While I easily recommend the MOMENTUM as an on-the-go headphone, I'd be less quick to recommend it as a reference headphone for more critical listening, unless your personal reference sound tends toward a bass-heavier signature, in which case you'd probably love the MOMENTUM. My three personal reference portable over-ears are currently the beyerdynamic DT 1350, Sennheiser Amperior and V-MODA M-80. Though these headphones all sound different from one another, all are more generally even-handed--more accurate overall--than the MOMENTUM, possessing the types of signatures I can more easily settle into for more critical stationary home and office listening.
Of these, the one that Head-Fi'ers have asked most about in comparison to the MOMENTUM is the Amperior, some speculating that perhaps they use the same driver. Sennheiser has confirmed that they do not use the same driver; and, to my ears, they have about as much in common sonically as they do in appearance (which is to say not much in common at all). Though the Amperior tamed some of what I feel is a sometimes too-aggressive Sennheiser HD 25-1 II treble, the MOMENTUM is even smoother to me up top, from the middle highs on up (and that can be either a positive or negative trait, depending on what you like). But there's more than that separating them, the MOMENTUM's more emphasized bass and fuller mids completing the dissociation for me between these two. Here's what I'll say, then: If you've heard the Amperior (or the HD 25-1 II which, again, is a bit more treble-peaky to me than the Amperior)--and you thought it was too aggressive up top, and you also wanted more emphasis on the low end--then the MOMENTUM should definitely be on your short list
As far as isolation goes, the MOMENTUM is comparable to the Amperior, which is to say quite good, but short of the level of passive sound-deadening of the beyerdynamic DT 1350 (which is still one most isolating passive over-ears for I've used).
For me, the new Sennheiser MOMENTUM is a super-comfortable, beautifully made headphone that will likely take its place ahead of the Philips Fidelio L1 and Bowers & Wilkins P5 as a gorgeously built, super-stylish headphone with the bass emphasized sound signature (and good overall clarity and resolution)
While I easily recommend the MOMENTUM as an on-the-go headphone, I'd be less quick to recommend it as a reference headphone for more critical listening, unless your personal reference sound tends toward a bass-heavier signature, in which case you'd probably love the MOMENTUM. My three personal reference portable over-ears are currently the beyerdynamic DT 1350, Sennheiser Amperior and V-MODA M-80. Though these headphones all sound different from one another, all are more generally even-handed--more accurate overall--than the MOMENTUM, possessing the types of signatures I can more easily settle into for more critical stationary home and office listening.
Of these, the one that Head-Fi'ers have asked most about in comparison to the MOMENTUM is the Amperior, some speculating that perhaps they use the same driver. Sennheiser has confirmed that they do not use the same driver; and, to my ears, they have about as much in common sonically as they do in appearance (which is to say not much in common at all). Though the Amperior tamed some of what I feel is a sometimes too-aggressive Sennheiser HD 25-1 II treble, the MOMENTUM is even smoother to me up top, from the middle highs on up (and that can be either a positive or negative trait, depending on what you like). But there's more than that separating them, the MOMENTUM's more emphasized bass and fuller mids completing the dissociation for me between these two. Here's what I'll say, then: If you've heard the Amperior (or the HD 25-1 II which, again, is a bit more treble-peaky to me than the Amperior)--and you thought it was too aggressive up top, and you also wanted more emphasis on the low end--then the MOMENTUM should definitely be on your short list
As far as isolation goes, the MOMENTUM is comparable to the Amperior, which is to say quite good, but short of the level of passive sound-deadening of the beyerdynamic DT 1350 (which is still one most isolating passive over-ears for I've used).
For me, the new Sennheiser MOMENTUM is a super-comfortable, beautifully made headphone that will likely take its place ahead of the Philips Fidelio L1 and Bowers & Wilkins P5 as a gorgeously built, super-stylish headphone with the bass emphasized sound signature (and good overall clarity and resolution)