Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless - The Official Thread

[Tenlow]

I have a pair of these headphones coming for shortly & was wondering if anyone on here uses the momentum 3 with a USB-C cable. I was looking to get a high quality one but wasn't sure if it would be worth it.

So maybe someone can tell me?

Is the sound quality just as good or better using a USB-C cable than using wireless over Bluetooth?

I'd be plugging in to my Note 20 Ultra.

I use my M3s with the stock USB-C cable it came with from time to time on my iPad Pro. The sound using USB-C is in my opinion the best the Momentum are able to offer. So yes, it does sound even better than via Bluetooth. I'm just too lazy to use the cable all the time on wireless headphones, so most of the time I use them wirelessly.

 

[bizkid]

Picked these up on Black Friday for 230€ which is an insane deal if you ask me. This is actually my second time owning them. Got them when they first came out for the full 400€ but i returned them even though i loved the sound. In the meantime some other ANC headphones (XM4, Aonic 50, Dali) visited my home but i always kept remembering that glorious M3 bass ;D I cant justify or want to spend more than 250€ for ANC headphones so this deal came just right. I would describe them as an audiophile bass lover headphone. But you can always dial the bass down for a more neutral signature. If the Shure hits 250€ next year i might get that one too as it would complement the Sennheiser nicely.

 

[gimpy]

I’m trying to decide whether to buy these online or not via Best Buy. I saw where BB has them for $349. I went in to my local store just now to look at and try a pair on. They had nothing Sennheiser in stock. I would have liked to try them out before buying, but not going to happen, unless I wait or go somewhere else. i like the look of the white ones (pictures only). Should I pull the plug and order them? I did listen to the Bose and Sony headphones, but, not a fan of either of them (especially the Bose—this is only from reading about them years ago-their stuff was supposedly junk, poor quality stuff-has that changed?).

Help an old guy out here. Should I order the white m3s? Noise cancelling is important, but secondary to good sound and good build quality, although flying out for a visit in about two weeks. My iems and on/over ears I have now do little noise cancelling. Hope to get something before then. I’ve also thought about the Jabra elite 85h, Razer Opus and the Sennheiser pxc 550-ll. I haven’t been able to try any of them as BB is the only place in town that has something like that.
thx

 

[Tenlow]

I’m trying to decide whether to buy these online or not via Best Buy. I saw where BB has them for $349. I went in to my local store just now to look at and try a pair on. They had nothing Sennheiser in stock. I would have liked to try them out before buying, but not going to happen, unless I wait or go somewhere else. i like the look of the white ones (pictures only). Should I pull the plug and order them? I did listen to the Bose and Sony headphones, but, not a fan of either of them (especially the Bose—this is only from reading about them years ago-their stuff was supposedly junk, poor quality stuff-has that changed?).

Help an old guy out here. Should I order the white m3s? Noise cancelling is important, but secondary to good sound and good build quality, although flying out for a visit in about two weeks. My iems and on/over ears I have now do little noise cancelling. Hope to get something before then. I’ve also thought about the Jabra elite 85h, Razer Opus and the Sennheiser pxc 550-ll. I haven’t been able to try any of them as BB is the only place in town that has something like that.
thx

349 dollar seems a lot to me but maybe that‘s a good price where you live? Here in Germany they are regularly discounted (I‘ve seen them from 270-290 quite often recently). But anyway, the white ones do indeed look sexy and better than the black ones (even though I have the black ones). They definitely sound better than Bose or Sony as far as I am concerned but they are still a bit bass heavy in their stock EQ. However, that can be easily changed in the Sennheiser Smart Control app if you want that.

Noise cancelling is good but not as good as on the Sony or Bose headphones (your PXC 550-II also have better ANC btw. - you might try these first as they also sound pretty good and have a better battery life e.g.). That said, the Momentum still is my favourite wireless ANC headphone to this day and I tried many of them. They sound great and very engaging and „fun“, have very solid built quality, can be used via USB-C while charging and have been improved significantly over time via firmware updates (fixed bugs, added features like an additional EQ or a connection manager etc.). They also look pretty stylish, I think, although that just depends on personal taste and their multipoint bluetooth works really well (now).

