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

When they came out in 2018, the Sennheiser Momentum Correct Wireless were amongst the ideal-sounding truly wi-fi earbuds, if not the ideal-sounding. They have been not without some flaws, even so. The buds’ batteries would drain even though in the situation, so if you didn’t charge the situation for 4 days, you could finish up with a useless established of earbuds, which was aggravating. They have been also a tad massive, so some individuals complained of pain just after owning them in their ears for a even though. And at $300, they have been very dear.

The next-generation Momentum Correct Wireless two, accessible now for preorder and shipping and delivery in April, even now have that elevated $300 (£279 300 euros) cost. But they’re superior all all around, with a a little bit smaller, far more comfortable structure, active noise canceling that rivals that of the AirPod Professional, enhanced battery everyday living (up to seven several hours versus the original’s 4) and superior noise reduction through calls. And, if you do not like them in black, a white version is slated to comply with later on this yr. Most importantly, although, the Momentum Correct Wireless two have the very same stellar sound — for correct wi-fi earbuds, in any case — featuring plainly exceptional sound top quality to the AirPods Professional. That would make them arguably the ideal correct wi-fi earbuds on the industry today and earns them a CNET Editors’ Choice Award.

That mentioned, they’re not necessarily for all people. Apart from the fact that they’re high priced — $fifty far more than the AirPods Professional — they’re heavier, not quite as comfortable to dress in and deficiency the arms-no cost Siri located on those Apple types. And, even though Sennheiser shrank the new earbuds by 2mm, the Momentum Correct Wireless two are even now on the larger side and could not be a great match for some people’s ears. Personally, they match my ears quite effectively and I acquired a tight seal from the greatest ear idea (3 sizes are involved). As I mentioned, I felt that the a little bit smaller structure does support — I was capable to dress in these without a challenge for prolonged stretches.

Study far more: The ideal correct wi-fi earbuds of 2020

That tight seal is essential for optimizing sound top quality and noise cancellation. The AirPods Professional have adaptive noise canceling. The noise canceling on the Momentum Correct Wireless two won’t appear to be to be adaptive, but it is efficient. In the configurations menu, it says, “One-mic ANC cuts down very low-frequency ambient noise,” adding that activating the attribute does have an “effect on battery everyday living.” In other phrases, do not count on to get seven several hours if you have it on, specially if you engage in your tunes at greater volumes. The charging situation does deliver an additional 3 expenses (21 several hours) on the go and Sennheiser has set the problem with the buds’ battery draining in the situation — they now go into a deep slumber method. 

I wore the Momentum Correct Wireless two all around the streets of New York and in the subway for a couple of days. You get some passive noise cancellation from just acquiring a tight seal, but when I toggled the noise canceling on and off even though using the subway, the variation was quickly evident. It seemed to be on par with the AirPods Pro’s noise canceling for muffling ambient noise. I didn’t try out them on a aircraft, but I believe they would be good for that setting as effectively.

Study far more: Ideal-sounding wi-fi earbuds: Sony, Sennheiser and far more in contrast

Like the originals, these have touch controls and they get the job done effectively, although I like Apple’s stem-squeezing controls on the AirPods Professional a tiny superior. You can application the touch controls in Sennheiser’s Wise Command app for iOS and Android. For occasion, I established the tap-and-hold gesture on the proper earbud to activate noise canceling. The very same gesture on the still left earbud activates a transparency method that lets ambient sound in so you can have a conversation even though wearing them.

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Sennheiser Momentum Correct Wireless two dethrone AirPods…

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Sennheiser isn’t marketing and advertising these as athletics earphones, but with an IPX4 ranking they are splashproof and should be sweatproof. I was capable to go jogging without them slipping out of my ears and they’re surely wonderful for lighter exercise routines at the health club. I can’t tell you how effectively they will hold up above time if you sweat on them a great deal, but they should be capable to put up with some humidity without a challenge.

Like the originals, the earbuds have quantity controls on the earbuds themselves employing the default tap-and-hold gesture. Nonetheless, just after I adjusted the tap-and-hold gesture to activate ANC — instead of handle quantity — I could not transform the gesture back again to controlling quantity (I had to reset the controls back again to their default configurations). The app I was employing was labeled as beta, and I presume this bug will be set in an update.  

A couple of other configurations are well worth mentioning. You can decide on to activate sidetone, a attribute I like that lets you to listen to your voice in the earbuds and modulate your voice when you are building a get in touch with. And there is an equalizer in the app to tweak bass and treble ranges to your liking. For purposes of this critique I still left it at the default placing, which seemed beautifully good to me. 

Sennheiser included a microphone to each individual earbud for the noise canceling and there is a beamforming microphone in each individual earbud to pick up your voice when building calls or employing your voice assistant. The get in touch with efficiency is enhanced from the originals’, with superior noise reduction so individuals can listen to you superior in noisy environments (ambient noise is muffled although even now current). I am not confident these are quite as good as the AirPods when it comes to get in touch with top quality, but they done effectively total in this section.

I also expert negligible Bluetooth hiccups — the wi-fi relationship was mainly good. They use Bluetooth five.one, with aid for AAC and aptX audio codes (only particular Android phones aid aptX streaming). And I didn’t have any problems with audio syncing correctly when looking at video apps like Netflix, YouTube and Vudu.

The Momentum Correct Wireless two earbuds have the very same 7mm dynamic motorists as the originals. If there are some slight gains in sound top quality, it’s far more probable due to superior digital processing as a consequence of chip and application updates. As I mentioned, sound top quality is exceptional and the Momentum Correct Wireless two has richer, far more comprehensive sound than the AirPods Professional with effectively-described bass, natural-sounding mids and some sparkle in the treble. These sound like premium headphones should. They are very open up the sound won’t sense trapped in your head.

I rated the Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds hugely for sound, although they’re not good for building calls. The Momentum Correct Wireless two are a tiny far more comprehensive and articulate. On effectively-recorded tracks you can genuinely listen to each individual instrument they do not mix in with each individual like with a great deal of Bluetooth headphones. Other large-finish types like the Grasp & Dynamic MW07 Moreover ($300) also have easy, properly comprehensive sound with good bass definition, as effectively as some noise cancellation, but the Correct Wireless two have superior structure and headset efficiency together with a little bit superior sound and far more efficient noise cancellation. 

The situation expenses through USB-C, while at this cost you’d like to see wi-fi charging, but which is not a main omission. The AirPods Professional surely have an attractive structure and attribute established with strong efficiency, but they’re basically not in the Sennheiser Momentum Correct Wireless 2’s league for sound top quality. And now that Sennheiser has included active noise canceling and set some of the authentic Momentum Correct Wireless’ tiny flaws, these are the earbuds to get if you price sound top quality above all the things else.