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Even though the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s have a lot of short comings for headphones in 2019… I strangely still really enjoy them. But when it comes to choosing between the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s and Sennheiser Momentum 3’s… its almost like 2 completely different companies made these headphones. Cause almost everything about them, even down to the included accessories are completely different on these headphones.
Now if we were to look at the Sony XB900N and the Sony 1000XM3’s these headphones have a lot of things in common like their over all design and feature sets… and even though they each target a different section of the market… you can clearly tell they’re still part of the same family. But thats not the case with the PXC 550-II’s and the Momentum 3’s… but non the less if you want to pick these headphones up they’ll be linked down below and if you want to learn more about either of these headphones please watch their full reviews cause we’re only going over the main differences here.
So first off I want to address the included accessories. Like I’ve said before, Sennheiser really needs to step up with their carrying cases. Both the PXC 550-II’s and Momentum 3’s come with crappy and floppy carrying cases that just don’t stack up with all of the other included carrying cases out there. When you’re paying $350 for the PXC 550-II’s and $400 for the Momentum 3’s a decent hardshell carrying case is to be expected. Now with that out of the way lets get to the cables cause its a bigger deal than you’ll might think. Both of these headphones come included with a 3.5 to 2.5 millimeter audio cable. But they’re slightly different from one another. The PXC 550-II’s cable is slightly thicker so it feels more durable. And the PXC 550-II’s also come included with an airplane adaptor where as the momentum 3’s don’t but personally I don’t really care. But what I do care about are the charging cables. The PXC 550-II’s come included with a Micro USB to USB A charging cable cause they still charge via a micro usb port… where as the Momentum 3’s come included with a 3 foot USB C to USB C cable. Obviously you can use this cable for charging… but you can also use this USB C cable as a wired connection if you have an android device which is pretty cool and great for audiophiles. Even though I doubt that a large amount of people will be using the USB C port on their headphones as a wired connection… it would have still been nice if the PXC 550-II’s kept up with the rest of the competition and upgraded to a USB C port so that android users could charge their phone and headphones with the same cable. And even still, Usb C is the way everything is going.
Now when it comes to the headphones themselves the build quality on the momentum 3’s is vastly superior than the PXC 550-II’s. Its not even close. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the over all look of these headphones… the over all finish and exposed metal on these headphones looks great and one of my favorite things about these headphones build quality wise is their real sheep skin leather found on the ear pads and headband. It just feels buttery smooth and the synthetic stuff all other headphones just don’t compare. Where as the PXC 550-II’s on the other hand feel pretty cheap in general. The plastic used on these headphones is very light weight, the leatherette on the headband and ear pads feels very synthetic, and the way that these ear cups swivel just feel very clunky. But when it comes to comfort the PXC 550-II’s are vastly superior to the Momentum 3’s. They rest much more naturally on your head and their ear cups are more spacious as well. Like I’ve said in past videos, the PXC 550-II’s are possibly the second most comfortable headphones out there. Second only to the Bose QC35’s. But another reason why the PXC 550-II’s are so comfortable is cause they’re so light weight weighing in at 230 grams… way lighter than a lot of other headphones out there in this price range. Where as the Momentum 3’s weigh in at a hefty 310 grams. The PXC 550-II’s light weight make them very easy to forget that you have them on where as with the Momentum 3’s… you can wear them for hours on end but you never really forget that they’re there. So the PXC 550-II’s light weight is one of the main reasons why I choose to look past their so so build quality. Over all, both of these headphones are big head approved… but if I had to choose one for a long flight im going with the PXC 550-II’s hand down.
Now when it come to tech specs… both of Sennheiser’s new headphones are pretty lack laster when it comes to battery life compared to the rest of the competition. The Momentum 3’s have an advertised battery life of 17 hours and for me I can usually only go 4 days in between charges with them. Not impressive at all. Where as the PXC 550-II’s have an advertised battery life of 20 hours when used wirelessly and they can last me about a week in between charges.
Regarding Bluetooth connectivity, both of these headphones are rocking bluetooth 5.0 and both of them can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you can hot swap from one device to another. And when it comes to audio codecs they both have APTX and APTX low latency support and they obviously have AAC support.
