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Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2, hands on: Good battery life and top-quality sound, at a price
- Editors' review
- Specs
True wireless earbuds are popular these days, and products are available at a variety of price points. At £279 (inc. VAT)/$299.95, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds are expensive, and while you get a lot for your money they're not without drawbacks.
My review buds were white, and they're also available in black. The buds are rather large, and considerably bigger than the pair I'd been using immediately before they arrived. If you've got particularly small ears, then they might not be a comfortable fit, and I found the left one to be a little bit troublesome. It was OK for an hour or so, then started to feel uncomfortable. Despite being on the large side, the buds weigh just 6g each -- not enough to be noticeable in use. If they fit well, you should find them fine for all-day wear. The earbuds are splash-resistant to IPX4 level.
The Momentum True Wireless 2 case measures 76.8mm by 43.8mm by 34.7mm and weighs 70g with the earbuds (6g each). It includes a USB-C-charged battery that can hold 28 hours of earbud charge (or four charges of the earbuds).
The case is among the larger ones I've seen, and its pale fabric covering, while looking great, is likely to get stained from bag or pocket detritus over time. The black model might be a better bet if this is a worry. One of the benefits of the large case is that its integrated battery can deliver up to 28 hours of listening time, which is pretty good. The earbuds should give you 7 hours from a single charge, which will be enough for a movie or, in my case, making work calls for a full working day with some private music in between.
For such an expensive pair of buds, it's disappointing that you can only use the right bud on its own. That is, if you want to have just one bud in an ear for making calls, which is my preference, then it has to be the right-hand one.
Settings in Sennheiser's Smart Control app (Android and iOS).
The case is charged via USB-C, and it takes 90 minutes to deliver a full charge. If you've only got ten minutes, Sennhesier says this is enough time to give the earbuds 90 minutes of playing time. So as long as you keep the case topped up there should be enough playtime available, and it's easy to give the case a battery boost if you have a phone charger handy.
SEE: 5G smartphones: A cheat sheet (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
On-bud controls are achieved by tapping the flat outer face of each bud. There are single-tap, double-tap and even triple-tap gestures to master, and you can configure the gestures precisely as you want them for each bud via the handset app, including toggling ANC (Active Noise Cancellation), using play and pause, and even setting off the phone's voice assist.
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Sound quality is stunning. The sound is immersive when watching a movie, and I also really enjoyed listening to orchestral and rock music. Across the sound spectrum, instruments were sharp and punchy. The spoken word was similarly pleasant to listen to. I tested the active noise cancellation against a range of ambient sound files and it successfully cut out droning sounds (that might equate to background engine-type noise on public transport), but dealt less well with clatter of office noise.
Overall, Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 2 are great wireless earbuds. Battery life is good and charging reasonably fast, sound quality is great, and it's easy to personalise the controls. However, they're not perfect: we'd appreciate the ability to use either bud independently rather than just the right-hand one; the case's cloth finish might pick up marks; and people with smaller ears might find the buds a little large for comfort.
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