[cravenz]

Quote:

 
Gotcha. From my experience, the Momentum is about the most un-Senn sounding can they produce. It's very up-to-date, hip kinda sound (if that makes any sense).

 
Ah. Alright. Well, I'll definitely have to demo them

 

[Dan S]

Quote:

 
Gotcha. From my experience, the Momentum is about the most un-Senn sounding can they produce. It's very up-to-date, hip kinda sound (if that makes any sense).

 
I would say the Momentum isn't too far off from the HD650 sound signature. They're both warm but fairly balanced. The Momentum is clearly inferior, though, if you are comparing them to the HD650 at home with a proper home setup (good DAC and amp). The advantage of the Momentum is being able to plug it in to pretty much anything, anywhere. And the Momentum look more stylin'. 

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

 
I would say the Momentum isn't too far off from the HD650 sound signature. They're both warm but fairly balanced. The Momentum is clearly inferior, though, if you are comparing them to the HD650 at home with a proper home setup (good DAC and amp). The advantage of the Momentum is being able to plug it in to pretty much anything, anywhere. And the Momentum look more stylin'. 

If that's true, I never want to listen to the HD650.

 

[kkl10]

Quote:

I've had a chance to listen to these briefly, with probably a few more chances in the future since a friend of mine has them.

In terms of build quality, they are quite good, and feel fairly upscale. The fit could be better - the earcups are small and the bottom of the earcup could be more secure against the ear. Mind you, I'm very much a member of Team Melonhead.

Sound-wise, they are classic Sennheiser, and that's very much a good thing. They have a warm sound signature, though they're not overly warm. The bass is reasonably well controlled though it doesn't have the resolution and tightness of higher-end cans. The mids are nice and warm, with a good tonality and reasonable resolution, though again they could be more detailed. The highs are where things fall down slightly - they're not overemphasized, in fact they're quite reserved, but they're also a bit artificial sounding and really don't have the resolution of something like the HD600 or HD650. However they're also not offensive in any way. These can also soundstage decently, and they have the ability to make sound appear outside of your head.

Overall, these are very pleasing headphones that don't do anything particularly badly, but also don't really have the resolution to be high-end. However, they are impressive for what they are. Closed headphones are usually flat-out terrible, and these are not.

I think they're a good buy for the money, but I'll stick to IEMs.

 
This post mirrors my own opinion very well.
The Momentums are not bad but I still prefer IEMs to closed headphones.
I'm already considering letting go my Momentums, they don't fall me asleep as I'd like because they hurt my ears and still don't sound transparent enough.
Here, IEMs fit me much better...

 

[roguegeek]

If that's true, I never want to listen to the HD650.

Yup. I'm am completely dumbfounded why these are even being mentioned in the same sentence. One is a $300 closed-back headphone that really isn't worth more than $200 IMO and the other is a highly respected, open-back, high-fi can. They aren't even close to being in the same league. They don't sound anywhere even close to each other. The Momentum could never even dream of touching the level of the HD650.

 

[musiclife]

Quote:

 
This post mirrors my own opinion very well.
The Momentums are not bad but I still prefer IEMs to closed headphones.
I'm already considering letting go my Momentums, they don't fall me asleep as I'd like because they hurt my ears and still don't sound transparent enough.
Here, IEMs fit me much better...

Are you talking about custom IEMs? Because stock/generic foam can be a pain to fit properly...

 

[Dan S]

Quote:

Yup. I'm am completely dumbfounded why these are even being mentioned in the same sentence. One is a $300 closed-back headphone that really isn't worth more than $200 IMO and the other is a highly respected, open-back, high-fi can. They aren't even close to being in the same league. They don't sound anywhere even close to each other. The Momentum could never even dream of touching the level of the HD650.

 
You guys misunderstand me. As I said, "The Momentum is clearly inferior [to the HD650]." You say the same thing yourself when you say, "They aren't even close to being in the same league." So we agree there.
 
My point was that the Momentum does bear some semblance to the HD650 in that they are both warm headphones -- i.e. their sound signature is somewhat similar. Other warm headphones include the Monoprice 8323, Shure SE215, Audeze LCD-2, etc. That's not to say that these headphones are in the same league as each other, or don't have substantial and immediately recognizable differences. Make sense?

 

[roguegeek]

Quote:

 
You guys misunderstand me. As I said, "The Momentum is clearly inferior [to the HD650]." You say the same thing yourself when you say, "They aren't even close to being in the same league." So we agree there.
 
My point was that the Momentum does bear some semblance to the HD650 in that they are both warm headphones -- i.e. their sound signature is somewhat similar. Other warm headphones include the Monoprice 8323, Shure SE215, Audeze LCD-2, etc. That's not to say that these headphones are in the same league as each other, or don't have substantial and immediately recognizable differences. Make sense?

 
And I would politely disagree. If you absolutely had to compare them and taking out quality of sound, the Momentum is very fast for a Senn can with some other very obvious differences (closed vs open) and the HD650 is extremely laid back and slow. Just extremely different.
 
As to not discredit you at all, I understand SQ is a personal and subjective thing, so I'm not surprised there's disagreement. Different ears, different... hears?

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

 
And I would politely disagree. If you absolutely had to compare them and taking out quality of sound, the Momentum is very fast for a Senn can with some other very obvious differences (closed vs open) and the HD650 is extremely laid back and slow. Just extremely different.
 
As to not discredit you at all, I understand SQ is a personal and subjective thing, so I'm not surprised there's disagreement. Different ears, different... hears?

I don't know why you're so set on disagreeing with DAN S - he's clearly talking about the sonic signature, the flavour of the headphone - not it's technical ability. 
All you've done the past few pages of this thread is bash on the Momentums... and the dead horse is now turning into a pulp. 

