[StanD]

  Neither open nor closed stereo headphones will provide true positional audio. The rest depends on the individual headphones, in terms of the left/right sounds being more "inside" your head or "outside". Generally speaking, open headphones tend to have slightly *wider* imaging, but there are some closed headphones (not the Momentums, admittedly) that come close. After that, it depends on your hearing to what extent that characteristic helps you position sounds within this stereo imaging.
 
Nicholars obviously feels that the above makes a substantial difference to him, I do not so much (surround processing notwithstanding)... Certainly in light of the far greater difference in isolation, esp. also in blocking outside sounds to provide better immersion. I guess it boils down to your environment, whether it is quiet enough, and nobody around you is bothered, in which case open headphones (which model in that price range btw.?) may provide a slight advantage. But I personally honestly do not think it is a night-and-day difference that would make the Momentums unusable for that task.
 
The only way I can think of getting better cues is to either use some surround processing, or maybe one of those multi-speaker gaming headphones (Triton etc.) that claim to use that feature as a way to increase positional cues. Haven't tried any of those myself though. I also want to clarify I'm not much of a -console- FPS gamer, but other games (Uncharted, Last of Us etc,) provide plenty enough cues on the Momentums, at least with my setup. I.e., when it comes to hardcore FPS gaming, other opinions may be more relevant.

Which closed cans come close to imaging, better than the Momentums? Is this info by side by side first hand comparisons or by way of Internet posts by other people?

 

[nicholars]

Games like uncharted etc. are not the same as playing competitive PC FPS games, CS:GO you need to know exactly where the sounds are coming from.

 

[TheGrumpyOldMan]

  Which closed cans come close to imaging, better than the Momentums? Is this info by side by side first hand comparisons or by way of Internet posts by other people?

For me it's the LCD-XC, and it's first-hand(-ear?). Of course it's not really a fair comparison in view of the price difference.
 
But its imaging is the best I've listened to for a closed headphone, and the isolation is excellent too, not in small part due to the plush pads. Of course sound signature and such is as always up for debate in many forums here, but I think it is definitely a stand-out for the above, and esp. since it's much easier to drive than previous Audezes (You can check my gear list for other headphones I have first-hand experience with) I wouldn't buy them just for gaming though ^_^ Also on a practical level, they're pretty heavy so that wouldn't be ideal for long sessions either.

 

[StanD]

  For me it's the LCD-XC, and it's first-hand(-ear?). Of course it's not really a fair comparison in view of the price difference.
 
But its imaging is the best I've listened to for a closed headphone, and the isolation is excellent too, not in small part due to the plush pads. Of course sound signature and such is as always up for debate in many forums here, but I think it is definitely a stand-out for the above, and esp. since it's much easier to drive than previous Audezes (You can check my gear list for other headphones I have first-hand experience with) I wouldn't buy them just for gaming though ^_^ Also on a practical level, they're pretty heavy so that wouldn't be ideal for long sessions either.

Yes, I can see by the listing of your toychest that you are almost single-handedly attempting to support the this industry sector.
I see that you've picked up some FiiO gear.  What do you think of their stuff that you've got. I've in the last few months picked up an E12 portable amp and a few weeks ago the E18 portable DAC/Amp. Both sound rather good and are unexplainably inexpensive. Also how do you like your Schitt, yes I know that didn't come out right. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

  For me it's the LCD-XC, and it's first-hand(-ear?). Of course it's not really a fair comparison in view of the price difference.
 
But its imaging is the best I've listened to for a closed headphone, and the isolation is excellent too, not in small part due to the plush pads. Of course sound signature and such is as always up for debate in many forums here, but I think it is definitely a stand-out for the above, and esp. since it's much easier to drive than previous Audezes (You can check my gear list for other headphones I have first-hand experience with) I wouldn't buy them just for gaming though ^_^ Also on a practical level, they're pretty heavy so that wouldn't be ideal for long sessions either.

I agree with your assessments here. The LCD-XCs have been a revelation to me that one can own a closed headphone that images very well, sounds great and isn't overly coloured. They isolate pretty well too and look gorgeous. 

 

[StanD]

  I agree with your assessments here. The LCD-XCs have been a revelation to me that one can own a closed headphone that images very well, sounds great and isn't overly coloured. They isolate pretty well too and look gorgeous. 

That's right, throw in a pair of Stax SR-009s and an HD800 with an amp that can drive all of them and you have almost bought a small car.

 

 

[MacedonianHero]

  That's right, throw in a pair of Stax SR-009s and an HD800 with an amp that can drive all of them and you have almost bought a small car.

 

This place is insidious I tells ya. 

 

[StanD]

  This place is insidious I tells ya. 

I want to be buried with my HD600's, they breath well and my ears won't get itchy. I can wear them forever at a time.

 

[Onyx715]

Thanks for this review. I'm really interested in the momentum and now I think I just found my next pair of headphones.

