Sennheiser's new $999 headphones come with a dongle for better wireless audio

Sennheiser has a new pair of flagship wireless headphones that promise higher quality audio over Bluetooth. Dubbed the HDB 630, the headphones support a codec called aptX Adaptive that allows for "lossy" 24-bit/96Hz audio. 

While some phones natively support aptX Adaptive out of the box, iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices don't, for example. To assist with this, the HDB 630s come with a USB-C dongle in the box that addresses this. The dongle will also work with tablets, Macs, and PCs. 

The HDB 630s will naturally still work as standard Bluetooth headphones without the dongle, but without support for 24-bit audio. The pair can also be used as wired headphones over 3.5mm or a USB-C connection, which allows for lossless 24-bit audio. 

Sennheiser has built the new headphones by refining the design it used for its Momentum series. As with the most recent Momentum devices, the HDB 630s boast extensive battery life. They'll last up to 35 hours per charge with noise cancelling on, or 60 hours with noise cancelling off. A 10-minute top-up should be enough for a charge. 

The HDB 630s will be available to purchase in Australia from October 21, retailing for $999. That's pretty much the high-end for consumer-facing wireless headphones, with Apple recently increasing the price of its AirPods Max to $999. 

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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