Momentum 3 is a Headphone with a lot of life and a powerful impact, a nice amount of reach in the lows, and a good amount of features. It is priced at 400 USD, although the price is lower in most of the Europe, including Romania (350 USD medium and 335 lowest). This means that it will get compared to HIFIMAN Deva, MAS Audio Science X5h, and Verum One. There is no pairing possible, since they are bluetooth, but I will explain a bit in the Sound part of this review how the sound differs when you’re driving them from a smartphone, dedicated DAC or using them cabled as a USB DAC.
Introduction
Sennheiser does not require an introduction, you probably know already who they are, and even your grandparents probably know, since Sennheiser as a company has been around since the second world war, producing audio systems. They are known for many of their models, including the HD660S which I reviewed in the past, and the golden HD800 and HD600 lines which have been around for more than a decade each. The company support for their customers is excellent, and they are a professional company from Germany, going closer to 100 years of audio systems production now.
That being said, it should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Sennheiser, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. I’d like to thank Sennheiser for providing the sample for this review, with me being responsible for paying the custom taxes. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Sennheiser Momentum 3 Bluetooth Headphones find their next music companion.
About me
Packaging
First things first, let’s get the packaging out of the way:
The package is both cool and fun to work with, they have all the cables they could need, there’s a microphone embedded and it is of a very good quality, and you even have a carrying case in the grey color. There’s even a USB cable, and you can use the Momentum 3 Headphones as a USB DAC from a computer.
There are no spare pads included in the package, so the package is great for the price, but no extra-extras there.
What to look for when purchasing a midrange Bluetooth Headphone
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
The build quality is pretty simple, although they can fold to take less space, and there’s quite a bit of leather, or at least leather imitation in the build of the Momentum 3 Headphones. The nice thing about them is that you have a lot of features with them, and I’ll try to talk through all of them in this part of the review.
The earpads are not the deepest, but they are not shallow either, so you get an average level of comfort. They are made for long hours of usage, having noise cancelling embedded, and their noise cancelling is probably the best I’ve heard to date. There’s a bit of a hotspot at the top of the headphone, and also a bit of a hotspot at the ear levels when wearing them for more than one hour, but it is not so terrible, at least compared to most other well-isolating over-the-ear closed-back headphones.
Of course, there’s a beauty to them, and the ear cups swivel in every direction, so they can theoretically adjust to your head size and shape nicely.
They come with a wide usage scenario, and unlike my other latest review, that of the DAC I Special from SW1X, which had one narrow application, the Momentum 3 Bluetooth headphones can work with almost anything.
They have Bluetooth 5.0, including aptX, aptX LL , or Low Latency, they have a good connection reliability, and they even have an analogue mode, where you can use them with a normal 3.5mm audio cable from a good source. They don’t work much better from a high-quality source, and I actually prefer them on Bluetooth.
The best mode is off mode, where the Noise Cancelling is turned off. There’s also an On mode, where it tries to cancel every noise out there, and there’s a Passthrough Mode, where it records and amplifies every noise that’s being fed into the headphones. This is like trying to emulate them being open-back without them leaking any sound.
The Momentum 3 Headphones is also good at sports, as it has a tight fit, and it won’t fall off your ears if you’re moving a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5YaCXb3LqE
Sound Quality
The sound quality is actually pretty good, even for a diehard audiophile like me, and I have been enjoying them quite a lot lately, especially since I didn’t have a headphone with me in many trips, so I took the Momentum 3 Instead. For a very basic setup, they are just perfect.
The bass is a central element for the Momentum, although they can be described as a V-Shaped with a really fun bass too. The bass is strong, deep, has extreme impact, and a good amount of depth too. Did I mention depth? They can rattle your ears at 20 Hz, thing pretty much unseen in headphones, and I can say that at this level of fun, I couldn’t resist and had to indulge a bit on the sound. The overall sound is generally dry too, so you get not only deep bass, but it has a fair speed, with a good amount of detail too. Those who want Dubstep, EDM and Electronic to sound really impactful should brace and put those on at maximum volume, they are just perfect for that, and watching movies / playing games with a ton of effects, also thanks to the aptX LL.
The midrange is the background element, and sadly this is where most of the music happens, so I end up listening to the Momentum 3 louder than most of my headphones. Male and Female voices can be drown out a bit, and most instruments can be a bit distant. This being said, the dry character works well with this, because the mid is not vague just recessed, so if you bump the volume, the sound is fun to listen to, and has enough detail / texture to be engaging. The midrange is actually so interesting because the recession also gives some sountstage and space to the music, so again, electronic and EDM and Dubstep is perfect with Momentum 3, even some Nu Metal and Metal in general.
The treble is actually uplifted, fun, sparkly, and engaging. The treble has a good amount of detail, but is dry, and can be a touch hard / grainy at times, also a bit harsh. This being said, the bass is so enhanced above it, and the mid is also so pushed back that the treble doesn’t end up being annoying at any moment, it is pretty much perfect for the mix, the entire sound has been tuned with responsibility, and I can enjoy Momentum 3 for hours without feeling like I want to switch to something else.
Comparisons
Sennheiser Momentum 3 vs HIFIMAN Deva (400 USD vs 350 USD) – Deva is Deva and that’s great, because it has a much better comfort, an open-back design, although it also has bluetooth, can work as a USB DAC, and even has a microphone you can use it with. The biggest difference is that Deva is far more comfy, and has a wider, more detailed sound that is lighter, where Momentum 3 has far more bass, more impact, is more fun in the lows, but has less detail and refinement, less overall emphasis on the stage and space, and much more emphasis on the raw power and impact of your music. Deva in passive mode is quite hard to drive, while Momentum 3 in passive mode is rather easy to drive, and the battery life is actually one hour or so better on Momentum 3 if I’m using both in similar fashion, but I crank the volume higher on the Momentum 3 because the mids are a bit recessed, so to be able to get a similar overall experience I’m using Momentum 3 a bit louder.
Sennheiser Momentum 3 vs MAS X5h Headphones (400 USD vs 350 USD) – X5h is a headphone that’s about on-ear and over-the-ear at the same time, they are right at the limit, while Momentum 3 is clearly over-the-ear. This being said, the end comfort is the same between them. The usage scenario is wider for Momentum 3 with NC and aptX and aptX LL, and even USB DAC modes, but the sound coming out of X5h is considerably better in reality, with more detail, a bit more bass, more quality to the bass, a wider soundstage, and if you didn’t tell me who made what, I would think that Sennheiser made the sound of the X5h, as it is a high-quality basshead sound, while Momentum 3 sounds a bit less refined, less detailed, but stronger, more impactful and has more raw energy in the music, adding to a more raw feel.
Value and Conclusion
The Value of the Momentum 3 Headphones is undeniably great, since they have it all, from NC to Bluetooth 5.0, a pretty good comfort, they are just a great option for those looking for high-quality bluetooth headphones.
The sound is thicccc boiiii, explosive, impressive, punchy, fun, and has enough treble to not make them utterly boring, so you have it, a fun basshead headphone that I’m actually enjoying to the last bit. In fact, I haven’t had this much fun for a long while, because I do have a basshead side inside and I want sometimes to just indulge in some of that crazy bass.
Full Playlist used for this review
While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy.
Youtube Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
Tidal Playlist
https://listen.tidal.com/playlist/64555551-ec3c-4279-ae44-248fdfcf6c4b
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