Sennheiser is well known for their audio equipment. Among the greats are the open-backed HD600, HD650, and HD700 over ear headphones. Also available now on Massdrop are the HD6xx’s at $199. The Sennheiser Momentums are the most style focussed headphones Sennheiser have to offer, and they do look nice, although they are retro looking. While they’re good looking, they aren’t cheap, or sound cheap. They’re around $399 in stores, and I’d say they’re worth it. If you like balanced, fairly neutral sound, they’re a great headphone.
Table of Contents
Design
Sennheiser doesn’t always design good looking headphones, but the Sennheiser Momentums are an exception. They’re marketed towards the luxury consumer market, but they don’t have a popular, bassy sound signature, so they’re still good for audiophiles. The Sennheiser Momentums come in three classic colors; Black, Ivory, and Brown. Personally, I like the black color, but Ivory gives it a nice classic look. The entire design looks classic, but not dated. Most of what makes contact with your head are made of leather, and it feels high quality. Overall, they look smooth, without the hard edges that today’s product design people seem to like so much.
Comfort
Traditionally, Sennheiser audio products have always been relatively comfortable, and the Sennheiser Momentums carry that on. They’re quite comfortable, and don’t clamp your head too hard. The leather headband and ear-cups are soft and comfortable, and the leather also adds to the isolation. The headphones are obviously adjustable, and they have a sufficient range between the smallest and largest size. They’re also decently light, so they don’t stress the top of your head when using it for extended periods of time. Overall, the Sennheiser Momentums are comfortable, and I found I could listen to them for hours on end without any discomfort.
Features
The Sennheiser Momentums are regular wired headphones, so they don’t have too many special features. The cord that plugs into the left earpiece has an inline remote, compatible with both Android and iPhone, but other than that, these headphones focus mainly on sound, not so much special features. If you want a Bluetooth headphone, you can buy the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless. Those have inbuilt Bluetooth so that you can use them with your iPhone 7 or another headphone jack-less device.
Build Quality
These headphones are built solidly, and they don’t look like they’ll break too easily. The sides are built with solid metal, and the the rest is a good quality plastic finish. A friend of mine has had them for three years, and they look almost as good as new, aside from the leather. Since it is leather, it will degrade over time, or “wear”, but it still looks good nonetheless.
Sound
Usually, with headphones marketed at the general public, there’s a huge bass bump, and treble boost too. Although these headphones have a slight bump in both areas, it’s much less noticeable than it would be on, say, a Beats headphone. With this in mind, they have a nice, smooth, warm sound, and the sound they produce is clear without too much sibilance.
Highs
The Sennheiser Momentums sound very clear and detailed. Voices, particularly female voices, sound close, not distant from your head. They aren’t harsh or sibilant, and it’s generally a pleasant listening experience
Mids
Although a little lacking, mids are detailed and smooth.
Bass
The bass is a little louder than the mids, but they aren’t boomy or muddy. It’s fast, and tight, yet also smooth. Overall, the sound coming out of these earphones are musical and pleasant to listen to.
Soundstage
Even though these headphones are close backed over ear headphones, there’s a decent feeling of separation and imaging. They’re nothing compared to open backed headphones like the HD 650, but for a closed back headphone, they’re better than I expected.
Isolation
Being regular, wired headphones, you wouldn’t expect these to have mind blowing isolation. However, they isolate sound fairly well, especially with the help of the leather pads. Listening at a moderate volume, I couldn’t accurately hear people talking around 6 feet away, so I had to constantly take them off to talk to people. That’s a good thing if you’re using these in louder areas, but if you want maximum isolation, go for a different headphone, perhaps one with active noise cancellation.
Conclusion
The Sennheiser Momentums are good all-rounder headphones, and they look good too. The only thing holding them back is the steep $400 price tag, and the lack of any modern features like Bluetooth or active noise cancellation. The sound they produce is exquisite and hard to fault. If you have pockets deep enough to afford them, buy it, but if you can’t plonk down the $400, try a cheaper set of headphones, like the Grado SR80es.
