The new Sennheiser Momentum 3’s have been packed with a whole bunch of new features
to help them stay competitive with some of the most popular ANC headphones out there
right now.
And personally I really like how these headphones sound and I really like their build quality.
These headphones do have some quirks, but they also have some very unique features to
them that may appeal to Android user audiophiles that just refuse to give up their audio jacks…
especially for those who may have just upgraded to the note 10.
Now the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s retail for $400 which is a lot… but isn’t that bad
when compared to the competition and when you take their bill of materials into consideration.
These headphones defiantly aren’t for everyone but If you want to pick these headphones up
they’ll be linked down below.
For starters the Momentum 3’s have a whole bunch of new features packed into them that
just aren’t found on the out going momentum 2’s.
Which ultimately is a good thing, but some of these new features are just gimmicks in
my book that I feel indifferent about.
The first new feature that I want to point out on these headphones is that when you unfold
them or collapse them they’ll power on or off.
This is a oaky, but you won’t be able to store the Momentum 3’s on a headphone stand
if you want to.
Another new feature the Momentum 3’s have is that they have tile integration.
So you can use your phone to track your headphones down and you can also make them ring and vibrate.
But again, I’m personally indifferent about this cause I’ve never needed to track my
headphones down.
And these headphones also have automatic on ear detection so when you take these headphones
off they’ll automatically pause your music and when you put them back on they’ll start
playing again.
Personally I don’t like this feature on any of my headphones but at least sennheiser
lets you turn it off which is good cause some other headphones out there that also have
this feature don’t let you turn it off.
Now when it comes to accessories, unfortunately the momentum 3’s carrying case is pretty
lack luster.
Quality wise it feels good, but from a practicality standpoint this carrying case isn’t going
to protect your headphones as well as hard shell carrying case which usually comes included
with other premium ANC headphones and its really jut a floppy mess.
Its a hassle to put your headphones away and sometimes your cables end up falling out.
But speaking of cables, the Momentum 3’s come included with a full length 3.5 to 2.5
millimeter audio cable, a full length USB C to USB C cable, and a USB C to USB A dongle
just incase you don’t have a computer or wall adaptor with a USB C port.
But the Momentum 3’s charge via a USB C port which means if you’re an android user
you can charge your phone and headphones with the same cable which is nice.
But unfortunately, battery life on these headphones is out right disappointing given their price
point.
These headphones have an advertised battery life of 17 hours which is actually 5 hours
less than their predecessor… but I’m getting more like 14.
And plainly said a 17 hour battery life on a pair of $400 dollar headphones in 2020 just
isn’t actable.
Bare minimum I’d be looking for something around 20 hours.
But when it comes to build quality… that’s another story.
First off the Momentum 3’s are using real sheep skin leather on both the headband and
ear cups.
And the real leather on these headphones just feels nicer and smoother than the synthetic
leather found on the Bose NC 700’s which feel great to begin with but the leather on
the Momentum 3’s feels miles better than the plastic feeling synthetic leather found
on the Sony 1000XM3’s.
Now this just isn’t just a placebo affect or me hyping the Momentum 3’s up cause you
can see me raving about the leather on these headphones in their unboxing slash first impressions
video before I even knew they had real leather.
But ultimately, even though I really like build quality on these headphones I’m not
the biggest fan of how they look.
At the end of the day looks are subjective… but these headphones do fit very well and
they are big head approved.
Personally I think these headphones are more comfortable than the Bose NC 700’s cause
they have less clamping force, and they are a good alternative to the Sony 1000XM3’s
if the 1000XM3’s ear cups are too cramped for you.
But something that I really don’t like about the Momentum 3’s, or headphones in general
who’s ear cups just glide down their headband is that I can never get a perfect fit on the
first try.
With the Momentum 3’s or NC 700’s for that matter when I’m going to put them on
I’ll extend their headband to where I think its right, put them on, then take them off
to readjust them, put them back on, and then adjust them some more until they feel right.
Personally I just prefer headbands that click, cause with the Sony’s I know that with 6
clicks on each side I’m good to go.
I know this is a very minor nit pick but I wanted to point it out cause it has been bothering
me lately.
And when you’re paying $400 for headphones, little things like this add up.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, these headphones are rocking bluetooth 5.0
but more importantly they can be connected to 2 devices at the same time.
So you can hot swap from one device to another.
And this is a big deal cause simulations multi device connectivity still isn’t as standard
as you’d think.
