[fwat]

I didn't see a thread started on these yet so I figured I'd start one. If there is one, moderators don't hesitate to remove this one.

I received my Momentum 3s today. I've spent a good portion of the day comparing them to my Sony 1000XM3 and Bose NC700. Early impressions are quite favorable for the Momentums. The ANC is really close to the other two. It may be identical, I just need to test them in more scenarios. Very spacious ear cups with a little more clamping force than the 1000XM3s. Fits very comfortably for me as I have a pretty narrow head/face. I actually rank the comfort slightly above the NC700s and a smidge below the 1000XM3s, although I can wear all three of these for an entire day with little to no fatigue. Sound Quality to my ears is on a higher level than the other two. It's like they took the 1000XM3s, pulled about 2 or 3 levels of veil off, boosted the sub bass slightly, and brought the vocals forward. It just sounds cleaner, more detailed, and the soundstage is MUCH bigger. I always said that the 1000XM3 and NC700 were on the same level as far as sound quality goes with the advantage going to the 1000XM3 due to the app/equalizer. The 1000XM3 is for those who like more energy in their sound. The NC700 is for those who like a more flat signature with a little more spaciousness. The Momentum 3s raises the bar in all of these areas. It's energetic, fun, smooth, detailed, and spacious. And it has buttons so cold weather issues shouldn't be a problem.

More to come!

Do they have quick charge? is the 17hr battery life accurate? how long do they take to fully charge from flat? Surely being equipped with usb c should promote some sort of fast charging
thanks.

 

[dbdynsty25]

Do they have quick charge? is the 17hr battery life accurate? how long do they take to fully charge from flat? Surely being equipped with usb c should promote some sort of fast charging
thanks.

Don't see any technical documentation on it, but from reviews I've read, they do 3 hours of listening on a 10 min. burst and it takes a total of 3 hours to charge to full from 0%. I haven't had mine long enough to really test those stats however.

 

[Infoseeker]

I'm actually a gamer myself. Xbox One X and PS4 Pro. I haven't tried my Momentum 3s with gaming yet, but I can tell you that they sound amazing wired when listening to music from my MacBook Pro. My only issue with using them for gaming is that they have a 2.5mm connection to the headphone as oppose to a 3.5. I have V-Moda's Boom Pro Mic which is 3.5. I've been using the new V-Moda M100 Master. I do plan on trying the Momentum 3s for single player gaming though and will report back.

For gaming you will want a USB adapter/tranceiver to send out Aptx Lower Latency to the headphones. (I assume these got that codec)

For Gamers this is great differentiating factor between these and the Sony/Bose. No doubt go for the Seinhesser for the Lower Latency.

 

[Bambule]

No aptx HD. I wonder why?

 

[KopaneDePooj]

My guess is because this is not targeted as a hi-fi headphone, the noise cancelling is already changing the sound. Regular aptX is more reliable in connection strength, because it transfers less data. If you don't stream HD over Bluetooth you don't need more. HD codecs would be a waste of bandwidth and battery for a headphone that is mainly portable and noise cancelling. For example I tried battery consumption comparison of my HTC 10 streaming to Q5s. LDAC vs. aptX. With aptX it was 50% less!

 

[Groovin Chameleon]

If anyone is looking for a good case for the M3s - and I’m assuming all other Momentum’s, this one from amazon fits absolutely perfect.

https://www.amazon.com/Carrying-Skullcandy-Bluetooth-Wireless-Headphones/dp/B07HF38ZGP

Wow, seriously considering this case for my M3's. Great find - does zipping up the cover squish the headphones in any way, though?

 

[dbdynsty25]

Wow, seriously considering this case for my M3's. Great find - does zipping up the cover squish the headphones in any way, though?

It doesn't. When you stick it in, there is about a 1/4 inch gap between the zipper (top and bottom that clamshell together). I looked and looked and near as I can tell, the only thing that is flexing or squishing in any way is the elastic from the two pouches inside for cables/accessories. It really is a perfect fit. Width wise, no issues whatsoever. I put them in with both cables (usb-c and 3.5mm) and no issues.

 

[w0lla]

Just got these, solid sq. One question to u other owners, I noticed something protruding from inside the cups/driver, on both sides, supposed to be like that?

