Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: earbuds with sophisticated sound

This Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review is for anyone who wants their next pair of headphones to look sleek and sound amazing. They’re some of the best true wireless earbuds you can buy for their combination of quality, functionality and price. 

Directly competing with top dogs like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the Apple AirPods Pro, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 are high-quality headphones with adaptive noise cancellation. What sets them apart is their design, they absolutely scream sophistication as soon as you take them out of the box. 

I’ve been trying them out, and in this Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review, I’ll take you through all of my findings to help you figure out if these are the right choice for you, or not. 

If you’re undecided about whether you want in-ear or over-ear headphones, but you know that noise-cancelling is a must-have, then take a look at T3’s guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones. Or, if you’re on a budget, take a look at the best cheap headphones. 

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: price and what’s new

You can buy the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 right now starting from $250 in the US, £219 in the UK and AU$360 in Australia. Take a look at the widgets on this page to see where you can pick up a pair. 

Following on from the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2, the third generation has shaken things up a little. The most obvious change is the design, the rounded bud has been replaced with a curved cube and you can now fit ear fins to them for extra support. 

AptX Adaptive codec support is included in the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 alongside new adaptive noise cancellation and an extra microphone to make that more effective. The battery life has stayed the same, but you can now charge the case wirelessly and the USB-C port has been moved to the front of the case. 

In terms of connectivity, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 boast Bluetooth 5.2 as opposed to the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2’s Bluetooth 5.1.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: design and fit

Refined, elegant and functional are the three words I’d used to describe the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3. 

Cube-shaped metallic earbuds with a discreet Sennheiser logo engraved on the outside, you can buy them in three sleek colourways: black, white and graphite. They come housed in a charging case that is covered in woven fabric which definitely adds a touch of class to these headphones. 

One of my favourite things about the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 is how comfortable they are, it’s easy to forget you even have them in. I wore them for everything from work to working out and found they stayed firmly put no matter what I did or where I went. 

A big part of that is down to the four sizes of silicone ear tips included in the box because you’re more likely to find the perfect fit than you are with those that only come with three. There are also three sizes of ear fins which help make them feel even more secure. 

Because they are IPX4 water-resistant, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 will survive a sudden downpour of rain or a sweaty gym session. 

The touch panels on the outside of each earbud let you control your music. I thought the gestures made sense as they come but you can change the button assignments through the adjoining smartphone app. You tap once on the right to pause or play the music, twice to skip to the next track, three times to call your voice assistant and hold down to adjust the volume. On the left, tap once to turn on the transparency mode, twice to skip backwards, three times to switch on the ANC and hold it down to reduce the volume. 

I found it really easy to use the touch controls but it would be good if there was an announcement to let you know when you have switched on the transparency or ANC modes. Because you can’t turn on the noise-cancelling through the Sennheiser Smart Control app, I sometimes didn’t know whether it was active or not.

You’ll get about 7 hours of listening from the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds. With the charging case that goes up to 28 hours of overall play time - I was happy with that, it’s not the very best battery life offered by a pair of true wireless earbuds but it's still pretty good going. 

When you go to recharge them, you just need to plug in the included USB-C cable. It should only take about an hour and a half to get a full charge but if you’re low on time then a quick 10-minute charge will give you an hour of music. You can also charge the case wirelessly. 

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: performance and features 

We were very impressed by the sound quality in the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 and not much has changed since then - because ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. 

Sporting the same 7mm dynamic driver and largely the same codec support, those being SBC, AAC and aptX, with the addition of aptX Adaptive, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 are every bit the premium true wireless earbud you could want them to be. 

Crisp and clear, the sound itself is very clean, there’s nothing over the top or unrealistic about it and that’s where the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds thrive. The bass is rich, the mids are poignant and the treble is very precise. I listened to all sorts of music and was impressed with the results, even if I do like a little more punch in high-energy tracks. 

My only problem with the sound was the volume when I listened to podcasts. I had to have it dialled almost all the way up to hear what was being said, even when I switched on the podcast-specific sound mode in the Sennheiser Smart Control app. 

You get the choice of six different preset sound modes through the app including rock, pop, dance, hip hop, classical and movie. There's also a new high-resolution sound mode with a recent update to the buds. You can also create your own using the three-band equaliser. It’s not the most detailed control but it’s still great to have.

Another way to create a preset sound mode is through the Sound Check feature. You just need to play one of your favourite songs and the app will play you three choices of equaliser settings, you just need to pick which one sounds best to you. From that, the app will create your own personalised sound mode. It’s a great feature, especially for those who don’t really know their way around an equaliser! 

The adaptive noise cancelling adjusts itself according to your surroundings, but I couldn’t really tell how well that worked because while it does dull sounds it doesn’t mute them entirely. I could still clearly hear the engine of the bus, as well as the murmur of conversations happening near me when I had it switched on. 

There’s also a transparency mode which lets you hear what's happening around you, it did a decent job and was very handy to have, especially when I was in the office. If you want to be fully aware of your surroundings, you can choose for the earbuds to automatically pause the music when you turn the transparency mode on. 

Each earbud has three microphones. I made a few calls using the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 and was largely pleased with the results, the recipients didn’t point out any problems and background noise wasn’t an issue at all, although they did find my voice to be a little muted at times. 

Thanks to a firmware update, these do now support multipoint pairing which allows you to connect to more than one device at once, and switch between the two.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: verdict 

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds are an excellent choice for anyone who cares about sound quality and a sophisticated design. Your music will sound very clean, but not everyone will be into that, some people might be looking for something a little livelier. Having said that, I enjoyed using these earphones and it was great to have manual control over the audio as well. 

When it came to the noise cancelling, I’d say these are good but not amazing. I’d say the same about the call quality and I would have liked multi-point pairing to have been included as well. 

But on the flip side, I really liked the layout of the smartphone app, I thought the earbuds were super comfortable and the touch controls were very easy to use. So there are ups and downs but overall I would recommend the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 and think they’re suitably priced for how well they perform. 

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: also consider 

A cheaper option from Sennheiser worth considering are the Sennheiser CX Plus, they cost less than half the price but still offer solid audio performance and advanced features like a manual equaliser and the sound check feature. 

If you’re looking for a lot more in the way of battery life, then you might be better off with the Philips Fidelio T1. They give you 13 hours of playtime from the buds and 35 hours on top of that when you keep the ANC switched off. You’ll also get incredible audio quality and very effective noise cancelling which is why I rated them five stars in the T3 review.