[musicday]

Don't like the review, like a bunch of kids, asking each other what they liked. Not professional at all, and took him minutes to open the box.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Don't like the review, like a bunch of kids, asking each other what they liked. Not professional at all, and took him minutes to open the box.

 
Fair comments, but the whole point of this is a forum for amateurs giving honest opinions. Of course it won't be professional, None of us stand to make any real money from giving up some time to talk about this headphone.
 
The undoing was a wash but I included it because it was kind of amusing. I don't really like unboxings to begin with.
 
When the full review is up, it will be less sketchy - but at this point I wanted to gather a few first impressions on it since there are going to be people who blind buy this expecting it to sound like the Momentum.

 

[devhen]

Thanks for the video its great to get multiple people's reactions to a new headphone. Thanks!

 

[Jpfe8851]

In terms of sound, the new Momentums are quite V-shaped, with a significant bass impact (much more prominent) and more strident lower treble. There is a scoop in the vocals that makes the On-Ears sound quite aggressive. These actually sound harsh at times, which the original Momentums never did.

To give a reference, these are more aggressive and distinctly less clean than the Amperior (which is already a somewhat aggressive headphone). On faster layered tracks it begins to sound congested, as resonances from the bass become a bit severe. The treble also sounds splashy.

It's not a bad headphone, but it's a bit of a surprise from Sennheiser considering how good the HD25 and Amperior sound. We thought a lot of people might still like these but it's a tuned sound that would probably turn off a lot of fans of the original Momentum.

I'll spend some more ear time with this and have a full review up in a few weeks, but I would not blind buy these expecting the same Momentum sound in a smaller package...

I think Musicday got out of bed the wrong side and didn't intend to offend. You could say he was just giving his opinion of your video...

But you are entirely right when you say it's for amateurs to post their impressions. That's why I started the thread and titled it that way. Your review did show something important though. That is that five people don't always hear things the same way.

I wonder if your test sample sound different to mine or whether its just my older, less hearing responsive ears, but I didn't find the bass as elevated as you guys nor the treble that forward. As I said the v-shaping was not so obvious to me. Of course I no longer have original Momentums to compare them but I do have some Amperiors and while I love their sound, I don't think I'm finding the SQ so different in the on ears as you seem to be.

One thing I do recall many people say was that the original seem to have less bass boom if you can get your ears inside the cups. I couldn't and found them boomy. I don't find the new ones boomy as I've said, but maybe because I obviously have much bigger ears than any of you guys, these new ones are tuned to sound better as an on ear, and the speaker might be a little closer to your ear canals than mine due to ear shape and size.

All that indicates is the importance of test driving headphones especially on ears.

 

[a_recording]

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I wonder if your test sample sound different to mine or whether its just my older, less hearing responsive ears, but I didn't find the bass as elevated as you guys nor the treble that forward. As I said the v-shaping was not so obvious to me. Of course I no longer have original Momentums to compare them but I do have some Amperiors and while I love their sound, I don't think I'm finding the SQ so different in the on ears as you seem to be.

 
Interesting! I'm finding that there is a lot of body missing in lower vocals combined with a really elevated mid-bass response. At times it sound similar to the Amperiors, and then other times when the bass line kicks in it is really prominent and a it poorly integrated. To my ears, A/Bing them now, it really lacks the precision and punch of the Amperior.
 
I was trying to find a track to illustrate the differences and this one seemed right:
 
 

 
On this track, the bass guitar line completely dominates the track and the vocals feel distant in comparison on the On-Ears. On the Amperior, the bass line is better integrated and the vocals more forward. There is enough mid-bass on the on-ears that it actually seems distracting - when I turn up the volume to hear the vocals better it gets too much.
 
Certainly this isn't a technically bad headphone - clarity is good and everything is quite articulate - it's that the tuning is a bit off to my ears. Maybe it is unfair to compare to the Amperiors, which originally had a much higher MSRP - but then again Sennheiser has the knowledge in house to make the On-Ear sound like the HD25 or Amperior. 
 
I would take the On-Ear this over muffled sounding headphones like the UE 4000 and Skullcandy Navigator any day, but compared to something like the Audio Technica ATH-ES88 or ATH-ES700 it seems unnatural.