Edit;
So ye, thats how its supposed be, seems to be proximity sensors.

Went and replaced my first pair for another, they had inconsistent leather quality, one cup seemed worn/washed out.

very solid sq. Will do some flying this week so Ill test out the ANC

 

[matteventu]

Just got these, solid sq. One question to u other owners, I noticed something protruding from inside the cups/driver, on both sides, supposed to be like that?

Edit;
So ye, thats how its supposed be, seems to be proximity sensors.

Went and replaced my first pair for another, they had inconsistent leather quality, one cup seemed worn/washed out.

very solid sq. Will do some flying this week so Ill test out the ANC

Very likely it's actually the internal noise cancelling microphone

 

[zakazak]

Just got these, solid sq. One question to u other owners, I noticed something protruding from inside the cups/driver, on both sides, supposed to be like that?

Edit;
So ye, thats how its supposed be, seems to be proximity sensors.

Went and replaced my first pair for another, they had inconsistent leather quality, one cup seemed worn/washed out.

very solid sq. Will do some flying this week so Ill test out the ANC

As a frequent flyer I am curious.. how was the ANC during flight?

 

[w0lla]

As a frequent flyer I am curious.. how was the ANC during flight?

They worked well enough. the low frequency airplane sounds were more or less eliminated, I could still hear some higher frequencies, but overall it was good. Even the passive isolation is good. Comfort and SQ are solid.

 

[Lrasanen]

These seem really interesting. I`m actually a little torn between the B&O H9i (which I already own), the B&W PX5 and the M3. Anyone got an idea how they compare in terms of sound?

BTW. Does the custom EQ set in the Sennheiser App carry outside the app (i.e. when you play music from another source)? The EQ in M2W didn’t, which was a big bummer.

 

[matteventu]

These seem really interesting. I`m actually a little torn between the B&O H9i (which I already own), the B&W PX5 and the M3. Anyone got an idea how they compare in terms of sound?

BTW. Does the custom EQ set in the Sennheiser App carry outside the app (i.e. when you play music from another source)? The EQ in M2W didn’t, which was a big bummer.

Disclaimer: I own the B&O H9 3rd Gen (I don't know how they differ from the H9i) and the Momentum 2 Wireless.

I've tried for 15 minutes the Momentum 3 Wireless in Bluetooth with my phone (Pixel 3, aptX).

I have liked the sound of the M3 much more than the one of the M2 (which I personally don't like AT ALL), despite being still on the warmer side, it's much better balanced and with more precise and less boomy overwhelming lows.

Still, I prefer the one of the H9v3.

What I liked slightly more of the H9v3 one is B&W PX's one (however I didn't buy them because they lack aptX Low Latency).

In regards to the B&W PX5, I haven't tried them but be aware that they're on-ear rather than over-ear (like the PX, PX7, and all the other ones mentioned here).

When considering the Sennheiser Momentum 3 you need to be aware of the clunky way to switch then on/off and of the relatively low battery life.

When considering the B&W ones, remember not having aptX Low Latency (if you care about that - but you'd have aptX Adaptive which has lower quality, supposedly higher latency than aptX LL, and it's basically not found anywhere else now so good luck to get its advantages) and not being able to use them passively (they need to be switched on and with battery even when using them wired with 3.5mm jack - on the other hand, they are the ones which are supposed to have the best integrated DAC and 24bit upsampling) because they don't have a "pure analogue mode".

You might also consider the Dali IO-4 or IO-6 (relatively without ANC and with ANC, otherwise identical).

Yes, with the Momentum 3 Wireless the EQ is saved in the headphones themselves so you can use it also with other devices which can't have the app (the app literally tells you that when you're setting it up).

Also, the M3 seemed to me slightly better than M2 comfort-wise (and the M2 were already very very good in this IMHO), but they seem more fragile and cheaply built (headband less stiff + it has electronic switches, and the plastic on the outside of the ear cups feels definitely not as solid as the one on the M2, also the buttons didn't leave me a good impression, despite being more "controllable" than the single multi-switch the M2 have), and lower battery life (which is the main disappointment for me, 17hrs is very low, also considering the M2 too didn't have stellar battery life).

