How badly do you want to know your consistency ’s temperature while you ’re exercising ?
I ’ll allow in that ’s not a stat I ’d even believe caring about . Maybe it ’s due to the early morning time minute , or maybe it ’s just that the blood that ordinarily would be go to my nous alternatively is attempt to stave in off further transformation to a full - on pappa bod . But I just do n’t think about my core temperature at all when I hit the gymnasium at 5 a.m. every weekday .
I see if the YMCA regular are there , of class . I might say hi to friends . Even spit out a few over conviction . But while I take seriously the relative frequency ( and chroma , I guess ) of my workouts , I ’d never once thought to worry about my temperature .
The young Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds have changed that . Or , at least , they ’re trying to .
The idea of “ Sport ” buds is n’t anything new . Not even for Sennheiser , which already has“Sport True Wireless ” budswith an awkward name aimed at differentiate you incisively what they ’re for . The Momentum Sport bud , gratefully , have dropped the “ wireless ” part of the name while still managing to , ya know , not have wire .
What they do have are sensing element for tracking a pair of specific things that might or might not be important to your workout .
They also still bring music and podcasts and material . The interrogation , then , is , do you really want all this in a exclusive package , for a rather hefty $ 329 or so ?
And should they be brand Sennheiser at all ? Perhaps not . There ’s a tidy sum here that reminds me of the direction smartphone manufacturers ( of the Android miscellany , anyway ) at times team up up with audio frequency or photography brands to make off on some features in ways that do n’t always make sense .
We ’ll get into all that .
The basics
Let ’s just get the hard part out of the way : The Sennheiser Momentum Sport are not inexpensive earbuds . At $ 329 retail , they ’re more expensive than all ofour plectron for the best earbuds , keep open for Master & Dynamic .
In other words , do n’t purchase these if you ’re just looking for something to apply for music or podcasts while exercising . There are plenty of less expensive ( and still excellent ) choice for that — including from Sennheiser .
You ’re fundamentally getting Polar earbuds , made by Sennheiser .
No , you ’re give-up the ghost to get the Momentum Sport for the sensing element . Specifically , you ’re getting a photoplethysmography heart - pace sensing element and a consistence - temperature sensing element that Sennheiser says is accurate to within three - tenth of a degree .
It ’s a cool option if you ’re not the type to wear a watch during your workout . ( And Polar ’s Vantage V3 watch only does temperature while you log Z’s . ) Or a chest shoulder strap . And if you ’re not going to those added expenses , then ramify over that much money for good earbuds and sensors may make a little more sense . It ’s pretty obvious that the sensors impart to the overall price .
Earbuds as earbuds
We ’ll get to the sensors in a minute . But if the Momentum Sport do n’t work well as factual earbuds , then everything else is moot .
The Momentum Sport perform admirably . Mostly . There are some comparatively minor complaints , in the scheme of thing , though I could n’t help but consider “ For $ 329 I really kind of expected thing to not be quite so rough around the edges . ” Not physically rough or anything — the Momentum Sport tally me really well the right way out of the box . ( There are fins and peak included , though , so take your prison term and get a perfect fit . )
This was my first veridical exposure to Sennheiser as a brand . My daily drivers , when not testing other buds , aresecond - generation Apple AirPods Pro . So perhaps I ’m just used to ( or spoiled by ) their integration .
Let ’s go with the out - of - the - box experience . The only real surprise part was the caseful itself . It ’s not ugly . It ’s about the size you ’d expect for a guinea pig that allows for wireless charging , which is how I choose thing these days . I get home from the gym , put the typesetter’s case on a conveniently located Qi charger , and that ’s that until the next good morning .
But there ’s a petty safety flap that cover the USB - C larboard for wired charging that does n’t quite seem to equip , until it does . Mine was sort of half - in , half - out , but eventually would fall into place . And most ( if not all ? ) wireless earbud cases that I ’ve ever used have some form of spring to the case lid that help keep them open or closed . Sennheiser has a magnet here that ’ll keep thing close , but otherwise , the palpebra just sort of bust around and attain the case find a small cheap .
Anyway , that ’s a weird duo of misses right off the bat . It ’s not awful , just not quite what I expected .
Otherwise , the case is fine . It has a decent soft - tactile sensation coating . The bud are contain in by magnets that are strong enough , and it ’s gentle enough to fit left to go away , and right to right . There ’s enough outer space rationalize out so you do n’t struggle to off a bud — your fingerbreadth should go in there just fine . The buds are ratedIPX5 for water(you may spray them , but possibly essay not to ) , and the shell is IPX4 so it can treat a splash .
Funny first impression : There ’s a raft of color last on with the underside of these bud . One light-emitting diode flashes for the connection — you ’ll see crimson and risque pretty chop-chop . But there ’s also a green LED in the left - hand bud for the heart - rate detector . That ’ll come into play in a minute , and not in a great mode .
As these were my first Sennheiser bud , I needed to put in the Sennheiser Smart Control app , too . you could , thankfully , use it without registering for a Sennheiser account statement . But if you desire the ability to limit location - based profile — Sennheiser foretell them “ Sound Zones ” — you ’ll take an report .
