The true-wireless earbuds market may be cluttered but there are a few premium options you can pick from for a rich sound experience.
Sennheiser is among the brands known for delivering one of the finest earpieces. About a year or so, it came up with Momentum 2 earbuds which were, in many ways, a clean set of earphones with a great sound output.
It has now come up with Momentum True Wireless 3 with a smaller form factor but enhanced sound experience.
I spent a little over a month with the earbuds to see what all changes Sennheiser brings in its latest hearable, and if the latest set is worth your money, let’s discuss all that in this review:
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: Build and Design
The build quality is, as is usually the case with Sennheiser, solid and reliable. The earbuds look sturdy but they are lightweight as well at 6 gm each. The charging case has a fabric covering and it looks decent and minimal with just the company’s branding, a USB-C port, and a tiny LED indicator, the only thing is it’s not too compact, something we had seen with Momentum 2 earbuds as well.
Coming back to the earbuds, they are smaller than their predecessors and quite comfortable to wear for hours.
On the other hand, they look appealing and sporty as well with the branding on the outer side and with the replaceable fins, something not often I’ve seen in earbuds.
The fin gives that extra grip you need if you mostly move around wearing your earbuds. It keeps them in place even when you’re out for a brisk walk or a light run.
But the earbuds do fall if you use them while working out or running. So, you would have to pick the right size for the silicone tip and the fin.
The touch controls on each bud are quite reliable and responsive. It’s pretty easy to skip songs, pause music, activate ANC, etc. by just tapping them.
What’s surprising is there is only IPX4 protection which means the earbuds can handle splashes of water but not too much of it.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: Battery Life
The battery life is good but not exceptional. You get around seven hours of on-battery time and the case gives you three additional charges, so, around 28 hours of total time. However, it varies, especially if you often use ANC.
There is support for quick charging as well as for wireless charging via a Qi-certified charging pad.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: Sound and Performance
Sennheiser has maintained a rich sound output in the Momentum 3 earbuds. The sound is different than what you get in a good Sony or Apple earbuds. It’s more on the sweeter side with notable instrument separation.
There is no flashy bass but you get a smooth and deep bass here which does get punchy if you listen to heavy genres, thanks to the 7mm full-range drivers.
The mid-and the top-range is detailed and controlled. The overall sound signature is beautiful.
What’s important is to make the most of the earbuds, it’s important that you listen to music in high quality. I often use Apple Music and the quality I get there is second to none.
The experience wouldn’t be as rich if you listen to your music on YouTube or other platforms where the sound quality may not be too good.
That said, there is also the support for several codecs here — SBC, AAC, and aptX Adaptive.
Coming to the Active Noise Cancellation, this is highly effective as most of the external noise is blocked. The earbuds come with adaptive noise cancellation which means the ANC levels adjust based on the surroundings. How effective is that? I would say pretty good.
Outdoors, the earbuds manage to block most of the noise. I often used the earphones while traveling in an auto or in the metro, and I had a great experience with the ANC.
There is no option to adjust it manually, though, as in the Sennheiser companion app, you do get to play around with equalizer and a few other settings but a few other features are only available if you log in to your Sennheiser account which is a task really.
One major downside is the earbuds don’t have multi-point connectivity which means you can’t connect two devices simultaneously. I believe this should be a regular feature in earbuds above Rs 15,000.
How is the voice call experience?
The Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds are really good for voice calls for the most part, yet a major problem I faced was you will find it hard to listen to the other person if you pick a normal call while you’re on a WhatsApp call. The voice is usually too muffled for anyone to understand and it was not even a one-off. It’s a bit surprising to see this in premium earphones.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3: Verdict
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds offer excellent sound quality with effective ANC. They are one of the finest pairs of earbuds when it comes to that.
However, even after spending Rs 21,999, you should get multi-point connectivity and better protection against water and dust.
The Momentum 3 can be a go-to option for Android users looking for a premium pair of earphones. Personally, I did find them excellent in sound, but there are some downsides due to which the overall package is not as appealing as the Sony WF-1000 XM4 earbuds which I have been using for months.