So all in all, they are a very good option when it comes to a great sounding wireless headphone with additional ANC. If you need them when you already have the other headphones you mentioned is debatable of course but you should just try them yourself and see

 

[erich6]

I’m trying to decide whether to buy these online or not via Best Buy. I saw where BB has them for $349. I went in to my local store just now to look at and try a pair on. They had nothing Sennheiser in stock. I would have liked to try them out before buying, but not going to happen, unless I wait or go somewhere else. i like the look of the white ones (pictures only). Should I pull the plug and order them? I did listen to the Bose and Sony headphones, but, not a fan of either of them (especially the Bose—this is only from reading about them years ago-their stuff was supposedly junk, poor quality stuff-has that changed?).

Help an old guy out here. Should I order the white m3s? Noise cancelling is important, but secondary to good sound and good build quality, although flying out for a visit in about two weeks. My iems and on/over ears I have now do little noise cancelling. Hope to get something before then. I’ve also thought about the Jabra elite 85h, Razer Opus and the Sennheiser pxc 550-ll. I haven’t been able to try any of them as BB is the only place in town that has something like that.
thx

Order them; try them; if you like you keep if not take to your local BB and return them for full refund.

I like mine quite a bit...great sound, convenience and decent/natural noise cancelling.

 

[spacecowboy2050]

Hi - I am using Sennheiser Momentum 3 headphones with a Dragonfly Black USB DAC plugged into my iPhone through the camera adapter. I have an EQ set through the Sennheiser app as I don't enjoy a flat EQ. This works fine when I use the Headphones in Bluetooth mode or through the 3.5mm cable with the Headphones switched on.

If I use them in passive mode (ie the Headphones switched off) I don't get the EQ / ANC etc which I fully expect, so in thios case I have to use an app such as Spotify or Boom which has an EQ within the app to tune the sound to my taste. Annoyingly Tidal doesn't have an inbuilt EQ so Tidal through Boom has to suffice but I want to get the best out of the MQA masters which Boom can’t do.

So why don't I use them in active mode? Well this is my question. If I am using the Dragonfly DAC I have read that it will then also use the inbuilt DAC in the headphones. Is this right? Is this technically processing the audio twice from digital to analogue then digital again? If that is the case then is there any point in using a usb DAC in active mode? I'm about to get a Dragonfly Red and want that to be the sole processing not the DAC in the headphones. Is this the case or am I over analysing it and won't tell the difference? Am I still getting the 24/96 from Tidal if the headphones process it too? I

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to use the DAC and the headphones to get the best sound possible that also suits my EQ tastes too!

 

[Aaron80]

When you use the 3,5mm jack input the signal is already analog and headphones's interal DAC won't be used.

 

[spacecowboy2050]

Even when the headphones are ‘on’ and using ANC etc? I’ve read so many conflicting views! The sound is completely different when they are ‘on’ or ‘off’ and I have read that when they are on and active the headphones are processing through the internal DAC even when fed an analogue signal through the cable. I’m so confused!

 

[Aaron80]

DAC stays for "Digital ->Analog Converter", if you have an analog source (a 3,5mm stereo cable brings only an analog signal) you cannot process it in a DAC, it is out of DAC's working field.
Obviusly you will use the intenal amplifier with the headphones turned on, but this is another story.

 

[spacecowboy2050]

DAC stays for "Digital ->Analog Converter", if you have an analog source (a 3,5mm stereo cable brings only an analog signal) you cannot process it in a DAC, it is out of DAC's working field.
Obviusly you will use the intenal amplifier with the headphones turned on, but this is another story.

Thanks!!

 

[gimpy]

Well, I just ordered these from Crutchfield for $300. Should get them on Wednesday. The sale ends today or tomorrow? I got the sandy white.

 

[erich6]

Well, I just ordered these from Crutchfield for $300. Should get them on Wednesday. The sale ends today or tomorrow? I got the sandy white.

Congratulations! Look forward to your impressions.

 

[eugeballs]

I just got a pair of these and noticed that the max volume seems pretty low over bluetooth. I need to run these at around 80% for normal listening. Is this normal? I've tried it with my Macbook Pro, desktop PC, and iPhone and it's the same with all of them.

 

[frix]

Oh they go plenty loud for me. No complaints here on android

 

[KopaneDePooj]

I just got a pair of these and noticed that the max volume seems pretty low over bluetooth. I need to run these at around 80% for normal listening. Is this normal? I've tried it with my Macbook Pro, desktop PC, and iPhone and it's the same with all of them.

Did you max out your source volume?