Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless: sound really good

Colleague David Lee asks if I would like to test them. I jump for joy inside, but try to hide it as much as possible. I don't succeed, David notices my euphoria. Is he really questioning my objectivity? "Yes, I admit that I'm a Sennheiser fanboy. Can I still have the earphones?" I ask. David leaves me the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless with a grumpy comment: "The result is already clear." But honestly, David, I feel a little attacked in my journalistic integrity. Of course I am and will remain critical.

Headphones

CHF699.–

Sennheiser MOMENTUM

4 h, Wireless

113

Headphones

CHF699.–

Sennheiser MOMENTUM

4 h, Wireless

113

First things first: the product I tested is not the final version, but a pre-production model. So my test device still had one or two bugs. However, on request, Sennheiser assured me that they are aware of these and will fix them in the series product.

In addition, I was not yet able to try out the Sennheiser Smart Control app. It was not yet ready at the time of testing. Among other things, it offers an equaliser. I used one from a third-party provider for the test.

Design and functions

The first thing that catches the eye are the metal rings on the outside of the earbuds. These are touch-sensitive and are used for control. The rest of the outer material is plastic. Nevertheless, they have a high-quality finish. There are small microphones on the side. On the inside are the connectors for charging, LEDs for checking the status of the earphones and the 7 mm drivers. The earbuds are labelled so that you don't put them in the wrong ear. One weighs 7.1 grams.

I like the design of the Sennheiser better than that of the competition. Apple's AirPods, Jabra's Elite 65t, B&O's Beoplay E8 or the Bose Soundsport Free couldn't convince me in terms of design. With the Momentum True Wireless, I feel like I can be seen on the street.

I also like the design of the charging box. However, the question arises as to how long the fabric cover will remain intact in everyday use. Unfortunately, I only used the earbuds for a week, so I can't comment on their longevity. At 78.6 x 45 x 35 mm, the box is on the large side. They don't fit easily in your trouser pocket - unless you're wearing baggy trousers. I think it's great that Sennheiser has opted for USB-C for the charging box. I can finally charge my earphones with the same cable as my smartphone. One full charge takes about an hour and a half, by the way.

With a fully charged speaker and earbuds, you should be able to listen to music for up to twelve hours. The earbuds alone should last for four hours and the box should then provide two full charging cycles. I can confirm the four hours of the earbuds. Unfortunately, a bug mentioned at the beginning affects the charging box, which is why I can't comment on its capacity.

The earbuds are connected to your devices via Bluetooth 5.0. In addition to the lossy transmission format SBC, they also support apt-X, apt-X Low Latency and AAC. apt-X and AAC are designed to minimise sound loss and deliver sound in CD-like quality. Most newer Android smartphones support apt-X and iPhones support AAC. If your Android smartphone also supports apt-X Low Latency, you can watch your films and series in lip-sync. apt-X HD - for even higher quality streams - is missing. The Momentum True Wireless are IPX4 certified. So you should be able to play sports with them in light rain.

Technology

Sennheiser offers similar specifications to the competition. At around 350 francs, the Momentum True Wireless are over 100 francs more expensive than the competition. What justifies this?

In order to transmit the signal from one earbud to the other, Sennheiser uses a magnetic field instead of Bluetooth like other manufacturers. This reduces the latency. The two earbuds therefore communicate with each other more quickly. Added to this are the 7 mm drivers that Sennheiser has developed especially for the Momentum True Wireless. Sennheiser has therefore not simply warmed up existing drivers, but has redesigned them from scratch.

In addition, the earbuds have a built-in equaliser. You should be able to create an equaliser profile via the Sennheiser Smart Control app, which you can then save on the Momentum True Wireless. However, as the app was not yet available, I was unable to test this.

Haptics and ergonomics

You put the earbuds in your ear and then turn them towards the back of your ear. The silicone ear tips are interchangeable and Sennheiser supplies four sizes - XS, S, M and L. Once in my ear, they fit me like a glove. You can also do sport with them. I sweat a lot during training and most in-ears don't stay in place properly. Not so with the Momentum True Wireless; trail running, burpees, handstand push ups or skin the cats - even during sweaty exercises, they stay where they belong for me.

