The Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds aim to bring more to your workout experience than just music. Priced at $330, these wireless earbuds come with heart-rate and body-temperature sensors, providing insights into your workouts and feeding data to third-party activity apps.
Alongside these features, the Momentum Sport ($330) offers an ergonomic design, active noise cancellation (ANC), and touch controls, aligning with Sennheiser’s reputation for sound quality while expanding its capabilities.
Design
The design of the Momentum Sport earbuds stands out as one of their best features. They have a rounded profile that provides a comfortable fit, even for extended periods. This shape is preferable to the design of the Momentum 4, offering a more secure and snug fit that doesn’t require additional support from fit wings. Despite being slightly larger, the earbuds rest nicely in the ears, maintaining stability during intense physical activities.
The overall construction feels refined and durable, suitable for both everyday use and strenuous workouts. The earbuds’ secure fit plays a crucial role in ensuring consistent performance of the biometric sensors, allowing for accurate heart-rate and body-temperature readings. This design choice enhances the user experience, particularly for those engaging in vigorous exercises.
The earbuds’ aesthetic is sleek and modern, with a focus on functionality and comfort. The materials used in the construction contribute to their premium feel, although some aspects, like the charging case, fall short in terms of sophistication. The case, while offering wireless charging and an IPX4 rating, feels flimsy compared to the earbuds themselves. The hinge, made of a simple piece of rubber, doesn’t stay open unless laid flat, which can be inconvenient.
Features
The standout features of the Momentum Sport are its heart-rate and body-temperature tracking capabilities. These sensors provide consistent and reliable readings, comparable to other at-home alternatives.
The integration with third-party apps like Polar, Peloton, Strava, and Zwift enhances their functionality, although only Polar’s Flow app supports body-temperature tracking.
The Sennheiser Smart Control app allows for real-time readings and settings adjustments but does not track trends or monitor workout stats over time.
Setup and General Performance
Setting up the Momentum Sport is straightforward. The biometric sensors deliver dependable readings, and the secure fit ensures consistent performance. However, the sound quality is inconsistent, with some tracks missing punchy highs and a strong midrange. The extra bass, while beneficial for workouts, sometimes sacrifices the dynamics that usually characterize Sennheiser’s earbuds.
One of the Momentum Sport’s notable strengths lies in its seamless integration with popular third-party fitness apps. This feature broadens the earbuds’ appeal, allowing users to incorporate their biometric data into their existing fitness ecosystems. Apps like Polar, Peloton, Strava, and Zwift are compatible with the Momentum Sport, enabling users to sync their workout data effortlessly. This integration means you can use the earbuds with devices from these brands, ensuring a comprehensive fitness tracking experience.
For metrics like heart rate, the earbuds perform consistently across all supported apps, providing a reliable companion for monitoring fitness progress. The Sennheiser Smart Control app, on the other hand, is more focused on providing real-time biometric readings and allowing users to tweak various settings.
While it offers detailed control over the earbuds’ functionalities, it lacks the capability to track trends or monitor workout stats over time. Therefore, syncing with third-party apps becomes essential for users looking to maintain a comprehensive fitness log and gain deeper insights into their performance.
Audio
The audio performance of the Momentum Sport is a mixed experience. Sennheiser aimed for a sound profile with vivid sound and impressive bass to help boost workout energy. On most tracks the bass is prominent, providing a powerful low-end that particularly enhances electronic music. This added bass can indeed help with maintaining energy levels during physical activities.
However, this focus on bass sometimes comes at a cost. The extra low-end can overshadow other elements of the music, leading to an inconsistent audio experience. While some albums and playlists sound detailed and crisp, I occasionally felt others lacked punch at the high end. Genres like alternative, indie rock, and country can highlight this but you have to look for it in most instances. Audiophiles might demand more here for their money but the biometric stuff is the main draw for the target user.
The ANC performance is decent but not exceptional. The Momentum Sport reduces the volume of persistent noises effectively but struggles a bit when human voices and intermittent noises pop up. Transparency mode works well enough to let in surroundings, but it doesn’t amplify the user’s voice sufficiently. Be careful here as it could lead to louder-than-necessary conversations during calls.
Battery
Battery life is another strong point for the Momentum Sport. Sennheiser claims a single charge provides five and a half hours of playback, which holds up well in practical use. During testing, the earbuds consistently hit this mark with ANC on normal mode and both biometric sensors active, at a volume level of around 65-70 percent. This performance is impressive given the additional power requirements of the heart-rate and body-temperature sensors.
For those looking to extend battery life further, Sennheiser includes an Eco Mode in the Smart Control app. This mode disables aptX audio and both biometric sensors, offering an additional 30 minutes of playback time. While this feature may be useful in some scenarios, it comes at the cost of some key functionalities that might be critical for users who rely on the sensors during workouts.
The charging case, despite feeling less sophisticated than previous designs, supports wireless charging and has an IPX4 rating, adding a layer of convenience and durability. However, the flimsy hinge and overall construction of the case do not match the premium feel of the earbuds themselves.
Value
Given its price, the Momentum Sport’s value proposition is questionable. If anything, it demands a bit of consideration. While it excels as a workout companion with reliable biometric tracking, the inconsistent sound quality and sensitive controls chip away at its overall appeal. And the charging case, though equipped with wireless charging and rated IPX4, feels a bit flimsy when compared to other earbuds in this price range.
On the other hand, I really like the feel and build of the earbuds. They comfortable even in long listening sessions, and feel like they’ve been designed with good intention.
A two-year warranty helps boost the value, providing peace of mind for users who might lead a more rigorous lifestyle. Don’t let your workouts and runs give you anxiety as they should stand the test of time. That is, of course, provided you’re looking for sporty earbuds with a wide array of fitness app integration.
Conclusion
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds might not be the ideal choice for audiophiles who prioritize exceptional sound quality, as they can be inconsistent with highs and midrange details. However, for those seeking reliable biometric tracking features, these earbuds offer valuable insights into workouts with dependable heart-rate and body-temperature sensors.
The integration with popular fitness apps and the secure, comfortable fit make them a respectable option for fitness enthusiasts who value advanced tracking capabilities over pristine audio performance.
