Being an ardent fan of all things music, especially within the genres of Electronic Dance Music, Punk Rock and Symphonic Metal, I am often on a never-ending hunt for a good pair of headphones.

My bounty? That ‘eargasmic’ experience of sound quality and comfort.

Today, I’d like to share some thoughts in a review of the new Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear headphones.

 

 But first, thank you Sennheiser Malaysia, for making this possible.

 

 

[vimeo url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPPON3ImNBw” width=”700″ height=”400″ full=”no” ]

 Before we begin, check out the official video for the Momentum On-Ear!

 

 

UNBOXING

Bet you’re just as excited as I am! Shall we begin? Ha Ha

 

Unboxing the brand new toy.

 

Removed the lid of the box.

The first thing I saw was a black suede case in the shape of a horseshoe, with dual zippers.

 

Opening the case, I was surprised to see another case – a vinyl bag this time!

And finally, right before my eyes, was the Momentum On-Ear.

 

Such a sleek, stylish beauty – and in my favorite colours too!

Yes, I’m always biased towards red & black. Heh.

 

Unboxing this pair of headphones proved to be a satisfaction indeed. Cool

Moving on, I will be splitting this review into 3 distinct sections – design, sound and practicality.

 

 

DESIGN, MATERIAL & STYLE

For starters, like its name suggests, the Momentum On-Ear, is designed as an on-ear, instead of an over-ear on an in-ear pair of headphones.

This is a first for me as I’m more familiar with the other two types.

Size-wise, expect a slightly smaller design compared to its predecessor, the Sennheiser Momentum.

They’re beautifully made, stylish and god damn fine without a doubt.

I love how it did not fall prey to the ‘futuristic’ trends of gadget design. Apart from the tinge of modern touch and material, the Momentum On-Ear came as a blast from the past for me.

Doesn’t it reminds you of those classic headsets worn by radio operators back in the 50s!? Such love.

The synthetic-suede headband is a very clever and nice touch, while those stainless-steel sliders really turned up the classy, industrial appearance a notch higher.

Beautifully made, with such precision in its engineering and craftsmanship, don’t you think?

The vibrant colours and its shiny, high-gloss finish is flawless too!

 

If you ain’t diggin’ the classic black, it comes in a myriad of different colours.

Brown, blue, green, black, ivory and pink. Take your pick.

 

Polished steel lines the frame with Sennheiser’s holographic ‘S’ logo cut into the caps.

 Thumbs up!

 

 

SOUND & PERFORMANCE

Having the Momentum On-Ear in my possession for about almost a month now, I have been using it every single day with many different kinds of songs from various sound spectrums, acoustics vs electronics, bass responses, vocals, mid-ranges, differing frequencies and trebles.

 

So how did this pair of headphones perform?

 

Firstly, I’ve gotta give props to its warm, rich, and very punchy bass. Just the way I like it!

The Momentum On-Air certainly has a well-extended and boosted bass response compared to the rest of its competitors in its range but… not as overpowering as a certain popular pair of headphones in particular.

Did anyone say Dr. Dre or David Guetta? 😉 No? Okay, moving on!

 

Tuesday’s comparison to one of my many headphones.

 

The trebles were very detailed and crisp but well-balanced and controlled with the rest of the frequency range. It proved to be sufficiently dominant especially when hitting the high notes too!

The high-pitched tracks I played such as  electric guitar solos of rock songs, electro genres, and the female soprano of symphonic metal resulted in a rich, clean and distortion-free experience, despite playing it at maximum volumes. 

 

Compared to the stronger bass presence and the impressive trebles, I found the mid-range to be slightly withdrawn, but not enough to affect the overall listening wonder the Momentum On-Air has given me nor hamper the quality of the tracks I listen to.

It would be better if the mid-range was a little more forward in my honest opinion, but then again, nothing to complain about; especially if you’re a regular home-user or a casual/easy-listener. Smile

 

 

I have to point out though, that it does not provide much isolation from environmental noise. But hey, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing – it really depends what you’re using it for.

If you’re walking about in the busy city streets, crossing the road or commuting via public transportation (i.e trains/busses) with these babies, then it’s probably not such a good idea to be too isolated and locked into your own world.

The least you’d want is to sub-consciously dismiss a honk and get run over LOL. Ugh!

Personally, when I use my headphones, it will either be hanging around my neck as opposed to putting it over my ears OR just putting it over one ear instead of both.

I kind of *still* want to be aware of my surroundings, like if my bosses call my name or if there was an important announcement at the gym.

 

 

PRACTICALITY & COMFORT

I like how it’s kept snugly in two cases – the vinyl soft case and the horseshoe-like hardshell.

However, there isn’t a folding mechanism on the Momentum On-Ear which would make listening on-the-go much easier in terms of packing and saving storage space.

If you’re more inclined towards listening to your music while solitary, then it’s nothing for you to worry about! Wink

 

 

Attention was even put into the making of the cables. You have not one, but two cables!

The Apple-friendly cable comes with a 3-button remote control and microphone, but there’s another plain cable for those who don’t want or don’t use the remote and microphone.

 

The remote is slim and sleek, which comes with a 90 degree angle 3.5mm plug too.

 

The earcups are easily adjustable by simply sliding them up and down the stainless steel body, instead of typically having the whole moving mechanism built into the entire body of the headphones.

The Momentum On-Ear is certainly an ergonomic pair of headphones as I tend to use my headphones over long listening periods of time!

Funnily enough, my ears aren’t exactly tiny and even with all my over-ear headphones, the earcups seem to hurt the upper parts of my ear.

I also have multiple piercings on my ears and they usually hurt due to the compression/pressure of the earcups after an entire day’s worth of heavy listening.

But surprisingly, even after 8 hours with the Momentum On-Ear, I had no complaints!Big Smile

 


The ear pads feature a a two-layer foam cushion and gripped my ears

with just the right amount of pressure to remain there.

 

In conclusion, I find the Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear not only a comfortable and fashionably stylish piece, but also an overall winner in the on-ear range. With the rich and enhanced audio performance, it sure is powerful enough to make me head-bang throughout its super sonic brilliance.

Retails at RM809. Get it from your local audio stores or your nearest Sennheiser outlet/booths! Wink

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