 

[imackler]

Still waiting for the HD25 Aluminum to hit the states! I wish there were more reviews, but after recently hearing the HD25-1ii again and then liking the Amperior enough, the Anniversary HD25 looks like it could be the sweet spot of on-ear portables...

 

[uelover]

Quote:

In terms of sound, the new Momentums are quite V-shaped, with a significant bass impact (much more prominent) and more strident lower treble. There is a scoop in the vocals that makes the On-Ears sound quite aggressive. These actually sound harsh at times, which the original Momentums never did.  
To give a reference, these are more aggressive and distinctly less clean than the Amperior (which is already a somewhat aggressive headphone). On faster layered tracks it begins to sound congested, as resonances from the bass become a bit severe. The treble also sounds splashy.
 
It's not a bad headphone, but it's a bit of a surprise from Sennheiser considering how good the HD25 and Amperior sound. We thought a lot of people might still like these but it's a tuned sound that would probably turn off a lot of fans of the original Momentum.

 
I had a very brief listen to a pretty raw set yesterday and my impression fully coincide with yours. I am not sure how much things will change after burn-in
 

 

[thegunner100]

Jpfe8851, I went to J&R with a friend today and my impressions of the momentum on-ear's sound is pretty much spot-on with yours. Using my sansa fuze -> headstage arrow 4g (and UERMs for reference of neutral sound), I found that the bass was slightly boomy but not too overpowering. The mids were slightly recessed, perhaps due to the extra bass. The treble felt just about right, with no harshness, but felt slightly rolled off at some frequencies. 
 
As with all on-ear headphones, the on-ear momentums clamped my glasses a bit, so I don't think that I'd be able to wear them comfortably for more than 30 minutes or so. They didn't clamp as much as the amperiors or hd-25s though so that was a relief. They actually felt a little better than the over-ear momentums. 
 
Overall, I liked the momemtum on-ears but I would take the MDR-1R and the amperiors over them. The MDR-1R has a ncie and laid bad sound signature, which reminds me a bit of my hd600 but not quite as balanced across the spectrum. The amperiors are the opposite, with its fun sound signature and tighter bass.

 

[Jpfe8851]

Interesting! I'm finding that there is a lot of body missing in lower vocals combined with a really elevated mid-bass response. At times it sound similar to the Amperiors, and then other times when the bass line kicks in it is really prominent and a it poorly integrated. To my ears, A/Bing them now, it really lacks the precision and punch of the Amperior.

I was trying to find a track to illustrate the differences and this one seemed right:

 


On this track, the bass guitar line completely dominates the track and the vocals feel distant in comparison on the On-Ears. On the Amperior, the bass line is better integrated and the vocals more forward. There is enough mid-bass on the on-ears that it actually seems distracting - when I turn up the volume to hear the vocals better it gets too much.

Certainly this isn't a technically bad headphone - clarity is good and everything is quite articulate - it's that the tuning is a bit off to my ears. Maybe it is unfair to compare to the Amperiors, which originally had a much higher MSRP - but then again Sennheiser has the knowledge in house to make the On-Ear sound like the HD25 or Amperior. 

I would take the On-Ear this over muffled sounding headphones like the UE 4000 and Skullcandy Navigator any day, but compared to something like the Audio Technica ATH-ES88 or ATH-ES700 it seems unnatural.

Interesting... I've just been A/B-ing this track and others from their album on Rhapsody between my Amperiors and the On Ears and frankly, I'm not getting the same result as you describe. Firstly, this is a very bass forward track and the bass line dominates irrespective of the HP I listen with. But comparing the two cans, if anything, to me the bass is a little deeper on the Momentums and the mid bass more forward on the Amperiors. However the main vocal is very slightly recessed on the Momentum but I would it say it is over dominated by that solid bass line any more than the Amperiors. Interesting album by the way.

This still leads me to wonder if there is a QC issue with your sample phones. I think you said yours were provided by Sennheiser. Maybe you could ask to try another pair to compare them to. I'm really getting quite happy with mine.

