[Ronann]

So last Thursday I received my pair of Momentum 2.0 ivory in the post. I bought them to use both at home and taking out, laying in bed etc. Now after a few days of testing them here is my thoughts:
 
Packaging and accessories: 
It comes in a nice box and presentation. The two carrying cases are a nice touch, something you don't see very often for higher end headphones. 
And here is where the problems start occuring. It only comes with one inline control cable where the 1.0 model came with two, one without inline controls which is a slap in the face to me. 
The inline controls causes havoc with my sound card and my on-board doesn't even pick up the headphones. My sound card really does not like TRRS plugs. When plugged in my sound card they sound very low and tinny, but when I hold in the play/pause button they become more clear and louder, but still not good enough. I've ordered a new cable without inline controls but I'll probably just send them back beforehand.
 
Build Quality and Looks:
First of all they are very solidly built, the full steel frame construction makes them durable. I previously had a pair of PSB M4U 1's but the build quality was garbage so the headband had a big crack on the headband, had a loose screw etc, so I had to send them back and didn't bother getting a replacement. It was a shame because I preferred the sound quality over the Momentum 2.0's which I will get to later.
The momentum 2.0's look very stylish, and I think they look really sexy in ivory branded colour. The locking mechanism at first was annoying but I eventually got the hang of it.
The fine craftsmanship and smaller details shows Sennheiser puts effort into their build design.
 
Comfort and noise cancellation:
They are a very comfortable pair of headphones considering they are designed for portable use. Despite having earcups on the small side they still fit my ears quite well. The light clamping force and low weight of the headphones makes them nice to wear, and if the headband becomes uncomfortable a slight adjustment usually fixes the problem.
 
Sound quality:
And finally here is the most important part and the biggest disappointment about these headphones. Firstly the lows sound like they aren't really there, the muddy bass tends to drone out the lows which I will get to soon. It's a bit hard to explain but it just feels like I'm listening to just the mids and highs with muddy bass slapped over them. 
The mids are probably the best part of these headphones. They sound clear and crisp which is the most enjoyable part of the headphone to listen to, and that's about it in terms of enjoying them. 
The highs are a disappointment. It just sounds rolled off and doesn't have any sparkle to them and makes the headphones dull and not enjoyable to listen to.
The bass is also such a disappointment. In songs such as "Magic" by Coldplay the bass sounds like an annoying droning sound in the background which covers the instruments and just ruins the song. Also bassy songs like "What dreams may come" by LTR it just sounds boomy and overwhelming.
 
Long story short I'm disappointed in these headphones and had high expectations of them. For 260 euro I'd expect way better but got surpassed by the cheaper PSB M4U 1's in terms of sound quality and a small bit in comfort. The only area the Momentum's beat the PSB's is the build quality and looks. They simply don't have the sparkle and rhythm the PSB's had. 
And I simply can't recommend these to anyone for the price these cost unless you like muddy and overwhelming bass.
 
 
Let me know what you guys think and if you've had experience with them.

 

[XERO1]

Your impressions of the over-the-ear 2.0's mirrors my own exactly. 
 
I was hoping for a major sonic improvement over the original Momentums, but unfortunately that just didn't happen.  And it's quite a shame too because they are great looking and quite comfortable.
 
Who knows, maybe Sennheiser will finally get it right with the 3.0!  But I'm definitely not holding my breath. 
Fortunately, there are plenty of other great over-the-ear headphones to choose from.

 

 

[Ronann]

I've been unfortunate with headphones so far.. The first high end pair I bought had bad build quality and now these don't sound that great.
It's hard to buy them online as everyone says their amazing and "recommends" them etc. I'm gonna try and listen to some headphones before buying now.

 

[gotak]

So now you know Momentums comes with colored sound. And it's not something for everyone.
 
I still use my 1.0 sometimes it's not really a critical listening set of headphones. But the tuning is very easy on the ears so you can use them for a long time without feeling tired out. And it's a ok fun signature. 
 
They are amazing for the majority of people who came from the stock ear buds that came with their phones.
 
Also you should realize that first impressions a lot of times sucks when you are used to a existing headphone. When I first put on my se535 I felt disappointed. A week later on I get why they are on the innerfidelity wall of fame. Your ears adapts. 

 

[Ronann]

Well I'm not coming from a pair of those stock earbuds from Apple. I have been listening to them for a while since Thursday and I simply can't enjoy them that much. Which is unfortunate because they are the perfect size and decent comfort for both home and portable use.

 

[timlily]

This isn't a critique on the original poster, just a reminder that different sound signatures are for different listeners. I don't hear a muddy bass at all with the Momentum 2.0. I find it detailed and there when it needs to be there. There's no masking of other frequencies with my iPhone 6, iPad Air, and Macbook Pro. When I add my Fiio E6 using the bass boost feature, I can't say the bass is thrilling, but there's signal loss with the extra connections and dual-amping going on. Using an equalizer in say Spotify or on my Macbook, I can get the sound as full as I like without a sense of muddiness to my ears.

Sparkle-wise, there's more than enough for me. The treble is detailed without being overly-analytical. There's little of the splashiness that bothered me with the original Momentum over-ear. No sibillance to be sure, but I could stand for the 2.0 to be a couple decibels lower in treble in relation to the bass, as I have basshead tendencies. This is source-dependent... hardware and software. I also found the original Momentum mildly boomy, and just not as natural sounding across the board.

