True blue

Offering the performance bump of the Momentum 2 minus some of the features, CliffJoseph finds out how this in-ear fares

- Cliff Joseph

Designed to be a more affordable ‘everyday’ alternative to Sennheiser’s Momentum range, the CX 400BT True Wireless hasn’t made too many compromises to bring the price down. The design is similar to the Momentum 2 (HFC 410) and is available in black or white with a rather chunky earpiece that protrudes quite noticeably from the ear. I always seem to have trouble getting earbuds to stay in my ears, but Sennheiser provides four sizes of ear tips to help create a good fit.

Internally, the in-ear uses the same 7mm drivers as the Momentum 2 and shares the same 5Hz-21kHz frequency response, which is quite impressive at the price. It supports both aptX and AAC codecs for Bluetooth, making it suitable for a wide variety of Android and Apple devices. There are some cost-cutting measures, however, with the active noise-cancellation of the Momentum 2 absent. Battery life is around seven hours on a full charge – the same as the Momentum 2 – and the compact charging case lets you top up the battery for 20 hours of use, compared with the 28 hours of the Momentum 2. The case has a USB-C connector for charging its internal battery, although Sennheiser provides an adaptor cable for older devices that still use USB-A.

The outer surface of each earbud acts as a multi-function button that can perform a number of different tasks, so you can find yourself randomly tapping the outer shell as you try to remember the various commands. Sennheiser’s Smart Control app allows you to re-program the buttons to make them easier to use and also provides equaliser controls for fine-tuning the sound.

Sound Quality