The earbuds fit me very comfortably. After just over two hours, they started to pinch a little. I then unscrewed them a little, which improved the wearing comfort again. I wouldn't want to wear them all day, but that's not what earbuds are for.

You control the earbuds by touching the metal rings. At first, I had to get used to holding the earbuds on the side rather than pressing them into my ear. Otherwise, I always activated the touch functions. After a short period of familiarisation, however, this was no longer a topic.

You control the music functions with the left earbud and the call functions with the right one. You can start or pause playback of the current app and select the next or previous track. If you press and hold the left earbud, you can lower the volume. If you press and hold the right earbud, you can increase the volume. You can also answer, hang up or reject calls. You can also activate your voice assistant or activate or deactivate Transparent Hearing. The controls work very well except for the triple press to play the previous track. I never managed to skip back again.

Both earbuds have one microphone each. I always understood my conversation partners clearly. The microphones block out distracting noises for your phone calls. My girlfriend understood me without any problems, even at a noisy railway station. There's nothing wrong with the quality.

Sound quality

Now it's time to get down to business. In terms of technology, Sennheiser doesn't offer much more than the competition. But they do cost a lot more than the comparable products. So the German manufacturer has to up the ante when it comes to quality. I put the Momentum True Wireless through their paces during a week of intensive Netflix and music listening.

Music

What should I listen to first? If I have to choose something, I usually find it difficult. I therefore decide to listen to something that I enjoy and not a classic "earphone test song". My choice falls on "Flicker" by Atmosphere. The organ playing at the beginning builds up the tension nicely before the actual beat drops. The slightly distorted female voice maintains the tension before Slug shows off his rap skills. The song is really fun with the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless. I had the song on my handset years ago. That really put me off it. Listening to it on the earbuds now has given me back the joy of it.

This track is a tribute song to cents capper Eyedea, who died of an overdose in 2010. Eyedea who? Maybe you remember the song "Big Shots" that was featured in "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4". Eyedea was one of the cents who could have become one of the greats. However, he turned down several record deals so that he could continue doing what he enjoys. A really likeable, albeit deeply depressed guy. But I digress. After "Flicker", I can't avoid listening to a track by Eyedea & Abilities. I opt for "By the Throat" from the brilliant album of the same name.

When the guitars screech like circular saws, I feel like I'm listening to a metal song. But that's not the case with "By the Throat", it's hip-hop. The song and the whole album are a showpiece for Uneasy Listening. The beat is very restless and the misanthropic lyrics that Eyedea fires in staccato create a feeling of constant discomfort. Momentum True Wireless capture this mood perfectly. I really feel like shit.

But now I need music to cheer me up. Damn, do I even know any positive-inspiring music? I like my music depressing. I decide to go for a track that used to get me pumped up when I was DJing.

"Worst comes to worst" by Dilated Peoples always had this effect on me. From the first beat, I feel like I'm somewhere on the Californian coast. I can literally smell the sea - and of course the exhaust fumes. In my mind's eye, I can see women in bikinis rollerblading and tattooed guys doing calisthenics. Great, now that the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless have taken me on a rollercoaster of emotions, I'm really motivated to tell you what the earbuds do well and what they don't do so well.

The sound that the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless conjure up in your ears is full without being overloaded. The low frequencies are present, but do not drown out the mids. These are clear and warm. However, when several instruments play at similar frequencies at the same time, it has some problems reproducing them stably. The highs are then again a pleasure for such small drivers and are also pleasant in the upper frequency spectrum without overstraining my hearing.

Other than that, the Momentum True Wireless produces a detailed sound that leaves the necessary space. The dynamic range drops off slightly towards the bottom. Fine differences are not easy to discern there. On the other hand, the earbuds score points for the fact that they reproduce both rather quiet pieces and energetic music equally well. Whether it's Adele's "Hello" or Workal's "Elea", I like to stay tuned in and immerse myself in the music.

