For any movement to gain momentum, it must start with a small action, said entrepreneur and businessman Adam Braun. While he was talking about momentum in business, the statement also holds true for other things. For example, when a company is trying to gain movement, it needs to start small. Sennheiser is trying to start a movement about using fitness trackers in earphones, and it’s starting small in a big way. The newly launched Momentum Sport earphones from Sennheiser are the first pair of earphones to come with heart rate tracking and a body temperature sensor.
They are not cheap and definitely not for the masses. These earphones are aimed at people who have an active lifestyle and have some dough to spend. You get top-notch hardware and design, ANC, and most bells and whistles, but with something extra. How do they perform, and are the fitness tracking sensors actually useful? Read on to find out.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport Design and Features: Utilitarian yet classy
- Weight – Earbuds (6.4g), Case (78.4g)
- Colours – Polar Black, Burned Olive, and Metallic Graphite
- IP Rating – IP55 rating for earbuds, IP54 for case
Before I talk about the health-tracking features of the Momentum Sport earphones, let’s take a look at their design. The TWS earphones are bulky, and that’s not a surprise, knowing these pack some health tracking features. You can use the earbuds with the provided earfins for a secure fit, but you can also use them without them. The package includes three different sizes of ear tips and ear fins for various ear sizes. You also get a pair of non-winged tips. The earbuds have a plastic design and stick out your ear as they’re bulky.
The earphones are large in size and may be too big for some ear types
You’ll also need to use the provided translucent ear-tips with the buds, as the health-tracking sensors will not work if you use any other kind of tips. The earbuds have LED indicators on the inner side, along with the Pogo connectors. Sennheiser houses the health sensors only in the left earbud, which has a transparent shaft for the sensors. When in use, like most photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors, you’ll see a rapidly blinking green light on the ear tip. I have small ears, and although the wingtips ensured a more secure fit even during gym workouts and running, they did cause some pressure and pain after an hour of use. However, if you have large ears, these shouldn’t cause any pain during prolonged use. You could also use them without the wingtips; they probably won’t fall out that easily.
Moving on to the case, the Momentum Sport earphones sit inside a squarish case with a soft-touch rubber finish. We got the Burned Olive variant for review and they do look quite classy. It gets a magnetic lid that is attached to the case via a rubber flap, which, although it doesn’t scream ‘durable’, works quite well to help open and close the lid. There’s another flap at the front that hides the USB Type-C port for charging. Right above the port is an LED charge indicator. The case is also quite big and does create a lump in your pocket. Luckily, the case comes with a built-in lanyard slot and also a short lanyard in the box.
The earbuds are available in three colour options
You get an IP55 rating for the earbuds, and I didn’t encounter any issues when working out or running. The case has an IP54 rating. I’d definitely not recommend exposing the case to rain, but I think the earbuds should survive an outdoor run even in the rain.
Overall, the Momentum Sport earphones are built solid and the case feels like it can take a beating. However, I’m not sure how that rubber flat for the lid will fare in the long run. As for comfort, they’re right for an hour of continuous use. After that, you’re going to face some discomfort.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport App and Specifications: Lot to offer
- App – Sennheiser Smart Connect (iOS and Android)
- Driver – 10mm Dynamic
- Controls – Tap based
The Momentum Sport earphones are compatible with the Smart Connect app from Sennheiser. The app is available on both Android and iOS. You get a lot of customisation options within the app, from equaliser settings and touch controls to even a fit test to ensure the earphones fit your ears perfectly. As soon as you pair your earphones to the app, you’ll see the product details at the top and the battery charge information for both earbuds and the case right below.
The app works similarly on both iOS and Android
Next, you’ll find the Connection management option, where you can select which device to connect the earphones to. The Momentum Sport support multi-device connectivity with up to two devices simultaneously. You’ll see the tap controls glossary below and the Heart Rate and Body temperature sensors readings right after. The app lets you choose between Celsius and Fahrenheit for the temperature readout.
Sennheiser’s app also offers an easy-to-use Equaliser and a company feature called Sound Check. You only get two EQ presets – Bass Boost and Podcast, but you can easily create a new sound profile as per your liking and save it.
The app also offers some controls for the Transparency mode. You can choose how much sound you want to let in, enable the mode during phone calls, and toggle auto pause if you want to pause music when enabling Transparency mode.
You also get the Sound Zones feature, which lets you set custom sound profiles for when you enter or leave a zone. For example, you can automatically have the app enable Bass Boost ANC when you enter the gym and turn on Transparency mode when you step out. There’s also an option to toggle off all tap and touch gestures.
The Sennheiser app offers a 5-step equaliser
Talking about controls, the Momentum Sport earphones feature a unique Tap gesture that lets you control playback and switch between the ANC, anti-wind, and Transparency modes by tapping near the earbuds. You can tap in front of the earbud to register the tap and also choose the intensity of the tap required to perform an action. I’ll talk more about this later on.
Finally, in the Settings section of the app, you can select Audio resolution, update the firmware, use a Battery Eco mode for longer battery life, and toggle features such as Smart Pause, Auto-accept call, and more.