Edit: mind you, from a built point of view I also prefer the M2 to the H9v3. Even for how luxurious the B&O feel, when I use them I always try to handle them with extreme care because they seem a bit fragile to me, while the M2 are definitely built and feel like a tank (despite me not liking their sound at all). I didn't have this same feeling with the M3 unfortunately (also the slider mechanism of the earcups to adjust them vertically felt much different, in worse).

 

[Lrasanen]

Disclaimer: I own the B&O H9 3rd Gen (I don't know how they differ from the H9i) and the Momentum 2 Wireless.

I've tried for 15 minutes the Momentum 3 Wireless in Bluetooth with my phone (Pixel 3, aptX).

I have liked the sound of the M3 much more than the one of the M2 (which I personally don't like AT ALL), despite being still on the warmer side, it's much better balanced and with more precise and less boomy overwhelming lows.

Still, I prefer the one of the H9v3.

What I liked slightly more of the H9v3 one is B&W PX's one (however I didn't buy them because they lack aptX Low Latency).

In regards to the B&W PX5, I haven't tried them but be aware that they're on-ear rather than over-ear (like the PX, PX7, and all the other ones mentioned here).

When considering the Sennheiser Momentum 3 you need to be aware of the clunky way to switch then on/off and of the relatively low battery life.

When considering the B&W ones, remember not having aptX Low Latency (if you care about that - but you'd have aptX Adaptive which has lower quality, supposedly higher latency than aptX LL, and it's basically not found anywhere else now so good luck to get its advantages) and not being able to use them passively (they need to be switched on and with battery even when using them wired with 3.5mm jack - on the other hand, they are the ones which are supposed to have the best integrated DAC and 24bit upsampling) because they don't have a "pure analogue mode".

You might also consider the Dali IO-4 or IO-6 (relatively without ANC and with ANC, otherwise identical).

Yes, with the Momentum 3 Wireless the EQ is saved in the headphones themselves so you can use it also with other devices which can't have the app (the app literally tells you that when you're setting it up).

Also, the M3 seemed to me slightly better than M2 comfort-wise (and the M2 were already very very good in this IMHO), but they seem more fragile and cheaply built (headband less stiff + it has electronic switches, and the plastic on the outside of the ear cups feels definitely not as solid as the one on the M2, also the buttons didn't leave me a good impression, despite being more "controllable" than the single multi-switch the M2 have), and lower battery life (which is the main disappointment for me, 17hrs is very low, also considering the M2 too didn't have stellar battery life).

Edit: mind you, from a built point of view I also prefer the M2 to the H9v3. Even for how luxurious the B&O feel, when I use them I always try to handle them with extreme care because they seem a bit fragile to me, while the M2 are definitely built and feel like a tank (despite me not liking their sound at all). I didn't have this same feeling with the M3 unfortunately (also the slider mechanism of the earcups to adjust them vertically felt much different, in worse).

Thank you for the thorough description and comparison!

I'm on the same boat with the M2's. I've owned perhaps 4 or 5 M2Ws over the years and either sold or returned each and every one of them due to getting bored with the sound signature; the bass is a tad boomy, but they do pretty well in the mids and highs. Still due to the bass and warm sound, to me, the overall signature is rather dull. Based on your description, the M3s improve on the sound just the right amount compared to the M2Ws.

The thing with the H9i is that while those do have great lively sound and do really well in the lower and mid register, the treble can be very sibilant (as far as I've read, B&O remedied this in the H9v3). The H9i's aren't great with phone calls either. I guess the same goes for the PX5, if those maintain the same sound signature and mics from the PX.

That said, the M3s might just tick all the right boxes. I'll try to get my hands on them to give them a go.

P.S. Unfortunately, they don't seem to sell Dali headphones just about anywhere here in Finland, but I'll look into those. Thanks!

 

[matteventu]

That's weird, considering the Dali are from the close to you Denmark :-/

Anyway, I too found the H9v3 inferior to the M2W with phone calls (I basically now use the M2W just for calls), unfortunately I didn't try a call with the M3W but I doubt they'd made it worse.

Out of curiosity, why are you not considering the PX7?

Hopefully you'll get a chance to try the M3W!