Netflixing

You mainly need earbuds when you're out and about. When I use public transport, I often watch videos, films or series. As I spend two and a half hours a day on the train, I also test the sound quality of the Momentum True Wireless when I'm watching Netflix. I decide in favour of the second season of "Castlevania". I have a personal connection to it. Not because I played the games - which I did, of course - but because I watched the first season the night before my son was born.

My wife's labour was induced with a castor oil cocktail. She had to spend the night in hospital. Because we couldn't afford a night in hospital for me too, I decided to spend it in a youth hostel so that I could be there as quickly as possible in an emergency. Why am I telling you this? Well, I would have been glad of the noise-cancelling Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless that night.

A very likeable gentleman was sleeping in the bunk bed below me. Unfortunately, he sawed so loudly during the night that I was afraid for the bed. And of course that took a lot of the acoustic enjoyment out of the series. Thematically, it would have fitted in well with the night and what followed: Murder and manslaughter in "Castlevania" and then the birth - "It's the circle of life" and all that.

But now I've digressed enough. With "Castlevania" on the train, I was able to really test the noise cancelling. Incidentally, this seems to be activated as standard with the Momentum True Wireless. This is because you don't activate noise cancelling on the earbuds, but the "Transparent Hearing" mode. This is designed to help you hear ambient noise better.

But before I digress again, let's talk about the sound quality when watching Netflix. The most important thing for me is that voices can be heard clearly even in action-packed scenes. The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless does this very well.

I'm watching a scene in which Dracula attacks a village and does to the humans what a vampire does to humans according to the cliché. Dracula's voice, music and background noises - such as the blazing fire or pain-filled screams - are clearly reproduced by the earbuds. His voice is not drowned out by all the carnage. I get the impression that bones are actually breaking, guts are being ripped out and fountains of blood are hissing. I feel drawn into the action. This is also helped by the fact that the change from the left to the right listener and vice versa is depicted smoothly.

Of course, the Momentum True Wireless cannot be compared with headphones specially designed for home cinema. But the strength of the earbuds to reproduce a broad spectrum of mids is very evident when watching a film.

I forgot to mention the noise cancelling because I was so enthusiastic. It works very well for the small headphones. The noise of the train is barely audible. Voices are also cancelled out very well.

I'm currently listening to "Abaddon's Gate", the third book in "The Expanse" series, as an audio book. Noise cancelling has worked wonders with this one too. I always sit in the family compartment on the journey home. As you can imagine, it often gets very loud. Although the audiobook is only spoken, i.e. there is no background music, I was always able to concentrate on the text. This allowed me to fully immerse myself in the adventures of Holden and the crew of the Roci.

Conclusion

With the Momentum True Wireless, Sennheiser delivers super sound quality in their first true wireless earbuds. The performance of the 7 mm drivers is truly amazing. You have to make small compromises in the mids. However, this is only noticeable when listening to orchestras with lots of instruments. The earphones are also great for watching Netflix or other videos.

I like the design. These are the first true wireless earbuds I've ever worn. It still looks a little strange, but everything less familiar does and at some point true wireless will become standard and we'll get used to the look.

One negative point is the lack of apt-X HD. It's a mystery to me why Sennheiser has done without it, as they also want to appeal to audiophiles. Instead, there's apt-X Low Latency for lip-synced videos - if your playback device supports the format.

Another negative point is the high price. I briefly compared the sound quality with the AirPods and the Bose Soundsport Free, and the Sennheisers actually sound a lot better to me, but the price difference of over 100 francs is enormous. In terms of technology, you get a bit more with the Sennheisers, but is that worth 100 francs?

You'll have to decide for yourself. For me, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless are worth the 350 francs. I pre-ordered them after a few hours of testing and am looking forward to finally holding the final product in my hands. The few weeks without them will be difficult.