Sennheiser Momentum Review

• Brand: Sennheiser
• Model: Momentum On Ear Headphones
• Website: Sennheiser Momentum On-ear
  
• Price: £170 (at time of review)

For over 65 years, Sennheiser have been at the fore front of audio technology and are well known for making some of the highest quality headphones on the market.  With a large, mouthwatering selection of home audio equipment and even more industrial types such as DJ headphones, there is something to cater for everyones needs.

Today I got the opportunity to have a hands on with their newly released on ear headphones, which join the Momentum Range.  Designed from the ground up with innovative technology and joining the ever growing market filling with many flavours of headphones already on the market, do they cut the mustard?  Or are Sennheiser simply slipping behind?  Only one way to find out…

Let’s start by taking a look at the specs…

Specifications

Looking at the box we can see clearly the brand and the model of the product, which also states the headphones have a 2 year warranty.

The front of the box gives a clear image of the product inside which in this instance are the Ivory edition of the Momentum On-Ear headphones.  Although it does state that the headset is made for the iPod, iPhone and iPad, it is compatible with all devices which use a 3.5mm headphone jack such as PCs, MP3 players, Mobile phones etc.

The side of the box gives a detailed overview of Sennheisers Smart Remote function, which is included with the Momentum.

The back of the box shows a product description in seven languages as well as a more detailed product specification.  These include English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese.

The bottom of the box has the product barcode as well as the serial number of the product.

Inside the box we see that the product is kept safe from potential damage by having all unused space filled with black foam.  This is a nice touch in my opinion and given the price of these headphones, it gives added piece of mind that they will turn up in new condition.

The top of the box also has a small thin layer of foam for protection.

As soon the box is opened, you can see the protective carry case which comes supplied with the headphones.  With the distinctive Sennheiser logo on show for all to see, the case is made of a soft felt material throughout.

Inside the carry case we have two detachable cables, one with an in-line remote and the other a 3.5mm to 3.5mm straight audio cable.

Inside the carry case there is also a second protective bag which contains the headphones themselves.

Below is an image of the Momentum On-Ear Headphones, as we can see they match the packaging image perfectly

The headband is made out of stainless steel and also has Alcantara material which is designed to aid in giving you a comfortable experience.

The image below is of the left ear cup.  The padding is made out the same Alcantara material and the left ear cup also has the headphone cable port.

The first thing I want to talk about in regards these headphones is the build quality.  I have owned various different pairs of headphones over the years, all varying in price range which is a typical way of discerning the build quality as well as the audio quality – generally the more expensive they are, the better they are.  Most modern headphones are made of plastic as this is a cheaper way of producing a product however this has the downfall that they often break over time due to general wear and tear.  The Momentum On Ear Headphones have a single piece of stainless steal for it’s headband which is covered in Alcantara making it extremely comfortable to wear.  Alcantara is a man made material that is similar to suede, so it should offer a comfortable fit.

The Alcantara is not only used in the head band but also in the ear cups increasing the overall comfort of the headphones.  Whilst I found the headphones comfortable they did take some getting used too and due to the stainless steel headband they did pinch my ears which meant I did have to take them off every so often.  Fortunately the stainless steel headband has a small amount of give and after flexing the headphones out away from ears a few times I was able to gain a comfortable fit.  They sit snugly on my head and there is no risk of them suddenly falling off.

As with purchasing audio equipment the sound stage is is very important.  I found that the Momentum On Ear Headphones had an adequate sound stage, with excellent highs, mids, lows and a solid bass.   The quality of the components that have gone into this product is evident.   Whilst I would compare them to my own personal headphones which are also Sennheiser, this would be an unfair comparison as my headphones are closed up and completely different in regards the sound stage they are capable of conveying.

I used a variety of musical genres and even games to test the Momentum’s to see if they could deliver on a diversified stage.  As I have already mentioned, they have an excellent tone.  With simple rock tracks, you can hear the smallest tap of the hi-hat which is astonishing – basically the quality I was expecting from Sennheiser.  With more techno orientated tracks, this is where the bass shined, from dense loud thumps of the drum and bass, to the more defined synth boom, they have a nice defined sound.  Game play was another good overall experience, although they aren’t closed cup, this means with loud volumes they do have a little leakage but not as much as you would find on cheaper alternatives.  This is another indication of quality I have came to expect from Sennheiser over the years.

In conclusion the Momentum On Ear Headphones are an excellent product, with excellent build quality and design, as well as fantastic audio playback.  These headphones are not designed for audiophiles by any means, but the price bracket they sit in are for more of the general retail market and I believe their unique design coupled with excellent build quality make these the perfect purchase for anyone wanting to listen to music on the go.

Aside from the packaging and design, the performance was also up to scratch.  With a well defined sound, minimal leakage and a superb frequency range, the Momentum headset does lose out slightly due to the fact these are over ear.  Taking this into consideration, they are actually very unlikely to fall off your ears when say jogging, walking the dog etc due to the stainless steal headband.  You can be very confident that with the tone, comfort and quality rolled into one, you have a fantastic product on your hands and Sennheiser have clearly continued their tradition in being one of the worlds leading audio companies.

From the outset, the time and effort that has gone into the production of this product is evident.  The packaging and presentation is some of the best I have ever seen, and it is clear Sennheiser have looked at the current market and have wanted to build on the current demand for high end yet affordable audio equipment.  With that said I am giving the Sennheiser Momentum On Ear the Editors Choice Award.