Get Them Here
So now that the AirPods Max are here there’s definitely a lot of hype around them. And I will admit the AirPods max do deliver when it comes to sound and active noise cancelation. But today we’re going to be coming them to both the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s and Sennheiser Momentum 3’s. Now they’ll might not be as popular as lets say the Sony 1000XM4’s or Bose NC 700’s… but I really like both of these headphones but for very specific reasons.
Now when it comes to price… this is somewhat of a big factor for the PXC 550-II’s. Now these headphones retail for $350… and at that price they are a bit of a tough sell cause these headphones are missing some key feature when compared to the Sony’s and Bose. However these headphones can routinely be found on sale for $200. And if you’re willing to put up with some quirks then I say these headphones are a great buy at that price. But then there are the momentum 3’s which have a retail of $400 but they can be found on sale for around $350 now. And like ive mentioned in the past… these are my favorite sounding ANC headphones. And then there are the AirPods Max which retail for $550 which I do find hard to justify. But nonetheless if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below. And if you want to learn more about any of these headphones please watch their full reviews cuase we’re only going over their main differences.
Now first off lets address the carrying cases here. The AirPods Max come included with this smart case. Now even though this smart case feels premium, with a luxurious feeling outside and velour inside… its just not going to properly protect your headphones cause this headband is just so exposed. But then there are the Sennheiser’s which both come included with cases… but these aren’t hard shell cases like the ones you would get with either the Sony 1000XM4’s or Bose NC 700. Technically these cases are better than the smart case that you get with the AirPods max… but I still worry about crushing these headphones if you were to cram them into your back pack. So personally I feel that if you’re going to be traveling or commuting a lot with any of these headphones then you should invest in a hard shell case.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Build quality wise the AirPods Max are in a great. They have aluminum are cups, this head band slides in and out, up top this headband is covered in silicon giving use a soft touch feel, we’ve got this fabric mesh canopy that has a surprising amount of spring to it and then we’ve also got fabric ear pads. All in all the AirPods Max are exquisitely built. Where as both of Sennheiser’s headphones are also very well built… but they’re very different from one another. Not just in looks but also in material choice. Now the Sennheiser PXC 550-II have a mostly plastic body. Their ear cups have a soft touch feel to them. They have a traditional clicking headband… and the leatherette on these headphones does feel a little synthetic when compared to other leatherette like the one that you’ll find on Bose’s headphones. But then there are the momentum 3’s which are using considerably finer materials. They have smooth plastic ear cups which are attached to these exposed stainless steel arms which are then met with this sheep skin leather wrapped headband and the sheep skin leather is also found on the ear pads themselves. And quite frankly, the feel of this real leather on these ear pads feels awesome, and even though the leatherette on the Bose headphones feels great… it still pales in comparison to the real stuff. So build quality wise the Momentum 3’s are in a whole other league when compared to the PXC 550-II’s. But when compared to the AirPods Max… I think they’re evenly matched. Both of these headphones are using more premium materials than what you would find on your typical pair of ANC headphones… but I think its very hard to crown a definitive winner cause these two headphones are taking very different approaches. The AirPods Max are taking a more synthetic, futuristic approach… where as the momentum 3’s are taking a more classic rustic approach.
However both the AirPods max and Momentum 3’s use of finer materials does affect them when it comes to weight. For starter’s the AirPods Max weigh way above average coming in at 385 grams. Where as your typical pair of premium ANC headphones weigh in around 270 grams. So what this 385 gram weight on the AirPods Max means is that these are a pair of headphones that you never forget that you’re wearing even when you’re just sitting still. And these are also a pair of headphones that you really notice swinging around on your head when you’re walking around with them on. And also these headphones might also develop some neck strain on the back of your neck after wearing them for like an hour or so. Now the momentum 3’s are also a little heavy weighing in at 305 grams…but these are more manageable than the AirPods Max. With the momentum 3’s they’re easy enough to ignore when you’re sitting still… but you do notice these headphones quite a bit when you’re walking around with them on. However these headphones don’t develop any neck strain after long use sessions. You really only start seeing neck strain after we go above the 350 gram mark. But then there are the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s which weigh in at 227 grams. And I would consider these as a pair of ultra light weight headphones cause for comparison the Bose QC 35’s which are also rather light weight weigh in at 240 grams. The Sony 1000XM4’s weigh in at 254 gram and the Bose NC 700’s weigh in at 264 grams. So what this ultra light weight on the PXC 550-II’s means is that these headphones are super easy to forget that you have on and you bearly even notice them when you’re walking around with them on.