I find the 2.0 handles whatever I throw at it, and I can tune it to bombard me with bass or detail, and it answers accordingly. Straight from my Pad Air using Rdio at the highest setting, it's not as lush as I'd like, and while the iPhone 6 is an improvement, it's still somewhat disappointing. Switching over to Spotify, pumping the bass a little and lowering the treble, it's golden. I find Apple DACs overly bright in general.

I auditioned about 40 headphones before sticking with the Momentum 2.0. It gets a lot right as a portable for me... comfort, natural clean sound, style, transportability, and very very little leaked sound. My other favorite portable is the Audio-Technica WS99. They have some cons (build, mid-bass bloat), but they're lush and a steal under $200. I'm about to audition the Oppo PM-3, and it'll be interesting to see they compare to the Momentum 2.0. If they roll-off the treble a bit more than the Sennheisers, I might make a switch, so I'm not as reliant on equalizers, amps, or an external DAC down the line. But muddiness and missing sparkle I don't hear. Just my opinion, and this is in relation to the specific 40 or so others I've tested. I do thank the original poster for sharing and getting me thinking more critically about whether these work for me.

 

[Ronann]

It does have decent sound but there is simply no sparkle to them. In songs like "Magic" by Coldplay like I mentioned above the bass is there in the background just droning away ruining the song.
It's that bass heavy that when I put on a bass test dubstep song they rattle and vibrate on my head lol.

 

[mikek200]

Some comments on the Sennheiser Momentum-2.
 
  I have been a long time user of Senneheiser headphones,over the years,I have owned the HD800,650,600,580's,all IMHO,are outstanding headphones,and very comfortable..
 
I know the Momentum2,is classified as a closed  portable headphone..so all things may not be equal.
 
First off,the Momentums2  are supposed to be an "over-the-ear" headphone,it seems to me,that what Sennheiser is giving us here,is a slightly larger,.."on-Ear" earpad
 
  After wearing them for about 15 minutes,the left earcup started to dig into my ear{I do wear glasses} ,and,after 20 minutes,I had to take them off.
I waited a few hours,and attempted to wear them again,this time I removed the glasses...better,but still uncomfortable.
sound quality,on the other hand,was exceptional..IMHO
 
Finally after 3 days,I had to contact my seller,and request a refund,which he granted...
 
Anyone thinking of getting the Momentums-think twice,and,definitely try them out,before buying..
 
I realize that all ears ,are not created equal,but,after looking at the physical size of the earpads,and comparing them to other Sennheiser.."over-ear" pads...they are definitely smaller.
 
Ended up getting the ..SonyMDR1RNC ,a huge improvement
 
Sennheiser,are you listening..?
 
Mike

 

[Ronann]

I also got the chance to try out the Momentum 1.0 in a store along with Urbanite XL and on ear. I still don't like the momentum 1.0 but I really liked the urbanite more than the momentum's. They just have a much more fun sounding experience to them.

 

[mikek200]

Is the urbanite  comfortable ..?
Did it have a similar SQ to the momentum ?

 

[Ronann]

Yes the Urbanite XL is actually pretty comfortable, for me anyway. The on ear version isn't comfortable because of the hard clamping force it gives.
No I wouldn't say it has a similar SQ to the momentum. The urbanite just feels more energized and overall a lot more fun to listen to. The bass is tight and there but not overwhelming. Just something about the momentum's that just feels so dull and not fun to listen to. As I mentioned above the bass feels muddy on the momentums.
 
In the end I bought the Urbanite XL just for comfort reasons over the on ear, and I generally don't like on ear headphones anyway.

 

[oldmate]

I just paid $450.00 for these and I believe these are the most over rated pair of headphones I have ever heard. I've tried to love them but that muddy mid and upper base is just bloody woeful. My M50X's sound better. Just goes to show you can't believe the hype and now I'm going to lose a crap load selling them.

 

[Firun]

Personally, I love them so far. I own them for 4 days now, but what I could discern is that they are picky with sources. They sound somewhat awful (and much like the OP described) on my notebook and smartphone, passable on my old, cheap MP3 player, and really great on my Xonar DX soundcard. I had to disable all kinds of stupid "enhancements" of the soundcard beforehand and set the EQ to default, though.
 
I'm not exactly an audiophile, but I do have a decent ear for objective sound quality (son of a sound engineer). However, I rather follow what sounds nice to me, and the signature of the Momentums is exactly to my liking. Yes, there is more precise bass, but for my liking it sounds pretty spot on, with a nice mellow sound without being muddy. Clarity is great, and the treble, whilst a little too high for my liking, is well defined.
 
Before you throw them out try different sources. I don't know what kind of sources you have, though I suspect that you have more and better sources available than me. For me, the shocking part was that they absolutely do not play nice with bad sources, becoming congested and ill-balanced. I haven't had another set of cans before that showed such a massive difference depending on source. My father gave me an HD25 a few years back, and they do not show such a difference.
 
In the end I do believe that audio, despite all objective measurements, is very much a preferential thing.

 

[oldmate]

I exchanged mine for the Beyerdynamic T51P. Was originally going to buy them but read the thread on the M2's and got convinced I should buy them.
 
Just goes to show you must demo headphones.

 

[KK22]

I demoed these at an airport and was hugely disappointed in the (lack of) tightness of the bass. Much prefer the originals myself. I have a black and red 1.0 and love them as my casual throw in the bag pair. For more critical portable use I have been quite happy with the HA2 and PM3 combo.