Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review: great noise-cancelling earbuds

The latest wireless earbuds from Sennheiser are smaller, longer lasting and have better sound and noise cancelling than their predecessors, making them some of the best on the market.

The Sennheiser logo on the earbuds is a touchpad for a full set of customisable controls including volume and noise-cancelling modes, which work very well. Few competitors have as many options here.

The best bit about the earbuds is how good they sound, producing rich, detailed audio with excellent separation of instruments.

There is a full equaliser and an option to create a custom setting through a short listening test. Sennheiser has promised to add a full sound personalisation setting that will go beyond simple equaliser adjustments in a future update.

The earbuds support standard Bluetooth 5.2 with the universal SBC and AAC audio formats. But they also support the very latest aptX Adaptive audio format, which when used with a compatible device offers better audio quality and lower latency, which is particularly good for gaming. Only a handful of newer Android smartphones support aptX Adaptive at the moment, however.

The earbuds can be used independently of each other, which is handy for calls. My voice sounded a bit robotic on the phone but was clear even when speaking in loud environments, effectively suppressing background noise.

The Bluetooth connection to a range of phones, tablets and computers was rock solid, but they only connect to one device at a time at the moment. An update to support connection to two devices simultaneously (multi-point), such as a laptop and a phone, is promised at a later date.

Sennheiser estimates the batteries in the earbuds and case will maintain at least 80% of their original capacity after four years of daily use, listening for two hours a day, but the batteries are not replaceable, ultimately making them disposable.

Spare parts including tips, earbuds and cases are available. The earbuds do not contain any recycled material and Sennheiser does not publish impact assessments or operate trade-in schemes in the UK.

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 come in a choice of three colours costing £219.99 ($249.95/A$399.5).

For comparison, the Sony WF-1000XM4 cost £229, Beats Fit Pro cost £199, Apple AirPods Pro cost £249, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro cost £219, Jabra Elite 7 Pro cost £199, the Bose QC Earbuds cost £249.95 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 cost £99.

They are some of the best-sounding Bluetooth earbuds you can get, have good noise cancelling, great controls, good battery life and support for the latest aptX Adaptive audio format. Despite still being at the premium end of the market costing £220, they are more competitive thanks to a price cut over their predecessors, too.