[GrOath]

Very nice review Jude. These look quite sexy.

 

[peteham]

Great review.  Sadly, the leather makes these a no go for me.

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

I've had listen to these at the NAS'12 UK over the last weekend with my Sony Z1000 headphones for comparison. I wasn't impressed at all. May be I've to do another audition as everything sounded muddy and veiled in comparison. I tried few different tracks but was not impressed. Quite dark sounding, veiled and the bass is bloated IMHO. I expected quite a lot because I like the HD-25s quite a lot. I feel this as a departure in some other direction. Z1000s have just blown these away and I didn't have to listen for more than 5 minutes to come to this conclusion. I would happily spend my money on HD-25s and then save some rather than go for these.

 
Ah dang that crosses them out for me. Thanks!

 

[DefDwg]

Excellent review!
 
As a NYC commuter, i recently made the decision NOT to get "on-the-go" headphones and stick with my IEMs. 
 
Now, it looks like i'll be revisiting that decision... I hate you Head-Fi!!!!

 

[M-13]

Quote:

I've had listen to these at the NAS'12 UK over the last weekend with my Sony Z1000 headphones for comparison. I wasn't impressed at all. May be I've to do another audition as everything sounded muddy and veiled in comparison. I tried few different tracks but was not impressed. Quite dark sounding, veiled and the bass is bloated IMHO. I expected quite a lot because I like the HD-25s quite a lot. I feel this as a departure in some other direction. Z1000s have just blown these away and I didn't have to listen for more than 5 minutes to come to this conclusion. I would happily spend my money on HD-25s and then save some rather than go for these.

As a fellow Z1000 owner. I feel ya brotha! Although I didn't think the Momentum was that bad. More pros than cons. But it really didn't have the transient speed/clarity of the Z1000 or even the DT1350 which is even faster than the Z1000, just not as clear (Tesla Magnets vs Liquid Polymer Diaphram). Momentum just had your standard Mylar speed so it did sound grainy compared to the Z1000, although not against the HD598. The sense of scale was also a lot smaller as well, 50mm diaphram on the Z1000 vs 36mm (?) not sure about the exact diameter but the scale seemed about the same as the DT1350s. I also found the bass too bloated for my tastes as well, but then I'm pretty sensitive to bass. I do agree with Jude that it did have acceptible bass control though and also the sub-sub-bass wasn't as present as I would like for a bass heavy can. BUT, it did have very nice clear mids (for traditional Mylar) and non-offensive highs with the right amount of sparkle. Overall a very pleasing tonality other than the wide-band elevated bass. Also the timbre was very nice (not as nice as the Z1000). And the build quality/comfort was off the charts for me. Man those cushions are plush, like two cute bunnies resting on my ears.
 
So in conclusion the Z1000 is awesome.

 Next on my list is the Sig Pro!

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

 
+1 to eron.
 
It's not exactly a fair comparison to compared a closed (momentum) to open can (HD598); each has their purpose  I just did it for the benefit of the question ask-er (is that even a word?).

 
True, closed and open cans are different breeds but we can still expect something that we might reasonably consider a balanced FR response. AKG (with the K550) sort of did a closed version of the K701.
 
If Sennheiser has the Momentum as their player in the BBB (booming, bloated bass) league of the Fidelio L1 and the Monster Inspiration, then fine. But it would be nice to go one-up and make your candidate that much better than the existing ones, which is what I am hoping from these Momentums. But then again, maybe this type of bass balance is in vogue, which means they are giving their customers what they want. If you want audiophile, go buy the HD600, I suppose..

 

[GloryUprising]

Quote:

 
True, closed and open cans are different breeds but we can still expect something that we might reasonably consider a balanced FR response. AKG (with the K550) sort of did a closed version of the K701.
 
If Sennheiser has the Momentum as their player in the BBB (booming, bloated bass) league of the Fidelio L1 and the Monster Inspiration, then fine. But it would be nice to go one-up and make your candidate that much better than the existing ones, which is what I am hoping from these Momentums. But then again, maybe this type of bass balance is in vogue, which means they are giving their customers what they want. If you want audiophile, go buy the HD600, I suppose..

 
The bass is definitely more pronounced in the Momentums then is typical of Sennheiser, but that is not to say that the bass is bloated or sloppy in anyway.  I know there are supporters and detractors of using EQ (I am traditionally against EQing myself), and found that using 'Bass reduction' or 'spoken word' eq setting on my iPod helps the 'bass situation' tremendously.  When you turn down the bass (or up the mids) you find that the headphones are quite smooth and clear and the FR begins to resemble the HD650s (although in a closed form).  Now I find myself EQing based on what I am currently listing too, and having the flexibility to 'tweak' the music has proven to be nice.
 
