Senn HD630vb vs B&W P7?
Mar 3, 2016 at 8:23 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12
antsin3d

antsin3d

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Hey guys,
   I work in an open office so I have to use closed cans to jam out. I always liked the sound of open Sennheisers but when it came to M2 the sound was ok but not wonderful. They were also tiny on my ears. The P7's sound awesome to me, but aren't the most comfortable things in the world (and a driver went bad on mine after 6 months). I'm looking to either get another P7 or the HD630vb, which I can get around the same price. The lack of replaceable cord bothers me as the cable on my venerable HD545s went bad (the replacement, much thicker cable has been good for years since though). Anyone have experience with both of these products? I've been looking for a comparison. Thanks!
  -Anthony
 
Mar 3, 2016 at 6:56 PM Post #2 of 12
I'm kind of interested in this question, too. I haven't seen much about the 630 yet.

Have you considered the Oppo PM-3? It's the same price as the P7, and has received powerful reviews.
 
Mar 3, 2016 at 7:19 PM Post #3 of 12
There are a couple of reviews here and there, as you no doubt know, but I don't know anyone personally who has actually heard this can. Love the idea of being able to dial up and down bass, though, I must say. That said, whenever I see moving parts on a headphone, I get concerned about build quality. Senns are generally well-made, but it is always a concern for me. I hate having to return cans.
 
Mar 10, 2016 at 8:49 PM Post #5 of 12
So I got a pair of HD630VBs yesterday and was trying them out today. They're a difficult set to explain honestly. With the P7 I called the sound "relevatory" because of how engaging they were. The sound stage wasn't the greatest and they were uncomfortable, but the clarity and sparkling nature of the sound was intoxicating. The 630s...really a bit underwhelming at first listen. They're extremely smooth all around, and if you get the bass just right they can sound very nice. The sound stage is quite good for closed cans. They trend warm to my ears, and for popular music are quite nice. Again, very relaxed, pleasant sound, but always a bit recessed and not really engaging in the same way. Which is sad because the P7's are literally painful to wear for long periods lol. I'm probably gonna sell these at a loss. Oh well, lemme know if you have any questions.
 
Mar 10, 2016 at 9:34 PM Post #7 of 12
The Sennheiser Sound is indeed a laid-back thing. If you're like me, and enjoy that, there's much beauty in the experienced.

Some people just want that energetic, exciting sound, and Sennheiser may not be for them.
 
Mar 11, 2016 at 10:20 AM Post #8 of 12
Hey there! By recessed I do mean the mids primarily: it's hard to get the vocals away from the instrumentation. I don't want to say it sounds muddy, but the smoothness kind of blends it. On the "less bass" end of the dial there's nearly no bass and it sounds kind of like it's being played in the next room on a system with no subwoofer. I love the high end open Senns, I just don't know that these deserve the HD6XX moniker. I'd post them for sale here but can't post in the marketplace, so to [unnamed auction site] they go! :p
 
Mar 11, 2016 at 10:56 AM Post #9 of 12
antsin3d said:
  Hey there! By recessed I do mean the mids primarily: it's hard to get the vocals away from the instrumentation. I don't want to say it sounds muddy, but the smoothness kind of blends it. On the "less bass" end of the dial there's nearly no bass and it sounds kind of like it's being played in the next room on a system with no subwoofer. I love the high end open Senns, I just don't know that these deserve the HD6XX moniker. I'd post them for sale here but can't post in the marketplace, so to [unnamed auction site] they go! :p
Click to expand...


Sorry they didn't work out.
 
Mar 30, 2016 at 10:50 AM Post #10 of 12
Didn't want to start a new thread but I did want to update with some other experiences I've had since this. I decided to demo the Audeze el-8 closed and the XCs, as well as the Oppo PM-3s. All of these were really comfortable next to the P7's. Only the XC's impressed me on sound though.
 
The el-8's seemed pretty good but pretty closed in and didn't have the separation I like, or the sparkle on the high end.
 
The Oppo's were seriously underwhelming for me. Decent detail, fairly competent overall, but nothing that engaging or interesting. They feel flimsy as well. Pretty clean sound but just not interesting to my ears.
 
XC's were really fun. Great separation, detail, highs and lows. Mids were decent. For that money it'd better be! I'd love to hear the Ether C's to compare. 
 
Most recently I picked up a set of Alpha Dogs on the forum here, which seem like a really nice compromise. Sadly the set I got stunk of cigarette smoke and my cleaning efforts has just (mostly) supplanted the smoke odor with dryer sheet odor. Gonna sell them again, but I think I'll probably get a non-odored pair or try the Alpha Primes. MrSpeakers has a new fan for sure!
 
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