Headphone Reviews

Sound Quality
In my experience, I've never heard a noise canceling headphone that sounded really good...and the Momentum Wireless M2 isn't going to change that. But I've also never heard a noise canceling headphone that had even remotely consistant sound quality in all its modes of operation...and the Momentum Wireless does change that.

In wired passive mode the Momentum Wireless M2 sounds similar to the original Momentum, but falls short with a somewhat looser bass and more colored/recessed mid-range. On the other hand, the Momentum Wireless does have a bit more emphasis in the presence region, which the original Momentum would have benefitted from. Both seem to lack some sparkle and air in the top two octaves. Overall I'd say the Momentum Wireless in wired passive is a mildly warm headphone, with a somewhat loose bass, a little forward in the upper mid-range, and having a laid back but fairly articulate and clean mid-treble and above. I'd call it good mid-fi.

Turning the power on does change the sound. It becomes harder—meaning having more intensity in the upper-mids and probably adding some distortion—but bass quality actually seems to improve. Active on the wire and via Bluetooth sound about the same. One way to describe the change from passive mode to active is that it sounds a bit more telephone-like. Not a lot, mind you, but definitely some.

Here's the thing though, it's still the best sounding Bluetooth noise canceler I've heard. The Parrot Zik 2 is kind of cool because you can make adjustments to the sound from the app and possibly make it sound a little better in some ways than the M2, but it sounds simply horrible run passively on a wire. The Momentum M2 is also quite a bit more comfortable and the battery lasts a lot longer (6 hrs vs. 20 hrs). The Beats Studio wireless isn't nearly as good sounding and can't be run passive on a wire. The Phiaton MS530 may be a bit better sounding wired and BT, but turn the noise canceling on and things go pretty far south. The Bose QC25 is a bit better sounding with noise canceling on, but it's not a Bluetooth headset and sounds pretty bad passive on the wire. The $99 MEElectronics Air-Fi Matrix 2 AF62 sounds better in Bluetooth mode (really, if you need a BT headset this one is awesome), but it's not a noise canceler and would be useless on an airplane. There are no really great choices here, and my take is that on balance the Momentum Wireless M2 is the most consistently good sounding in all modes of operation.

I need to add that when I was traveling down to CanJam SoCal I used the Momentum Wireless for the trip and found it quite pleasant. I think the emphasis on the presence region helps the cans be more intelligible in the loud environment when watching movies and the like, and certainly may be preferable for phone calls. The noise canceling was excellent, almost as good as the Bose QC25.

Bottom line: $499 is a lot of dough for a pair of headphones and I'd sure love it if they sounded as good as the previous Momentum, but given the fact they out perform any other equivalent headphone that I've personally tried I really can't knock Sennheiser's offering. These are the best sounding noise canceling, Bluetooth headphones I've experienced to date.

Summary
While the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless M2 AEBT doesn't sound as good as the passive Momentum models, it does sound better than any other Bluetooth noise canceler I've heard. I'd characterize it as good upper mid-fi when run passive on the wire, and a notch lower with the power on.

Styling, build quality, comfort, and ergonomics are simply outstanding. This is a headphone that can be worn for hours and with confidence you won't look odd wearing them. Battery lasts 20 hours and you can keep listening when the juice runs out. The M2 folds to become more compact and the included carry case is as handy as it is stylish.

At $499 I would expect Sennheiser to have made the best sounding, most stylish and comfortable Bluetooth noise canceler available...and to my eyes and ears they have. This one's going up on the Wall of Fame based on it's solid over-all performance and superiority over other gear in the category.

Video
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Resources
Sennheiser home page, Momentum Wireless M2 AEBT page, and user manual.
Head-fi.org review and discussion thread.