Sennheiser MOMENTUM Review - Page 50

not much surprise seeing that their price tag is also miles apart

That said, even before the Momentum came out the HD202 (from memory) was one of my more favourable sounding 'el cheapo' headphones around (despite the ghastly looks) ...  it's no wonder I love the Momentum so much.

How good are these "Momentum" Headphones really? <200gr. a Pair sounds way light for me...without reading all

50+ Pages here, i don't believe they're a match for the HD 650's....i'd personally upgrade for a HD 700 Pair or

the Grado SR1 *if* i'd have the Money yet...

Edited by DraconiaN - 11/19/12 at 7:18am

You can't compare the Momentum to the HD650, 700 or Grado RS1i. Those are all open headphones and should be treated and compared differently.

 

It is much easier for headphone manufactures to produce excellent open/semi-open headphones, but much harder to produce excellent closed headphones that don't suffer from a 'closed sound' (sorry there's not really a better way to describe that problem) or boomy bass. 

 

When you compare the Momentum to those three headphones you listed, the Momentums will be at the bottom of the list in sound quality, but also in price... those three are more expensive. 

Compare the Momentum to other closed headphones (or even more specifically closed-portable/outdoor headphones) and they will be rated very highly, even for their price.

Actually, between the RS1 and Momentum - even disregarding price and sound leakage  I think there could be a number of people who would actually prefer the momentum. no nasty treble peaks on the Momentum. The RS1 can have treble harshness and is very peaky in that region.

 

I've heard of similar issues of the HD700 but haven't heard them yet.

 

But, anyway, I agree with GREQ. the Momentum is supposed to compete with the B&W P5, the Amperior, the HD 25, The ESW9, the Dt1350, the V-Moda M100 and, yes, the Monster Beats. closed, portable cans. NOT the HD650 or the Q701 or whatever. it's apples and oranges.

Preference still doesn't say anything about the quality of the RS1i (which is superb) - the same could be said for the HD800 which some (including myself) find to have peaky/fatiguing treble.  The bass extension and response on the other hand is a much bigger reason to love the Momentums rather than the RS1i.

Thanks for clearing this up Rosmadi. He did indeed get them mixed up with the Amperiors and emailed me this morning to that effect. Apparently he was responding to a question about the Amperior at the same time he answered my Momentum inquiry and got his wires crossed.
Edited by swmtnbiker - 11/19/12 at 9:08am

Just took them out today, a nice and comfortable pair of headphones regardless of the material used in the cups: they are consistent with the overall style and don't look cheap. And I don't think aluminium would make a big difference in sound signature (I know the Amperior is said to sound a bit different from the standard HD25 but there were changes to the driver as well so the difference is not only due to the cups...)

If the plastic used is very rigid then it should be OK. And if there's possibly some damping material inside like in the Amperior. I would like to see a disassembly of the Momentum to see what they've done inside the cups.

Just to reconfirm the plastic ear cup thingy, here's a snippet of the email I received from Sennheiser UK.

 

The headband is a single piece of brushed stainless steel. The headband is weathered British leather. The earpads are full size, soft, supple English leather with breathable interior.
The housing of the earcup is made from a form of plastic but it has an almost pearlescent finish and is very strong and well bonded.

 

 

I'm liking the constant references to 'BRITISH/ENGLISH leather'.... wherever I am in Germany I can rest easy knowing I've got a British cows sheep's backside pressed up against my ears... cue 'Jupiter' from The Planets by Holst.

Edited by GREQ - 11/21/12 at 6:12am

I think the bit that's been lost is that they are using Pittards, who are well known in certain circles as providing top quality leather...


http://www.pittards.com/discover-pittards

Thanks - that sated my curiosity, although I don't see any references on their website to their work with Sennheiser. Perhaps they have yet to update the website.

Edited by GREQ - 11/20/12 at 4:30am

 

 

 

 

Thank you Greq,

Very interesting, i think HD202 is the Sennheiser's best closed under $100 (usually the other lacks these characterictics:

- airy spacious

- full bodied sound

- lush / smooth sounding

- thick mids

- good detail (trebles)

- good bass

The way it "renders" music is nice in my ears. Though technically not so shining.

 

Is there any negatives compared with HD202? e.g Lacking bass, lacking airy openness, etc

Superior than B&W P5?

 

*For Amperior / HD25 not quite my taste, congested mids. dry. sharp trebles. bass too tight. 

First I totally agree about the HD25 - IMO one of the most over rated headphones around this forum. 

 

If I had to chose between the HD202 and P5, I would get the HD202 - as you say, it just renders sound nicely. 

 

The P5 is a mid-range monster - the mids have a 'hyper lush/hyper realistic' quality as though every instrument is related to the cello, and all voices are deep female altos. (okay, that's a little extreme)

I wouldn't say the sound is unbalanced, but coloured and unnaturally warm, which I really didn't like one bit - as it's a non-sealing design I'm pretty sure my experience with the sound isn't biased. I also found that treble wasn't sparkly enough either. 

TBH - putting it on my head in the shop a few weeks ago was one of the most underwhelming headphone experiences in my life. (I was using my own music with PA2V2 amp).

 

 

Hi 

I think not overrated, but more suitable for pro or producer who is monitoring / DJ mixing / rocking. But that's not me, overhyping is the work of their marketing division.

No Momentum vs P5 , how it compares? 

Bass on momentum tighter or controlled over HD202? 

 

The HD202 also heavily colored, smooth and warm in Sennheiser's touch. But the good things its nice sounding.

* hate monitoring who flat sounding with "real honest" sound (bass & everything). make songs sound dull.

 

thanks