Our Verdict
Decent for mixed usage. They have a highly customizable sound a decently comfortable design and a sturdy and durable build quality. They also isolate well enough in moderately loud environments that they're a suitable option for commuting. They also barely leak which makes them a more suitable option to use in quiet environments. Unfortunately, their sound quality struggles a bit with higher frequencies which makes them sound a bit dark so they won't be the ideal choice for more critical listeners.
- Good noise isolation.
- Minimal sound leakage.
- Sturdy and durable design.
- Poor treble range.
- Lacking comfortable padding on the headband.
Decent for neutral listening. The Sennheiser HD1 wireless have a great bass an above-average mid-range that decent with instruments and vocals. Unfortunately, they have a sub-par treble that makes most tracks sound a bit dark and lacking in detail and clarity on lead instruments. You can somewhat EQ their sound quality with the great Sennheiser CapTune app, but unfortunately, they may still not be the ideal choice for more neutral listeners. Also since they are noise cancelling closed-back over-ears that barely leak they will have a closed and small soundstage.
Decent for commuting. The Sennheiser HD1 cancel quite a bit of noise. They're also decently comfortable and give you a high amount of control over your audio directly on the headphones or through the app. They also do not leak so you can further mask ambient noise by turning your volume up. However, they won't be the most portable or travel-friendly headphones.
Average for sports. They're not specifically designed for high-intensity activities, but they're decently stable and provide great control over your audio. Unfortunately, they aren't the most portable or breathable headphones. They will also slide off your ears during more intense workouts.
Suitable for office use. They don't leak much especially for an over-ear and they isolate well enough to prevent the ambient noise of a lively office from seeping into your audio.
Below-average for gaming. The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless are above-average comfortable, with a decent enough sound and wireless range for gaming. Unfortunately, they have a mediocre-at-best integrated mic and a fair bit of latency which is not really suitable for gaming. Their cable is not iOS specific and will not work with your Xbox One controller. On the upside, they will provide audio and mic support when plugged into your Ps4 controller.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
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Compared To Other Headphones
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless are a sturdy and durable wireless headset that looks and feels premium. They're decently comfortable and isolate well enough in loud environments to be a suitable choice for commute and travel. Unfortunately, the headband and ear cups are not as nicely padded, as some of the other over-ears we've tested (check our recommendations for the best over-ear headphones). They also struggle to reproduce higher frequencies which gives them a slightly dark sound that won't be for everyone. On the upside, you can EQ their sound profile with the CapTune app, and they have one of the lowest leakage performance for any over-ear that we've tested, which makes them a decent option for the office. See also our recommendations for the best noise cancelling headphones and the best closed-back headphones.
The Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless are a better headset overall than the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless. The PXC 550 are more comfortable, have a better battery performance, and more features. They also sound better out-of-the-box than the HD1 Wireless. On the other hand, the HD1 have a better build quality that feels more durable. The HD1 also isolate better in loud and quieter conditions thanks to their superior noise cancellation and low leakage.
The Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless are a nice improvement over the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless/HD1 Wireless. They're noticeably bulkier and the cups are larger with better padding, making them a bit more comfortable overall. They also have a more neutral sound profile. The microphone recording quality is also improved on the new model. On the other hand, the Momentum 3 are noticeably leakier than the previous version.
The Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless/HD1 Wireless are a bit better than the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC overall, but not by much. The HD 4.50 have more features and a slightly better-balanced sound than the HD1 out-of-the-box. The HD 4.50 have a tighter fit on the head that's a bit more suitable for sports, but the HD1 have a much better build quality and isolate a bit better in noisy and quiet conditions.
The Sony WH-1000XM2 are a better noise canceling headphone than the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless. The Sonys have better active noise cancellation, making them a better choice for commute and travel. The WH-1000XM2 also have a slightly more comfortable design with large ear cups and a more balanced sound quality out-of-the-box. On the upside, the Sennheisers have lower leakage, so you won't distract the people around you in quieter conditions, and they have more durable build quality.
Test Results
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have a cool, old-school aesthetic that is visually appealing and looks high-end. Their headband has a simple design made of metal and covered with a faux leather fabric. The oval ear cups have a dark gray matte finish highlighted by the black padding on the ear cups and headband cover. They also come in a variety of colors, including the black color scheme of the unit reviewed.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless are comfortable. The ear cups are large enough for most ears and although they are slightly heavier than the wired version, they exert the same pressure on the head and do not cause pain or soreness. Unfortunately, they don't have any padding on the headband and the padding used for the ear cups is slightly stiff, which may bother some during longer listening sessions. For more comfortable headphones, take a look at the B&O PLAY H9i.
The control options are good but not as easy to use as those of the wired model. They provide volume, track skipping, and call/music controls but no dedicated noise cancelling switch. The power button is also the Bluetooth sync and noise cancelling switch, and there are no talk-through or mute options. The control scheme is functional but confusing because of the overlapping functions.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless are not the most breathable headphones. They create a fairly decent seal around your ears and have thick pleather padding that obstructs quite a bit of airflow. They won't be the ideal headphones to take to the gym or for more intense workouts.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless are decently portable for an over-ear design. They're mid-sized over-ear headphones that fold up into a more compact format which takes up less space in your bag. Unfortunately, they are still somewhat of a hassle to carry around like most over-ears and only come with a soft case which is not ideal especially considering their price range.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have the same soft case as the other models in the momentum series. It will protect the headphones from scratches and will fit all the gear that is provided with headphone. Sadly, it will not protect the headphones from hard falls. Also given that these headphones are little larger headphones sometimes deform the case because of the tight fit.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless are well built and sturdy looking headphones. The ear cups are dense and able to withstand a few drops without any damage. The metal frame is solid and won't warp easily under physical stress. Their joints are weak points, but the joint design limits the number of moving parts, reducing the likelihood that a part of the joint will come loose. Overall they are one of the better-built headsets that we've tested and are easily on par with headphones like the B&O PLAY E8 or the Zik 2.0.