 

[roguegeek]

Quote:

I don't know why you're so set on disagreeing with DAN S - he's clearly talking about the sonic signature, the flavour of the headphone - not it's technical ability. 
All you've done the past few pages of this thread is bash on the Momentums... and the dead horse is now turning into a pulp.

 
I think it's easy to miscommunicate through a keyboard and that seems to be what has happened here, so I'll take my responsibility to this failure. Just to be clear, I am also talking about signature and I still find them to be very different. Also, just to be clear, I've states several times how impressed I've been with the Momentum. My only real problem with them is the comfort and price and just because I may be overly critical of those aspects, doesn't mean it's invalid. I've also stated time and time again that every bit of feedback, especially mine, is purely subjective and that I can identify people are going to have different views.
 
It sounds as if you're offended by my feedback or the way I'm delivering it. Maybe you're taking it too seriously or maybe it's true. Fair enough. If that's the case, it wasn't meant on purpose and I apologize. We're here to have healthy discussions about these things and hopefully it should be fun for everyone. If it's not, what's the point?
 
Oh, and I couldn't help but add the dead horse to the end of your quote.

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

 
I think it's easy to miscommunicate through a keyboard and that seems to be what has happened here, so I'll take my responsibility to this failure. Just to be clear, I am also talking about signature and I still find them to be very different. Also, just to be clear, I've states several times how impressed I've been with the Momentum. My only real problem with them is the comfort and price and just because I may be overly critical of those aspects, doesn't mean it's invalid. I've also stated time and time again that every bit of feedback, especially mine, is purely subjective and that I can identify people are going to have different views.
 
It sounds as if you're offended by my feedback or the way I'm delivering it. Maybe you're taking it too seriously or maybe it's true. Fair enough. If that's the case, it wasn't meant on purpose and I apologize. We're here to have healthy discussions about these things and hopefully it should be fun for everyone. If it's not, what's the point?
 
Oh, and I couldn't help but add the dead horse to the end of your quote.

Yeah, there wasn't an emoticon of a headfier beating a mushy pulp into the floorboards...

I'm not personally offended by your comments, and I love a heated discussion - in fact you're comments on a lot of threads have often been the catalyst of further discussion which is great.
Often the inappropriate wording of opinions casts doubt on subjectivity. I'm guilty of that too.
 

 

[kkl10]

Quote:

Are you talking about custom IEMs? Because stock/generic foam can be a pain to fit properly...

 
Never heard custom IEMs.
Universal IEMs can be very different between each other fit and comfort wise but they're reasonably customizable.
There are silicone and foam eartips of different sizes you can try with.
My ears cannals are small to average sized and I had no problem fitting the IEMs I've had.
Silicone tips and shallow fitting usually work best for me.

 

[roma101]

You guys misunderstand me. As I said, "The Momentum is clearly inferior [to the HD650]." You say the same thing yourself when you say, "They aren't even close to being in the same league." So we agree there.

My point was that the Momentum does bear some semblance to the HD650 in that they are both warm headphones -- i.e. their sound signature is somewhat similar. Other warm headphones include the Monoprice 8323, Shure SE215, Audeze LCD-2, etc. That's not to say that these headphones are in the same league as each other, or don't have substantial and immediately recognizable differences. Make sense?

I know what you're saying and I actually agree. When I first heard them, I thought Classic Senn - and I wasn't just thinking of the HD6XO series but I was thinking of the HD2X8 series as well which have a similar smoothness and as well as similar speed and bass. The Senn can with the most 'un-Senn' sound is the HD25/Amperior - bright, aggressive, fast, practically closed Grados.

 

[cravenz]

Quote:

I know what you're saying and I actually agree. When I first heard them, I thought Classic Senn - and I wasn't just thinking of the HD6XO series but I was thinking of the HD2X8 series as well which have a similar smoothness and as well as similar speed and bass. The Senn can with the most 'un-Senn' sound is the HD25/Amperior - bright, aggressive, fast, practically closed Grados.

 
Haven't heard those, but the HD800s are very different sounding to me as well.

 

[Dan S]

Quote:

I don't know why you're so set on disagreeing with DAN S - he's clearly talking about the sonic signature, the flavour of the headphone - not it's technical ability.

 
Thanks, Greq. Yes, I'm talking about the broad, general flavour, not the specific technicalities. The frequency response curve, if you want to get more technical. FR curves come in a few broad categories: warm, bright, neutral, and u-shaped. (And possibly a few more, like n-shaped.) In that respect, I find the Momentum similar to the HD650.
 
For a novice head-fier (and I think the Momentum is partially aimed at novices), the general sonic signature is a helpful way to start thinking about the sound of headphones. Once you get more into it, you start thinking about soundstage width and depth, speed, etc.
 
And as you point out, roguegeek, open and closed headphones are very different sounding, so that's another good point for a novice. For the same price, closed headphones tend to sound worse than open headphones because the resonances in the closed chamber are difficult to tame. The closed chamber also tends to make the sound more congested with looser, louder bass, and I find closed headphones are also more prone to edgy, irritating treble.
 
For that reason, I like my closed headphones to be warm, and I think that's partly what makes the Momentum sound as good as it does. I also like a portable headphone to be bassy because when you're outside, the noise of traffic, trains, planes, etc. seems to interfere with the bass more than the treble. So bright portables will end up sounding super bright, and warm headphones will often end up sounding fairly neutral.
 
Quote:

I think it's easy to miscommunicate through a keyboard and that seems to be what has happened here

 
Yeah, the language around this stuff isn't very exact or consistently used. Isn't there a famous quote that writing about music is like dancing about architecture? I feel like we do the same thing here when we try to describe how one headphone sounds versus another. Sometimes people actually agree on something, but because they're using language differently, they appear to disagree. I felt like we were doing something like that.