At $329.95, Sennheiser’s Momentum Sport true wireless earphones sound robust and provide capable active noise cancellation (ANC). They also offer an especially secure in-ear fit, take an innovative approach to on-ear controls, and are accompanied by a full-featured companion app with adjustable EQ. Most notable, however, is their ability to record your heart rate and body temperature. In this price range, we recommend the $299 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds for most listeners thanks to their more effective noise cancellation, but you might prefer the Momentum Sport if you want to track basic health data.Design, Fit, and Battery LifeAvailable in Burned Olive, Metallic Graphite, or Polar Black (the version I tested), the rounded Momentum Sport earpieces have a matte finish and feature the Sennheiser logo. They ship with three pairs of silicone eartips and earfins, along with a simple finless band. You have to remove the latter before you can switch to a different band with fins. The earpieces feel secure even without the bands, but they are noticeably more stable with them. Just make sure to match the correct band to the correct earbud. All of the left earfins have a small cutout to accommodate the red oval on the left earpiece.
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(Credit: Tim Gideon)
The eartips have perforated grilles that Sennheiser says create a semi-open design. You might be able to hear your surroundings somewhat more than with regular eartips, but most people won’t notice a difference because they still passively block out plenty of noise. I will note that the semi-open design does help mitigate noises that are more noticeable during exercise, such as breathing and footsteps. In any case, I much prefer this implementation (in combination with the digital transparency mode) to the inconvenient, swappable eartips for the Sennheiser Sport Wireless. If you’re looking for truly open earbuds in this price range that allow you to fully hear your surroundings, consider Bose’s futuristic Ultra Open Earbuds for $299. Just remember that earphones with an open design usually struggle to produce deep bass.Internally, 10mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 15Hz to 18kHz. The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2, support the AAC, aptX, aptX Adaptive, and SBC codecs, and offer multipoint pairing with up to two devices. Google Fast Pair isn’t available.
The on-ear controls support both capacitive touch input and what Sennheiser calls “tap control.” The latter method allows you to operate just about any control by tapping on the skin around your ear. It takes a few tries to determine the sweet spot; I had the best luck by pressing on the front of my ear. Overall, this combination of controls makes the earbuds simple to operate in practically any situation. You won’t, for example, have to remove your gloves to pause your music during a cold weather workout.As for the control scheme, tap twice on the left or right to play or pause your music. Tap three times on the left to cycle through the noise-cancelling modes (ANC, Anti Wind, or Transparency) or on the right to skip forward a track. Tapping twice on either side answers or ends a call, while tapping three times toggles your mic on a call. A long press (via capacitive touch only) adjusts the volume (left for down, right for up). All of these controls work relatively reliably, and the app lets you make lots of changes. An IP55 rating is a bit better than the IPX4 rating for the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. It means the earpieces are moderately dust resistant and can withstand a fair level of water pressure. They won’t survive submersion, however. If you need a more durable pair of noise-cancelling earbuds for exercise, check out the IP68-rated Jabra Elite 8 Active ($199).The mostly silicone charging case carries an IP54 rating, which is a nice perk you don’t see too often. Its flat, rounded lid extends fully backward to open and snaps shut by itself. A covered USB-C port under the lip connects to the included USB-A-to-USB-C cable for charging, though you can also use a Qi wireless charger to replenish the case battery. A status LED sits just above the port, while a loop for the included lanyard is on the right. The latter is easy to hang on a hook thanks to a hard silicone section.Sennheiser estimates that the earphones can last roughly 5.5 hours per charge with ANC on or 6 hours with the transparency mode set to its lowest level. The case holds up to 18.5 hours of battery life. Keep in mind that your real-world results for the earbuds and case will vary depending on your typical volume level and use of the biometric features. The earpieces take 1.5 hours to fully charge from empty, and 10 minutes of charging should get you roughly 45 minutes of playback time. These results aren’t particularly impressive but are on par with the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. App ExperienceI experienced a few bugs with Sennheiser’s Smart Control app (available for Android and iOS), but nothing egregious, and I expect Sennheiser to fix the issues in short order. Generally, the experience is smooth.The app has three main sections: Devices, Discover, and Settings. Battery readouts for the earbuds (as a pair, rather than separately) and case are at the top of the Devices section. Further down are a Connection Management tile for managing paired devices and a Controls section that explains how to use the gestures. Oddly, there is another Controls section if you scroll even further down. The latter lets you change the earbud control assignments, adjust the touch sensitivity, and deactivate the long-press gesture. The Sport Sensors section lets you view your heart rate and temperature readings in real time. In testing, I found these readings to be accurate. You can also set up connections with other fitness tracking devices or the Polar Flow app here.
