Bought Sennheiser headphones... Is this normal?!
Discussion
I recently bought a set of Sennheiser Momentum Over Ear headphones off eBay. Thing is... They sound good, but I can't tell if something is wrong with them. The bass is just... Awful.
This is really hard to describe, but the simplest way I can put it is the bass on my £16 iPod headphones sounds deeper. I'm not listening to really bass heavy music, but even a drum beat that sounds "full" in my cheapskate headphones sounds like someone's banging a tin when listening on the supposedly premium Sennheisers...
The rest of the sound is probably a bit better, although everything sounds quite a bit higher than I'm used to. It sounds different, but in a blind test I don't think I could say which sounds better...
This is possibly the worst description of a problem I've ever read. So... Has anyone with these headphones (or knows their audio equipment...) come across this? Should there be more a noticeable difference?
I would have thought there would be a huge difference between £16 headphones and a set with a retail price of around £250!
This is really hard to describe, but the simplest way I can put it is the bass on my £16 iPod headphones sounds deeper. I'm not listening to really bass heavy music, but even a drum beat that sounds "full" in my cheapskate headphones sounds like someone's banging a tin when listening on the supposedly premium Sennheisers...
The rest of the sound is probably a bit better, although everything sounds quite a bit higher than I'm used to. It sounds different, but in a blind test I don't think I could say which sounds better...
This is possibly the worst description of a problem I've ever read. So... Has anyone with these headphones (or knows their audio equipment...) come across this? Should there be more a noticeable difference?
I would have thought there would be a huge difference between £16 headphones and a set with a retail price of around £250!
I haven't tried the exact model (haven't found any in stock in Cardiff) but I have tried the cheaper on-ear version (also branded as Momentums). That was a little while ago and to be honest I can't remember specifics, just that they sounded pretty good (though I wasn't blown away).
There's always the possibility of them being a knock off, though there's nothing about the sale itself that sets alarm bells ringing... Seller with loads of positive feedback, not overly cheap and the headphones themselves seem really well put together (though that last point doesn't count for much without a definite real pair to compare them to).
There's an AV shop nearby that stock quite a few other Sennheiser headphones (though not this model), so I might pop in tomorrow and get their advice and also try some of the top of the range models to see if I'm blown away... It might be I'm just a bit deaf!
There's always the possibility of them being a knock off, though there's nothing about the sale itself that sets alarm bells ringing... Seller with loads of positive feedback, not overly cheap and the headphones themselves seem really well put together (though that last point doesn't count for much without a definite real pair to compare them to).
There's an AV shop nearby that stock quite a few other Sennheiser headphones (though not this model), so I might pop in tomorrow and get their advice and also try some of the top of the range models to see if I'm blown away... It might be I'm just a bit deaf!
There is a thread here about fake ones with photos:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/690491/fake-sennheiser-mo...
Although it's pretty easy to spot that those are fake.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/690491/fake-sennheiser-mo...
Although it's pretty easy to spot that those are fake.
I bought some new Sennheiser in ear phones a few years back from the Play Marketplace.
Eventually twigged that they were fakes - quality of the copy was incredible though. Shame sound quality wasn't in the same league.
It was the feel of the silicone ear buds that me suspicious, was a different texture to the pair I was replacing.
Have only ever bought from approved retailers since.
Eventually twigged that they were fakes - quality of the copy was incredible though. Shame sound quality wasn't in the same league.
It was the feel of the silicone ear buds that me suspicious, was a different texture to the pair I was replacing.
Have only ever bought from approved retailers since.
you just found out why 
Right, quick update for you...
They're broken! :P
I went to a local audio shop today to compare them to some similar models. The cheaper on-ear version sounded massively better than my set: clearer, louder with punchy bass.
They luckily also had an identical set to mine so I got to hear how they should sound.
I had a chat with the staff there (Richer Sounds Cardiff, they were really helpful) and they had a listen to my headphones and agreed that there is basically no bass and they're a lot quieter than they should be.
I'm trying to resolve this through eBay now.
Silver lining? I'm not going deaf, I suppose.
They're broken! :P
I went to a local audio shop today to compare them to some similar models. The cheaper on-ear version sounded massively better than my set: clearer, louder with punchy bass.
They luckily also had an identical set to mine so I got to hear how they should sound.
I had a chat with the staff there (Richer Sounds Cardiff, they were really helpful) and they had a listen to my headphones and agreed that there is basically no bass and they're a lot quieter than they should be.
I'm trying to resolve this through eBay now.
Silver lining? I'm not going deaf, I suppose.
bazza white said:
Another thing with seinnheiser, I have 595,650's and another budget pair and all sounded arse when new and took several weeks to come alive with pretty poor bass response to start with.
Certainly this and, at least in my experience, Sennheisers aren't typically bass heavy in any case.Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff