Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 Review

Sennheiser is one of the big players in the true wireless earbuds market. Along with Sony, Apple, and Bose, they consistently come out with newer devices that are better than their previous iteration. For Sennheiser, their latest flagship earbuds – the third-generation MOMENTUM True Wireless – now come with better noise cancellation, longer battery life and a lower price point.

Inside the Box

The third generation of MOMENTUM True Wireless come in a textile-wrapped case. It is stylish enough to bring it out and small enough to put into your bag or pocket. It has a nice touch and feels solid in your hand. The USB-C charging port is at the front of the case, requiring a bit of force to pop the magnetic case open.

Taking the earbuds out of the case, I also noticed they are smaller than their predecessors. In fact, they are 16 percent smaller. With a new oval touch panel, they do look and feels a bit bulky.

Also in the box are a series of silicon adapters and fins of various sizes so that you can mix and match to find the ones most suited to your ear.

Specifications

Frequency response (speaker)	5 Hz to 21 kHz
Transducer principle	dynamic, closed-back
Transducer size	7 mm, TrueResponse™
Sound pressure level (SPL)	107 dB SPL (1 kHz / 1 mW)
Total harmonic distortion (THD)	<0.08% (1 kHz / 94 dB SPL)
Frequency response (microphone)	100 Hz to 10 kHz
Microphone principle	MEMS
Microphone pick-up pattern	3 mics per earbud, beamforming for noise reduction
Battery supply (earbuds)	77 mAh
Battery supply (charging case)	850-950 mAh
Charging port	USB-C, Qi wireless charging
Operating time (earbuds)	7 hrs
Operating time (charging case)	28 hrs
Charging time	approx. 1.5 hrs for full charge, 1 hr music playtime after 10 min charging
Bluetooth version	Bluetooth 5.2 compliant, class 1, 10 mW (max)
Bluetooth profiles	A2DP, AVRCP, HFP
Bluetooth Audio Codec	SBC, AAC, aptX™, aptX adaptive™
Active Noise Cancellation	Hybrid Adaptive ANC
IPX rating	IPX4, splash resistant (earbuds only)
Weight (earbuds)	5.8 g
Weight (charging case)	66.4 g
Temperature range (operation)	0 to +45°C
Relative humidity (operation)	10 to 80%, non-condensing
Transmission frequency	2,402 MHz to 2,480 MHz; GFSK, π/4 DQPSK / 8DPSK

Usage

Like any other earbuds, using the MOMENTUM TW3 is easy. On the first use, I was told to charge the case for at least 30 seconds before removing the earbuds from the case.

With the earbuds out of the case, touch and hold both of them for 3 seconds to activate Bluetooth pairing mode to pair them on your phone or computer.

During testing, I wore the earbuds for the whole day throughout the week and found them to be comfortable in the ear. The earbuds come with ab IPX4 rating, are water resistant, and you can bring them outdoors or for a jog. However, sometimes when wearing them for a longer time, they just fell off the ear, so I wouldn’t recommend wearing them for your jog.

One thing I like about the design is the large touch panel for gesture control. Tapping on the left earbud gives a different result than tapping on the right. The left earbud is mainly for controlling the music mode, while the right controls the music itself.

Left earbud:

• Tap once: activate transparency mode
• Tap twice: play the previous song
• Tap three times: enable/disable the Noise Cancellation mode
• Tap and hold: reduce the volume

Right earbud:

• Tap once: play/pause the current music
• Tap twice: play the next song.
• Tap three times: activate voice assistant
• Tap and hold: increase the volume

The best thing is that with the Smart Control app, you can customize the touch actions.

Speaking of the Smart Control app, it really improves the earbuds and allows you to customize them to be your own. The Sound Check function helps you create a customized equalizer preset for your music.

While there are several equalizer profiles in the Equalizer section, I found most of them a miss rather than a hit. For someone who prefers stronger bass in my music, I love that it allows me to manually adjust the equalizer and save it as a preset.

The Sound Zones function is yet another interesting and useful feature. Using your location, you can set up a sound zone with a custom noise control and equalizer settings. For example, you can set it to turn on noise cancellation when you are leaving your house or change it to a bassier equalizer setting when you are in the gym.

Lastly, whenever there is new firmware, it is pushed to the device via the Smart Control app.

Performance

Sound quality is generally good with clear bass and treble. The Equalizer function actually allows me to better enjoy my music.

The technical explanation by Sennheiser on its adaptive noise cancellation is that it automatically adjusts the level of noise cancelling when the noise level in your environment changes. The good thing is, I don’t have to bother with this technical detail. I only know that the noise cancellation works pretty well to block out unwanted noise. There is also an “Anti-Wind” setting that is useful when you are jogging or cycling. I have yet to try out this feature.

One thing to note is that there is a limitation to how much noise it can block for in-ear earbuds compared to over-ear headphones.

The transparency mode that supposedly allows you to hear your surroundings or have a conversation has no impact for me at all.

Battery Life

Theoretically, the earbuds can deliver 7 hours of continuous playback, and the case can provide an additional 21 hours of battery life. In my test, it clocked close to about 5 hours before it needs to be recharged.

Conclusion

There are plenty of earbuds out there at any price range. If you are someone who appreciates good audio quality, design and functionality, and have the budget, these are definitely earbuds you should look for.

Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 is selling for $‌249.95.