Shelvo
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2013
- Posts
- 31
- Likes
- 11
Browsing around this forum, I've heard lots and lots of great things about the Sennheiser MOMENTUM. When my old headphones (A pair of Gemini HSR-1000 studio reference 'phones), which I loved dearly, developed a major rattling and significant lack of bass in the left ear, I was very, very sad. However, my mind had been on upgrading for a little while anyway, so I decided to just go for the upgrade early and buy a pair of Momentums. This was contrary to my original plan (use the Geminis as my portable pair of isolating headphones and get a pair of Philips Fidelio X1s for home use), but I needed a new pair of headphones I could bring along with me and listen with reasonable isolation, so I got the Momentums.
Even after about 80 hours of burn-in, they're disappointing me.
I've had them for about a week now, and they have improved significantly with more use, but after leaving them running 24/7 to try to exercise them and still being disappointed with how they sound, I'm starting to lose hope.
Before continuing, I should say that I mostly listen to cinematic music: E.S. Posthumus, orchestral film and game scores (LotR, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, etc.); a nice rock-ish group called Globus, the occasional electronic or metal song (Ronald Jenkees, Blind Guardian), and so on.
What's getting me most right now is accuracy of timbre. My old headphones, I feel, were very good at accurately reproducing the timbre of an instrument. They could also produce a very ensemble-like sound. If I had to ding them in one area, it would be separation of sounds. Notes in runs by strings instruments especially suffered from bleeding together somewhat, creating a kind of glissando effect. The Momentum does a better job of separation, but timbre is not quite there. I think that since the sound is more colored (a "V" shape as some have described it, with quite a focus on treble), ensembles lose the "pyramid" sound that anybody who has played in even a somewhat-advanced band knows what I'm talking about. Speaking to timbre, strings sound like one of their distant ancestors was an electronic synth, flutes sound far too wide (this could be an artifact of the Momentum's very relaxed sound), as do trumpets (wide-sounding brass is good, but not for trumpets). A prime example of what I'm talking about can be heard in the track "Leaving Hogwarts" from the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack, especially on the ending chord.
Secondly is sub-bass presence. Now don't get me wrong: the Momentums have excellent sub-bass. They've revealed sub-bass in places I didn't know contained those lower frequencies. However, the Momentums' sub-bass lacks a feeling of... atmosphere. A good example of this is in the track "Skyrim Atmospheres" from the Skyrim soundtrack. My old Gemini headphones gave the first half minute or so an very nice, enveloping, well - atmospheric feel. With the Momentums, however, the sub-bass just kind of feels like it's there without any particular purpose. Certainly the track would be worse off without it, but I no longer feel like it's part of what makes the track exceptional like I used to. My guess would be that this has to do with the Momentums being on-ear rather than over-ear. I didn't realize that there was both an over-ear and on-ear version of the Momentum.
Comfort is also a slight issue. My ears feel like they're being pinched up against my skull after more than an hour of use despite bending the headband to be less clamping. This is a moot point, however, as I realize this would take a long time to significantly improve through use.
So basically, I'm coming to some of the more experienced head-fiers looking for some advice. Do I stick it out and wait for the Mometums to improve, despite already not liking the colored signature and losing the opportunity to return them for my money back, or get a new pair of headphones? By this point I'm thinking get a new pair of headphones. My experience has been that the Momentums can make anything sound good, but can't make much of what I like to listen to sound exceptional.
So, judging by my experiences with the Geminis and Momentums, as well as my needs, here is what I would be looking for in a new pair of headphones:
-a mostly flat sound signature
-headphones which can produce an atmospheric/ensemble sound
-accurate timbre
-enough separation to keep moving parts clean and reveal details, but still sound mostly smooth
-at least marginal isolation
-some degree of portability (space isn't a terrible issue, I can deal with carrying around a larger set of cans)
-price range of $100 to $300
-easily driven (a laptop and 1st gen iPod nano are my main source components, though I'm planning an upgrade to a Sansa Clip+)
Right now, I have my eye on the Shure SRH840 monitors, or possibly attempting to find a used pair of HD 580s or HD 600s. What other suggestions do you guys have? Thanks so much for your feedback (and for reading my long post), I really appreciate your time!
Even after about 80 hours of burn-in, they're disappointing me.
I've had them for about a week now, and they have improved significantly with more use, but after leaving them running 24/7 to try to exercise them and still being disappointed with how they sound, I'm starting to lose hope.
Before continuing, I should say that I mostly listen to cinematic music: E.S. Posthumus, orchestral film and game scores (LotR, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, etc.); a nice rock-ish group called Globus, the occasional electronic or metal song (Ronald Jenkees, Blind Guardian), and so on.
What's getting me most right now is accuracy of timbre. My old headphones, I feel, were very good at accurately reproducing the timbre of an instrument. They could also produce a very ensemble-like sound. If I had to ding them in one area, it would be separation of sounds. Notes in runs by strings instruments especially suffered from bleeding together somewhat, creating a kind of glissando effect. The Momentum does a better job of separation, but timbre is not quite there. I think that since the sound is more colored (a "V" shape as some have described it, with quite a focus on treble), ensembles lose the "pyramid" sound that anybody who has played in even a somewhat-advanced band knows what I'm talking about. Speaking to timbre, strings sound like one of their distant ancestors was an electronic synth, flutes sound far too wide (this could be an artifact of the Momentum's very relaxed sound), as do trumpets (wide-sounding brass is good, but not for trumpets). A prime example of what I'm talking about can be heard in the track "Leaving Hogwarts" from the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack, especially on the ending chord.
Secondly is sub-bass presence. Now don't get me wrong: the Momentums have excellent sub-bass. They've revealed sub-bass in places I didn't know contained those lower frequencies. However, the Momentums' sub-bass lacks a feeling of... atmosphere. A good example of this is in the track "Skyrim Atmospheres" from the Skyrim soundtrack. My old Gemini headphones gave the first half minute or so an very nice, enveloping, well - atmospheric feel. With the Momentums, however, the sub-bass just kind of feels like it's there without any particular purpose. Certainly the track would be worse off without it, but I no longer feel like it's part of what makes the track exceptional like I used to. My guess would be that this has to do with the Momentums being on-ear rather than over-ear. I didn't realize that there was both an over-ear and on-ear version of the Momentum.
Comfort is also a slight issue. My ears feel like they're being pinched up against my skull after more than an hour of use despite bending the headband to be less clamping. This is a moot point, however, as I realize this would take a long time to significantly improve through use.
So basically, I'm coming to some of the more experienced head-fiers looking for some advice. Do I stick it out and wait for the Mometums to improve, despite already not liking the colored signature and losing the opportunity to return them for my money back, or get a new pair of headphones? By this point I'm thinking get a new pair of headphones. My experience has been that the Momentums can make anything sound good, but can't make much of what I like to listen to sound exceptional.
So, judging by my experiences with the Geminis and Momentums, as well as my needs, here is what I would be looking for in a new pair of headphones:
-a mostly flat sound signature
-headphones which can produce an atmospheric/ensemble sound
-accurate timbre
-enough separation to keep moving parts clean and reveal details, but still sound mostly smooth
-at least marginal isolation
-some degree of portability (space isn't a terrible issue, I can deal with carrying around a larger set of cans)
-price range of $100 to $300
-easily driven (a laptop and 1st gen iPod nano are my main source components, though I'm planning an upgrade to a Sansa Clip+)
Right now, I have my eye on the Shure SRH840 monitors, or possibly attempting to find a used pair of HD 580s or HD 600s. What other suggestions do you guys have? Thanks so much for your feedback (and for reading my long post), I really appreciate your time!
