Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2
"Sennheiser has managed to make the best-sounding earphones even better."
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Unsurpassed sound quality
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Stellar active noise cancellation
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Easy setup and control
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Revised battery life
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Lean aesthetics
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Expensive
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Comparatively bulky design
In our humble opinion, the original Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless were the best sounding real wireless earbuds you could buy. But the excellent audio quality was costly, not just the high price that went with it. Sennheiser's first crack in real wireless simply didn't have the features that justified its price, with poor battery life being the biggest mistake.
Fortunately, two years turned out to be enough to fix some shortcomings. Sennheiser's recently announced $ 300 Momentum True Wireless 2, which is slated to hit stores in April 2020, are the five-tool stars we wanted from their predecessor. Thanks to the significantly improved battery life and the additional active noise suppression, Sennheiser has combined its incomparable sound quality in one overall package. Or at least damn close.
Out of the box
Aside from a few changes, nothing much has changed in terms of design from generation to generation. Sennheiser has shrunk the new buds by almost 2 mm to reduce weight and improve comfort. However, they have the same sharp aesthetics as the originals and have the silver Sennheiser logo on each end cap. The same applies to the supplied charging case; It maintains the pill form of the first version and is wrapped in a familiar, sleek fabric.
Aside from the buds themselves and the case, the package included a quick start guide, three additional pairs of silicone earplugs, and a charging cable that is just as short as the previous iteration. I exchanged the earbuds that came with the buds for a slightly smaller option, and then put them in to get a firm but secure fit. With a quick glance at the manual, I went seamlessly through the setup process, in which both buds were touched simultaneously to put them in pairing mode, find them in my phone's Bluetooth settings, and connect.
design
I registered with these buds within the first few hours and noticed the size. Don't get me wrong, they're not the bulkiest earbuds I've dealt with, but they certainly won't go away in your ear like lighter options like the Samsung Galaxy Buds + do.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
Sennheiser has made progress by making Momentum 2 smaller than the originals, and I can confirm that this helped balance the load. Overall, they're comfortable earbuds, and I haven't noticed any major concerns when I wear them for extended listening sessions. However, if larger buds bother you more, I would take this into account when considering Sennheiser.
characteristics
The highlight in the converted bag with functions for the Momentum True Wireless 2 is the battery life. The originals offered disappointing four hours of playback on a single charge and a total of 12 hours on the case, neither of which could compete with much cheaper options like Apple's AirPods or Jabra's Elite Active 75T. It was a glaring flaw in an otherwise outstanding pair of buds and clearly something Sennheiser had to correct.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
The second generation of Momentum offers seven hours per charge and a total of 28 hours in combination with the charging case. Using active noise canceling and listening at louder volume usually affects these numbers, but for the most part, these juiced buds have kept the end of the battery bargain.
As is common today with wireless earbuds, the Momentum True Wireless 2 has customizable touch controls and detection features that pause playback when you remove an earbud. This "smart pause" function, as Sennheiser calls it, was slightly different from others that I auditioned because it stopped playing more gradually than a more abrupt pause in the sound. It's a small detail, but it became more and more important to me over time.
The Momentum 2 was easy to use with the touch controls. It takes a little trial and error to put all the commands into memory – things like volume controls are separated by buds, and more than once I've cranked up the volume instead of dampening it – but when I did, it was easy that control experience without reaching for my cell phone.
Like its older relatives, the Momentum 2 have IPX4 weather resistance. Essentially splashproof, but not completely waterproof. They were good for the light workouts I could do while practicing social distance, but I can't speak for how they would do in repeated sweaty sessions.
App optional, but not required
The Momentum True Wireless 2 have their own app called Sennheiser Smart Control. Since the earphones won't be available to the general public until next month, I've interacted with a beta version of the app so your mileage may vary. But for my money, the app itself was a decent compliment, but it wasn't necessary to enjoy these buds.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
They offered the opportunity to customize your touch controls, although after learning the standard controls, I didn't want to go back to the drawing board. There is also a tab where you can toggle the buds 'transparent hearing' function on and off so that you can record the sounds of the environment around you if you wish. But I could do that with a few blows to my right bud.
From my point of view, the most useful functions in the app were the settings that you could use to deactivate things like smart pause or the option to answer calls automatically. The equalizer provided with the app was useful for getting a little deeper or more heights out of the buds, but I always wanted to reset the buds to their original mood.
The audio quality is increased with ANC
At the expense of repetition, the first generation Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless were the best wireless earbuds we've ever heard. The company, widely known as a leader in audio quality, shouldn't have had to add much to the next edition to maintain the status quo.
Instead, they added active noise cancellation to the Momentum 2. In my opinion, this is a pretty big deal.
Nick Woodard / Digital Trends
Everything that has been applauded about the original is still there. The clarity, the impressive low-end, the breathtaking stereo images. I was impressed with how listening to selections like George Ezras Shotgun, the earbuds could easily keep up with the song's tight bass notes while refusing to overwhelm the singer's tremendous vocals. I've heard some pretty powerful earphones, but this is just another experience. The sound draws you into the music and devours you when you record notes and instruments that simply are not available from competitors.
Now take all of that and add active noise cancellation. With properly fitting earplugs, the earphones can solidly exclude ambient noise without this function. My morning dog walk along a busy road has never been so calm.
By tapping my right bud three times to activate active noise cancellation, I only heard Bill Burr's giggles during the Monday Morning Podcast. While I was working on the couch a few meters from my partner, I couldn't understand a word when she tried to communicate. Not ideal from a relationship point of view, but ideal for suppressing office noise, and probably very effective for travel.
Our opinion
Sennheiser has managed to make the best sounding earbuds even better by adding active noise canceling and significantly improving battery life. Earphones were previously available at a premium price and don't make a mistake, they still do. But with everything they have to offer, the Momentum True Wireless 2 offers remarkable value for money.
Are there any better alternatives?
The Sony WH-1000XM3 does most of what the Sennheiser do for around $ 70 less. They don't quite match in terms of audio quality, but are a viable option for those who aren't interested in the Momentum True Wireless 2.
Another cheaper model, the Samsung Galaxy Buds + for $ 149, offers solid sound and an industry-leading 11-hour playback time. They just lack the active noise cancellation function and they cannot keep up with the premium audio quality.
How long will they last?
Sennheiser has a history of exceptional workmanship with its products and there is no reason to believe that the Momentum 2 will be an outlier. It remains to be seen how fast the true wireless audio world moves, how long it takes for the technology behind the buds to become obsolete.
Should you buy them
Yes. They're still a bit tall and one of the more expensive pairs out there, but you won't find anywhere else earphones that sound so good with this wealth of quality features.
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