The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 10, 2024·
If sound quality, comfort, and noise cancellation are your top priorities, and you're willing to invest in a high-end product, the Apple AirPods Max may be the better choice, especially for air travel and passive listening environments; however, they are not as portable and have a shorter battery life. If you are active, need something more affordable, and enjoy added health tracking features, the Sennheiser Momentum Sport is more suitable, offering great sound quality, a good fit for exercise, and longer battery life, but they lack the superior noise cancellation the AirPods Max offers for quieter environments. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple Airpods Max
Excellent for air travel
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Sennheiser Momentum Sport
Good for phone calls
Very good for gaming
Good for TV and video
Very good for exercise
Key differences
Gaming
5.5/10
8.8/10
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport is very good for gaming, while the Apple Airpods Max is poor.
TV and Video
5.7/10
7.8/10
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport is good for TV and video, while the Apple Airpods Max is poor.
Noise Reduction
10.0/10
8.0/10
The Apple Airpods Max is best in class for noise reduction, while the Sennheiser Momentum Sport is very good.
Battery
21.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple Airpods Max has 21 hours of battery life. The Sennheiser Momentum Sport has 6 hours of battery life.
Cost
$549
$330
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
The Apple Airpods Max has a price of $549 and the Sennheiser Momentum Sport costs $330.
The Sennheiser Momentum Sport and Apple Airpods Max are both good for music.
Phone Calls
6.6/10
7.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Sennheiser Momentum Sport to be good for phone calls, while the Apple Airpods Max is only fair.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
8.0/10
7.8/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple Airpods Max to be very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Sennheiser Momentum Sport is good.
Build Quality
9.0/10
9.0/10
The Apple Airpods Max and Sennheiser Momentum Sport both have excellent build quality.
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How the Apple Airpods Max and the Sennheiser Momentum Sport compare to other earbuds and headphones
"Objectively, the AirPods Max is a spectacular pair of headphones. I appreciate the smart features like auto-pause and the transparency mode are super practical. It also sounds great, is well-built, and has solid battery life."
"We hadn't been expecting a new pair of dedicated sports buds but the surprise was nonetheless exciting. I got to try out the new buds at CES 2024 and while they have stayed true to delivering that "signature" Sennheiser sound, with a wide soundstage and strong sense of detail, it’s the extra wearable tech inside them that stands out to me against the best workout headphones."
Get a great deal on the Apple Airpods Max or the Sennheiser Momentum Sport
About Apple
Apple Inc. is an American technology company, founded in 1976, known for its wide range of premium products, including smartphones, computers, and audio solutions. Apple offers the very popular personal audio line AirPods, highly regarded for their wireless, smart capabilities and their seamless integration with the iPhone, iPad and Mac devices. They provide a high-quality sound, comfort and lifestyle features perfect for all users invested in their ecosystem.
About Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the Earbuds or Headphones team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Luis Torres
Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.