Sennheiser’s new Momentum True Wireless 3s are the company’s latest flagship headphones. With more sophisticated style, improved active noise reduction, new features and first-class sound quality, Sennheiser has provided a worthy competitor to Apple AirPods Pro, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 and Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds.
Perhaps the best thing about the latest Sennheiser pimples is that they are cheaper than the previous model: Momentum True Wireless 2s starts at $ 299, but the company releases them at $ 249.95. This is still a first-class price, but Sennheiser is already on par with Apple’s AirPod Pros and is available cheaper by both Sony and Bose’s flagships. As the prices of technology products rise every year, it’s good to see someone go in the opposite direction for a change – and add new features to get started.
Good things
- Improved ANC
- Smaller, more elegant design
- Now with wireless charging
Bad things
- No multipoint (yet)
- Accidental bugs
- The transparency regime lags behind the competition
Wireless charging is the most significant upgrade. It was hard to accept the lack of this feature in Momentum True Wireless 2s. For the price, wireless charging should be on the table. I’m not sure how it took Sennheiser’s three attempts to realize this.
Another improvement is what comes in the box: Sennheiser gives you four sizes of earbuds – the fourth is extremely small – but with the new model the company also includes three optional wings that wrap around each headset and insert into your ears for added stability . The medium size is pre-installed, but is easy to remove or replace with a smaller or larger wing if you need to keep the headphones extra stable and secure in place during a workout or run. Even without the stabilizer blades, the MTW3 gripped my ears comfortably and didn’t loosen easily.
The headphones have a redesigned design. Sennheiser includes optional stabilizers with its latest headphones.
The headphones are smaller than their predecessors, with a more square outer side, which is available in black, gray or white. My black review looks much finer in the ear compared to the MTW2s, which have a shiny silver Sennheiser logo. But they’re still sticking away from something like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro, so these aren’t the most discreet pimples around. The charging case has also shrunk a bit thanks to the fact that the Sennheiser makes better use of space and the USB-C charging port has been moved to the front. This may seem strange at first, but it’s something other companies like Jabra have also started to do, and it may be more convenient depending on where you load MTW3s.
The USB-C port is already on the front of the charging box.
Sennheiser has improved the power of its noise reduction, although you don’t actually have any direct control over how much ANC is applied to MTW3s. The company uses adaptive ANC to automatically increase and decrease noise reduction based on your current environment. Other headset manufacturers have also tried this adaptive approach, although most do so by choice rather than by default full-time. I didn’t find that I lacked a manual setting while testing these headphones, but you may prefer more control. The ANC isn’t on the same level as Sony or Bose, but it does the trick to help muffle nearby distractions. And you always have the option to activate the transparency mode by touching the left handset, although the Sennheiser’s implementation still doesn’t match the same natural sound that Sony, Bose and Apple have achieved.
The more compact Momentum True Wireless 3s may be more suitable for people with smaller ears.
When announcing his latest headphones, Sennheiser did not mention major changes in their sound. They still use 7mm drivers that are similar to what was inside the MTW2s, and I would put the overall sound quality at the same level as those of Sennheiser’s CX Plus – although they are a bit better and can rotate louder by volume. This is a good place as they still sound great. Sennheiser supports adaptive Bluetooth codecs AAC, SBC, AptX and AptX, the latter helping to eliminate any noticeable slowdown in sound when watching videos or playing mobile games on Android. It would be nice to see Sony’s LDAC added to the equation, but it’s the kind of loophole I can live with given the lower price. AptX Adaptive also has support for higher-resolution audio than AAC and SBC allow.
Tossing an old favorite like the Buena Vista Social Club, the Sennheisers provide very spacious, clean and detailed sound, with piano, classical guitars and vocals, all well layered without a hint of mud. The same was true when I switched between The National, Molly Tuttle or Bon Iver’s “Second Nature” from Don’t Look Up. These headphones bring out the little touches of a song with very pleasant clarity. Sennheiser’s Smart Control app for iPhone and Android lets you adjust the equalizer with bass boost and podcast modes that are separate from any changes you make to the bass, midrange and treble sliders. (The podcast option improves speech clarity.) Here’s the standard user-friendly setup curve, but I’d say Sennheisers are more balanced than the Sony 1000XM4s. Not everyone will prefer this: I ended up activating the bass boost more often than not, while Sonys delivers powerful, energetic sound from the box.
The case finally supports wireless charging.
The mobile app has also recently added the option to set “sound zones” and automatically change the noise reduction level and customize the EQ depending on where you are – whether at home, in the office, in the gym or elsewhere. you visit. This works as expected in my tests, but requires you to grant privileges to track the location of the Sennheiser app on your phone. In addition, using Sound Zones (or the Sound Check feature that customizes your EQ) requires you to set up a Sennheiser account. I’m not a fan of people signing up for an account just to use the features of the headset.
Some owners of Sennheiser’s previous Momentum True Wireless models report a sonic, permanent effect of white noise while listening to pimples. Even in a completely quiet room, I have not noticed such irritation in the third generation pair. Battery life remains unchanged for seven hours of continuous listening, and the headphones (along with the case) are waterproof IPX4, making them suitable for routine exercise.
Voice call performance appears to be higher than MTW2s, and I haven’t received any serious complaints about call quality or comprehension difficulties. However, they still do not reach recent awards such as Sony’s LinkBuds. Each of the headphones can be used alone while the others are charged in the box, and they also have an automatic pause when you remove one or both tips.
MTW3 is available in black, gray or white. Their sound is detailed, spacious and balanced.
MTW3s were not completely immune to minor bugs while reviewing them: I noticed accidental (albeit rare) signal interruptions and the status / prompt voice sometimes quickly said both “off” and “connected” soon after I removed them from the case and I put them in my ears. When launched, the new flagship Sennheiser headphones do not support multi-point Bluetooth, so you can only connect to one device at a time. The company says it plans to add multipoint to a future firmware update, but as the old saying goes, you should only buy a product based on what it can do now, not on what may come later.
If the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3s really had multipoints, I would consider them a home run and would recommend an upgrade for fans of the company’s former friends. But even as they are, Sennheiser did a good job of increasing its value while lowering the price of the sticker. Noise reduction is better, now you get wireless charging and they still sound great. Even if the battery life is the same and the call quality is just good, the overall package is more captivating than Sennheiser’s previous first-class efforts. They don’t dismiss the Sony 1000XM4s as my favorite headphones; I will take the better noise reduction, foam earplugs and the warmer sound profile of Sony pimples. But maybe I’m just used to it now. Sennheiser is right there with the best sound quality – and $ 50 less than last time.
Photo by Chris Welch
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