

 
 
So I was expecting similar sound when I put HD630vb for the first time, instead I got this:
 

 
Ok maybe that's a bit over the top, but to be completely honest I am a bit disappointed in the beginning! Where is my closed Senn HD580??? I start listening with the Bass on 0, and at this point they really sounded lean and clean, then I start playing around with the Variable Bass (VB)....and then...hmm....ok....this is actually pretty good.....and I kept on listening....

Build Quality and Design.
 
The build quality is top notch, they feel really solid and looks like mostly made from metal, the earpad is quite thick and comfortable for me, isolation was ok as well. They are a bit heavy though, still comfortable to wear, but you definitely feel them on your head.
 
 
 
Design wise, well...I am not a big fan of the silver finish, obviously this is personal preferences and YMMV, but it's a bit too flashy for me. I kept worrying that I will scratch those silver coating, never happened though.
 

 
 
Sound Quality
 
Ok the most important part for me, sound quality, so how do they sound? They sound clean and detailed, rich, vivid, but neutral in their presentation, and quite revealing as well, if your source file is bad you will definitely notice. One thing that I am missing is the mid-bass hump that bring those warm sound on headphones, they simply doesn't exist here, giving them an impression of a cold neutral sound, but the VB does help a lot here.
 
Treble
The treble on HD630vb is executed perfectly, they are quite detailed and extended, but never sibilance, everything is in control. For comparison I own Fostex TH600 and Ultrasone pro 750 and the treble can get quite hot with them depending on the recording.
 
Mids 
The mids, as the treble, is pretty spot on as well, very clear and quite forward in my opinion, sitting pretty much on the same position of the treble (if not a bit forward than the treble). I really enjoy listening to Peter Cetera voice on HD630vb, it's like they are being showcased here, where the voice really stands out againts the other instrument. On the TH600, the voice is a tad behind the instrument, just very slightly.
 
Bass
Ah the bass...this is definitely the spotlight of HD630vb. According to the official specification, the bass dial will affect +/- 5dB at 50 Hz. At minimum level, the bass is still there, they're just lacking the body and feel of it. At maximum level, the bass is everywhere, it bleeds to the mids and overshadowed everything, it's just a bit too much for my taste. I found my sweet spot at 2/3 of the dial. At this level the HD630vb became a very fun headphone, you get the detailed mid and treble, and the thump of the bass to wrap the whole experience into a beautiful harmony. 
 
Soundstage and imaging
 
Being a closed headphone, the soundstage is not as wide as an open one, it's a bit small but not that bad, music feel closer to my head and that can be good depending on the music, this also contribute to the feeling that the mids and treble are forward sounding, kind of remind me of the Ultrasone Pro 750 sound signature. The imaging was pretty good though, I can easily pinpoint the placement of the musical instrument, left, right, a bit on the front, further to the back....you get my point.
 
Comparison
 
Ultrasone Pro 750: As mention above, I feel that there is similarities between Ultrasone Pro 750 and Senn HD630vb, some of them are the lack of mid-bass (can be change with VB), and how the mids and treble sounds a bit forward. The main difference is I think the Senn HD630vb is on a different class, they are just more detailed and refined compare to the Pro 750, plus of course the VB just make them a whole more versatile headphone.
 
Fostex TH-600: This one is interesing comparison for me, I would say they are almost at the same level, TH600 have a bit more warmth, hotter treble and bit more details than HD630vb, it's possible that this is due to the bright sound signature of TH600. While the HD630vb is a "fun" sounding headphone (depending on your VB level), they are more polite than the TH600, where it's always party time with Fostex
 
Other features and amplification
 
As you know you can use HD630vb with android and iphones, and control the volume or track skipping using the button on the right side of the headphones. Well this features work perfectly with android, I don't own iphones so can't really tell if they work as fine as the android version. 
 
While they sound fine coming out directly from my phone or 4th gen ipod, I really think they need a good DAC + Amp to really shine. My desktop rig is Micromega MyDac + Project Sunrise V1, and coming out from them they sound really sweet, which make me think this is more suitable as a desktop headphone instead of a portable one. 
 
Summary
 
Have you ever heard some music using a headphones and thinking: "this thing got too much bass! i wish i can bring them down a bit" or "this will be perfect with a bit more bass"......well now you can. I really applaud Sennheiser for their execution here, not only this headphones got a well implemented variable bass, they also provide a clear and well balanced sound accross all spectrum.  
 
If you're looking for a closed headphone within the $500 range, I advise you to give them a try, they are a very strong contender to TH600, with a more controlled treble and of course the wonderful Variable Bass. While it's not going to please everyone, this is one headphones that you have to hear to appreciate, and I am pretty sure if you give it chance you'll be hooked....well if you don't have anything better