Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sennheiser HDB 630: Getting the most for your money

Now that the AirPods Max 2 have hit the scene, how do they stack up against the recent kings of sound quality in the active noise canceling (ANC) world? Sennheiser’s long been a staple name in the headphone world, but does the new HDB 630 do enough to justify your attention over Apple’s latest? Let’s take a deeper look at the Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sennheiser HDB 630 matchup.

What’s it like to use the Apple AirPods Max 2 compared to the Sennheiser HDB 630?

The Apple AirPods Max 2 is Apple’s nearly-identical sequel to the AirPods Max. Really, the main things that are different from a hardware perspective is the processor and the amplifier chip — neither one of those making a huge difference in normal operation. From the outside, there are no upgrades to a set of headphones released in 2020. Which isn’t a huge problem if you were satisfied with the older headphones. “Latest and greatest” in audio can be products that are decades old for some applications, and headphones in particular don’t move as fast as you might think.

Consequently, the reason why the Apple AirPods Max 2 is so similar to its predecessor is that nothing was wrong — even when the new headphones released, the older ones were still among the best options in the field. Both products are plenty comfortable outside of being heavy, have easily removable ear pads and replaceable bands, and hold a low, aesthetically-pleasing metal profile. Controls are a bit weird with the crown dial at the top and singular button, but most people control their audio through their phones anyway. The case is a perplexing affair that doesn’t really accomplish its purpose, but it’s the only way to put the headphones into a low-power mode; you can’t shut them off.

In the other corner, the Sennheiser HDB 630 is a much more “traditional” set of ANC headphones. Weighing in at 311g, these are by no means “light,” but they’re a lot lighter than the Apple AirPods Max 2. Thick ear padding is ensconced in leatherette, along with a thick band pad to cover the metal-looking skeleton of the cans. I had no problem listening to these for hours on end. Like the Apple AirPods Max 2, there’s no ingress protection rating with the Sennheiser HDB 630, so don’t take any showers with this thing, and avoid rain if you can.

The Sennheiser HDB 630 comes with a durable case, an analog TRS cable and USB-C cable, and the BTD 700 adapter that allows you to connect your headphones over aptX Adaptive to even devices that don’t support it. This is a lovely feature, but for those who lose things easily, you may want to hide these in the mesh pocket.

Do the Apple AirPods Max 2 or Sennheiser HDB 630 have more features?

Since both of these products represent their respective companies’ flagship ANC headphones, each is loaded to the gills with features — some nice, some not-so-useful. The Apple AirPods Max 2 is loaded with iOS-specific features that can only be used with an Apple device like an iPhone or Macbook. These features include spatial audio, voice isolation mode for the microphone, hearing health adjustments, and other integrations. Apple products are often some of the most feature-laden ones out there, and you could go ages without finding them all. I would check out the review for a more exhaustive list.

The Sennheiser HDB 630, on the other hand, requires many of its smart features to run through Sennheiser’s Smart Control+ app that runs on iOS and Android. These features are generally focused on audio quality, and handling things like ANC controls, connected devices, customizing inputs, and enabling or disabling buttons and swipes. But the equalizer baked into the app is truly special, as it’s a full parametric equalizer and not just a band EQ like most headphones have. This will allow you to not only adjust your headphones settings more directly, but also give you the specific adjustments you require instead of a way that doesn’t work well.

How do the Apple AirPods Max 2 and Sennheiser HDB 630 connect?

While the Apple AirPods Max 2 is built around simplicity and hands-off interaction by the user, the Sennheiser HDB 630 is quite the opposite. If we were to make this a car analogy, the Tesla with the self-driving is fine, but some people want a manual transmission muscle car. There are advantages to both, but they’re radically different vehicles.

The Apple AirPods Max 2 connects to devices via Bluetooth 5.3, using the SBC and AAC codecs. There’s no support for Auracast or LE audio. The Sennheiser HDB 630, on the other hand, connects to devices via Bluetooth 5.2, though it supports more codecs like aptX Adaptive in addition to SBC and AAC. If your phone does not support aptX Adaptive, the Sennheiser HDB 630 comes with a small USB-C dongle that can make just about any device work its best with the headphones.

For wired connections, you can connect the Sennheiser HDB 630 with a supplied analog 3.5mm TRS cable — with an optional airplane adapter — or a USB-C cable. The Apple AirPods Max 2 can only use its single USB-C port to connect to audio sources, though there are adapter cables you can buy with a 3.5mm termination.

Is battery life better on the Apple AirPods Max 2 or Sennheiser HDB 630?

There’s no contest here.

Since the Apple AirPods Max 2 can only handle about 20 hours of playback with ANC on, anyone making a decision on battery life alone will be more than satisfied with the Sennheiser HDB 630’s 53 hours and 46 minutes. This has some benefits for your long-term value as well, since fewer charges to full battery means your cells should last you longer. Headphones in good working order stay out of the landfill, too!

Do the Apple AirPods Max 2 or Sennheiser HDB 630 block noise better?

Though the Sennheiser HDB 630 has the vastly superior battery, the Apple AirPods Max 2 has the vastly superior ANC unit. Just like in the previous matchup, the leader absolutely leaves the other in the dust by a massive margin. Though both headphones are excellent passive isolators, there’s a clear winner when it comes to ANC.

