Get Them Here
Both the Sony 1000XM4’s and Bose NC 700’s are a great pair of ANC headphones. But if you’re looking for something more premium with better sound then there are plenty of options out there for you. So today we’re going to compare the new Bang and Olufsen HX’s to my personal favorite sounding headphones the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s and the icons that are the AirPods Max. Now personally I am rather excited about this lineup cause each of these headphones have their own stand out characteristic.
Regarding pricing, the Momentum 3’s are the most affordable headphones here with a retail price of $400. Now you can sometimes find the momentum 3’s on sale for $350 or less… but its also worth noting that the momentum 3’s are the oldest headphones here and I wouldn’t be surprised if an upgrade is around the corner. Next up are the Bang and Olufsen HX’s with a retail price of $500 and then there’s the AirPods Max with a retail price of $550. And they don’t even come included with a proper carrying case or even an audio cable. But thats a whole other story. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about the included carrying cases cause we’ve got a spectrum here. The AirPods Max come included with this smart case and ive been very vocal about this in the past but im not a fan of this case cause its not going to fully protect your headphones. So if you do plan on traveling a lot with these headphones I highly advise that you invest in a hardshell case. Then there’s the Momentum 3’s… they come included with this premium feeling soft-shell case, but you still run the risk of maybe crushing your headphones if you cram them into your over stuffed back pack. But then there’s the HX’s, the HX’s come included with a proper hardshell case that is actually going to protect your headphones if you plan on traveling with them. Now this case is still a little larger than both of Sony’s or Bose’s case… but nonetheless the HX’s case will get the job much better done than these other cases.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Build quality wise all three of these headphones are using finer materials than what you would find on more main stream options. The HX’s have lambskin ear pads, an exposed aluminum headband thats wrapped in cow hide leather on top and underneath there’s padded fabric. And the Momentum 3’s also has a similar set up with a lambskin wrapped headband, exposed stainless steel arms and they also have lambskin leather. However I do want to quickly point out that I do prefer the feel of the Momentum 3’s lambskin ear pads over the HX’s. Its just a little softer and a little more supple. But then there are the AirPods Max, now they aren’t using leathers like these other headphones but they do have this silicon wrapped chrome headband, these large aluminum ear cups and they have fabric ear pads. However when it comes to looks… we’ve also got a spectrum here. The AirPods Max have this ultra modern low profile look to them where as the Momentum 3’s have a much more rustic look to them. They’re each on polar opposites of the spectrum, but I feel the HX’s are right in the middle. They have a timeless design to them thats both elegant but not over stated like the AirPods Max.
Now when it comes to comfort, for me the AirPods Max are the least comfortable headphones here for 2 key reasons. First there’s their weight. The AirPods Max weigh in at 385 grams which is way above average cause most ANC headphones weigh in at 270 grams and below. So with the AirPods Max these are just a pair of headphones that you just don’t forget that you’re wearing even when you're just sitting still watching a movie and you really feel them shifting around when you’re walking. Where as the momentum 3’s are a little better weighing in at 310 grams. So with the momentum 3’s you can forget that you’re wearing them if you’re sitting still, but you do notice them if you’re walking around with them on. But then there are the HX’s which are the lightest headphones here weighing in at 285 grams. But the second key reason why im not the biggest fan of the AirPods Max comfort is their fabric ear pads. To me these fabric ear pads can get itchy. Where as that isn’t a problem with these leather ear pads. However, like I mentioned in the full review… I am not a fan of the round earpads found on the HX’s cause these round ear pads push down on your ear cartilage and they rest on your earlobes. So even though the HX’s have a lot of great things going for them comfort wise like being light weight, not having a lot of clamping force making them big head approved and ear pads that don’t over heat… since their round ear pads are pretty cramped you never really forget that you’re wearing these headphones. Where as the oval ear pads on the Momentum 3’s don’t press down on your ears. So by process of elimination, the momentum 3’s are the most comfortable headphones here. Sure they’re not as light weight as the HX’s but I feel roomier ear pads out weigh the slight weight gain found on the Momentum 3’s.
But now let talk about tech specs, both the Momentum 3’s and HX’s charge via a USB C port as they should. Where as the AirPods max charge via lighting port. Now if you’re an iPhone user this is good cause you can charge your headphones and phone with the same cable, and trust me you’re going to be charging them a lot. But besides the AirPods max we wanna see a USB C port on our headphones.
Now when it comes to battery life, unfortunately this isn’t a strong suit for either the Momentum 3’s or the AirPods max. The Momentum 3’s have an advertised battery life 17 hours where as the AirPods Max have an advertised battery life of 20 hours. But my biggest complaint about the AirPods max is that battery drain is a huge issue for these guys. When you place them in their case they supposedly go into an ultra low power mode but if you come back like a day or two later you’re still going to see some significant power drain.
Where as with the Momentum 3’s when you collapse them they actually shut off. So if you put them away at 80% battery and come back a week later they're still at 80% battery. Where as with the AirPods Max they’ll might be at 50% battery. So even though on paper the AirPods Max have a longer battery life… longevity wise the Momentum 3’s have the longer battery life cause when you shut them off and put them away they don’t continue to drain power like the AirPods Max do.
But if you’re a constant commuter than the AirPods Max and Momentum 3’s sub 20 hour battery lives will might not cut it. So thats where the HX’s come in… they have an advertised battery life of 35 hours with their ANC turned on and an advertised battery life of 40 hours with their ANC turned off. So the HX’s are going to have a much easier time keeping up with you than these other two headphones.
Now when it comes to connectivity, both the Momentum 3’s and HX’s can be connected to any 2 Bluetooth devices at the same time so you can easily hot swap from one device to another which is great for power users. Now the AirPods max can also be connected to any two devices at them same time… but if you are an apple power user the AirPods Max allow you to easily hot swap from any of your apple devices associated to your iCloud account. So this is very useful if you’ve got an iPhone, a MacBook, an iMac and maybe even an iPad.
Regarding audio codecs, the AirPods Max only have support for SBC and AAC. Now this is fine cause iPhones top out at AAC anyways and lets be honest AirPods max are better used with an iPhone. But these other two headphones do have support for higher quality audio codecs. The Momentum 3’s have support for SCB and AAC just like the AirPods Max… but they also have support for APTX and APTX Low Latency. Where as the HX’s have support for SBC and AAC but they also have support for APTX Adaptive which is the latest and greatest from Qualcomm.
But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with either the Momentum 3’s or HX’s cause they still have an audio jack and they even come included with audio cables. Where as with the AirPods Max, first off they don’t have an audio jack and if you want to use a wired connection with them you are going to have to get their lighting to audio jack cable which is sold separately. Which I feel isn’t cool. But also just putting it out there you can use the USB C port on both the HX’s and Momentum 3’s as a wired connection as well.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. For starters all three of these sound way better than your main staples like the Sony 1000XM4’s or the Bose NC 700’s. Now with that being said, I do gotta point out that the ANC on the HX’s really changes how they sound. With their ANC turned on the HX’s get narrowed up quite a bit and their bass won’t resonate as deep or hit as hard. Where as with these other two headphones their ANC doesn’t really change how they sound. So if you wanna get the best sound out of the HX’s you gotta use them with their ANC turned off. Now with that being said, the HX’s do have the most neutral sound signature here. Where as the AirPods Max have the most dynamic sound signature here cause they do have the most pronounced vocals here and their bass resonates a good amount. Leading to a fun listening experience. But my critique about the AirPods Max is that they do have a little bit of too much of an emphasis on the treble so on rare occasions they can get a little ear piercing. Where as with the momentum 3’s they also put a slight emphasis on the vocal’s but they aren’t all up in your face like with the AirPods max. But more importantly, the momentum 3’s do put as much of an emphasis on the treble so they don’t get ear piercing. But still with the momentum 3’s I can’t help but feel that they sound a little more open than both the HX’s and AirPods Max… but the biggest difference between the Momentum 3’s and these other two headphones is their bass. If you want, the momentum 3’s can physically rattle your head and thanks to their EQ you can also raise the mids and highs on them so that they don’t sound shallow. So over all, all three of these headphones sound way better than your main staples… but I got say the HX’s are better suited for people who are die hard fans of a neutral or vocals focused EQ. Where as if you’re someone thats looking for something a little more dynamic a little more physical than you’ll might want to go with either the AirPods Max or Sennheiser’s. And if thats the case I would go with the Sennheiser’s cause they do sound a little more open and their bass can hit a little harder.
