Pros: Overall sound quality, build quality, comfort, looks and design
Cons: Piercing highs

Packaging & Accessories: 8/10
Build Quality: 9.5/10
Design & Look: 10/10
Microphonics (higher ratings means lower cable noise): 9/10
Isolation: 9/10
Comfort: 9/10
Sound Quality: 8/10
Value: 10/10
My final Rating: 9/10

Review Date: May 2015
Review Price: £78

First of all I would like to thank Sennheiser for sending me the Momentum Earphones for review. After having reviewed the IE8, IE800, and quite a few of the CX range, I was interested where this mid-range earphone would fit in the Sennheiser product list.
The earphones can be found on AmazonUK for £78 and on AmazonUSA for $97.

More information about the earphones can be found on Sennheiser’s website.

Here’s my video review of the earphones:

Let’s now get into the written review!

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging and accessories of the earphones is relatively simple.
Inside the package there’s a manual, a hard case which also fits an earphone holder and 4 sets of silicone tips (SS, S, M, L).

I would have liked to see a little more variation in the tips included and more so a soft carrying pouch alongside the hard carrying pouch.
The packaging of the earphones is well done, as it is with most of the Sennheiser range, where you can see it stand out in a shop.

Overall the packaging and accessories could have been a little better, given its price-point – but on the whole it was decent.

Build Quality

The build quality of the earphones is near flawless. Given its price, I found the Sennheiser Momentum In-ears to be really well thought out – for once I can say that from top to bottom Sennheiser have really nailed the build quality of the earphones. Often I’ve found problems with the build quality of given earphones and headphones from Sennheiser – but in this case – almost flawless.
Starting from the jack, it’s terminated by a right-angled gold-plated 3.5mm jack – my only complaint about it really is that it has quite a small strain relief, which over time might cause problems. Moving up the cable, there’s the Y-split where the cable goes from an all-black design to a red-black design.

What I like with this is that it gives the earphones a bit of character – a very simple thing to have added, but a nice touch nonetheless. Finally, on the subject of the cable, I really like the cable management piece that Sennheiser have included. Yet again, small thing to notice, but it makes all the difference. The cable management is a norm, but the attention to detail, via the silver look alongside the “S” on it, makes it a nice touch.

As we move to the earphones, there is a microphone and 3-button remote that can be used on your given device. In my case, I requested the “Samsung” version – which in other words is the Android version, which has different poles to an iPhone. Thus the M2IEG is made for Android devices in mind, and the M2IEi is made for iDevices in mind. It’s nice that Sennheiser is catering for both market and charging the customer the same price for either version – it’s a rare thing to see, especially from a manufacturer like Sennheiser, but I was pleased to see the option provided to customers.
I used the mic with my JIAYU S3 and both the mic and the 3 button remote worked flawlessly with my phone. Having the option of a mic is useful nowadays as a lot more people are tucking away their phones and thus relying on in-line mics for phone calls.

To round off the build quality, it’s important to mention the microphonics and the overall weight of the earphones. I found the microphonics to be very good – in other words there was little cable noise when they were brushing on my shirt. However there still is a little bit of cable noise and this can be fully eliminated by wearing them over-the-ear.
The weight of the earphones means that it’s comfortable to wear for long periods of time – I like the choice of material that Sennheiser have used, where they’ve opted for plastic rather than metal. Although this might not seem logical from someone who likes premium quality materials, it makes perfect sense for earphones. When an earphone is heavy it feels uncomfortable after a period of time.

On a different note, it’s interesting to see the strain relief, or should I say the lack of a strain relief used on the earphones’ housing. The earphone design slightly reminds me of the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 headphones, where the cable is slightly exposed by the cups.
This therefore could be intentional in terms of design, but I like it either way – it’s a nice take on an earphone’s strain relief.

Overall the build quality is almost flawless – it’s hard to fault them in many ways, especially at their price-point, I was really impressed with the earphones.

