Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 review: These earbuds beat out AirPods Pro

When they arrived out in 2018, the Sennheiser Momentum Genuine Wi-fi were among the the most effective-sounding really wi-fi earbuds, if not the most effective-sounding. They had been not without the need of some flaws, nevertheless. The buds’ batteries would drain whilst in the circumstance, so if you didn’t charge the circumstance for 4 times, you could close up with a lifeless set of earbuds, which was frustrating. They had been also a tad significant, so some individuals complained of irritation following owning them in their ears for a whilst. And at $300, they had been really dear.

The second-technology Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2, readily available now for preorder and transport in April, nonetheless have that elevated $300 selling price. (They also go for 300 euros the Uk selling price hasn’t been confirmed, but £300 is a safe bet.) But they are much better all around, with a a little lesser, much more snug design, lively sound canceling (ANC) that rivals that of the AirPod Pro, enhanced battery lifestyle (up to seven several hours vs. the original’s four several hours) and much better sound reduction through phone calls. And, if you really don’t like them in black, a white model is slated to stick to afterwards this calendar year. Most importantly, while, the Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 have the identical stellar audio — for true wi-fi earbuds, anyway — supplying obviously remarkable audio quality to the AirPods Pro. That helps make them arguably the most effective true wi-fi earbuds on the sector nowadays and earns them a CNET Editors’ Choice Award.

That stated, they are not essentially for most people. Apart from the truth that they are high priced — $fifty much more than the AirPods Pro — they are heavier, not very as snug to don and absence the fingers-absolutely free Siri observed on individuals Apple versions. And, whilst Sennheiser shrank the new earbuds by 2mm, the Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 are nonetheless on the even bigger aspect and might not be a perfect match for some people’s ears. Personally, they suit my ears very well and I got a tight seal from the premier ear tip (3 sizes are integrated). As I stated, I felt that the a little lesser design does enable — I was capable to don these without the need of a trouble for extensive stretches.

Read through much more: The most effective true wi-fi earbuds of 2020

That tight seal is crucial for optimizing audio quality and sound cancellation. The AirPods Pro have adaptive sound canceling. The sound canceling on the Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 does not seem to be to be adaptive, but it is efficient. In the configurations menu, it suggests, “Solitary-mic ANC minimizes lower-frequency ambient sound,” adding that activating the element does have an “influence on battery lifestyle.” In other terms, really don’t be expecting to get seven several hours if you have it on, specially if you play your songs at increased volumes. The charging circumstance does supply an excess 3 charges (21 several hours) on the go and Sennheiser has mounted the issue with the buds’ battery draining in the circumstance — they now go into a deep sleep manner. 

I wore the Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 around the streets of New York and in the subway for a couple of times. You get some passive sound cancellation from just receiving a tight seal, but when I toggled the sound canceling on and off whilst using the subway, the variance was immediately obvious. It seemed to be on par with the AirPods Pro’s sound canceling for muffling ambient sound. I didn’t consider them on a aircraft, but I think they would be great for that surroundings as well.

Read through much more: Finest-sounding wi-fi earbuds: Sony, Sennheiser and much more compared

Like the originals, these have touch controls and they function well, although I like Apple’s stem-squeezing controls on the AirPods Pro a minimal much better. You can system the touch controls in Sennheiser’s Good Command application for iOS and Android. For instance, I set the faucet-and-keep gesture on the right earbud to activate sound canceling. The identical gesture on the remaining earbud activates a transparency manner that lets ambient audio in so you can have a discussion whilst donning them.

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Sennheiser Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 dethrone AirPods…

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Sennheiser just isn’t marketing these as athletics earphones, but with an IPX4 rating they are splashproof and should be sweatproof. I was capable to go operating without the need of them slipping out of my ears and they are absolutely fine for lighter workouts at the gymnasium. I are not able to tell you how well they’ll keep up above time if you sweat on them a good deal, but they should be capable to put up with some dampness without the need of a trouble.

Alas, the earbuds really don’t have quantity controls on the earbuds them selves. It looks like that’s a element Sennheiser could increase through a firmware improve (I am not absolutely sure why the faucet-and-keep gesture could not be utilised to modify quantity like it is on some earbuds), but at existing it can be not readily available.

A couple of other configurations are well worth mentioning. You can opt for to activate sidetone, a element I like that lets you to listen to your voice in the earbuds and modulate your voice when you happen to be earning a connect with. And there is an equalizer in the application to tweak bass and treble ranges to your liking. For reasons of this evaluate I remaining it at the default environment, which seemed properly great to me. 

Sennheiser additional a microphone to just about every earbud for the sound canceling and there is certainly a beamforming microphone in just about every earbud to pick up your voice when earning phone calls or making use of your voice assistant. The connect with general performance is enhanced from the originals’, with much better sound reduction so individuals can listen to you much better in noisy environments (ambient sound is muffled while nonetheless existing). I am not absolutely sure these are very as great as the AirPods when it will come to connect with quality, but they performed well over-all in this section.

I also expert minimum Bluetooth hiccups — the wi-fi connection was mostly good. They use Bluetooth 5.1, with aid for AAC and aptX audio codes (only sure Android telephones aid aptX streaming). And I didn’t have any problems with audio syncing correctly when viewing online video applications like Netflix, YouTube and Vudu.

The Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 earbuds have the identical 7mm dynamic drivers as the originals. If there are some slight gains in audio quality, it can be much more likely thanks to much better electronic processing as a final result of chip and program updates. As I stated, audio quality is fantastic and the Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 has richer, much more comprehensive audio than the AirPods Pro with well-described bass, organic-sounding mids and some sparkle in the treble. These audio like high quality headphones should. They’re really open the audio does not really feel stuck in your head.

I rated the Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds extremely for audio, while they are not fantastic for earning phone calls. The Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2 are a minimal much more comprehensive and articulate. On well-recorded tracks you can truly listen to just about every instrument they really don’t blend in with just about every like with a good deal of Bluetooth headphones. Other substantial-close versions like the Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus ($300) also have smooth, properly comprehensive audio with great bass definition, as well as some sound cancellation, but the Genuine Wi-fi 2 have much better design and headset general performance along with a little much better audio and much more efficient sound cancellation. 

The circumstance charges by means of USB-C, whereas at this selling price you would like to see wi-fi charging, but that’s not a significant omission. The AirPods Pro absolutely have an attractive design and element set with powerful general performance, but they are only not in the Sennheiser Momentum Genuine Wi-fi 2’s league for audio quality. And now that Sennheiser has additional lively sound canceling and mounted some of the initial Momentum Genuine Wireless’ tiny flaws, these are the earbuds to get if you benefit audio quality above almost everything else.