From there , it was time for a firmware update . A fairly lengthy one , at that — nearly 30 second , all in . That ’s probably not the form of thing that will be required all that often , but just be prepared . ( And seeing a freestanding notice for “ update detector ” was for sure refreshing . ) I did all my testing on microcode 3.17.15 , but 3.18.15 was useable as of April 9 , as I was finalizing this review . And not that color weigh any here , but my review unit of measurement were of the olive variety . ( Which often looks more white-haired than anything , with a hint of green . ) The Momentum Sport also come in black and graphite .
prison term to take a spin through the app . Front and center are the buds with barrage information for them and the case , which lay down sense . ( Though that the bud are pictured with fins attach seemed a piddling uncanny , since they do n’t actually come attached . So , what I ’m wearing does n’t seem like what I see in the app . That ’s a lowly thing , though . )
I ’m not the sort of person who read instruction manual . And I can never remember if it takes two water faucet to go forward a racetrack , or three , or whatever . But there ’s a handy little “ Controls ” section in the app to prompt me . Two hydrant to roleplay / pause . Three to go to the next track . But … why is it order me to tap my cheek ? Is the app just … humiliated ? Did someone eff up the aim ?
Nope . That ’s a thing . Tap “ near the earbud ” instead of actually bug the earbud . Why would you want to poke yourself in the cheek instead of tapping the earbud ? It feels unusual . I ’m going to just tapdance the earbud like a normal person . But even then , as often as not , I would trigger a pause with two taps instead of the intended cycling through Active Noise Cancellation ( ANC ) , Anti Wind modality , and Transparency . That ’s plaguy , and I unquestionably favor the more unequivocal recollective - squeeze / click thing the AirPods Pro employ . If I were locomote to make these my go - to buds , I ’d probably change the touch - and - clasp option to cycle through ANC instead of controlling volume level .
There ’s another section of the app that lets you customize all that tapping — including changing the sensitivity , which is something you might well want to do . ( See my aforementioned voiceless time registering that third tap . ) you could also transfer whether something works on the left or the right . That ’s a good amount of customization , and I ’m very much here for it .
You ’ll also want to spend some time in the “ Noise control ” incision . The Momentum Sport have three options here — ANC , Anti Wind , and Transparency . water faucet into the mise en scene for this section , and you ’ll see a slipper to change the level of transparency , but that only works when you ’re in Transparency mood . It does n’t change anything for ANC or Anti Wind , and that ’s a small confusing when you ’re in the app because you see it all the time , even in the other modes . ( That ’s really an app - level user experience ailment and not a complaint about how ANC work on the bud . )
In any result , here ’s the bottom cable : Sennheiser ’s ANC is decent . Pretty good , even , And occasionally even too good . There ’s no option to wholly change state off any sort of ANC . So , I ’ve found myself either going full ANC or using Transparency on its in high spirits place setting . ( As in , where it lets in themostambient auditory sensation . ) But that ’s knotty , too , because the Transparency modality is noisier than just not jade the earbuds in the first place . It ’s almost the opposite of the Anti Wind pick , in that there ’s a constant sound that reminds me of my cardinal air - conditioning lover . ( Or if you ’re into photography , almost like a photo that had the ISO cranked up so high that the image is permeate with noise . ) That ’s not really how that should work . Your mileage may vary a petty , though , depending on how much harm you ’ve done to your hearing over too many decennary of lowering metallic element display .
Full fighting noise cancellation is comely , but transparency is noisy .
And on the early firmware I keep hearing a fast , insistent clicking speech sound that I ’m pretty indisputable was the green LED firing to ascertain your heart rate . It was n’t hearable once I had euphony or a podcast playing , and the last - minute 3.18.15 firmware update seemed to lessen this a practiced mo , but I could still hear it . Hardly a mickle - breaker in any event , but just something to be aware of if you hear it , too .
The app has a nice five - band EQ that ’s worth playing with . It comes with eight presets , or you’re able to preserve your own . ( Note that you ’ll save over a preset if you ’re not careful . ) There ’s a Bass Boost toggle switch that I did n’t favor at all — increase things in the EQ sounded well to me — and a Podcast on-off switch that thins out voice a bit . I ’ll be leaving it off , too .
There ’s an option in the main options to switch “ gamey resolve ” 24 - bit/96 kHz audio withaptX Adaptive . But unless you ’re using one ofa scant few phone — none of which is from Apple , Samsung , or Google — you ca n’t actually use it . ( And that ’s before we start to contend overwhether you could tell the remainder anyway . )
All that to say , transparence issues away , these earbuds vocalise very right . And they should , collapse the cost . It ’s a different convulsion and feel than my old AirPods Pro , but these are bud I could very well see myself using every day and not just at the gymnasium . medicine is juicy on the low end . Crisp on the high end . At no point would you mind to something with these buds and wish you had something in force . It ’s just that the noise cancellation provide a footling to be desired .
The sensors
have ’s go back to the reason why you ’d really want to buy the Momentum Sport — the two sensors tucked inside the earbuds .