As for specifications, the earphones come with 10mm dynamic drivers with a frequency range between 15 Hz to 18k Hz and a sensitivity of 110dB. You get Hybrid Adaptive ANC and 3 microphones with beamforming tech on each earphone. Sennheiser has included Bluetooth 5.2 with multi-device connectivity on the earphones.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport Tracking: Mostly works well
- Health tracking – Heart rate and Body Temperature
- Data – Polar App
Now, let’s talk about the USP of these earphones: the health-tracking sensors. The Momentum Sport earphones are the first from Sennheiser to feature such tech, and while there have been other brands incorporating a heart rate tracker within the earphone, there have hardly been any to install a body temperature sensor.
Sennheiser claims that having a heart rate and temperature sensor in the ear produces more accurate and stable results, and I found that to be true. During my time with the earphones, I tested the heart rate tracking while running, working out, and sitting idle. I compared it with a Google Pixel Watch, which is said to be pretty accurate, and found the numbers from the earphones to be similar. Having a heart rate monitor in-ear is also better than wearing a smartphone when working out. The watch can move about if not worn tightly and can come in the way when performing certain workouts. That’s not the case with the earphones.
The heart rate tracker is located at the tip of the left earbud
Coming to the temperature sensor, I was able to test it better as I fell ill during the review period. I found the temperature readings to be quite accurate compared to a digital thermometer.
Sennheiser has partnered with Polar to give users more insights from the heart rate and the temperature sensor. You’ll need to download the Polar Flow app to use the heart rate tracker, and you can also connect to a few other Polar or Garmin products for better use of the data. However, the temperature sensor is a very niche tool and not many will have any real use of it.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport Performance: High-quality sound
- Connectivity – Bluetooth 5.2
- ANC – Hybrid Adaptive ANC
- Codecs – SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX adaptive
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport earphones offer excellent punchy sound and can get pretty loud. They are perfect for workouts and running, as the earphones offer good bass. However, if you’re using them to listen to Kenny G or bands such as The Cinematic Orchestra, then you’ll find that the sound is missing some warmth. Listening to hip-hop and rap tracks such as Eminem’s Houdini and Overcompensate by Twenty-One Pilots was delightful, and I could easily distinguish between all the electronic and percussion instruments. Rock tracks such as Tom Petty’s Love is a Long Road and One More Time by Blink 182 were also enjoyable, but I’d prefer to listen to bass-heavy tracks on these earphones. There’s a clear focus on the lower and mid frequencies here. Overall, they sound really good, and most people will love the sound.
However, you can customise the sound as per your liking, thanks to the 5-step EQ available in the app. You also have access to several presets, and there are even toggles for Bass Boost and Podcast (better speech clarity). The earphones also support a bunch of codecs, and I found that the earphones sound great on both iOS and Android.
The earphones offer plenty of bass, and most people will like that
Coming to the Hybrid Adaptive ANC, I found the ANC feature to work pretty well in day-to-day activities and even on flights. There’s no major feeling of pressure when using the feature, but I did notice some body-borne noise when on a bumpy bus ride. The Transparency mode and Anti-wind mode also work well, but for some reason, these earphones aren’t that good when it comes to reducing wind noise outdoors.
In terms of call quality, each earphone has 3 microphones, and the calls were clear and didn’t include a lot of outside noise.
These earphones also feature a unique tap gesture, which works by tapping around the earbud. You can double or triple-tap on your cheekbone or in front of the earbuds to perform actions. I found this to work most of the time with simple double taps to play/pause music or answer/end calls. However, the triple tap to change tracks or change ANC modes did not work as well as I expected, and most of the time, it was registered as a double tap. You’ll have to touch and hold the earphones to change the volume. Of course, all of these gestures and controls are fully customisable in the app. You also get auto-pause when you remove an earbud out, and you can continue using the earphones with just one earbud.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport Battery life: Good enough
- Earbuds – 72mAh in left, 75mAh in right
- Case – 950mAh
- Charging – Wired (USB Type-C) and wireless
Let’s talk about battery life. The Momentum Sport earphones offer good battery life. I’ve had them for about a month now and only charged the case twice. The earphones were mainly used with the ANC enabled, and I was easily able to watch several 1 hour long YouTube videos on flights and bus rides without ever running out of charge. I’d say they easily lasted the claimed 6 hours with ANC turned on. The case also allows the earbuds to charge quickly, and you’ll get around 2 hours of usage with just a 20-minute charge.
The case has a flat on the front that hides the USB Type-C port
These are not groundbreaking when it comes to battery life, but they are good enough for long commutes, runs, and workouts. They can easily survive a week without having to charge the case. Wired charging takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to fully charge the case, whereas wireless charging can take around 3 hours.
Sennheiser Momentum Sport: Verdict
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport earphones are not for everyone, that much is sure. They also don’t sound as good as they should at Rs. 27,990. You’ll find the Sony WF-1000XM5 (Review), the AirPods Pro 2 (Review), and even the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 sound better than these. And that’s probably because the focus here is more on the active features, the design, and the included health tracking sensors.
If you’re someone who likes to run and live an active lifestyle and is looking for a pair of earphones that can track your heart rate and also provide good audio, ANC, and customisation, then these are for you. There are better options for those looking for a good-sounding pair of truly wireless earphones.