Now when it comes to listening to music with these headphones these headphones sound very different. They both sound good, but they have very different characteristics. The PXC 550-II’s are a pair of very neutral sounding headphones. There’s a slight emphasis on the mids and vocals on these headphones but its very important to keep in mind that the bass on these headphones can only mostly be heard and not felt. So if you’re someone that likes to physically feel your bass then these headphones are not for you. Now the PXC 550-II’s have a somewhat adjustable eq and you can raise the bass on these headphones.. but they’re just not going to kick against your head like I know some people are looking for. And besides, I really think these headphones sound best with their stock neutral EQ. Now when it comes to the Momentum 3’s I also think they sound best when they’re set to their stock natural EQ. Now like the PXC 550-II’s these headphones also put a slight emphasis on the vocals and mids but from a characteristics standpoint, the sound stage is significantly wider on these headphones and instrument separation is a lot better as well. But the biggest difference on these headphones from the PXC 550-II’s is their bass. The Bass on the momentum 3’s really likes to resonate a lot more, which is fun. So if you’re someone that appreciates a neutral sound signature like I do, but still wants to physically feel the bass then these are a good option. And if I had to choose between either of these two sound quality wise, im going with the momentum 3’s.
Now when it comes to controlling your music, the PXC 550-II’s are using a touch pad. Which is actually a really good touch pad. Its very easy to find, easy to use, and very accurate. But if you don’t want to put up with a touch pad than the momentum 3’s are still using physical buttons.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancellation on these headphones. Just from the sheer bulkiness of the momentum 3’s I doubt that a lot of people would be getting these as their daily commuter headphones. So it really comes to as no surprise to me that the ANC on the PXC 550-II’s clearly out performs the momentum 3’s. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
Like you may have just seen, when it comes to road noise the PXC 550-II’s just barely manage to block out a little more noise than the momentum 3’s. But when it comes to chatter, the PXC 550-II’s block out way more noise. The PXC 550-II’s almost block out as much chatter as the Sony 1000XM3’s which is really saying something. And over all, the ANC on the PXC 550-II’s is decent cause it block out a noticeable amount of chatter with barely any cabin pressure. Like seriously, if you’re somebody thats very sensitive to cabin pressure then you’ll might want to check these out. I just wish these headphones did a better job of blocking out road noise.
But now I want to address the ambient mode on the PXC 550-II’s. With the PSC 550-II’s if you double tap on their touch pad they’ll mute your music and pump in the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone without have to take your headphones off like this.
Now the Momentum 3’s can also do this and so can a lot of other headphone out there. But with the PXC 550-II’s you can’t have ambient mode turned on and play music at the same time like you can with the Momentum 3’s like this.
I just find it very odd that you can’t do this with the PXC 550-II’s cause it clear that sennheiser is trying to position the PXC 550-II’s as their go to traveling headphones. But a crucial feature for any pair of traveling headphones is an adjustable ambient mode so that you can still hear your soundings when you’re listening to music while you’re either walking around the city or waiting in an airport terminal. If Sennheiser want to be competitive they need to put out a firmware update that adds an ambient mode to their headphones.
And finally when it comes to microphone on these headphones for phone calls…. The Momentum 3’s sound pretty bad cause they have a lot of amplification
Where as the PXC 550-II’s sound way better. Now S’s do tend to peak on these headphones but over all the microphone on these headphones is definitely usable. And its a lot better than a lot of other headphones out there minus the Bose NC 700’s.
So over all… even though the PXC 550-II’s and Momentum 3’s are from the same company… they are very different from one another. Its almost like 2 completely different teams made them and didn’t even bother to communicate with one another. And in general Sennheiser really needs to get it together cause their headphones just barely manage to keep up with the competition. Now I think the Momentum 3’s are a good pair of at home headphones that you’ll might occasionally use to travel with. Their Active noise cancellation isn’t all that impressive and they could be more comfortable. But I can’t deny that these headphones sound great and I really like their build quality. Where as the PXC 550-II’s are much better suited for traveling. Even though these headphones are not better than the sony 1000XM3’s or Bose NC 700’s feature set wise… these are a good alternative if neither of the latter fit you well. The Sony’s have cramped ear cups and the Bose have a little too much clamping force. But the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s are a pair of headphones I would feel more comfortable picking up if they were on sale.