These headphones also have support for high quality audio codecs like ACC, APTX, and APTX
Low latency.
If you’re an android user you’re going to have zero latency across to the board when
watching videos on your phone.
And if you’re an iPhone user these headphones are good for watching Netflix or HBO Now on
your phone cause they don’t have any latency issue either.
How ever they do have a noticeable latency to them when watching Youtube videos on an
iPhone.
But when it comes to listening to music on these headphones that another story.
Now I do want to point out that these headphones do have an adjustable EQ… but personally
I think these headphones sound best when used in their default setting.
These headphones sound very similar to the Bose NC 700’s in the sense that that have
a neutral sound signature and a wide sound stage but what I really like the Momentum
3’s over the NC 700’s is just how deep their bass resonates.
In short you feel the music more with the Momentum 3’s than you do with the NC 700’s
so they’re more fun.
And I also want to point out that these headphones get significantly louder than the both the
Bose and Sony’s.
But like I mentioned at the beginning of this video, I think these headphones would be great
for Android audiophiles cause the Momentum 3’s are one of the few headphones currently
out there where its USB C port can be used as a wired connection.
So if you’re someone that stores your own Flac files on your phone, or if you’re subscribed
to a lossless streaming service or if you simply refuse to give up your wired connection
then the Momentum 3’s a good candidate for you.
The only complaint I have about using a wired connection on the momentum 3’s is that their
USB C port should be angled forward instead of back cause for the me the USB C cable just
ends up poking traps.
But also, if you’re just someone that doesn’t want to deal with touch pads like the ones
found on Bose’s and Sony’s headphones than the Momentum 3’s can also be a good
candidate for you cause they still have physical buttons.
Now there’s nothing wrong with touch pads on the Bose’s and Sony’s headphones but
I fully understand that some people just prefer physical buttons.
And that’s perfectly fine.
I just wish that the Momentum 3’s had metal gnarled buttons instead of these rubber ones.
I just think metal buttons here would have really tied these headphones together.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones cause its okay but its
not the main reason why you would pick these headphones up that’s why I didn’t talk
about ANC earlier on in the video.
In short the ANC on these headphones performs well when blocking out constant low frequency
sounds like road noise which is what any decent pair on ANC headphones should have no problem
doing, but what separates decent ANC headphones from great ANC headphones is how well they
manage to block out constant low frequency sounds like chatter.
And unfortunately the Momentum 3’s don’t do a great job of blocking out chatter.
But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the Momentum 3’s where able to block out a considerable
amount of road noise but when it came to chatter not so much.
But the ANC on the Momentum 3’s is over all okay cause there’s very minimal cabin
pressure which you don’t feel when you’re playing music and it also doesn’t change
how your music actually sounds.
But the Momentum 3’s now have a transparent mode something that the Momentum 2’s don’t.
You can have them pump in the ambient sound around you so you can still be aware of your
surroundings or you can do what I do have have transparent mode on when watching Netflix
at home so that if someone calls my name I can still hear them.
The Transparent mode on the Momentum 3’s is also good cause it sounds natural and there’s
no back ground hissing so its not going to be distracting when watching a quiet scene
in a movie.
However, Sennheiser’s transparent mode pumps in everything.
So if loud sound happens around you its going to be amplified through the headphones which
ultimately could lead to jump scares.
But you can also set transparent mode on these headphones to pause your music whenever you
toggle this switch.
So you can quickly talk to someone without having to take your headphones off like this.
And then when you toggle the switch back again the headphones will go back to playing music
But finally lets talk about the microphone on these headphones.
Theres definitely a lot of amplification going on here.
For the majority of your phone call you should sound okay but there are going to be occasions
where your voice just get over blown.
The microphone on these headphones get the job done but they’re not the best.
But over all, the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s meet the basics to stay competitive for ANC
headphones in 2020.
They have USB C charging, they have okay active noise cancellation, and they have a transparency
mode that meets the basics… it sounds natural and there’s no back ground hissing.
But that 17 hour battery life on headphones is just a huge let down cause I’ve already
had to charge these headphones twice during my review.
But the momentum 3’s make up for it with their build quality, sound, and wired connectivity
options.
Although I’m not a fan of how they look, the real leather on these headphones really
does feel better than the synthetic leather found on other headphones.
But like I mentioned earlier, I think these headphones are a great candidate for Android
audiophiles.
These headphones really do sound great but more importantly these are one of the few
headphones out there where you can use its USB C port as a wired connection.