Hey everyone! My first post here, went through the thread and found very useful information around!
A little background story on my experience with over-ear ANC headphones. I previously owned Sony 1000XM3s, which at the time (2019) I found pleasing to listen to, but pretty quickly they started to creak massively. Second pair started having same issues and I gave up on them.
It was not until recently that I saw the M4s coming out and I decided to give over-ear ANC another shot. The design seemed solid and the lack of hinges looked promising to me, although it wasn’t the most convenient decision for storage. I basically look for great sound and comfort before anything else in a pair and creaking plastic doesn’t really fit into that. I was super happy with their sound signature, compared them to newer Sony models and the M4s sounded way way better. Unfortunately, within 10 days of purchasing, the right hinge started to creak (seems like a universal issue), to the point where a simple head turn would cause a sound coming through, which I didn’t find acceptable and had to return them.
I decided maybe in-ears would be the better option for me and tried the Momentum TW3s, but I got to say that the sound is nowhere near the over-ear model and ANC was super bad (mostly wind noise). I sold them, but the sound of the M4s was still in my head.
That’s how I ended up with the Momentum 3s. After reading a lot of information about them and the fact that people praised their sound over the newer model, combined with the metal headband, was enough to make a purchase. Once again, I am very pleased with the sound, I listen to pop/rock/indie/hip-hop, so I appreciate the sound signature and I like the bass emphasis, makes me happy every time I use them. BUT… once again, I started having creaking issues with the right side, which I can’t pinpoint to a particular part of the headphone. It happens randomly, mostly when I am walking with them or bending, in other words when a vertical head movement is initiated. I have not found almost any threads online about creaking issues with this model. There was one that suggested removing the earpad and putting it back, so that it could settle down properly, but that didn’t help. It just feels it’s coming from the inside of the earcup, no issues with the left side. If I touch the earcup it’s very audible, as if all the buttons on the right side are not assembled properly and the earcup is not so solid built as the left one. Could it be a defective unit?
Any suggestions for diagnosing/fixing this? I really can’t go over another return/selling process as I really enjoy these and there’s no really better option at the moment that I would go to around this price point. Is it recommended to try to open the earcup below the earpad, as I saw it’s possible with a screwdriver. I am a bit over the full refund period for the store I bought them from, here in Bulgaria you can’t really find Sennheiser anywhere apart from that one online retailer (it’s legit and they have good reputation), so I don’t know if any Sennheiser support could be useful.
Thanks in advance for reading the whole thing and for your answers!