That Sennheiser is able-bodied to do this at all is a pretty unbelievable feat , given the size of it of the hardware . By the way , the weight is manageable at just under a quarter Panthera uncia per bud . ( That ’s flat out of the box , without a fin attached . ) That ’s a small heavier than my AirPods Pro , and it was noticeable by the end of my regular 90 - minute exercising . Not speculative , just obtrusive .
There may be quiddity over the accuracy of temperature and heart rate via earbuds versus other methods , like a pectus shoulder strap . I would n’t worry too much about that . If you ’re getting the Momentum Sport because they can track those biometrics , then it ’s more about the relative change and not the right-down temperature .
As for the physical fitness political program and integration , Sennheiser relies on Polar ( you ’ve perhaps known the Polar Pro watch ) by agency of thePolar Flow app . That ’s maybe a slight gawky , but it ’s also apprehensible that Sennheiser did n’t want to establish all the wellness stuff into its own app . ( you’re able to view veridical - meter heart rate and temperature data in the Sennheiser app , but you ca n’t do anything with it there . )
The Polar Flow app itself is jolly underwhelming — it very much feels like a web wrap in a lot of places that it should n’t as you ’re position affair up . But it work , and I could tie to Strava and Apple Health easily enough . It ’ll pass on exercise data to plenty of other services , too , like Nike+ , My Fitness Pal , and a cluster more .
The detector act — if you employ the Polar Flow app .
assault and battery life , as with most machine like this , was just okay for me . I ’m never going to exercise for so long that I ’d run them ironical . On newspaper , they should last around 6 hour of continuous use of goods and services , with the charging slip get you 24 hours of full time . I ’ve used them the same as I have my AirPods Pro , which is to say I ’ve do with them in for about 90 transactions , bug out them in the case on the 20 - minute ride home ( by which peak they ’d basically recharge ) , then plopped the caseful on wireless battery charger when I ’m back in the house . And I have n’t had to guess about them more than that .
Here ’s the important thing you postulate to know : As thing stand today , you ’ll need to utilise the Polar Flow app to track your workout if you desire to take advantage of the sensing element in the earbuds . And I had to manually pair them before the app would see them . There are a plethora of workouts in the app , though peculiarly , it ’s missing a basic one like an prolate car . ( Which is what I do every day because I am old and my stifle are sure-enough . ) Do your matter , and then that data will sync back to Apple Health or wherever .
All this to say that if you really need to track tenderness charge per unit — which is something you may already do with most any other fitness tracker — and temperature with the Sennheiser Momentum Sport , you ’re pass away to have to run for it a little and in all probability change up your exercise app turn . Unless you ’re already using the Polar ecosystem ( and that probably means you already have a Polar smartwatch ) , in which pillowcase , have at it .
Should you buy them?
There ’s a lot to like here . Sennheiser has craft a pair of up to earbuds that can do something most others ( all ? ) can not do — track heart charge per unit and temperature . They vocalize really estimable . They ’re pretty comfortable . They do n’t seek to trick you into using spatial audio recording because they do n’t support it . Bluetooth Multipointis available should you desire to connect to more than one equipment . And call quality is fine , though I did have to excuse to someone why I was making an actual phone call instead of just texting . ( Welcome to the hereafter . )
Heart rate is easy usable across all variety of gadget — if you have any kind of smartwatch or fittingness tracker , it almost certainly already can appraise beat per minute . Why , then , would you also need that in your earbuds ?
It ’s the temperature sensor that ’s new here . But I ’m also not anywhere about convinced that it ’s not more than a thingumabob — something novel by which Sennheiser desire to sell these buds to a very specific corner . Inside the Sennheiser app , you ’re told that “ genuine - time eubstance temperature reflects the balance between the heating system your consistence make and the heat your physical structure loses . ” The mind is that if you get too red-hot and do n’t imbibe enough — which brings your temperature back down a little — it “ can lead to earlier weariness and decreased performance . ”
average enough . But are these bud sensitive enough to make a divergence ? And , for that matter , are my exercises strenuous enough to even touch off some sort of warning that might guide me to align things in hunt of a more balanced workout ? I honestly do n’t do it . My usual 90 - mo workout inside the YMCA only increased my temperature about six - tenths of a stage . ( And even then , it only showed around 98.1 degrees Fahrenheit . Take that for what it ’s deserving . )
I think it ’s moderately exonerated I ’m not the destine consultation for the Sennheiser Momentum Sport . I ’m not in the Polar ecosystem already . I do n’t own a Polar fitness tracker , and I do n’t intend to change ecosystems anytime soon . The vast majority of my exercising is done indoors , thanks to all the reasons that Florida likes to give at me . ( Heat , humidity , and the casual snatch of dangerous wildlife . ) I ’m credibly not push myself to the detail where my temperature is ever affected . Nor do I intend to .
If you ’re outdoors , exercising so firmly that you ’re worried your dead body temperature could impress the character of your exercise , or are content using the Polar ecosystem to get across thing , have at it . These should dish up you pretty well .
Those are a lot of caveats , though . So many that you sort of wonder why these were n’t just brand as Polar earbuds with Sennheiser alternatively of the other way of life around .
