Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Over-Ear Quick Review

Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Over-Ear Quick Review

Thanks to Sennheiser for the sample.

Brief:  Sennheisers style range Over Ear.

Price:  Today £270, €320 or US$350.  However Rainforest UK had Ivory for just £180

Specification:  See here http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/momentum-m2 scroll to the bottom.

Accessories:  Very little.  A baggy, a hardish case thing and err the cable for it, just the one and its mic’d.

Build Quality:  First rate.  Senn aren’t known for breaking that German stereotype of solid, well-engineered and precision manufacturing.

Isolation:  Pretty damn good for a big can.  I’d consider suitable for blocking out most out and about sounds.  Most public transport too, but really, big cans for that, hey it’s your choice but I am judging you.  Oh and easily enough to block out traffic sounds, so do remember to keep your eyes peeled.

Comfort/Fit:  Very good.  I know some found the v1 pinched their ears a bit but these fit, granted only just, entirely around my ears.  They rested on my skull and thus were comfy to wear for hours and hours at a time.  I know this because I did, repeatedly.

Aesthetics:  Coming in a range of Black, Brown and Ivory, Black I get but are we having a 70’s revival with the Brown and Ivory?  Actually they look alright.  Rather grown up and mature in comparison to the more chavtastic offerings from say Beats or V-Moda.

Sound:  Unsurprisingly they are good.  No, really an upper end Senn sounds good, you don’t say!  There is a reason Senn have a great rep, they have been making headphones since the middle ages so have figured out pretty well how to do so.  The Momentum range is their attempt at a more “consumer” friendly sound but this V2.0 one deviates a touch from the other two I have so far dealt with.  The 1.0 are warmer, softer, richer, an acoustic chocolaty brown.  These new ones are more of a dark translucent grey, slate type of tone.  From a mediocre source like say, an Iphone 5 they are softened, warmed, with a very full bodied bottom end.  Mostly clean but highly scaled and full-bodied.  Fed more power it really increases in solidity and punchiness.  Honestly I’d rather it was more genteel as elevated bass such as this, when driven well punches sufficiently hard to get tiring on my little ears.  Mids, they I really can’t fault well or poorly driven.  They are both so open and articulate.  There is a little mid spike to let them stand out from the instrumentation around them.  Clean with varying degrees of dry to liquid there is an overall coolness, an airy chill wind that blows right though.  Clarity feels enhanced and is perfect for soft acoustic tracks.  Treble, it is of the shimmery type, poorly driven it’s a gentle wash of sparkle.  Drive it vigorously and it becomes a dazzling explosion of pinpoints of light.  Each one so tiny and clear but it’s like a shimmery eruption of light.  Each is still in itself genteel so isn’t abrasive or grating but cumulatively can be overwhelming.  If you’re powering it well you’ll want to feed it quality recordings.

Value:  At £270, you are paying for its fancy leatheryness.  Yes it sounds very nice but that’s HD650 money.  Of course you can’t use the 650 outside or out of a phone.  At £180 then we are really talking, that’s order and worry what the good lady wife might say later.  With them on you won’t be able to hear her anyway.

Pro’s:   Quality leathery build.  Sound great even out of a phone.

Con’s:  You pay for that leather.  A bit heavy and thick sounding. Erm, its only cheap in Ivory, does that count?