Health earbuds that lack finesse

Sennheiser may have simply trotted out a set of wi-fi earbuds that have been rated IP55 and known as it the Momentum Sport ($330), however it went additional, including heart-rate and body-temperature sensors to the made-for-exercise earbuds. These additions offer you extra perception into exercises, but in addition feed knowledge to your current third-party exercise apps. After all, the Momentum Sport additionally has to excel on the regular earbud stuff, and provide an ergonomic design, energetic noise cancellation (ANC), contact controls and different widespread options. Sennheiser has a strong observe report with sound high quality, however now it has to steadiness that with the expanded capabilities of the Momentum Sport.

What’s good concerning the Sennheiser Momentum Sport

The Momentum Sport’s total form is what I want Sennheiser used for the Momentum True Wi-fi 4. The previous’s rounder profile matches my ears higher and feels extra snug although they’re barely bigger. With out the match wing, the Sport model nonetheless rests properly in my ears, although that further half positively helps hold them in place throughout exercises. Merely put, this design feels extra refined and I’d like to see the corporate take the same route on its flagship mannequin.

Sennheiser says it aimed for “vivid sound and impressive bass” that might assist amp up a exercise and it delivered. The inventory tuning has noticeably extra low-end thump on Justice’s Hyperdrama, bracing the digital tunes with a thicker layer of tone. That’s positively one thing that assists along with your vitality ranges throughout bodily exercise. However, as I’ll focus on later, the additional bass isn’t all the time an excellent factor.

The Momentum Sport’s marquee options, that are heart-rate and body-temperature monitoring, work nicely. Due to the earbuds’ safe match, you may get fixed, reliable readings in Sennheiser’s Good Management app. Coronary heart fee figures matched these on my Apple Watch, and I confirmed my temperatures with a brow scan. The Momentum Sport’s readings have been according to the opposite gadgets each time, which suggests the earbuds are as dependable as different at-home alternate options.

What’s extra, there’s tight integration with apps like Polar, Peloton, Strava and Zwift, so you should use the Momentum Sport with their gadgets and never simply Sennheier’s app, which is usually designed to tweak settings. Nevertheless, solely Polar’s Circulate helps the Momentum Sport’s body-temperature monitoring. Sennheiser says it is because Polar is the one firm with an ecosystem that retains tabs on that metric and helps the suitable sensors. Irrespective of which third-party app you like, you’ll most likely need to sync the Momentum Sport to considered one of them, because the Good Management software program solely shows real-time readings and received’t hold tabs on developments or monitor stats throughout exercises.

Though it has to energy extra sensors, the Momentum Sport nonetheless delivers strong battery life. Sennheiser says a single cost affords 5 and a half hours of playback, and that declare holds up. I didn’t have any points hitting that determine throughout my testing of looping audio at about 65-70 p.c quantity. That’s with ANC on regular mode and heart-rate and physique temperature sensors energetic. The corporate says you possibly can lengthen the battery on the Momentum Sport by half-hour in case you allow Eco Mode in its app. This function disables aptX audio and each of the body-tracking sensors.

What’s not so good on the Momentum Sport

The Momentum Sport helps you to faucet your cheek for playback and name controls. That is handy when operating, for instance, because you don’t have to seek out the precise location of the contact panel whereas on the transfer or in case you’re carrying gloves. The draw back is that it may be activated by chewing. It’s intensely annoying. Throughout my exams, chewing gum or meals ceaselessly triggered the controls.

Sennheiser says it is because I’ve sturdy jaw muscle tissue (yay?) in shut proximity to the sensor, however that doesn’t make it any much less maddening. I chew gum throughout each runs and lifting periods, so this can be a dealbreaker. Simply clenching my jaw did not set off it, so no less than there’s that. The one method to treatment the problem is to show off the onboard controls totally, which disables each the cheek tapping and extra widespread earbud tapping gestures.

The Momentum True Wi-fi 4’s ANC efficiency is strong however not wonderful and that holds true on the Momentum Sport. Each units of earbuds carry out equally with fixed noise sources, decreasing the quantity of the exterior roar reasonably than blocking it utterly. Like loads of the competitors (and the True Wi-fi 4), the Momentum Sport struggles with human voices. General, neither of them provide the form of sturdy, world-silencing energy that Bose and Sony muster.

Transparency mode on the Momentum Sport is serviceable, however it’s removed from nice. The earbuds let in your environment nicely, however don’t pipe in sufficient of your voice and I discovered myself getting shouty throughout just a few calls. There’s additionally an anti-wind mode that turns out to be useful throughout outside exercises, however it’s a software practically all new earbuds are geared up with today.

Sadly, good audio efficiency isn’t common on the Momentum Sport. Whereas some albums are detailed and crisp regardless of the added bass, others are lacking punchy highs and a robust mid vary. The sound profile compresses issues like grungy, distorted guitars and bass strains. Vocals constantly reduce by means of, however the extra outstanding kick drum in songs like Knocked Free’s chaotic “Suffocate” relegates guitars to the backseat. In truth, guitars throughout a variety of types – together with various, rock and nation – lack the depth and element the Momentum 4 present. By dialing up the low-end tone, Sennheiser has sacrificed a few of the dynamics that often give its earbuds such nice audio. And in a set of earbuds that value over $300, that’s a disgrace.

Lastly, let’s focus on the case, which is much less refined than Sennheiser’s earlier designs. These earbuds value $330 and the charging case shouldn’t really feel this flimsy. The lid closes securely more often than not, however the hinge is only a piece of rubber so the case doesn’t keep open until you lay all of it the way in which flat. The soft-touch coating feels good, however in comparison with the equipment that include the Momentum line, this case is what I’d anticipate with a set of earbuds that value half as a lot. The excellent news is, there’s wi-fi charging help and the case is rated IPX4, so it’s not all a loss.

Wrap-up

The Momentum Sport presents a dichotomy. On one hand, they’re wonderful exercise earbuds that reliably observe biometric stats for an inside take a look at your coaching regime. On the opposite, they lack the general sound high quality I’ve come to anticipate from Sennheiser’s Momentum lineup and the overly delicate controls are an excessive nuisance. The earbuds may enhance with some software program fine-tuning, however for now, they’re too costly to purchase only for exercises and don’t even carry out constantly sufficient to be your go-to set.