Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless review

Name: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless
Brand: Sennheiser

Alex Kidman

Last updated: Jan 5, 2021

Quick verdict: The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones offer good audio quality, but you could do better for the same asking price.

The good

Audio output is great
Case is nicely designed

The bad

No noise cancellation
Battery life is ordinary
Expensive

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If you're a fan of all things Sennheiser, then the company's first take on True Wireless headphones might have some appeal from an audio perspective, and they carry with them the promise of the kind of high fidelity audio that Sennheiser is well known for.

Unfortunately, that's about all they offer, and in the competitive true wireless space, at the price point that Sennheiser puts on the Momentum True Wireless headphones, you can easily do better.

Design

Simple buds that look good
Nice battery case
Touch controls

There's only so much you can do with true wireless buds, with most models differentiating more on whether they feature ear loops or microphone stalks. Sennheiser goes down a much simpler route, with basic black buds topped with a silver Sennheiser logo on each ear. You get a range of rubber tips to fit to your ears, although I stayed with the default sized set throughout my review period.
The lack of additional hooking features does mean that they're slightly less suitable for keen exercise enthusiasts. While I can't say that the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones fell out of my ears during testing, they definitely felt less secure than many models I've tested with.
Like many smaller true wireless headphones, you're stuck using touch controls with the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones for actions such as play/pause or for invoking your phone's voice assistant. Sennheiser's approach to this is no better or worse than any other; expect a few false-positive taps if you do want to quickly stop your music or ask Siri what the weather is in a hurry.
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones' battery case is one of the nicest I've used from any pair of true wireless headphones. It's covered with a grey fabric and presents rather like a jewellery case, with each bud predictably magnetically snapping into place when dropped in for charging. There's only so much you can really do with a true wireless charging case, so it's nice to see a company do more than just provide another dreary plastic enclosure.

Performance

Audio output is rich
Lacks noise cancelling

Like the larger Sennheiser Momentum headphones, you can simply pair the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones via Bluetooth from the moment you take them out of the case, but you'll be missing out on additional features found in the Sennheiser Smart Control app, including firmware updates. It's worth noting that the firmware update process can be painfully slow, and if your experience is anything like mine, you could be looking at half an hour or more on the first install before they're fully ready to use.
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless buds use 7mm drivers that deliver very good audio quality across a range of genres. Starting with Shinsuke Nakamura's "Rising Sun" theme showed a nice tonal range between the heavy violins and drum beats, while switching to more pop fare with Pink's "Beautiful Trauma" showed decent higher tones. Heading back a little further in time, The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" managed to present well with Paul McCartney's almost screaming tones sounding positively painful – but in the right way. Sennheiser has a reputation for quality sound, and on that score, they're very good.
The problem is… that good sound is basically all that the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones have.
That might not sound like a critical error for what are after all a set of headphones. The problem is that at the price point that the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones command, you can score a set with active noise cancellation, for example, or more nuanced touch controls, or a choice of colours.
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones do feature a "transparency" mode so that you can hear the outside world, but then all they're really doing is isolating your ear canals, not providing any level of actual noise cancellation. Unless you like your music at ear-splitting volumes all the time, then the effect really isn't that notable.
Sennheiser has just announced the Momentum True Wireless 2 headphones with noise cancelling features at the time of writing, and that does leave the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless first generation as a rather expensive option unless you're able to score a good deal on them.

Battery

Around 3-4 hours of charge
Battery case provides 2 charges

Sennheiser rates the Momentum True Wireless buds as being capable of up to four hours of battery life, which is fair without being notably exciting for a set of true wireless buds. It's a fair enough estimate, and it does mean that they'd be okay for your daily commute, but less well suited for all-day office work.
The battery case holds an additional two charges, although, naturally, you'll have a period where you have to wait with them in the box while they charge. The case itself gets power via USB C, and like the larger Sennheiser Momentum headphones, you get a USB C charging cable, but no actual included plug charger.

Verdict

Good audio, but lacking in too many features for the price

Should you buy it?

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones do deliver nicely on their promise of good quality audio output, and if you already like the company's general sound quality then they would serve you nicely. However, with the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 headphones already in the market, they're very much yesterday's model, and that makes them less compelling.

There's also the fact that they sit in a very competitive market, at a price point that's at or above headphones that do offer longer battery life, equivalent audio quality and features such as noise cancellation. The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones are fine, but for your money, you should arguably score more than that.

Pricing and availability

Price: RRP $349.95
Where to buy: Amazon | Myer | JB Hi-Fi | Kogan

Specs

Finder score: 3

How we score our reviews

Where to buy

Build

Category

In-ear Headphones

Colours

Grey/black

Frequency Response

5Hz - 21kHz

Sensitivity

107dB

Connectivity

Wired/Wireless

Wireless

Bluetooth

Yes

Bluetooth Version

Bluetooth Profiles

HSP, HFP, AVRCP, A2DP

Features

Noise Cancelling

Foldable

Water Resistant

Battery Life

Up to 4 hours

Battery Charging Time

3.5 hours

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Alex Kidman

A multi-award winning journalist, Alex has written about consumer technology for over 20 years. He has written and edited for virtually every Australian tech publication including Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and more. He has also been the Editor of Gizmodo Australia, PC Mag Australia, CNET.com.au and the Tech and Telco section at Finder. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.

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Headphone Reviews

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless review

Quick verdict: The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones offer good audio quality, but you could do better for the same asking price.

The good

The bad

What's in this review?

Design

Design

Performance

Performance

Battery

Battery

Verdict

Verdict

Pricing and availability

Specs

Build

Connectivity

Features

Latest technology headlines

Alex Kidman

Ask an expert

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless review

Quick verdict: The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless headphones offer good audio quality, but you could do better for the same asking price.

The good

The bad

What's in this review?

Design

Design

Read more about the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless design

Performance

Performance

Read more about the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless performance

Battery

Battery

Read more about the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless battery life

Verdict

Verdict

Pricing and availability

Specs

Build

Connectivity

Features

Alex Kidman

Ask an expert

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