The Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds are an thrilling addition to the world of exercise headphones, providing the superb sound high quality you count on from Sennheiser’s Momentum line and well being monitoring within the type of coronary heart fee and physique temperature monitoring.
They’re superb headphones that I drastically loved testing, however they’ve a couple of flaws that imply I don’t fee them as extremely because the finest exercise headphones. The worth can also be eye-wateringly excessive, even in contrast with the highest buds from Apple, Bose and Beats, so until you might be useless set on having that Sennheiser sound on your exercises, there are better-value choices out there.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport: Value And Availability
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport headphones had been introduced at CES 2024 and went on sale in April 2024. They price $329.95 within the US and £259.95 within the UK, placing them among the many costliest sports activities buds I’ve ever examined. Even the Apple AirPods Professional 2 and Bose QC Earbuds II are cheaper, whereas the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic are considerably much less. There are three colours out there: Polar Black, Burned Olive and Metallic Graphite.
How I Examined These Headphones
I used the Sennheiser Momentum Sport buds for a number of weeks, carrying them to run most days in addition to when working and touring. I additionally did yoga and power exercises with the buds. I’ve examined the Sennheiser Sport True Wi-fi headphones, in addition to a spread of the very best exercise headphones from different manufacturers.
Design And Match
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport are fairly massive in-ear headphones secured by one of many three units of wings they arrive with. You may as well use the buds with none wings, which is extra snug if carrying them for lengthy stretches at work, however throughout exercises I wanted the wings to carry them in place.
Whereas they did keep put throughout runs and vigorous exercises, the wings will not be that snug, and I’d have soreness once I took the headphones out on the finish of longer runs. The wings additionally transfer round on the buds when taking them out and in of their case, and it’s annoying to must readjust them repeatedly so that they’re in the appropriate spot.
The headphones are IP55 rated, so that they’ll stand up to sweat and rain with none issues even when they’re not totally waterproof. The case is IP54 rated, which suggests it’s fantastic to place right into a operating belt or shorts pocket the place it’d get sweaty. It’s not a small case, however fairly flat and straightforward to slide right into a pocket.
There are contact controls on the surface of every bud, and so they have a coronary heart fee sensor and physique temperature sensor on board too. You may hyperlink the buds with any watch and app to trace coronary heart fee, whereas physique temperature is tracked utilizing Polar tech and solely reveals within the Polar and Sennheiser apps.
Controls
Together with touching the sensor on every earbud, you may management the Sennheiser Momentum Sport headphones by tapping your cheek. You may customise the controls within the associate app and use them to modify between sound modes in addition to to manage playback and quantity.
You may as well set the sensitivity of the contact panels, which is lucky as a result of to start with the wind stored setting off the controls throughout runs. On one run it stored biking between the buds’ ANC, wind discount and transparency modes in an infuriating method, however since turning down the sensitivity this hasn’t occurred once more.
This will likely clarify why I discovered the controls a bit of hit-and-miss, and it took a pair faucets on both my cheek or the contact panel earlier than my makes an attempt registered. A profitable faucet is indicated by a beep, which is useful since some actions require three faucets.
Coronary heart Fee And Physique Temperature Monitoring
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport paired simply with a number of totally different watches and apps to broadcast coronary heart fee, performing like some other exterior coronary heart fee sensor. The physique temperature sensor works solely with the Polar app and watches. You may’t present temperature on a Polar watch dwell throughout exercises but, however that’s coming and would be the best option to preserve tabs on the info—I had to take a look at the Sennheiser app on my cellphone to see the data throughout runs and different exercises.
The physique temperature monitoring was attention-grabbing at first, however I used to be coaching throughout a gentle spring within the UK and had no actual have to test my temperature stats. It will likely be of extra curiosity when coaching in sizzling climates, particularly throughout lengthy exercises whenever you’re at extra danger of overheating.
I discovered that the center fee monitoring accuracy was fairly poor on the headphones. When evaluating their readings to that of a Polar H10 chest strap, the headphones had been usually unsuitable, particularly within the second half of exercises. On runs they usually locked on to my cadence (steps per minute) quite than coronary heart fee, and even now as I sit at a desk and write this the center fee studying is clearly too excessive compared with a chest strap monitor.
For those who’re somebody who wears a chest strap or armband coronary heart fee sensor and headphones, and had been hoping to consolidate these two gadgets into one, I believe you’ll be upset as a result of the Sennheiser Momentum Sport will not be reliably correct.
Sound High quality
Regardless of being in-ear buds, the Sennheiser Momentum Sport headphones have a semi-open design that doesn’t block out your environment as a lot as different in-ear headphones. This reduces the inner thudding you get when operating or strolling with some in-ear buds, and offers a bit of extra consciousness of your environment, although you continue to want to make use of the transparency mode to essentially hear what’s occurring round you.
There’s a 10mm driver on board to energy the sound, and the buds do sound glorious. The vocals and different devices come via with crystal readability and listening to a spread of music genres throughout and out of doors of exercises was a pleasure. Sennheiser’s headphones have a extra pure sound to them and aren’t as heavy on the bass because the likes of Beats, however you continue to get loads of energy on the decrease finish. You may modify the EQ within the associate app and use a bass booster mode if you happen to do need extra bass.
I haven’t come throughout any sports activities headphones that sound higher than the Momentum Sport—they actually dwell as much as the requirements of the famend Momentum line.
ANC And Transparency Modes
There are three sound modes on the Sennheiser Momentum Sport: ANC, transparency and an anti-wind mode. I discovered the latter very helpful throughout runs, particularly at windy operating tracks, when many buds seize numerous wind noise in ANC or transparency modes.
The ANC filters out most exterior sounds effectively when touring, although it’s not fairly as spectacular on this entrance because the Bose QC Earbuds II or Apple AirPods Professional 2. The transparency mode is helpful at instances and you’ll modify the quantity of exterior noise you need to hear, however whereas operating it does sound very windy at instances, to the purpose the place you may’t hear issues like visitors round you, negating the purpose of utilizing the mode.
Battery Life
The battery lifetime of the buds is listed as as much as six hours, with one other 18 hours of cost held within the case. These figures are primarily based on a mid-level of quantity with the ANC on, and the center fee and physique temperature sensors lively. I discovered that the battery drained a bit of sooner than that for me even once I had the headphones at a reasonably low quantity, however they had been nonetheless on monitor to final over 5 hours.
A fast-charge characteristic on the headphones delivers one hour of playback from 10 minutes of charging, and it takes round 90 minutes to totally cost the buds from empty. The battery life is neither a power or a weak spot for the Sennheiser Momentum Sport. They’re about par with different high buds, although they do provide much less battery life than the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic.
Are The Sennheiser Momentum Sport Headphones Price It?
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport are nice sports activities headphones that excel on sound high quality, however a couple of irritating flaws make them a tough promote on the sky-high value. The match is safe, however not that snug, and the wings are a bit awkward to cope with. I wasn’t impressed with the center fee monitoring both, and the physique temperature sensor can be helpful for some folks, however I’d wager it’s irrelevant information for many.
You may get the Apple AirPods Professional 2 or Bose QC Earbuds II for much less, and they’re excellent cross-over sports activities/life-style headphones that supply glorious sound high quality. The Jabra Elite 8 Energetic headphones don’t sound nearly as good because the Sennheiser Momentum Sport, however they nonetheless sound nice and so they’re lots cheaper, plus the match is extra snug.
