Sennheiser is one of the most venerable names in headphones, but they’ve struggled to keep up with Apple’s AirPods Pro when it comes to quality, noise-cancelling earbuds.
The company’s new flagship, the Momentum True Wireless 3 (249 euros), has almost closed this gap. If anything, the top-of-the-line audio quality might be a bit above what Apple’s AirPods can offer. And the buds have now been updated for a few other key features, most notably wireless charging.
Here is a summary of what I found good and bad about the TW3 buds over the fortnight that I have been testing them.
Comfort and fit are generally very good.
The buds never seemed to loosen or threatened to fall out of my ears, even over long periods of time, no matter what I did. After a while I hardly felt them there.
They’re a bit smaller than previous True Wireless buds, although they’re still a bit bulky compared to some rivals. (The charging case remains larger than most competing charging cases, although this too is smaller than previous versions.)
Within 30 minutes of trying different genres of music on Spotify or Apple Music, it becomes apparent that they are a notch higher in terms of actual audio quality.
This is pretty much the best I’ve experienced in the earphone market. The balance from bass to treble is great and immersive, relatively speaking.
Of course, part of that comes down to the fit itself – the tighter it is, the better you’ll hear the more subtle acoustics the TW3 buds have to offer.
But the provision of four differently sized rubber tips in the box does help a little with the optimal fit. A footnote on audio quality: I tuned into a more bass-heavy sound using Sennheiser’s companion Smart Control app. But unlike some other earbud apps, adjusting the dials didn’t seem to artificially stretch the audio either way.
Otherwise, the main “premium” feature of the TW3 buds is active noise cancellation. In my experience, this is only fine with the TW3 buds, although Sennheiser has applied some interesting adaptive technologies to it.
I noticed a slight damping on the TW3 buds, but no more. Let me put that in context though: no earbuds I’ve tested offer noise-cancelling that’s even remotely as effective as overhead headphones, the physics are just too difficult to overcome.
Battery life on the buds was decent at over five hours per (USB-C powered) box charge.
I only have two real quibbles. The first is that they can’t switch between devices as easily as some competitors. But what really bothered me was a small glitch.
They sometimes didn’t automatically connect to my phone’s audio stream, even when the AI female voice in my ear announced “connected” and they showed as connected in my phone’s Bluetooth menu. A simple tap on the “Momentum TW 3” signifier fixed it, so it’s not a dealbreaker.
Overall these are really great. Their main purpose – high-end earphones to enjoy your music with – is delivered.
https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/reviews/sennheiser-momentum-true-wireless-3-earbuds-deliver-on-sound-quality-despite-connection-glitches-41640748.html Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earphones deliver great sound quality despite connection glitches
