Sennheiser has announced the Momentum True Wireless 3 as its latest pair of premium earbuds, arriving nearly two years after the Momentum True Wireless 2. The new earbuds bring a bunch of upgrades but are these enough to warrant an upgrade? The Momentum series is Sennheiser's line of premium earbuds and over-ear headphones, but it also has the CX line, which is targeted at those who want more affordable headphones.
Sennheiser is a German-based audio company founded in 1945 and whose products include headphones, microphones, speakers and amplifiers. It is currently run by Daniel Sennheiser and Andreas Sennheiser, who are grandsons of the founder. In 2021, Sennheiser sold its consumer audio business to Swiss-based Sonova Group along with the license to use the Sennheiser name, which means these new earbuds are not made by Sennheiser but by the new owners.
The first thing to note about the Momentum True Wireless 3 is its new design. Gone is the ellipse-like design of the Momentum True Wireless 2, which has been replaced with a cube-like design. It still has silicone tips for passive noise cancellation, but the overall look now resembles that of the Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless earbuds. Another addition is support for ear fins for a more secure fit. The fabric-clad case of the Momentum True Wireless 2 makes a comeback, but the USB-C port has been moved to the front, and like the earbuds, it has an IPX4 rating. The Momentum True Wireless 3 is available in White, Black and Graphite.
The Momentum True Wireless 3 Has Better Active Noise Cancellation
The Momentum True Wireless 3 uses the same TrueResponse Transducer as its predecessor. Each earbud has a 7mm driver, and owners will be able to tune the earbuds to fit their hearing thanks to a new Sound Personalization feature. Like the True Wireless 2, it supports SBC, AAC, and AptX codecs but adds the newer AptX Adaptive codec too. The new codec can adjust the bitrate between 276 and 420 kbps, while the former has a flat bitrate of 384kbps. Another significant advantage the new earbuds have over the True Wireless 2 is support for Adaptive Noise Cancellation. This feature allows the earbuds to auto-adjust the noise levels based on the user's environment.
The noise reduction should also be significantly better as each earbud now has three microphones for noise cancellation, unlike the True Wireless 2, which has just one mic per earbud. Sennheiser has carried over the transparency mode from the previous generation for when a user needs to be aware of their surroundings. Furthermore, apart from moving the USB-C port to the front of the case, support for Qi wireless charging has also been included. This is not only an alternative way to charge the earbuds when at home, but it also means users can still recharge the earbuds even when away from a wall charger by using a phone that supports reverse wireless charging. Although the Momentum True Wireless 3 comes with the newer Bluetooth 5.2 standard and not Bluetooth 5.1 like its predecessor, it drops support for the HSP Bluetooth profile. The battery life remains unchanged at 7 hours (28 hours with the case).
Despite all of the new additions, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 has a launch price of $249, which is $50 lower than what the Momentum True Wireless 2 cost at launch. Although the older model now sells for $199, paying $50 extra for better noise cancellation, support for more codecs, and wireless charging seems worth it. Sennheiser will ship the new generation earbuds with four sizes of silicone earbuds and three sets of ear fins. Users will also get a USB-C cable included in the box. There is no power adapter, but any 5W charger should suffice.