So I had a bunch of orphaned points for an airline that I no longer fly and chose to redeem them for these cans on account of them being the most likely on the list of stuff that I could either use or sell. The box, as there seems to be a few variants... Momentum 2.0 On Ear, Model M2 OEi, P/N 506251 - http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/momentum-on-ear-m2 I can't find the exact model in the UK (i.e. black and silver), but that would make sense as they're probably from HK (as they're from Cathay Pacific) I'm undecided as to which at the moment, as whilst I'm all about hifi, I've never really been into headphones - the most exotic earware I think I've owned is my current SE215 earbuds. I travel quite a bit, but I like to travel light, so can't see me lugging these around in place of the Shure's on account of size - I guess any use of these would be in the house, but not yet sure where and why (and I may be on the way to answering my question of keep/sell myself here). So anyone willing to help me out, I could do with knowing... - Are these any good? They are well reviewed, but if headphone reviews are anything like hifi reviews, that means very little. - If I were to decide I want to keep them, are they they sort of thing that can just hang off a device (which again, I'm not sure what that would be), or would they want an amp? And if I were to decide to sell (I started posting a price check, until I considered that I'm more after general advice) - Are they relatively desirable to start with? - Any ideas of an approximate value for new and sealed - I get that there's shops that sell new and sealed ones too for comparison (RRP looks to be £170, street £150), but then if they're not really desirable then that isn't all that helpful. For instance, I wouldn't imagine I'd be able to sell some new sealed Beats headphones for a near-new price, certainly not here. - Approximate ballpark value for lightly used - if I decide to use them but then figure out that I'm not really getting much out of them.
Yeah, the Momentums are decent - but you have to be ok with on ear phones - which, as you correctly note, are not ideal for travelling light. The Momentums are built for use with mobile devices, and therefore have a very low 18ohm impedence meaning you won't need an amp. Sound wise they are fairly well balanced, quite neutral and don't really emphasise any part of the spectrum. I suspect whether they sound good to you will come down to personal taste, what type of music you listen to and what source you use. You'd get a decent wedge if you sold them - but no where near the new price - mainly due to the availability of regular, decent offers on things like the ATH-M50 and the first gen Momentums at around £80 brand new.
I don't have much time but I can tell you that these are very good headphones. There are a series 2 which are a better, but not by much. I prefer the over ear version but that's just me. I will try to help out more later when I have some time if no one else has replied.
Yup supposed to be very good but I stopped using on ears ages ago. I notice they are foldable, do they come with a carry bag/case? I would keep them but I'm only saying that because I sort of collect headphones and have about 12 pairs ATM
One of my friends has a pair of Momentum's, I wasn't all that enamoured with them for the price TBH, but then I was comparing them with more expensive over-ear cans and I do not get on well with on-ear cans which I find painful after a while. These are designed primarily as travel cans, hence the folding design, angled jack and accompanying carry case - this also means that most PMPs and phones will have enough juice to power these just fine from their 3.5mm jack (they'll benefit a little from a portable amp but one certainly isn't necessary), however if your intended use is at home you would get more sound and comfort for your money with a larger pair of over-ear cans designed for use with home audio systems. Lightly used I'd say these should fetch £100-110, maybe up to £120 if they are BNIB.
Hmm, the plot thickens. Good to hear they're actually half decent - I of course know of Sennheiser and their legacy, but then all bets are off when it comes to "lifestyle" products when it comes to even the most respected manufacturers. So there's a case, but I can't see them being terribly compact even folded, on account of the way they fold. My daughter has some Bose OE2 headphones which fold in a case, and they look more compact than these, but they're still something that has to be thought about when packing them in a bag. I suppose I could retain them for long-haul flights, as my Shures start to feel enormous after 4 or so hours. I get that there's no "right" answer for this, so just after a gut feel, but if I were to compare them to my SE215s for general sound quality for music (rock, metal, rap) and films/TV, I'm I likely to note an improvement? Source is currently an iPhone 6, but could be a tablet, or on-board entertainment. Or I could always flog them for ~£120, and the SE215s as well, and perhaps treat myself to some new in-ears...
What HiFi gave the Momentum II on-ears a five star review: http://www.whathifi.com/sennheiser/momentum-20/review
The improvement over a pair of se215s would be noticeable as I feel the 215 is starting to age now. It won't be a huge improvement and I would likely sell them for an updated pair of inears if I was in your position.
IMO IEMs will always be the better choice for listening on the move since they offer superior isolation meaning you can listen at lower volumes (therefore less damage to your ears and annoyance to those around you) and will always be smaller and lighter since they will easily fit in a jean pocket.
I think I'm there now - I wouldn't go out and buy these or any other on-ear headphone regardless of the price, so may as well monetise them and use that as an excuse to start looking at new in-ears. I think it was my inner "ooh new toy" that wanted to play, but fortunately I consulted the brain trust and found the sensible choice! SE425s seem the most sensible £/£ trade in, though the excited child in me has been reading up on the SE846s as well, which sound lovely. I'm sure there's something other than Shure worth looking at in those price brackets, but those two seem to consistently pop up in the "best of" roundups and conversations in their respective price ranges.
The SE846's are indeed very nice with exceptional bass and are still one of the best universal IEMs you can buy, however for that sort of money you could get yourself a nice set of CIEMs!
Hmm, yes, there is that - I wouldn't know where to start though, so many choices and all comparatively esoteric, and no real way to try before you buy (though, I'm not sure that's even a thing for in-ears at all, is it?) At the £7-800 level, wouldn't there be some compromise - i.e. a top-end off the shelf IEM vs an entry level CIEM? I probably have to assimilate an internet's worth of IEM knowledge before I go any further, either that or just pick something up in the £200 weight class and enjoy them in blissful ignorance.
