Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 Review: Third Time's The CHARM!

You’ll still find Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds in many videos talking about the best earbuds today, and for good reason. They’re good. But the Momentum True Wireless 3 is even better.

So let’s talk design. Sennheiser has stuck with a similar-looking case to the MTW 2, although there are three colours now, White, Graphite and a matte black that’s very unfortunately not available in Singapore to the best of my knowledge. Anyway, it’s still covered in fabric, although now, the USB-C charging port has moved to the front of the case. It’s definitely a bit of an odd design choice, and it’s resulted in me trying to open the case backwards a few times simply by touch, but once you get used to it, it’s fine.

Where things have really changed though, is the earbuds. These are no longer the same, circular-looking earbuds. They’ve taken inspiration from the CX lineup with a more oblong shape, although it’s still softer and rounder than the CX earbuds. Personally, I quite like this. It’s a consistent design aesthetic throughout their lineup, and it’s more subtle in the ear compared to the shiny ringed metal faceplate previously. The earbuds also come with a stabiliser… lip? Of sorts. It helps to provide a bit of grip, but it’s not as intrusive as stabiliser fins, so that’s good for people with smaller ears.

Touch controls are, as per usual with Sennheiser products, great. By default, you get a single tap on the right earbud controlling play/pause and a tap on the left toggling transparency mode. Double tap on the left for track skip backwards and double tap on the right for track skip forward. Triple tap on the left to toggle between noise control settings and triple tap on the right for voice assistant. Long tap and hold on the left to lower volume and long tap and hold on the right to raise the volume. Of course, these are all customisable through the Sennheiser Smart Control app, and it’s something I have to commend Sennheiser for. Offering full customisability for touch controls is a fantastic thing that every brand should follow.

As for the app, well, it’s been revamped and it looks great. For the MTW 3, you get tiles like Connections, although there’s no multipoint feature here, a three-bar equaliser, Sound Check for custom EQs, Transparency mode, Adaptive Noise Cancellation, Sound Zones and touch control customisation. The equaliser is pretty much the same three-bar EQ Sennheiser has always offered, just in a different look now.

But Sound Check is a nice new addition, allowing for people to really easily add custom EQs just by playing a song and picking between three options the one that sounds best to them. Of course, it’s just the app bumping the bass, mids or treble for you and such, but it’s convenient, so that’s good. Sound Zones is another interesting one, allowing you to choose certain locations where your settings will apply. Maybe you don’t want ANC to be on when you’re at home, but you want it on when you’re out and about, for example, this is how you do it. Or maybe you want to set a certain EQ preset for your home and another one for the gym, that’s doable here too.

But let’s move on to ANC, because Sennheiser has really upped their game for the MTW 3. It is very good. Of course, don’t expect the same level of ANC as you would out of over-ear headphones, but for earbuds, this is one of the better ANC earbuds on the market right now if you can get a good seal. Really high-pitched noises do still slip in from time to time, but if you have music playing at a regular volume, you shouldn’t notice it at all.

These run on Bluetooth 5.2 and connectivity is great, even in places like the airport and on planes. There’s support for SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive, which is a nice upgrade from just having regular aptX on the MTW 2.

Sennheiser has chosen to maintain the same seven-hour battery life in the earbuds with a total of 28 hours including the case, and I think that’s fine. You can’t expect much-improved battery life without having tradeoffs like bigger earbuds and such, and seven hours is a good amount. There is wireless charging here though, so that’s nice.

There’s IPX4 water resistance, so no problem if you want to bring these out for exercise, although they are a bit big, so they might not sit as snugly as you’d like. For exercise earbuds, I’d say look towards Sennheiser’s Sport True Wireless instead.

Microphone quality is just alright, I won’t say it’s fantastic, but it does help to filter out a bit of noise when you’re out and about.

Sound quality, though, is where it’s at. It’s a very clear, refined sound that I’ve come to expect out of Sennheiser. You get bass that’s impactful and dynamic while still retaining its clarity and definition. The mids are nicely sculpted as well, although I did feel like sometimes, the vocals felt a bit quiet. It’s easily tweaked via EQ though, so no worries. As for treble, I did wish it was a bit brighter and sparkly, but there’s still a good amount of air and detail here. Personally, if you like brighter sounds like me, I’d recommend bumping up the treble just a touch in the EQ.

The soundstage is great though, it’s wide and high, and there’s even a good amount of depth to it. Instrument imaging is accurate and there’s plenty of room and space for individual instruments and vocals to breathe and shine.

Best part? These earbuds are priced even more affordably than the MTW 2. The MTW 2 was priced at S$449 or US$299, while these are going at S$399 or US$249. While it’s not a very huge difference, the slight drop in price allows Sennheiser’s new earbuds to stay attractive in a very competitive market. For anybody who’s been wondering if they should buy the MTW 2, I’d say pony up the extra cash and go for these instead. You won’t be disappointed.