Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless

Contents

Setup

Eartips here make a huge difference. If it sounds wiry try another tip. The app for adjusting EQ is super clumsy and heavy-handed. I tried boosting the lower mids and cutting treble a bit but you do lose out in clarity. I kind of switch between the two but it doesn’t seem to save your settings all the time. It also doesn’t look like I could save my own presets. Oh well.

Sound

I was really excited to take a closer listen to these highly revered earphones. I guess my expectations were a bit too high as these earphones were pretty disappointing in the sound quality department (gasp). First, let’s talk about the positives.

If you enjoy the Sennheiser “general” house sound, you may as well enjoy these. It’s going to be leaner, cooler, and more neutral. Basically unnatural – and more…technical? Anyway. It’s smoother and more cohesive sounding than the “cheaper stuff.” It’s clean, detailed, and surprisingly bassy. This bass, however, overpowers the other parts of the frequencies at times. Giving an artificial sense of atmosphere and energy. There’s no distinction of mid-bass to sub-bass. I think this fools a casual listener – but not most audiophiles. As far as articulation, it does a great job. The sound is slightly glamorized (dreamy) and never fatiguing. Surprisingly the treble sounds a bit more rolled-off as it’s not particularly shiny or brilliant. Timing is also crisp so the tapping of a bell or drum is heard realistically.

Best sounding true wireless earbuds? Hm…nah.

Although it’s detailed, it’s not detailed on a 2D plane. Like painting on a canvas and not a sphere. It feels little “forced.” There are plenty of cheaper buds that present detail more naturally. Everything sounds very flat and brought up to the same plane. There’s no depth or aural shaping. Focus is also super soft – which means imaging is mushier. It’s tough to hear the tonal gradations, especially on the low-end. But as mentioned, this low end pushes forward when it has no business being there. More bass isn’t always better. Although punchy, I don’t find these earphones dynamic at all. There’s a foggy cloud over the mids and voices sound anemic, sterile, and cold. Bass is inaccurate with a few layers of veil that is putting a cloudy, tinted, piece of plastic over the sound. It’s sloth-like in transients and everyone sounds sleepy.

I take them off, not due to fatigue…but boredom. And I rarely put them back on due to pairing issues. If you’re looking for accurate sound, the Sennheiser is far from it. Although some instruments sound OK, piano, violin, and other woodwinds sound way off. As if the instruments were made with the wrong metal or wood.

Comparisons

  • Master & Dynamic MW07 GO: The MW07 is a far better earphone – both from musicality and a technical perspective. Although the sound won’t be as large or punchy, you’ll get a deeper look at the essence and emotion in the music. The MW07 is more grounded, precise, and textural. It sounds much closer to a high-end HiFi setup. I could imagine casual listeners will think otherwise.
  • Bose Soundsport Free: The Bose sounds better in every way. Embarrassing. The Sennheiser just sounds terribly flat, boring, soft, lazy, and bland. A WTF from Sennheiser.
  • 1More Stylish: Might be a surprise here, but I prefer the 1More over the Sennheiser. The Sennheiser, although performs better on smoothness and gradations, loses out on musicality. There’s this every lingering plastic window that covers the sound which impacts every recording. Although the 1More doesn’t have much shine, it’s warm, lush, and musical.
  • Samsung Galaxy Buds: The Samsung is rougher in the mids and doesn’t have the lower end grunts of the Sennheiser. But is far better at imaging and has more depth to the music. The Sennheiser sounds warmer, smoother, and has more slam but Samsung has more sparkle, separation, precision, and clarity.
  • Edifier TWS NB: Noise reduction has to be on in order to smooth out the Edifier TWS NB. It’s a bit of a toss-up here. The Edifier is far tighter, more focused, and more organic sounding. While the Sennheiser is much smoother, has more body, and bass. It depends on what you’re looking for.

Side Notes

  • I’ve had more problems with the controls and pairing more than any other true wireless earphone. Sometimes it’ll lower the volume on its own (“volume min” for days). One time, it took 20 minutes for me to pair it to my Pixel 3 for listening tests. Resetting the phone seems to be the surest way – most of the time.
  • These were the only earbuds I had to charge quite often. Apparently, the case discharges over time – and quickly at that. It definitely made it really annoying for this shootout.
  • The volume is best changed on the phone. You might blast your ears.

Who should buy these?

If you’ve purchased these because a YouTuber said they had the best sound – you’ve been misinformed. No high-performance HiFi system sounds like this. I’m just guessing most of these other reviewers aren’t really audiophiles and just riding the hype train. I’m sure Sennheiser will do better in their next release. I surely won’t pay anything close to the retail price of $230 for these. Along with sound quality, these truly wireless earbuds are poorly engineered and laced with tons of usability problems. It’s very difficult to recommend this earphone.

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