I absolutely LOVE the K550, but HATE the fit/clamp!  It was just too impractical to constantly adjust the cups on the K550 while on the move (I was looking to upgrade my portable headphones from the M50s).  If AKG would fix the clamp/seal I think my Momentum's will go up for sale in a heartbeat.

 

[roma101]

Thank you for mentioning timbre M-13, I was wondering if the tonality of these was close to natural.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

 
The bass is definitely more pronounced in the Momentums then is typical of Sennheiser, but that is not to say that the bass is bloated or sloppy in anyway.  I know there are supporters and detractors of using EQ (I am traditionally against EQing myself), and found that using 'Bass reduction' or 'spoken word' eq setting on my iPod helps the 'bass situation' tremendously.  When you turn down the bass (or up the mids) you find that the headphones are quite smooth and clear and the FR begins to resemble the HD650s (although in a closed form).  Now I find myself EQing based on what I am currently listing too, and having the flexibility to 'tweak' the music has proven to be nice.
 
I absolutely LOVE the K550, but HATE the fit/clamp!  It was just too impractical to constantly adjust the cups on the K550 while on the move (I was looking to upgrade my portable headphones from the M50s).  If AKG would fix the clamp/seal I think my Momentum's will go up for sale in a heartbeat.

So would you say Momentum's resolution is comparable to the HD650?

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

 
I absolutely LOVE the K550, but HATE the fit/clamp!  It was just too impractical to constantly adjust the cups on the K550 while on the move (I was looking to upgrade my portable headphones from the M50s).  If AKG would fix the clamp/seal I think my Momentum's will go up for sale in a heartbeat.

 
I didn't think that the K550 was suitable for portable use. I figured it to be too big and bulky. And I've found AKG's (501, 701) are normally rather loose fitting cans

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

 
I didn't think that the K550 was suitable for portable use. I figured it to be too big and bulky. And I've found AKG's (501, 701) are normally rather loose fitting cans

I didn't care for the fit or sound of the K550, but have higher hopes for the portability and performance of  AKG's Tiesto line.  Momentum vs. Tiesto K267 vs. M-100 vs. Yamaha Pro 500 vs. others from Sony, Velodyne, Ultrasone.....great time to be in the market for a quality closed, bass-heavy portable.

 

[M-13]

Quote:

Thank you for mentioning timbre M-13, I was wondering if the tonality of these was close to natural.

No prob. I'm very sensitive to timbre. I hate it when strings or voices sound artificial, like a robot is singing or when wooden instruments have an unnatural metallic sheen. I almost missed out on the DT1350s because the first pair I had was defective and had horrible timbre. The pair I have now is very acceptible, almost as natural as HD650/Z1000 and quite awesome.
Quote:

So would you say Momentum's resolution is comparable to the HD650?

Nope! Definitely lower resolution/plankton. Even slightly lower than the HD598, but just slightly.

 

[Craigster75]

Quote:

No prob. I'm very sensitive to timbre. I hate it when strings or voices sound artificial, like a robot is singing or when wooden instruments have an unnatural metallic sheen. I almost missed out on the DT1350s because the first pair I had was defective and had horrible timbre. The pair I have now is very acceptible, almost as natural as HD650/Z1000 and quite awesome.
Nope! Definitely lower resolution/plankton. Even slightly lower than the HD598, but just slightly.

Thanks.  Certainly respectable if on par with the HD598.

 

[ricecobob]

Can anybody do a comparison between TMA-1s and Momentums  

 

[roma101]

Quote:

No prob. I'm very sensitive to timbre. I hate it when strings or voices sound artificial, like a robot is singing or when wooden instruments have an unnatural metallic sheen. I almost missed out on the DT1350s because the first pair I had was defective and had horrible timbre. The pair I have now is very acceptible, almost as natural as HD650/Z1000 and quite awesome.

Good stuff, I am sensitive to timbre too, especially after owning my Panasonic HJE900 IEMs. They're not the most neutral, but they are among the most natural-sounding to my ears when it comes to drums and guitars. If something sounds fake to my ears, it sticks out like a sore thumb to my ears.
 
 
Interested in a TMA-1/Momentum comparison as well. I also wonder how the Momentums compare to the M-80. They seem to have a similar sound sig except the Momentum apparently has even more elevated bass.