Design, looks, comfort and isolation

Looks:
The looks to me are really cool – trendy and yet professional looking at the same time. The finish reminds me of a metallic car-paint, which is always nice to see.
The only thing here is that if you don’t like the colour red, then you’re not going to find any sympathy from Sennheiser. With that said, the red colour utilised by Sennheiser appeals to both a man and a woman – it’s just the right note to be truly uni-sex.

Isolation:
The isolation of the earphones was actually surprisingly good. I was expecting them to fair decently, but wasn’t expecting them to isolate as well as they did – therefore making it a pleasant surprise!
It’s definitely above average and will block out enough noise for you to enjoy it during busy commutes in trains. I should note that there’s a small vent located at the top of the earphones’ housing, meaning you’ll get a very small amount of noise leaking from the earphones and vice-versa, going back into your ear drum.

Comfort:
Due to the earphones being lightweight, I was extremely happy with the comfort – where they say straight down or over the earphone comfortably.
Also, due to their design, I like the way it sits in the ear canal – it’s a slight angled earphone which makes the overall comfort just that slight bit better.

Sound Quality

I was very intrigued by the sound quality, as unlike the other earphones I had reviewed, these ones had a different sound signature. Not only from the Sennheiser range, but generally speaking. This most probably comes down to the choice of the housing’s material, which gives a different sort of decay. It’s not a bad thing, just a different type of sound – I suspect most won’t hear it at first, but whilst comparing it with other earphones, it was obvious there was a slightly different decay.

Lows:
The low-end is quite well done, with the mid-bass having a nice pronounced slam, and the sub-bass having somewhat of an extension. It could be improved via a better extended sub-bass and a more controlled and precise mid-bass, but on the whole I was satisfied with its performance in the low-end frequency tones.

Mids/highs: 
The mids were a little recessed and after having heard the mid-bass slam, it came to no surprise. The mids were unfortunately pushed back and therefore gave off a V-Shaped sound signature to the earphones. I feel that if the mid-bass wasn’t as strong, the mids would come out a little better and thus give a less recessed sounding earphone. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t weak in the mids, just that it could have been a little more forward and better presented – the mid-range reminded me more of the CX range than it did of the IE range that Sennheiser offer.
The highs were decent, although being a little rolled off. One thing to note however is that the highs were quite ear-piercing, making the earphones a little unbearable at higher volumes, or with a song that had an emphasis on female vocals. This meant that the earphones had a little bit of sibilance to them, something I’ve not come across for quite some time – however it was the case with these earphones.

Soundstage:
The soundstage, as previously mentioned with the decay was interesting to hear. The actual width of the earphones was decent and so was the depth. I would have liked to hear a bit more depth and width, but at the given price-point I was happy with the performance of the Sennheiser Momentums.

Sound Quality Ratings
Lows: 8/10
Mids: 7.5/10
Highs: 8/10
Soundstage: 8/10

Conclusion & Closing Thoughts

Overall, these earphones actually surprised me – after having given these a demo at an event, I wasn’t overly impressed by them, but after having spent some time with them, and used them on a daily basis on my commutes and also had the chance to sit down and compare them to other earphones it comes up against, I feel that these earphones make a great buy.
Their price also sits in a very competitive market, where a little less money gets you a worse earphone and a little more money gets you a very good earphone. I feel for once that the price to performance is absolutely spot-on at £78 – they could be a slight bit cheaper, but on the whole I really like the earphones and would definitely suggest them to anyone looking for an earphone at its given price-point. I would still urge people to spend just that little bit more and buy the DUNU Titan 1’s that provide unparalleled sound at their price-point (and beyond to the under £200 price point) – but for your pick up and go earphones, that you might find in a local shop, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these. For once, I can actually recommend a Sennheiser product without having any major complaints about it – great!

Hope you enjoyed my review!
–TotallydubbedHD