But weight aside, the Sennheiser’s are more comfortable then the AirPods max for two key reasons. First off both of Sennheiser’s headphones have much less clamping force than the AirPods Max making them big head approved. Where as the AirPods Max are not big head approved cause they have a lot more clamping force. Now I've tried stretching these headphones out and leaving them stretched out over night… but these headphones still have a lot of clamping force. So if you want something with a looser fit then you’ll definitely want to go with either of the Sennheiser’s. But then there are the earpads. Now all three of these ear pads are super spacious and they should have now problem accommodating most ear types. But the ear pads on the PXC 550-II’s are even more spacious. But one key thing to keep in mind here is that the ear pads on the AirPods Max are fabric. And personally I am not a fan of these fabric ear pads cuase they are very course. So to me they can get itchy at times. Where as the sheep skin leather and leatherette found on the Sennheiser’s don’t get itchy. However one pro about the fabric ear pads on the AirPods max is that they do a really good job of not over heating. Where as the ear pads on the momentum 3’s can heat up a little bit. Now they don’t have an over heating problem but the PXC 550-II’s do stay cooler for longer cause their ear pads do have less surface area coming in contact with your skin. So overall, even though the AirPods Max have amazing build quality… they’re not the most comfortable headphones to wear. They weigh way above average, they’re not big head approved cause of all of their clamping force, and their fabric ear pads can get itchy. Now with out a doubt the momentum 3’s are much more comfortable to wear than the AirPods Max… but keep in mind they are a little heavier than your main stream premium ANC Headphones and their ear pads can get a little warm. But then there are the PXC 550-II’s… and one of the main reasons why I like these headphones so much is cause they’re super comfortable. They’re ultra light weight weighing in at 227 grams, their ear pads are super spacious, and they barley heat up. Thats kind of why these have been my main editing headphones.
But when it comes to tech specs… one of the biggest quirks about the PXC 550-II’s is that they charge via a Mirco USB port which is a bit of an inconvenience now. And I find it very weird that the PXC 550-II’s charge via a micro USB port cause they were released along side the Momentum 3’s which charge via a USB C port.
But then there are the AirPods Max which charge via lighting port which is nice cause you can charge your iPhone and headphones with the same cable if you still prefer to use a wired connection. Cause if you switched over to Mag safe with the new iPhone 12’s then you’re back to using one cable to charge your phone and then another cable to charge your headphones cuase the AirPods Max don’t support Mag safe.
Now when it comes to battery life both the AirPods max and PXC 550-II’s have an advertised battery life of 20 hours which is okay and should get the job done… but I feel they could do better cause a lot of other headphones are trying to shoot for that 25 to 30 hour battery life mark.
But then there are the Momentum 3’s which have an advertised battery life of 17 hours which is quite a struggle. And that one of the main reasons why I say these are a great pair of at home headphones cause you’re going to have to charge these things a lot.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity… there’s a few key things to keep in mind here. Now the AirPods Max are using Apple’s H1 chip which means a few things. Now besides making pairing to your headphones super easy… it also allows you to hot swap between any of your apple devices associated to your iCloud account. Which could be a huge deal for an apple power user that might have an iPhone, multiple Macs, and maybe even an iPad.
Where as with both of Sennheiser’s headphones… they can both be simultaneously connected to any two devices at the same time. Now two devices should be plenty for most people. I assume most people will just need to switch between one phone and one computer… But if you’re an apple power user with an iPhone, multiple Mac computers, maybe even an iPad… or even if you have a hybrid set up like me with an android device or a windows machine… than you’ll might be interested in that H1 chip.
But from a performance standpoint all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether your using an iPhone or an android devices. But when it comes to audio codecs, the AirPods Max only have support for SBC and AAC. Now if you’re an iPhone user this doesn’t really matter cuase iPhone’s top at AAC any ways, and if you’re going to be streaming your music then AAC is going to be perfectly fine. But both off Sennheiser’s headphones do have support for higher quality audio codecs. Now they both have support for SBC and AAC just like the AirPods max, but they also have support for APTX and APTX Low Latency.