These headphones have above-average stability. They easily maintain their position during casual listening sessions. They are also wireless, which means they're a little more stable and will not be yanked off your head because the cable got hooked by something. Sadly, they are not designed for sports and will slip off your ears, during high-intensity activities like running and jumping.
- Sennheiser HD1 Wireless Headphones
- Audio cable
- Carrying case
- Audio cable
- Airline adapter
- USB Cable
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have a great frequency response consistency. The bass delivery of these headphones was very consistent across our 5 human subjects. This is probably due to their ANC (active noise cancelling) system that checks and compensates for seal, similar to the QuietComfort 35 II and WH-1000XM2. They were also quite consistent in the treble range delivery across our re-seats in different positions on our dummy head. This is probably due to their small ear cups.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have a great bass. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 10Hz, which is excellent. Low-bass, which is responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy tracks is over our neutral target by about 2dB. This means that these headphones have a deep and extended bass with a slightly hyped thump, which will be pleasing to most people. Mid-bass, responsible for the body of bass guitars and the punch of kick drums, is flat and within 1.7dB of our target. High-bass, responsible for warmth, is also flat well-balanced.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have an above-average mid-range performance. Low-mid is flat and well-balanced, which is important for reproducing clear vocals. The 8dB tilt across mid-mid and high-mid, which favors higher frequencies makes the overall sound a bit forward and gives excess projection and intensity to vocals and leads.
The treble performance is sub-par. Low-treble shows a 5dB bump around 2KHz, which is the continuations of the high-mid overemphasis. This brings a bit of excess projection and intensity to the sound, especially vocals and lead instruments. The dips around 4KHz and 7KHz, which actually correspond to the spikes in their THD, are the main issue here. They negatively affect the detail and presence of their reproduction, which will be mostly noticed on vocals, lead instruments and cymbals.
The imaging performance is great. Weighted group delay is at 0.33, which is quite good. The GD graph also shows that the group delay response is almost entirely below the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were exceptionally well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response. This is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (vocals, instruments, video games effects) in the stereo field.
The soundstage is sub-par. Due to their closed-back design and small ear cups, the soundstage of the Momentum 2.0 Wireless will be perceived as small and located inside the listener's head. The PRTF graph also shows that the pinna interaction/activation is low and not very accurate.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have a good noise isolation performance. In the bass range, where the rumble of airplane and bus engines sits, they isolate by more than 11dB, which is above-average. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they achieve more than 17dB of isolation which is good. In the treble range, occupied by sharp sounds like S and T, they reduce outside noise by 33dB, which is also good.
The leakage performance is very good. The Momentum 2.0 Wireless, along with the HD 4.50 is one of the least leaky over-ear headphones we have measured so far. The significant portion of their leakage is concentrated in the mid-range, as they don't really leak in the bass and treble ranges. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at 1 foot away averages at about 31dB SPL and peaks at 46dB SPL, which is below the noise floor of an average office.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless have an average microphone. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with their microphone will sound relatively thin and noticeably muffled. In noisy situations, however, this microphone does a good job of separating speech from background noise in moderately loud environments like a busy street. But they may struggle in loud places like a subway station.
The recording quality of the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless' microphone is sub-par. The LFE of 578Hz indicates speech recorded/transmitted with this mic will sound relatively thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 3.5KHz results in a speech that lacks detail and is noticeably muffled. Also, the response between the LFE and HFE points shows a tilt favoring higher frequencies. So speech won't sound very natural, but it will be decently intelligible.
The integrated microphone has good noise handling. In our SpNR test, it achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 26dB. This makes them suitable for use quiet and moderately loud environments, by they may struggle to fully separate speech from ambient noise in loud situations.
The Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless have a decent all-day battery life but take a bit long to charge. They should provide enough continuous playback time to last you a 22.8 hours without having to charge them. They also can play audio while charging, so they're decent headphones to use when you're close to a power source like being at the office or on certain buses/train/planes. Unfortunately, they have no power saving features so if you leave them on they will continue draining the battery.
The Sennheiser CapTune app is one of the most complete apps we've tested so far. It gives you a multitude of features. A deeply customizable parametric equalizer with presets, room and bass effects to enhance your audio, an in-app player, an auto-off timer and the ability to save your various set-ups to different profiles. However, the app does not offer noise cancellation controls for the momentum 2.0 wireless like it does for the PXC 550. It's also a little cluttered although this is due to the sheer number of features packed into this app.
The Sennheiser HD1 Wireless can pair simultaneously with 2 devices and support NFC. This makes them a rather versatile headphone when using Bluetooth. However, pairing is not as easy as the Bose QuietComfort 35, since you have to switch them off first and hold the power button when turning them on to put them in pairing mode.
Poor latency performance. The Sennheiser HD 1 Wireless have about 154ms of SBC latency and 138ms when using aptX. It's better than most Bluetooth headphones but won't be ideal for watching movies or gaming.
These headphones come with a 1/8" TRRS audio cable with an in-line microphone that's compatible with the, PS4 and iOS devices but not the Xbox One. They will only provide audio when connected to your Xbox controller and will need a headset adapter or a compatible headphone jack to provide microphone support with your PC or tablet.
These headphones do not have a base/dock. If you want a versatile headset with a base that you can also use wired check out the SteelSeries Arctis 7 by SteelSeries.
