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Product test

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless: sound really good

Kevin Hofer
9.11.2018
Translation: machine translated

"Finally!" or "Better late than never!" was what went through my mind when I learnt that Sennheiser was launching real wireless earphones. When I found out the price, my joy was abruptly dampened. After a few hours with the test device, I pre-ordered the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless anyway.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Netflixing

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.

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.

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.

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