The Apple AirPods Max 2 is one of the best ANC headphones on the market, and only shares company with a handful of headphones. The Sennheiser HDB 630 largely falls behind due to a very weak ANC unit that allows a fair amount of mid-range sounds through. It’s not bad, it’s just that the Apple AirPods Max 2 is excellent. However, you will notice some loud sounds poking through in your commute if you use the Sennheiser HDB 630, where they may be almost muted with the Apple AirPods Max 2. That dip in ANC effectiveness in the mids will make some shrill sounds a little harder to keep out, as well.

Do the Apple AirPods Max 2 sound better than the Sennheiser HDB 630?

Though the Sennheiser HDB 630 may take a little tweaking to get where you want, more people will like the sound of these headphones than that of the Apple AirPods Max 2. Additionally, you can also equalize these headphones far more comprehensively than you can tweak the sound of the Apple AirPods Max 2… which, you can’t, really.

Objective Measurements

Looking at the above chart, you can see that both the Apple AirPods Max 2 and Sennheiser HDB 630 have fairly different responses — each with notable deviations from what we typically like. The Apple AirPods Max 2 is a bit bassier and has a strange underemphasis between 2 and 5kHz that has been present on AirPods Max headphones for years now. The highs are quite strongly emphasized, which can be bothersome if you’re sensitive to those frequencies.

The Sennheiser HDB 630, on the other hand, has a response that looks a little wonky at first, but is easily rescued by basic EQ filters in the app. Because the mids and lows are reasonably-emphasized, the somewhat quieter highs are easier to deal with. If you like them: great! If not, a shelf filter making everything else below 2kHz quieter by about 2dB should go a long way. Like I said: simple.

If this was the whole story, that would be one thing, but unfortunately for us there’s a little extra nonsense to wade through. If you listen to your headphones at a lower volume, the Apple AirPods Max 2 will apply filters to the sound to make it feel like the tuning is perceptually identical at each volume setting. Unfortunately, because the “base” or “default” tuning is the maximum volume, most people will experience a sound that’s far bassier with lots of extra treble beyond what’s reasonable. If you tend to listen to your music at 50% or below, you’ll get something more like this:

…which is just not great. Because the whole point of ANC headphones is to get rid of noise so that quieter music sounds better, if the music doesn’t sound good: why bother? This is why the Sennheiser HDB 630 wins this matchup in terms of sound quality. The Apple AirPods Max 2 simply does not deserve the uncomfortably passionate glazing they’ve been getting, and the test results prove it.

How would most people rate the sound from 1 to 5?

The above chart represents the mean opinion scores that a simulated group of 200 real people would give if they were asked to rate these headphones on a scale of 1 to 5. If you were to hand either of these headphones to a couple hundred people, most people would have similar opinions of both the Apple AirPods Max 2 and Sennheiser HDB 630. Though that’s not a guarantee that you’ll agree, the general consensus seems to be that both are decent headphones.

However, because the Apple AirPods Max 2 has a feature called Loudness-Dependent Equalization (LDEQ), your impressions may be different. We found that because the tuning changes more and more the lower the listening level you use, the sound of the Apple AirPods Max 2 becomes less and less preferred to the Sennheiser HDB 630 at more reasonable levels.

Do the Apple AirPods Max 2 or Sennheiser HDB 630 have a better microphone?

Both the Apple AirPods Max 2 and Sennheiser HDB 630 are meant to be smartphone companions, so their mics have to be capable enough to handle phone calls. Below are standardized samples we’ve collected in our lab, in select noise conditions. Though the Apple AirPods Max 2 has two voice modes for use on calls, we’re only going to compare the Voice Isolation mode with the Sennheiser HDB 630, as the Sennheiser cans automatically reject noise for a like comparison.

Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sennheiser HDB 630 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Apple AirPods Max 2 voice isolation mode microphone demo (Street conditions):

Sennheiser HDB 630 microphone demo (Street conditions):

Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sennheiser HDB 630: Price and availability

The Apple AirPods Max 2 is a fairly new product that is sold in most big box stores and online retailers for its launch price of $549. The Sennheiser HDB 630, on the other hand, is a little older now, and can be found on sale less than the original $499. You may have a harder time finding the Sennheiser HDB 630 in stores, but it’s in most of the larger online retailers’ inventories.

Apple AirPods Max 2 price history:

Sennheiser HDB 630 price history:

Should you get the Apple AirPods Max 2 or Sennheiser HDB 630?

Given that the prices of both the Apple AirPods Max 2 and Sennheiser HDB 630 aren’t all that far apart, this one’s going to come down to whether or not you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem or not, and whether you really need iOS-specific features. If not, the Sennheiser HDB 630 is the vastly superior set of headphones for everything but ANC and spatial audio.

That said, not everybody has the patience for an equalizer, and Apple’s brand of things “just working” has parted many from their hard-earned dollars. If you’re not looking for a project or a set of headphones that has little parts that can get lost, then many appreciate the Apple AirPods Max 2 for what it is, warts and all.