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Supplying Momentum
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When the topic turns to headsets or headphones, one of the first names that springs to my mind is that of Sennheiser. With its headquarters in Germany and subsidiaries in various locations including Great Britain, America, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, France and Belgium, the company has built up an extensive range of headsets and headphones. The latest addition to this product portfolio is the company’s new Momentum On-Ear Headphones.
According to Sennheiser, this headphones product has been designed with urban style in mind. This probably explains why there is a choice of blue, pink, green or ivory units for the fashion conscious user. My review sample is of the blue hue which, I have to admit, says nothing about my sense of non-existence style but then I shall be judging this product more on its audio capability than how good it makes me look.
As its titles indicates, the ear pad of this product rest on, rather than totally enclose, the ears. Both the padding and back plate of each ear pad features the chosen colour as does the minimal padding encasing a section of the stainless steel headband. The padding is made of supersoft, breathable, durable Alcantara which is a high tech material produced in Italy.
A channel of either side of the stainless steel headband allows you to adjust the size of the headphones. Although it is possible to move the ear pads up or down when wearing the headphones, I found it far easier to make this type of adjustment when this unit was away from my head. This is the only adjustment you can make to the comfort of these headphones as the angle at which the ear pads are positioned is fixed.
As supplied, the Momentum On-Ear headphones come with a 134cm lead that features a built-in remote and microphone unit. This remote and microphone unit allows you to adjust the audio output volume as well as control incoming telephone calls and track management when listening to your music on a mobile device. However these features are only available when using these headphones with Apple devices such as the iPod, iPad and iPhone.
If you do not belong to the Apple fan-base and, as a result are unable to make use of the remote unit’s facilities then Sennheiser has considered this type of scenario and has included a replacement lead with this package. You simply need to unplug the resident lead from the left ear pad and replace it with the substitute lead which is 10cm longer at 144cm. As both leads have different sized jack plugs at either end then there should be no problem when inserting the replacement lead in the appropriate socket.
The 3.5mm jack plug is for attaching to the audio device while the 2.5mm jack plug slots into the left ear pad. It is possible to have the lead firmly locked in place with a slight twist or left for easy attachment if you need to move away suddenly from the audio source for any reason and have the lead detached from the headphones rather than have the whole thing ripped from your ears.
When switching between the two leads, I found that I needed to be particularly precise when inserting the replacement unit. I often needed two, three or more attempts before the headphones would deliver audio from both ear pads rather than just one. Fortunately this should not cause too much of a problem for those who stick to using just one lead.
Despite the use of minimal padding on the headband, I found the Momentum On-Ear Headphones to be reasonably comfortable when worn for lengthy sessions. The headphones strike a nice balance between delivering good, clear audio quality without needing to make you feel that you have been totally isolated from the world at large. If need be you can just mute or atop the incoming audio and then communicate with those around you without needing to remove the headphones. When not is use these headphones can be packed away in a soft draw-string pouch or a more rigid zipped case – both of the containers are supplied as part of the package.
With its combination of stylish appearance and good audio quality, the Momentum On-Ear Headphones is an attractive product. However this quality, and the Sennheiser name, has resulted in a price tag that might put off the more casual user. This product is currently available at £169.99 which is a price more suited to an Apple user than those who prefer an Android device.
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