Sennheiser Momentum Free

Unpacked

The contents of the box are quickly covered: Wireless in-ears, USB charging cable, four pairs of earpieces (XS to L), a carrying bag and a quick guide. The Sennheiser are presented in a foam bed which can also be used in the leather bag, leading me to wonder: Who bothers to twirl their headphones back into the delivery presentation? Of course, you can also simply throw the Momentum into your pocket, which is certainly a more common practice.

The in-ears feel extremely worthy and the connecting cable is pleasantly rubberized and long enough. This length can be varied with a loop clip, which unfortunately can’t be removed so that even with the longest possible cable you always carry a small loop with you. This forces an unattractive kink on the cable, but the in-ears do contain small magnets so that they can be worn around the neck like a chain.

The remote and battery block are integrated into the cable path on the left and right. The rather large battery block, which is supposed to allow the specified six hours of operation, is immediately noticeable, but the setup itself is simple: Pair with Bluetooth 4.2, select earmolds, and then get started.

The Sound

Codec side, the Sennheiser are equipped with SBC, AAC aptX and aptX Low Latency. What does this mean in addition to the dynamic converters? A good sound and little offset when watching movies. The Sennheiser Momentum Free is actually outstanding in all areas. Full and dry, the bass forms a solid foundation for the warm mids, which lead through to the clear highs, creating a mature and beautiful sound in every respect. In broad stereo, I get deep into the pre-releases of the new Schiller album and am impressed by the dynamics of the Momentum Free, which are also loud enough. A little touch-up with an EQ makes everything even rounder. I would like to take advantage of the services of the Sennheiser app “Cap Tune”, whose equalizer offers many presets, but then I’d have to run my music library through the app, which I find a bit inconvenient, especially since I can only select Tidal as my music source in addition to my iTunes collection. Amazon music, for example, is not supported at all. I don’t think that’s good enough, so there’s still room for improvement. If you want to see how to do it better, check out the app for Momentum True Wireless.

Control and More

The control does its job with Start/Stop/Call and Skip forwards and backwards, as well as volume. Here, however, the button-controlled calling of the digital assistants doesn’t work, which then irritates again. Phone calls via Momentum Free work well and the voice quality is good – for both sides; although you shouldn’t stand in the wind with the microphone, of course, as that would be unpleasant for those you call.

As far as the running time of the Momentum is concerned, I only have five hours’ playing time rather than the advertised six as the last 20 minutes are unusable due to a recurring voice warning of an almost empty battery. You quickly get used to the large battery dangling so close to your face, and the remote on the other side makes the in-ears sit pleasantly balanced in your ears.