 

[Solrighal]

Please excuse me if this has already been asked but I'd like to know how the Momentum compares with the Shure SRH840. I currently own the Shareshill and im generally happy with the sound but not the bulk. I use Sennheiser PX100's with my Cowon D2 and like those too but they lack isolation. I've now bought a Samsung Note 3 and intend to use it for portable music as I don't want to carry two devices around. Ideally I'd like the isolation of the Shures with the portability of the Senn's. One other thing I need is for the plug to be slim as I use the official Samsung wallet case with the phone and it doesn't allow the plug on the Shures to fit securely. Not asking much eh? Basically I want my cake and eat it.

I'd very much appreciate any and all input you guys can provide. Many Thanks.

 

[nicholars]

Please excuse me if this has already been asked but I'd like to know how the Momentum compares with the Shure SRH840. I currently own the Shareshill and im generally happy with the sound but not the bulk. I use Sennheiser PX100's with my Cowon D2 and like those too but they lack isolation. I've now bought a Samsung Note 3 and intend to use it for portable music as I don't want to carry two devices around. Ideally I'd like the isolation of the Shures with the portability of the Senn's. One other thing I need is for the plug to be slim as I use the official Samsung wallet case with the phone and it doesn't allow the plug on the Shures to fit securely. Not asking much eh? Basically I want my cake and eat it.

I'd very much appreciate any and all input you guys can provide. Many Thanks.

 
The Shures are pretty heavy / chunky / durable whereas the Momentums are quite small and fragile, I would not say the sound quality of the Momentums is twice as good as the Shures as the price would suggest, only way to know which you prefer is to try them. The SRH840 are pretty damn nice headphones in my opinion, better than the ATH-M50 and M audio Q40, prob better than the DT770 as well. Momentums are more "hifi" sounding whereas the Shures are more "monitor" sounding, as one is a pro monitor headphone and one is a consumer headphone.

 

[Solrighal]

Thanks for the input nicholars. I like the sound of the Shures well enough but they're just too bulky for portable use which is why I was looking at the Momentum models. I didn't see them as fragile though so I guess I'll have to look somewhere else?

 

[streetdragon]

   
The Shures are pretty heavy / chunky / durable whereas the Momentums are quite small and fragile, I would not say the sound quality of the Momentums is twice as good as the Shures as the price would suggest, only way to know which you prefer is to try them. The SRH840 are pretty damn nice headphones in my opinion, better than the ATH-M50 and M audio Q40, prob better than the DT770 as well. Momentums are more "hifi" sounding whereas the Shures are more "monitor" sounding, as one is a pro monitor headphone and one is a consumer headphone.

I would like to kindly disagree that the srh840 are durable by any standards. Their headband is really prone to breaking, same goes to their srh750dj and srh940.
The momentum's i cannot fully know how durable they are but their simpler construction would make them more reliable. The shop's demo units of the momentum are holding up pretty darn well while many other models available like the srh840 they have have had tapes and bandages on them.
Soundwise though the Shures are way better.

 

[money4me247]

Thanks for the input nicholars. I like the sound of the Shures well enough but they're just too bulky for portable use which is why I was looking at the Momentum models. I didn't see them as fragile though so I guess I'll have to look somewhere else?

The Momentums are NOT fragile at all. they are extremely well-build w/ stainless steel & real leather (no plastic support anywhere in the design & no inherent weak points as there is no folding mechanism). the build quality & design is one of the major pros of the momentum. I've owned em for a few weeks. you gotto be joking if you think the hinges & plasticy design of the shures are more durable than the Momentums. it seems like you're confusing the Momentum's incredibly light-weight (another pro) w/ flimsiness... which is definitely completely false. heaviness =/= durability lol
 
basically when I had the momentums, they felt solid (tho very feather-light) and I felt like I could throw em in a bag w/o worrying too much about them. (of course I never did that lol). but when you talk about flimsy, I think of something like the Sony MDR-1Rs, which I felt like I could break accidentally due to the swivels & largely plastic design.
 
don't listen to everything you read on these forums yo. a lot of people here hype up their personal favorite headphones. I'm unbiased in this particular discussion as I don't really have a preference of either of those two headphones.
 
Momentum fun facts: headphone jack insert plug can swivel between 90 to 180 degrees. weight of momentums: 190g. the "over-ear earcups" are actually more like on-ear earcups for normal sized ears w/ the earcup dimensions being 34mm x 52mm.

 

[Speakerphile]

   
The Shures are pretty heavy / chunky / durable whereas the Momentums are quite small and fragile, I would not say the sound quality of the Momentums is twice as good as the Shures as the price would suggest, only way to know which you prefer is to try them. The SRH840 are pretty damn nice headphones in my opinion, better than the ATH-M50 and M audio Q40, prob better than the DT770 as well. Momentums are more "hifi" sounding whereas the Shures are more "monitor" sounding, as one is a pro monitor headphone and one is a consumer headphone.

 
The last way I would describe Momentum is fragile.  They are certainly more svelte than anything Shure makes, but they are definitely not fragile.  Heavy and chunky does not mean durable.