Thegunner1000, I also wear glasses. I found the same issue initially, but I have moved the cups down about 2-3 mm so they clamp on the antihelix instead of the helix. This means I get no fatigue from the clamping although like any headphone you still need just a moment's relief every now an then. But I have to do this with every on ear I've ever had or remove my glasses which is generally not an option since I generally read while listening to music.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Interesting... I've just been A/B-ing this track and others from their album on Rhapsody between my Amperiors and the On Ears and frankly, I'm not getting the same result as you describe. Firstly, this is a very bass forward track and the bass line dominates irrespective of the HP I listen with. But comparing the two cans, if anything, to me the bass is a little deeper on the Momentums and the mid bass more forward on the Amperiors. However the main vocal is very slightly recessed on the Momentum but I would it say it is over dominated by that solid bass line any more than the Amperiors. Interesting album by the way.

This still leads me to wonder if there is a QC issue with your sample phones. I think you said yours were provided by Sennheiser. Maybe you could ask to try another pair to compare them to. I'm really getting quite happy with mine.

 
I dunno. I don't think we are hearing dramatically different things - and I think the On-Ear is closer to the Amperior than anything else. Bass is definitely deeper and more pronounced on the On-Ear. I think we are just putting different weighting on things, or we are getting a different sound because of a different ear-fit. People (and maybe this is just Head Fi crowd) already think the Amperior is an aggressive can with a very strong bass response. To my ears the Momentum On-Ear is even more aggressive - yet it's part of the Momentum line, which brings with it a pretty different kind of expectation in terms of sound. The On-Ear sounds harsh at times - something which the original Momentum never did, and the Amperior does rarely. On some tracks the bass is overbearing to the point of sounding like one of those fancy 'bass enhance' DSP's on music players.
 
I think the On-Ear is a good, extremely fun sounding can - but I just don't know if it should be called a Momentum. Maybe this is the case of my own confusion because my expectations have been rudely confounded. I really like the Momentum and the Amperior but I don't know what to make of the On-Ear. It sounds distinctly brash and un-Sennheiser to me. I've described the Momentum as the 'gentleman's can' but the On-Ear is a bit Nouveau riche.

 

[audionewbi]

I do miss UNSW a little bit, too bad you guys were not my peers, would have loved to join those meets during my days in UNSW. Keep up the videos, quiet enjoying them. 

 

[blazer78]

Quote:

I do miss UNSW a little bit, too bad you guys were not my peers, would have loved to join those meets during my days in UNSW. Keep up the videos, quiet enjoying them. 

 
Too bad I'm at USYD, otherwise I would listen to all your headphones lol.

 

[bala]

I just unboxed mine and my initial listening impressions are the same. The bass was wow! (in a too much way), mids recessed and the treble ok, no shine here. At times the mids also felt muddy, I am letting it play for a few more hours before going back to it! Oh, briefly plugged in the O2 and that seemed clear up things a lot and reign in that bass. Looking forward to further listening sessions.

 

[Wakfad]

Hi, I thought I would add my my opinions to this seeing as I own both a HD 25 and now the On Ear Momentums.
 
I don't claim to be an audiophile or anything of the sort so I guess this is more of a just a consumer opinion, but when comparing my On Ear Momentums to my HD 25's I found that the clarity was still there, but with much more of a significant bass thump which I feel does occasionally overpower some of the music.

I guess to put it simply it feels like the On Ear Momentum is like a HD 25 with less treble and more bass. When I was listening to it I also noticed and felt that there was a wider soundstage to them than that on the HD 25's. It is also much more comfortable, however it isolates less noise due as there is less clamping.
 
To me, this doesn't feel like a headphone i'll be able to replace with my HD 25's but definitely a more "fun" headphone as after having the HD 25's for over 2 years I realised that I missed have some solid bass in some of my pop music. In addition to the design, style and comfort, I would say that it will most likely become my go to portable headphone whereas my HD 25's will stay as more of my critical listening headphone.
 
Please note that all of my listening was done on an unamped iPhone 5. 

 

[iSennheiser]

The On-Ear Momentum has an impactful, immersive bass good for modern Hip Hop and electronic dubstep, i disagreed on your comment, i think the momentum on-ear can separate the range of mids and highs as well as sufficient detail despite the excessive Bass( probably 3x more bassier than Beats studio) but i really like the bass impact of the on-ear as it really bring you there to the music instead of just analytical feeling, peace.