Now when it comes to controlling your media, all three of these headphones have very different approaches. The HX’s are using a touchpad… now I know some people are not fans about touch pads on their headphones but this ones actually pretty accurate. And since you gotta press kinda hard on this touch pad it does do a good job of rejecting false positives. And adjusting your volume on this touch pad feels very natural. But these other two headphones are using physical buttons. The momentum 3’s have your classic 3 button layout on the back and you really can’t go wrong with these. They're easy to find and they're very tactile. But the AirPods Max have this crown. And again you really can’t go wrong here. But my one complaint is that when you press down on this crown it does feel very mushy.
But also, all three of these headphones do have wear sensors. So when you take any of these headphones off they’ll automatically pause your music and start playing your music again when you put them back on. Now personally I don’t really care for wear sensors so I just turn them off… but I do gotta mention wear sensors cause they are becoming a super standard feature now especially for premium headphones.
However something the AirPods Max have that these other two headphones don’t is Hey Siri support if you’re using them with an apple device. So with hey Siri you can be like call so and so or add so and so event to my calendar and boom its done. Now these other two headphones do have a dedicated voice assistant button so your voice assistant is just one tap away… but its not as convenient as just using your voice.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Like I mentioned earlier the ANC on the HX’s really affects how your music sounds, where as that isn’t an issue with these other two headphones. Now all three of these microphone arrays do a decent job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors… but the main differentiating factor here is going to the cabin pressure. Now both the HX’s and Momentum 3’s don’t have a lot of cabin pressure in part cause they don’t block out the most amount of noise. Where as the AirPods Max block out a ton of noise but they have a lot of cabin pressure. 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 AirPods Max are in a league of their own. They brutally go after those constant low frequency sounds and as a result they even block out more noise than both the Sony 1000XM4’s and Bose NC 700. But they do so through brute force cause they have a lot of 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 if you’re listening to a podcast or watching a movie. And you’re really going to notice that cabin pressure if you’re not listening to anything. Now cabin pressure might not be an issue for everybody but it is for me. But if you’re a constant commuter and you’re willing to put up with their cabin pressure then you’ll might want to go with the AirPods Max if you want ultimate silence.
Next up are the ambient modes… now all three of these headphones have decent sounding ambient modes, but the HX’s does allow you to customize how much noise they let in. Where as with the Momentum 3’s and AirPods Max it's just on or off. And personally I do wish we could reduce the amount of noise the AirPods Max let in cause their ambient mode is pretty loud. However, the AirPods max are the only headphones here with an active ambient mode meaning that they’ll actively turn off their ambient mode if they hear a sudden spike in loud noise. However the AirPods Max are a little slow to react when compared to other headphones that have an active ambient mode like either the Sony 1000XM4’s or Surface Headphones 2.
But finally here’s the microphone test, now both the Momentum 3’s and HX’s have decent enough sounding microphones to take phone calls with.
But they can sound a little shallow and fuzzy. And you wanna mainly try to take phones in a quieter environment
Where as the AirPods Max have a much better sounding microphone that really likes to put an emphasis on your voice.
But the AirPods max also do the best job here of blocking out ambient noise. Now yeah if there is a lot of chatter in the back ground then you’ll might get some interference in your voice…but the AirPods Max do a much better job of keeping your voice front and center.
Where as with these other two headphones they don’t block out as much ambient noise, and if there’s a lot of ambient noise then your voice does get jumbled up quite a bit.
So with all that being said, I think all three of these headphones are uniquely positioned. If you’re an apple maximalist, then yeah the AirPods Max are the way to go cause of their Hey Siri support, H1 chip that allows you to hot swap between any of your apple devices and they charge via a lighting port. But the standout characteristic about the AirPods Max is that they block out the most amount of noise here. Albeit, you do gotta put up with a considerable amount of cabin pressure which im not a fan of. Now even though the AirPods Max’s impressive active noise cancellation will might be great for constant commuters… their not so great battery life and lacking included carrying case will might not make for the best travel companion. If you’re someone thats looking for great sound, but you’re also looking for a great travel companion… then the HX’s will be right up your alley cause they have a super long battery life, they come included with a great hard shell case and they have a great sounding ambient mode. And the HX’s are more comfortable than the AirPods Max cause they're the lightest headphones here and their ear pads don’t get itchy. Now even though I can put up with the HX’s round ear pads I still really wish they had oval ear pads. So even though the Momentum 3’s are a little heavier… I do feel they’re the most comfortable headphones here cause of their roomier oval ear pads. But the stand out characteristic of the Momentum 3’s is just their sound. They sound a little more open, a little more balanced, and their bass can hit harder if you want it. But just like the AirPods Max, these wouldn’t make the best travel companion.