But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with either of the Sennheiser’s cuase they both have a 2.5 millimeter audio jack… and they both come included with audio cables. Where as with the AirPods max, you can still use them with a wired connection but you are going to have to get Apple’s lighting to audio jack cable which is sold separately. But also, just putting it out there, you can also use the USB C Port on the momentum 3’s as a wired connection.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones cuase they all sound very similar to one another, which is not a bad thing at all. Now for starter’s personally I like using my PXC 550-II’s with their boost adjustment set to rumble and with their Spatial adjustment setting set to near. Now with these settings the PXC 550-II’s sound very similar to the AirPods max expect the treble on the AirPods Max is a little higher and their bass does hit a little harder. But regardless both the AirPods max and PXC 550-II’s sound much more open and have better instrument separation than your more main stream options like either the Sony 1000XM4’s or Bose NC 700’s. And both the AirPods Max and PXC 550-II’s have strong vocals and dynamic bass that allows you to physically feel your music. Albeit the vocals and bass on the AirPods max are a little stronger than on the PXC 550-II’s. Now personally I do wish that we could reduce the treble on the AirPods Max a little bit cuase they can get a little ear piercing on rare occasion… but over all I do feel the AirPods Max and PXC 550-II’s are evenly matched when it comes to sound.
But then there are the momentum 3’s. Now ive said this in past videos but I do feel the Momentum 3’s sound noticeably better than the AirPods Max. The momentum 3’s sound more open than the AirPods Max… and unlike the AirPods Max since their treble isn’t as high they don’t get ear piercing. Now they still have strong vocals but they aren’t all up in your face like they can be with the AirPods Max. But then there’s the bass… while in their neutral EQ the bass on the momentum 3’s resonates deeper than the Bass on the AirPods Max, but if you want to you can always go into their EQ setting and raise their bass to the point where they are going to physically rattle your head a good amount. So over all I enjoy how the AirPods max sound and I think that they should be able to please most people cause they have crisp vocals, a decent amount of physical bass, and they sound spacious… But the Momentum 3’s sound more spacious, with more relaxed vocals so that they don’t over power the instrumentals, and they also have harder hitting a deeper resonating bass. But if you are someone on a budget than you can’t go wrong with the PXC 550-II’s cause these really do rival the AirPods max.
But now I want to quickly touch on the media control buttons on these headphones cause they’re all very different. Now the PXC 550-II’s are using a touch pad. Now for the most part this touch pad is very accurate and easy to use. But some people just don’t like touch pads or want to have to deal with touch pads on their headphones. So both the Momentum 3’s and AirPods Max have you covered with with physical media controls. Now the Momentum 3’s have your traditional 3 button set up where as the AirPods max have their digital crown. Now I am indifferent about either of them… but the physical buttons on both of these headphones are still easier to use than touch pads. The only thing that I will say is that I kind of wish the buttons on the AirPods Max had a better click to them. Cuase they are starting to feel a little mushy.
But something all of these headphones do have are wear sensors. So when you take any of these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music and when you put them back on they’ll start playing your music again. Now personally I don’t really care for wear sensors and I usually just turn them off… but this could be a big deal for someone.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now even though I abolsutly love my momentum 3’s… active noise cancelation is not their strong suit. The ANC on the momentum 3’s performs more like the ANC that you’ll find on a pair of entry level ANC headphones like the Sony WH-CH710N. Where as the ANC On the PXC 550-II performs like what you would except from a pair of premium ANC headphones and then there are the AirPods Max which brutally go after constant low frequency sounds. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the ANC on the Momentum 3’s just doesn’t compare to the ANC on these other two headphones. Now the Momentum 3’s are going to get the job done if you’re using them at home… but if you are looking for a pair of headphones to constantly travel with then you are going to definitely want to look at something else. Now when it comes to comparing the ANC on the PXC 550-II’s and AirPods Max… since the AirPods Max just utterly anialate constant low frequency sounds they manage to block out noticeably more road noise than the PXC 550-II’s. And even though more higher frequency sounds managed to get in during the chatter portion of this test… since the AirPods Max just destroy those low frequency sounds they give the perception of blocking out more chatter as well. However I will admit the PXC 550-II’s do a very impressive job of dealing with random higher frequency sounds. But over all even though the AirPods Max do block out an impressive amount of noise… their major draw back is their cabin pressure. Now you’re not going to feel too much cabin pressure if you’re listening to music with these headphones… but you will feel like you gotta pop your ears. But if you’re watching a movie or video with these headphones you will notice that cabin pressure a little more, and you’re really going to notice that cabin pressure if you’re not playing anything with these headphones. Now cabin pressure might not be a problem for everybody but it is for me. I feel that if you have an issue with the ANC on the Bose QC 35’s then you’ll probably have an issue with the cabin pressure on the AirPods Max. Where as with both of the Sennheiser’s… these headphones barely have any cabin pressure. Now given the fact that the Momentum 3’s don’t block out too much noise this is to be expected… but is also nice that the PXC 550-II’s also don’t have a lot of cabin pressure cuase it does contribute to over all comfort.