(Credit: Sennheiser)
Tap the Equalizer tile to enable the Bass Boost or Podcast modes (both are off by default), as well as to create a custom EQ preset with five bands ranging from 63Hz to 8kHz. The related Sound Check feature generates custom presets based on the genres in your music library, but requires registration.Head to the Noise Control area to switch between the ANC, Anti Wind, and Transparency modes. Here, you can adjust the transparency levels with a slider and choose whether it is active for phone calls. There’s no switch for turning the ANC off completely, though a Sennheiser representative confirmed that enabling Transparency mode and lowering the levels to zero forces it off. You can also set your music to automatically pause whenever you activate the Transparency mode.Sound Zones is another feature that requires an account. Essentially, it engages a preselected audio preset when you arrive at a specified location, such as home, work, or the gym (it supports up to 20). Finally, an optional test analyzes your in-canal ear fit. I couldn’t find a way to exit this test once it was completed, however, so I had to fully close the app.The Discover menu has various links to other Sennheiser products. The Settings area allows you to select a streaming audio resolution and codec (if that’s possible on your device), as well as adjust auto-power-off and voice prompt options. You can also enable a battery protection mode that slows down the charging rate to prolong battery lifespan. You can eliminate any of the modules from the main Devices screen, too. Effective Noise CancellationThe Momentum Sport earphones delivered strong noise cancellation in testing. They considerably dialed back powerful, low-frequency rumble I played at high volumes through speakers, with only the deepest sub-bass passing through. They also handled a more challenging recording of a busy restaurant quite well by noticeably tamping down the overall volume level. The best-in-class QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds still come out ahead in both scenarios, though the Sennheiser earbuds are at least somewhat competitive.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
Whether you consider the Transparency mode helpful is a matter of preference. It amplifies your surrounding environment beyond reality at its maximum level. Things sound more natural at the middle level, but it still tries to enhance conversational frequencies. Balanced, Thumping AudioI tried both the Bass Boost function and customizable EQ and can confirm that both are effective. That said, I reverted the earphones to their default settings for my evaluations below.On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Momentum Sport earbuds deliver an impressive low-frequency response with plenty of thump. The bass depth never overwhelms the highs here.They have no trouble reproducing the sub-bass notes at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” The deepest of the notes come across with a subwoofer-like rumble, while the various vocals exhibit an ideal clarity. Again, the bass is intense but never overshadows the rest of the mix.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass, pack some extra depth, but never sound unnaturally heavy. Callahan’s baritone vocals get plenty of low-mid richness, though you might wish for a more obvious high-mid presence. You can turn to the EQ to brighten the sound signature without affecting the bass depth.On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the drivers retain a pleasing balance. The lower-register instrumentation steps forward in the mix, but again, not to an overwhelming degree. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals sound clear too, though you might want to use the EQ to enhance these frequencies. Overall, the earphones deliver powerful sub-bass when it’s in the mix but don’t invent it where it doesn’t exist. Thus, they work well for classical and jazz tracks—Miles Davis’ “Pharaoh’s Dance,” for instance, sounds particularly rich without any discernible change to its balance.The voice mic array works fine. I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone clearly and the signal level is comparable with that of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra in terms of both volume and crispness. Recordings have a more natural tone than competing options that heavily treat recordings for clarity.Well-Rounded Earphones With Simple Health TrackingSennheiser’s Momentum Sport earphones come with enough fit accessories to stay in place during even the most intense workouts and can accurately track both your body temperature and heart rate. They also have reliable on-ear controls and deliver bass-forward audio you can tweak to taste. In short, they’re excellent earphones for audiophiles who want basic health features. For everyone else, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are our top pick for their superior noise cancellation and slightly lower price.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport
The Bottom Line
The premium, fitness-friendly Sennheiser Momentum Sport earphones pair deep lows with effective noise cancellation and can measure your heart rate and temperature.
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