It certainly is a bit of a minefield, having done a lot of research in that area myself. I have had experience with two CIEM manufacturers: JH Audio, who despite being market leaders I would recommend avoiding due to their woeful customer service (luckily I dealt with them through a UK-based reseller), and Noble Audio, which was a vastly better experience (and AFAIK are the only CIEM manufacturer to offer an ownership transfer service should you decide to sell your CIEMs). I have also heard very good things about 1964 Ears. In the £700-800 price range you would be in the upper end of the CIEM market and most models will give you better clarity, separation, soundstage and comfort and similar bass vs the SE846. I'd also throw the Shure KSE1500 into the mix as I've heard very good things about that, but that's probably a bit out of most people's price range for an IEM as it's the first of its kind. The usual caveat of diminishing returns applies here though as it does with all audio gear, and an £800 IEM will not sound twice as good as a £400 IEM - you are paying for refinement (and in the case of CIEMs, the craftsmanship of creating a custom product).
I get the comfort part of course, but why would most CIEMs necessarily give better clarity, separation and soundstage to something like the SE846? (genuinely curious, of course, I'm new here) I'll snoop around a couple of the manufacturers you suggested, apart from JH audio probably. I of course spotted the KSE1500s - being a child, why wouldn't I have immediately clicked on the shiniest thing on Shure's product page - and the Head-Fi video smothering them with praise, but had a few reservations: - They're £2400 - They're 3x the price of the SE846, at £2400. I still haven't decided for sure if I'm spending more than £200. - They're two thousand four hundred pounds sterling - I get that the amp/dac is part of the package, and when you pair the SE846 with the SHA900 you're looking at something approaching £2k, but you're married to the DAC/Amp on the KSE1500. This means on a flight to SFO for instance, I'm using my £30 Sony backups for at least 4 hours once the amp runs out fo juice. - A fixed cable is a no-go for me on any earphone over £200, let alone over £2000 - Electrostats aren't well known for their bass response, so this would remain a reservation. But then, in-ear electrostats aren't known for anything yet, so this is probably a non-issue - Did I mention they're £2400? If not: they're £2400.
They wouldn't necessarily just because they are CIEMs, I was just indicating that most models around the same price as the SE846's generally perform better in those areas. Around the £700-800 mark most CIEMs use 6-8 drivers per side while the SE846 uses 4, and while I'm not saying more drivers = better sound quality, each driver is tuned for a specific frequency range so those with more drivers are generally able to perform better across their entire frequency range. Also, as CIEMs, the fit is tailored to the shape of your ear canal and they extend further into your ear canal than universal IEMs (usually just past the second bend of the ear canal), which gives better isolation and greater impression of detail. It all depends on getting a good fit though, as a bad fitting CIEM will be both uncomfortable and thin-sounding.
I feel like you may have misunderstood the question here - i.e. given £1000 to spend, and agnostic of manufacturers or models, would make a CIEM inherently better than a high-end ready-to-wear IEM (other than the bespoke fit, obviously) Good info, thanks. I'm still wary of going down that rabbit hole for some reason, and there's still an appeal in a universal IEM (and at least there's resale potential to change up in the future). There seems to be quite a bit of praise for the IE800, SE846 and K3003 even in comparison with CIEMS kicking around the interewbs, but then there's so much hyperbole at this end of the audio market it can be difficult to navigate. I'm just wary about paying £800 for some rubbish earphones made by some guy in a shed just because a few other people have done and instead of acknowledge (or even realise) they're rubbish, they need to tell the world how clever they were for finding the best earphone in the world... at least with hi-fi you can try before you buy fairly easily and find out for yourself. Don't let that come across as about you by the way - but you know what it's like with high-end audio and the worst of the audiophile types I'm sure - this is a market where these exist after all.
Ahh, right. If typically CIEMs offer better comfort and better noise isolation since they evolved as monitoring devices for musicians and performers at live venues with many ranges having sound signatures tailored to a specific on-stage/live broadcast requirement. The more well regarded manufacturers often have universal demonstrators which they send out or are available for public testing at bigger audio meets, these are basically a version of the CIEM that has been molded to work with a wide variety of peoples ears - it won't offer as good isolation, but gives an idea of the sound quality. CIEMs I've noticed also tend to be significantly larger than mass production universals - typically on higher end models this allows the manufacturer to space out drivers better to avoid accidental interference as well as pack in more drivers. While four is usually about as many as you will find in production IEMs, CIEMs have up to 12, though the jury is out as to if more = better. Notable CIEM players that generally have favorable reviews: Ultimate Ears, Noble, 1964. As you said there are non custom IEMs that are on par for sound quality at least, though perhaps not when it comes to comfort and isolation. There are also universal versions of the mid and lower end customs, which basically offer the same sound, but sans the faff of getting a custom mold and with the upside that you can sell them on without taking a huge hit to the wallet. Honestly though, if you're going to throw £700, 800+ at a single pair of IEMs or headphones it'd be worth taking the time to come to one of the larger audio meets (there's been one in London every year for the last 3 years that is free and there are a few that require an attendance ticket) and try some of the stuff out.
Universals are definitely the safer option if you are undecided about dropping that much cash on a fully custom product with no return option and poor resale value. I ended up going with the custom option more for the comfort than them being the be all and end all of audio quality, as I have always struggled to find IEMs/tips that are comfortable for my ears. FWIW, out of the 3 universals you've listed there I would go with the Shure's. I've read the occasional mixed review for the K3003 and IE800, while the SE846 seems to be much easier to get on with.