But now lets talk about the ambient modes on these headphones. Now AirPods Max have a very natural sounding ambient mode and their microphone arrays do a great job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. But personally I just wish that we could reduce the amount of ambient noise that the AirPods Max let in cause they let in a lot of noise. Now you also can’t adjust how much ambient noise the Momentum 3’s let in but they do let in less noise than the AirPods Max which is good. But when compared to the AirPods Max… it doesn’t sound as natural. But nonetheless the ambient mode on the Momentum 3’s gets the job done… But then there are the PXC 550-II’s which don’t have an ambient mode where you can simultaneously pump in the sound around you and play music at the same time like you can with these other two headphones. Instead when you double on their touch pad they’ll pause you music and pump in the ambient sound around you like this.
And then when you double tap on their touch pad they’ll go back to playing music again. Now I like having this type of feature on my headphones and the momentum 3’s can also do this.. but I just wish the PXC 550-II’s had a full on ambient mode like these other two headphones cuase its super useful either for when youre walking around the city or even for when you’re working from home.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now all three of these headphones have good sounding microphones for phone calls. But I can’t help but feel that the microphone on the Sennehsier PXC 550-II’s sounds a little better than the microphone found on the Momentum 3’s.
With the Sennheiser PXC 550-II’s I can’t help but feel that my voice sounds a little clearer. But over all I would try to take phones calls with the Sennheiser’s in a quite environment cause they don’t do the best job of blocking out ambient noise.
Where as with the AirPods max they do a great job of blocking out constant low frequency sounds like road noise. Cause right now we’re running the road noise simulation and if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise. But if we switch back over to the AirPods Max its is severely reduced but more improtnartly my voice is front and center.
Now the AirPods Max also do a decent job of blocking out chatter… but sometimes you’ll might get some interference in your voice or your still hear a decent amount of chatter in the back ground.
So with all that being said… even though the AirPods Max really do deliver when it comes to Sound and Active noise cancelation… they aren’t without their drawbacks and quirks. Even though the AirPods Max block out more noise than both of Sennheiser’s headphones cause they brutally go after those low frequency sounds… they do have a considerable amount of cabin pressure which contributes to over all comfort. And in general comfort is the AirPods Max’s biggest set back. These headphones weigh above average, they have a lot of clamping force so they aren’t big head approved and their fabric ear cups can get itchy at times. Now ive said this in the past, you can have a pair of headphones that sound great and block out a ton noise… which is what we have with the AirPods Max… but if your headphones don’t fit well you’re not going to want to wear them. Which is a shame cause I really like how these headphones sound. So comfort is the main reason why I still recommend either of Sennheiser’s headphones over the AirPods Max.
Now even though these headphones might not be as popular as lets say the Sony 1000XM4’s or Bose NC 700’s… I still like and recommend them for very specific reasons. I abolsutly love the PXC 550-II’s cause of their comfort. They’re super light weight weighing in at 227 grams so you barely notice them when you have them on. And their ear pads are super spacious and they do a great job of staying cool. The PXC 550-II’s also block out a decent amount of noise with very little cabin pressure but more importantly these headphones really do rival the AirPods Max when it comes to sound. But keep in mind these things are still using a micro USB port for charging and they don’t have a full on ambient mode which is a shame.
But if you can get them for $200 these things are a steal.
And then there are the Momentum 3’s. Now these headphones aren’t the best for commuting or traveling on a daily basis cause of their rather short battery life, entry level active noise cancelation, and just sheer bulkiness… But I absolutely love how they sound. They sound more open than the AirPods Max, and they have deeper and harder hitting bass.